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Touched by

Hymns and Gangsters

Sometimes help comes from where you least expect it.
Martin Kuo | Translated by Mei-li Hamilton

hen Dharma Master Cheng Yen saw However, Master Cheng Yen insisted that
photographs of severe flooding in we follow the disaster relief model of a large-
WHaiti and realized the suffering of the scale distribution and Cash-for-Relief program.
affected people, she called We wondered why she
on Tzu Chi USA volunteers Why can't we cry any more insisted on this course
to launch an international after so many disaster relief of action, thinking
disaster relief effort. missions? Have we become that perhaps she was

numb, unable to be touched? testing whether the
As experienced disaster U.S. team was capable
relief volunteers, George of executing such a
Chang and I were sent to Cap-Haïtien in mid- major disaster relief effort.
November to survey the disaster area, but we
were surprised to find that nothing looked We returned to Haiti in December to make
wrong. The main streets were crowded, and arrangements and organize the work, food, and
everything seemed to be back to normal. Only financing for the people who would participate
a few small alleys showed any signs of the in the project. We had so many things to do
flooding. When we saw garbage in the streets, and so many obstacles to overcome that we
though, we realized that the streets had flooded didn't even have time to feel sad for all the
because they were clogged with garbage. people living with garbage and filthy water
everywhere. Instead, we were only focused on
As soon as we finished the survey, George how we could help them.
and I flew to Hualien to report our findings to
Master. We told her that we thought the mission I asked the others, “Why can't we cry any
should not be classified as disaster relief, but more after so many disaster relief missions? Have
rather alleviating poverty. Because poverty is so we become numb, unable to be touched? Or is
widespread in Haiti, we and the local volunteers it that we’ve learned that efficiently bringing
worried that a disaster relief effort would not Master's compassion to disaster survivors is a
truly address the underlying problem. much better way of helping them?”

3 2 TZU CHI USA SUMMER 2015