The outpouring of humanitarian aid and relief from all corners of the world in response to the devastating earthquake, which occurred this past Tuesday, in Haiti is remarkable. Perhaps it's a sign of the inherent goodness of humanity, despite all the havoc and chaos created by mankind at the same time. Although it was a 7.3 magnitude earthquake, and Puerto Rico is not extremely far from Haiti, about 407 miles (605 km), we didn't feel anything here on the island. I found out about the earthquake via Twitter, my primary news source nowadays, where I also read about the tsunami warning for the Caribbean.As I searched for news on the situation in Haiti, I read about the numerous hurricanes which have traversed this poor country of 9.7 million inhabitants. Since 2008, Haiti has been hit by three hurricanes, which brought about the deaths of 800 people. I read with utter disbelief. Furthermore, back in 2004, Haiti was also hit by Hurricane Jeanne, which left over 3,000 people dead. The next morning, I found out (also through Twitter) about the relief center set-up at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium, where people can drop off donations for the victims. In fact, such relief collection centers can now be found throughout Puerto Rico. The island is also preparing a team of medical professionals, engineers and other aid relief workers to send to Haiti. Unfortunately, it seems as though the lack of infrastructure is preventing most aid to enter the country. Life can be so cruel. My heart goes out to all the victims and their families. For those who wish to make a donation, here's a list of some charities helping Haiti recover from this disaster.
Update (1/28/10): On January, 22nd, the Puerto Rican government hosted a radio-telemarathon "Abracemos a HaitÃ," (translation: "We Embrace Haiti") which helped raise over $3.3 million.
(Map obtained from http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/caribean.htm)
1 comment:
Hi Adriana, I just stumbled across your blog. Greetings from a fellow resident of the "Island of Enchantment."
What happened in Haiti is terrible. Knowing that as I type, there are survivors trapped under the rubble, that will be dead before help reaches them, breaks my heart in a million pieces. I'm glad the world has been so willing to help. It's great to see people from all over uniting to help those men, women and children who always get dealt the worse hand by Mother Nature. When something horrible like this occurs, suddenly everyone remembers we're all members of the same race: the human race. I just wish it was like that all the time.
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