Thread: Aftermath of the Haitian quake: Haiti in America

Aftermath of the Haitian quake

Haiti in America

By Lynn M Stuter
Friday, January 22, 2010

On January 12, 2010, an earthquake, 7.0 on the Richter Scale, hit the tiny country of Haiti in the Caribbean. The quake, felt as far away as Tampa, Florida and Caracas, Venezuela, was centered (epicenter) very close to Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. The last approximated seismic activity along the tectonic plates believed responsible for the quake was in the mid-1800’s. There have been approximately 50 aftershocks, the largest measuring 5.9 on the Richter Scale occurring on January 20, 2010 with the epicenter 30 miles west-southwest of Port-au-Prince.

Because Haiti is a relatively poor country, the damage was extensive. Buildings, not built to withstand earthquake activity, collapsed killing and injuring many inside. Estimates of the number killed have reached as high as 200,000 people. The hunt for the living continues with the probability of survivors dwindling with each passing day.

There is no doubt the situation in Haiti is dire. In a matter of seconds, the people of Haiti went from living their lives to facing the havoc nature can wreak. But the Haitian people, living in the hurricane zone, are not unaware of the destructive force of nature. More than one hurricane has devastated the country in the past, leaving thousands dead in the aftermath. What makes an earthquake so much more horrifying is that it strikes without warning.

Immediately following the quake, every news organization in the United States started soliciting money from Americans to help. Benefits were quickly put together, every broadcast featured those soliciting donations and where Americans could donate. Also Known As (AKA) Obama enlisted the assistance of former presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush in organizing and overseeing aid.

The machinations of trying to get help to a country, whose ability to accommodate large planes and ships was limited at best before the quake, has been excruciating to watch. Since government runs largely on the premise that money is no option, efficiency isn’t either. Much like trying to drive a square peg into a round hole, instead of looking at what would work, given the situation, they tried to force the situation to accommodate them, which never works. The result has been aid planes being forced to divert as they were unable to land and off-load supplies and ships that could not dock because the ports were mostly destroyed by the quake.

How these same government personnel could fight a war with any hope of winning is undoubtedly a question that has crossed more than a few minds even though the circumstances are different.

Americans have been approached to give, give, give, to help the poor people of Haiti. From an article, published in the Tennessean on January 20, 2010 comes this little jewel, “We need so much. Food, clothes, we need everything. I don’t know whose responsibility it is, but they need to give us something soon.â€

Some of the very best articles come from CanadaFreePress.com.

Corruption, millions of dollars sent, never being used as planned. The situation just prior to the earthquake is the same as years ago, even with so much help, especially from the United States. Millions are going to Haiti. Who can be trusted to oversee this? Corruption in the aid and service organizations, and the government itself.

It could be viewed as a blank slate, and the people of Haiti, the government, and others helping should see that it is built back to sustain disaster as much as possible, that citizens restore their trees, that they have water purification systems, that they have a means of support for their nation with agriculture and other planned ideas, some suggested by former President Clinton.

Psalm 91

Moving to General Discussion.

Originally Posted by IndianaJones

Some of the very best articles come from CanadaFreePress.com.

So far the only reliable news we get comes from one talk radio host, Mike Savage . I don't always agree with him but he seems to be the voice crying in the wilderness for America since one liar after another pops up and gives us hope just to bring us back down .