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It has been a while since the last time I blogged over here. I know… but honestly it´s easier to spread your feelings in your mother language. That´s all.

I´m reading the news about the idea of a mosque nearby the Ground Zero. I have to say that my first thought was of fun because I could imagine the controversial discussions that would come up about this issue. Especially on these weeks where a lot of states are getting ready for Senate´s elections…

The first thing is I´m proud of the chosen name for the building of the Mosque: "The Cordoba Initiative". Some people understand this is a provocation as Cordoba is a Spanish city that was the seat of a Caliphate (Islamic government) during the high water era of Islam. Cordoba was the largest and most prosperous city in the Islamic Empire. I don´t see any provocation on this; Cordoba in fact was a great city (yes, an Islamic city 1000 years ago… neither Osama bin Laden hadn´t been born yet… nor the US…) where all cultures were welcome, tolerance was the main flag and most people spoke several languages. Christians, Jews and Muslims shared the city in, let´s say, reasonable harmony for a city in the 10th Century.

If you want to see provocation, go with it. This is a free country. However, I should remember that this country stands on solid basis of tolerance. Let´s remember that the pilgrims were running away from the religious intolerance. Then, should we say yes to the mosque just because of that? I don´t think so, we have to say yes in the same way we have to say yes to a synagogue wherever the Jew community wants to set it up.

There is room to mention that the American society needs to keep an eye on this. No room though for complaints about the gay bar which is planned close to the mosque or the pork plant nearby. No room for complaints about the strip bar a couple of blocks away. You pray while I drink my beer and you´re not going to rule my life because in this society there is room for everybody. Or there should be.

All money that Mi Ciénaga make through ads is sent to non-profit organizations. Last January we collect $46 which were fully donated to American Red Cross for Haiti relief. Now I´ve just received a letter from American Red Cross I´d like to share because they explain what they´re doing.

Thank you all.

Dear Mariano,

When Stephanie Draschler and Colleen Clark realized they couldn’t afford to contribute cash to Haiti relief efforts, they decided to get creative.

The two friends cleaned out their closets, and asked their neighbors to do the same. Together, they held a yard sale that raised $7,000 for earthquake survivors.

Like Stephanie and Colleen, people across the country are finding ways, large and small, to help Haiti.
I wanted to share with you a new ad we’ve made that shows how every donation brings hope.

Watch the video now then read our new status report on Haiti, one month after the earthquake

As you can read in our report, individual acts of generosity from Red Cross supporters like you are adding up to a huge impact in Haiti. In just over one month since the earthquake in Haiti, the Red Cross has helped more than 1.3 million people and will continue to aid hundreds of thousands more in the months ahead until the last donated dollar is spent. Together, the global Red Cross network is:

• Producing more than 1 million liters of water per day, enough for 300,000 people
• Flying in more aid and supplies every week so far, more than 85 flights carrying Red Cross aid from around the world have arrived in Haiti and the Dominican Republic

As I write this, Red Cross teams are on the ground to assess how we’ll help Haiti recover over the long term by providing shelter to people whose homes were destroyed by the quake, and by restarting local markets to get the country’s economy going again.

I’ll be checking in again soon with more updates from Haiti. Thanks again for being a part of our work there. And don’t forget to read our new Haiti status report:

http://american.redcross.org/HaitiReport

Thank you,

David Meltzer
Senior Vice President
International Services
American Red Cross