September 11th and
The United Methodist Response
Through UMCOR
The UMCOR staff and board of directors
take seriously the responsibility to be faithful to the thousands of
United Methodists and others who have given funds as we heed Christ's
call to serve "the least of these" in the wake of this
disaster.
Never before has any relief agency in
this country faced a disaster like that of September 11. As one
official of an organization struggling to distribute $10 million it
had collected said, "We were shocked at how difficult it is to
give away money responsibly." The key word here is
"responsibly." UMCOR has high standards of accountability
and is committed to providing assistance to those who are most in need
and often overlooked by other relief efforts-those who have no
insurance or are ineligible for government assistance.
What makes this disaster so different?
There are no houses to repair or rebuild. We can't go in and muck out
homes as we do after a flood. The "victims" are not easy to
identify. They are in a widespread, densely populated area. There is
a list of those who lost their lives, but no comprehensive list exists
of those who lost their jobs on September 11 or the months following.
There is no master list of everyone in New York, New Jersey, or
Connecticut who is struggling to pay the rent or mortgage or utility
bills. Many immigrants lost their incomes- incomes that not only were
paying bills in this country but also were sustaining families back
home. There is no list of those who are suffering from post-traumatic
stress syndrome. The figure may be as high as 40 percent of those who
live in downtown Manhattan, plus uncounted numbers who live throughout
the metropolitan area. Many who escaped the towers and surrounding
buildings on the 11th continue to struggle with "survivor
guilt," or jump every time they hear a loud noise or a plane
flying low. The only way they can be identified, and offered
assistance through counseling, is if they make themselves known.
United Methodists poured out their
hearts after this disaster and gave more than $20 million to enable
UMCOR to respond to the events of September 11 and their aftermath in
this country and internationally. The majority of these funds will be
used in New York and New Jersey to assist people who will be
struggling for years to recover from this disaster emotionally,
physically, and materially. Some of that money will continue to be
used to respond to the overwhelming need of the people of Afghanistan,
whose suffering has been compounded by the war resulting from
September 11 and who now have a chance to rebuild their country with
the assistance of the international community. And some of these
funds will continue to be used to support initiatives throughout the
United Sates to promote understanding and reconciliation between
Christians and Muslims, Arab-Americans and other Americans.
In all of its disaster response
ministry, UMCOR focuses on those who otherwise fall through the
cracks. In this instance, that includes people who do not have the
resources or the insurance to recover: recent immigrants, restaurant
workers, small-business owners, and other people who earned their
living from tourism, real estate, or provision of services to the tens
of thousands of people who used to spend their days in the downtown
area and now work elsewhere. It will take years for the people of New
York and New Jersey to recover.
There is a unique role for faith-based
disaster recovery agencies such as UMCOR within the United States
disaster response network. Because the church is in the community
before the disaster and will still be there long after the disaster,
faith-based recovery is oriented to long-term, people-centered
disaster response.
