Haiti - Cries of the Oppressed

My friend Shane visited Haiti and edited a video of the footage he captured there. You can view the video here.
I was pretty affected by the power of the words and images in the video. I took the time to transcribe the dialog from the video. I suggest reading it then watching the video.

"Six weeks after the earthquake
I walked the streets in Port Au Prince
Collapse buildings everywhere
And I couldn’t escape the haunting reality of the estimated two hundred thousand plus lives lost here
Many Haitians say even that figure that is much too low
Which wasn’t hard to believe because finding a house that was still standing and in livable condition was a rare exception
It’s estimated that at least a million people were displaced from their homes and even those with homes have no electricity or running water
In the clinics and food distribution centers there was seemingly endless lines of people waiting sometimes a whole day to receive some of the aid that was available
Thousands of bodies still lie under the concrete rubble
Painfully difficult to move without the help of heavy machinery
Legal documents and records blew through the streets outside the national courthouse
And even now tons of food water and medicine lie waiting at the airport and docks as the government tries to tax the incoming aid to profit from the disaster and the suffering of the people
Its easy for anyone to look at the situation and be overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness because of the magnitude of need
I spent just three weeks in Haiti, I don’t assume to be an expert or that I can adequate access the gravity of the situation
But I know one of the simplest and practical examples of love is to clothe the naked and feed the hungry
And there is ample opportunity here for that
And though the problems the Haitian people are facing aren’t going away anytime soon
Many remain hopeful and encouraged that their nation can change
The earthquake in Haiti was one of the deadliest in history
But much of the problems here are nothing new
And they are as complex as they are desperate
But I believe that now there is more need then ever for those that are willing to dedicate themselves to the rebuilding of this nation
That Haiti would be a nation built on the foundations of love
An opponent of political and social injustices
And a blessing to the world
These unique and beautiful people are not defeated easily
And as you walk through the streets the smiles on their faces testify of their endurance
If its not our priority to spend ourselves on the needy
And loose the chains of injustice in our world
What are we left with?
In my opinion, just a shell of an existence
A pretense of compassion
The cries of the oppressed cannot go unheard
From child sex slaves in Cambodia
To the poverty and corruption in Haiti
Love must be tangible
It cannot be a concept
It can only be demonstrated in action
And unless we understand this
We will never see the change we always talk about
In a world where information and communication is more readily available then ever before
We no longer have an excuse of ignorance
And now that we know about the issues
We are faced with the decisions
Of how we will react."

-Shane Prescott