Haiti

I'd like to give my heart felt sympathy for the people of Haiti. My prayers are with them. Even in my isolated little town way up in northern NH, there are friends of mine with roots and connections to Haiti. I hope their friends and relatives are well.

Haiti was just barely functioning before the earthquake hit. That makes things so much worse. As bad as New Orleans and the Gulf Coast were after hurricane Katrina, it doesn't compare to this. We complain about the response of US government agencies to the hurricane, but eventually help came in. Some parts of the government actually did what they were supposed to do. The Coast Guard did heroic work there. Local services, police, fire and EMS, were able to function. A poor country doesn't have the resources on the ground that way a rich one does.

Information coming out of the country is still spotty. We won't know the extent of the damage and loss of life for some time. Time is the issue here. Often more casualties take place after the disaster. The lack of food, shelter, sanitation, security, and medical supplies continue to take lives well after the initial event. The international community will have to move fast to prevent a horrific disaster from becoming worse.

-Sixbears