What am I not frustrated about? There are a number of great organizations out there who are ready to help. When we give to new charities, I like to look up their stats to make sure they are actually stewarding their money well, rather than spending it on fancy fundraising dinners, etc. Here are some basic figures from Charity Navigator. Although these show who spends prudently, it doesn’t tell you who can have the biggest impact or who has the best resources in Haiti. I don’t know much about a number of these organizations, so sorry if they aren’t great, but the numbers mean something!

*Listed in order of highest percentage going toward program expenses

*Name of charity links to their website. Program expense % links to their Charity Navigator page

*The number of stars is assigned by Charity Navigator and is based on the above factors plus organizational efficiency and capacity (and yes, there are charities with 0 stars!)

So for now, we pray and give, pray and give…

The most difficult parts of the movie were those involving the gang. Granted, it’s a movie, not a documentary, but it’s hard to fathom that people live that lifestyle. However, it’s also hard to imagine how you couldn’t get caught up in it if you were raised in certain situations. I’m sure the movie would fuel the fire of those who consider our southern neighbors “those people,” but it shows us two other things: 1. Why people want to leave and 2. The horrible journey they are willing to undertake to leave. The movie was very difficult to watch, and perhaps depressing, but I’m grateful for the insights we gained.

There are two things I recommend to learn a little about the painful immigration journey:

1. “Mexico’s Other Border” from the February 2008 National Geographic

2. “Wetback – the Undocumented Documentary” – also by National Geographic (available through netflix)

Some of the information in these overlaps, but they are very eye-opening.

I’ve been very frustrated through all of this that no one has mentioned the root of the problem (well, excluding poverty and desperation in Mexico): American demand for drugs. It seems that as long as the demand is there, more than enough people will be happy to make money from it. Thus, people start fighting over markets and territory, and eventually you have a war with scores of people, both guilty and innocent, being killed.

Finally today, it was mentioned. Thank you Hillary Clinton. Quoting from here, she said, “Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade.” I’m sure that won’t fix anything, but I’m glad the blame is at least out there. I doubt many people demanding these drugs are too worried about the consequences for others, but how many of us consider the effects of what we buy on the world, for the people making our goods, and creation itself?