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Straight Facts About The Crisis In Haiti | «« back |
| by ASHTON HALL (Managing Editor) | February 2010 | Read Full Paper Here » |
On January 12, 2010 at 4:53 p.m., a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the poverty stricken nation of Haiti, crippling what little infrastructure the country had. The epicenter was just 10 miles southwest of the capitol Port- Au-Prince, and was quickly followed by two aftershocks, showing 5.9 and 5.5 on the richter scale.
Haiti is the western third of the island nation of Hispaniola. The other two-thirds is the Dominican Republic. Hispaniola is between Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. Once called the ‘Pearl of the Caribbean,’ Haiti is now one of the most densely populated, least developed, and the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. This small nation has been plagued by problems associated with poverty since its independence; an independence that was hard won.
In 1803, Haitians gained their independence by a slave led revolt that lasted 12 years; the only nation to ever do so. It was the first black republic, and one of the oldest republics in the western hemishere, second only to the United States.
What happened in Haiti is as much a poverty issue, if not more, than a natural disaster issue. Eighty percent of Haiti’s 9,035,536 population live below poverty lines. So many things factor into Haiti’s poverty and go back 200 years, with political oppression, soil erosion caused by deforestation, lack of education and literacy, lack of adequate medical care, no access to clean water, and a large populace in a country too small to support it’s residents as major forces. These are just a few examples and the reasons behind them are complex. Suffice it to say, this is something the majority of Americans can’t even fathom.
When the earthquake hit, the shoddily erected buildings, shanty towns and the people in them didn’t stand much of a chance. As many as 200,000 people were killed. Rescuers searched for the forty-five hundred to five thousand missing Americans, and Haitians that are still missing as well. However, in the mission has now changed from a rescue effort to a recovery effort. The majority of these people will never be identified, as bodies littering the ground have been taken and buried in numerous mass graves around the capitol. The UN is estimating that between one and one and a half million people have been left homeless.
These are shocking statistics and they only get worse. Tens of thousands of children have been orphaned. Doctors, nurses and aid workers have been trying desperately to find unaccompanied minors and bring them to tent hospitals where they can be fed and protected from people trying to steal them to sell in illegal adoptions, for domestic labor or into human trafficking.
Amidst the rubble, injured and homeless, things are starting to slowly improve. Thanks to world wide donations of millions of dollars, food, water, and medicine are finally getting to those who need it most. Banks and gas stations are starting to reopen and some of Haiti’s police are getting back to work, and this is what lies ahead for these people; the hard work of rebuilding their nation, the nation of resilient, resourceful people.
Below are the top three organizations to make secure donations for the disaster relief of Haiti:
The Red Cross International
Response fund, by mailing your donation with the designation to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or to your local American Red Cross chapter. Donations to the International Response Fund can be made by phone at 1 800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) or online at www.redcross.org.
Doctors Without Borders.
Call toll-free number at 1-888-392-0392 24 hours a day, 7 days a week or mail a check or money order to:
Doctors Without Borders USA
PO Box 5030
Hagerstown, MD 21741
Or go online to http://doctorswithoutborders.org
UNICEF
http://www.unicef.or
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