Thursday, January 21, 2010

Haiti





Haiti, a country in the Caribbean suffered a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on January 12, 2010.

A Haitian woman emerges from the rubble on January 12 in the capital Port-au-Prince, which was completely devastated by a magnitude 7 earthquake. The earthquake is reported to be the strongest ever to hit the country since 1860.

The Haiti earthquake toppled buildings, including the president's National Palace, a hospital, and schools, trapping untold numbers in the debris and killing perhaps thousands of others. After the Haiti earthquake, witnesses described "general mayhem" in the impoverished Caribbean city, which has no electricity, phone service, or passable roads..


The quake, however, did not trigger a tsunami as the epicenter of the quake was at the capital city, Port-au-Prince.
Hospitals are already packed, and thousands more are buried under the rubble.
And since this is one of the poorest countries in the world, they are expecting foreign aides to help them to get through this.
Now aides are pouring in, and local gangs started to emerge. They monopolize everything, raping and gang fights are common now.
Estimated death? Around 200,000 ppl died. It is only an estimation though. But if the number is true, that is the total population of Sibu.

The estimated death of 2004 disaster is around 230K, comprises of people from 14 countries.
But Haiti, a small, poor, chaotic country loses 200k of its population in 30-40 seconds. According to reports, the cemetary is full, and there are still bodies waiting to be buried. Running out of idea, they dug a large hole and dumped all the bodies in, and the victims died without a grave of their own.



So, what can we do? Or..should we do anything? IF THERE is NOTHING that we can do, at least we care enough to know their plight.

The country is politically unstable, with a per capita annual income of around $400. That's around 1500 ringgit per year, roughly RM105 per month. Some of us spend that much in a shopping trip~~

Place yourself in their shoes. You are poor, and in the midst of chaos you try to look for your children. They are dead. You try looking for your parents, they are dead. You try to look for your wife, and she is severely injured, buried within the remnants, still breathing. You try to get help, but to no avail..



The last thing you can do is sitting there and listen to your wife's last breath. You plan to at least give them a proper burial, but you are poor.
Aides are pouring in. You got your share of food, and while you were comforting a fellow victim some thugs stole your food. What can you do? Everyone is trying to survive...



What else can you do?
What can we do?



Malcolm

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