Haiti, 2008
While the images coming out of Haiti since the January 12th earthquake are heartbreaking, images of Haiti before the massive devastation are nearly as appalling. For many, just one week ago, it was simply easier not to look.
Haiti has long been the pariah of the Western Hemisphere, deemed the poorest country, many Americans don’t even realize it shares an island, Hispaniola, with popular hot spot the Dominican Republic. With HIV rates unheard of on this side of the world, not to mention Malaria and a killer strain of drug resistant Tuberculosis, and levels of poverty we have only seen in Hollywood films, Americans have found it surprisingly easy to overlook Haiti’s hellish existence in the past, despite its close proximity and dire need for aide. And while there are those who have dedicated their lives to moving mountains in this forgotten place (Paul Farmer and his Partners in Health comes to mind most immediately, but there are certainly others as well, many with little to no recognition at all), there is no question that Haiti has been more or less abandoned by the rest of the world.
While the media provides us with day to day body counts and relays gruesome details of injuries and loss, forcing us to see what we’ve ignored for so long, racking up donations from the college student text messager to the saintly celebrity givers, I can only wonder, if this Disaster Relief had poured in years ago, would we be facing the situation we are facing today?
Jian Lin, a WHOI senior scientist in geology and geophysics, said that there were three factors that made the quake particularly devastating: First, it was centered just 10 miles southwest of the capital city, Port au Prince; second, the quake was shallow—only about 10-15 kilometers below the land’s surface; third, and more importantly, many homes and buildings in the economically poor country were not built to withstand such a force and collapsed or crumbled.
When there are no roads, no hospitals, no doctors, no reliable government, no one to really trust, how far can the money go? Perhaps the lesson here is of prudent giving — spending money earlier, before its too late.
#1 by Kristin - January 18th, 2010 at 15:25
Amen Zoe, this is so true. And, let’s not forget how important this nation has been historically as the first nation of blacks to free themselves and self-govern in 1804 ions before anyone else in the hemisphere achieved sovereignty.
#2 by Sean Rawles - March 12th, 2010 at 00:40
Funny story: this Haitian family walked to the store one day. Their tiny root farm was quite a ways from the store and the family had no shoes making the trip very painful. Once at the store the kids played noisily as the father counted out the last of the families meager earnings to trade for some rice. All of the sudden a wild earthquake appeared. The father tried to use voodoo but it didn’t work. Instead, he used his head to slow the speed of a giant falling rafter that killed him instantly. The children shreaked in fear and pain as the glass from the windows blew in cutting them all over their bodies. The shop keeper pulled out a gun and shot the kids because they were looting his glass shards. The news report the next day: Major earthquake hits Haiti. Damages estimated in the 10s of dollars.
The End
Haitian earthquake = Proof that earth hates niggers and faggots.