Earthquake devastates Haiti

Even now the Haitians are still feeling the effects of this earthquake. There's been reports of people now dying of chloera and it spreading to the central parts of Haiti. You really do have to wonder what happened to all that money that was donated?

Hey, it gave Haitians a break from the drudgery of crushing poverty, crumbling infrastructure and the abusive authority of a corrupt government, so it had its up side.

Haiti continues on its string of misfortune. Its leadership has been very poor. Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Haiti has about 35% and the Dominican has the rest.The Dominican has resorts, roads, commerce and an aura of prosperity. Haiti is just the opposite. It is now one of the Fourth World basket cases. This situation bodes ill for the Western Hemisphere as this mass of starving people has to go somewhere.

How can a country that is already economically devastated be devastated by an earthquake? I mean, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, where the land is deforested and women are having to make "cookies" out of mud to feed their hungry children. Of course, much of the blame is because of the USA making Haiti an "example" of what happens to a third world country that doesn't do what we tell it to do.

why is haiti so important? what have they contributed to the world?

update: This story just keeps getting worse. As doctors sent to provide emergency relief prepare to depart Haiti, the remaining medical community is guaranteed to be overwhelmed. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870350 3804575083973597429774.html -- My heart aches for the people of Haiti: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/01/earthquake _in_haiti.html Here's a list of charity organizations responding to this catastrophic event: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=conte nt.view&cpid=1004

Goes without saying that this was an epic disaster. Kind of difficult to rank this anything less than a "5" considering the amount of lives lost: If anything else tops this in 2010, we're in serious trouble. It's a strong reminder to be thankful for all that we have; no matter how bad things might seem, there's always someone else who's got it a hell of a lot worse than we do.

Update: Disagree with me if you want, but in Katrina over 4,000 lives were lost in a country with a population of 300 million people. Compare that to a tragedy in which 200,000 people have possibly died in a country of just 9 million. I'm not trying to minimize the tragedy that was Katrina, but would rather like to see people put into perspective how much more devastating Haiti's earthquake has been. This is a huge global story that makes America's Katrina tragedy look like a skinned knee in comparison.

This is the biggest story of 2010 so far. The earthquake in Haiti was almost certainly the most devastating earthquake in the world in the last five centuries. 100,000 people died within seconds, and the final toll could easily double that figure.

Andre Berto pulled out of his welterweight title unification fight-and 'the next fight of the century' against Shane Mosley,scheduled for next Saturday night.Berto's parents left Haiti for Florida-and Berto fought on the 2004 Haitian Olympic boxing team.Several family members were among the victims.

The tragic amount of lives lost, people injured, families fractured or completely destroyed.. the suddeness and enormity of such a disaster is horrifying and humbling in terms of what the survivors are enduring while I sit in the relative safety of my home . The aftershocks that are occuring, the refugees leaving the city, the impact on the people's psyche on top of allthe struggles they have faced up to the earthquake ... these people's resiliants to put one foot infront of the other and survive to face another day is astounding. The only reason a cruie ship should be pulling into Haiti is to bring items/people necessary to help the people, and/or make room to house the people in need of food, water, and shelter. I wonder somehow if they wouldn't benefit more immediately from an arrangement of them going on a cruise ship at a cost of a couple of hundred a week... vs the current cost of the chaotic like aid pouring in and the apparent difficulty and cost of handing it out to the... Read more

Data that I've viewed (which is probably a few years old) has Haiti as the poorest (or at least one of the poorest) nations in the Western hemisphere. Port-au-Prince has made the list of several travelers who I know as being one of the cities to avoid. And now this. . . Certainly a major story that won't fade. The opinions and writings of the reviews that have come before me have pretty much said it all. . .

As of now over $300 million has been donated in relief efforts, and Haiti for the first time in its history has been the center of international attention. People have really stepped up and in time Haiti will be a much better place for it.

Why did it have to happen to a country with so many issues to begin with? We are talking about one of the most poverty stricken countries in the world nearly being completely destroyed. I feel really guilty that I have not had a chance to donate any money to help mend the situtation over there! Although my meager donation may not do much it's still a positive contribution. I urge all of you to donate what you can for the relief efforts. I know I've got to be more proactive in finding reperable organization to give to.

This was a horrible and sad event. It doesn't matter what kind of a disaster it was, or where it was, devastation is devastation. This is the time when all countries that can afford it should ban together and help out, and I know that there are some that are already there and doing just that, which is the way that I think it should be.

Earthquakes and other disasters are always tragedies, and my prayers go out for the people in Haiti who have been affected.

Unless you've been living under a rock this past week, you've heard about the earthquake that destroyed Port-au-Prince. Money and aid is pouring in from all over the world. Americans pledged over $40 million in donations to help the relief effort. I don't have figures on other countries but I imagine that the grand total will be in the "shit-load' range. Cuba is allowing Americans to use their airspace to rush victims to the U.S. and reduce flight time, undoubtedly saving lives. Celebrity's, never to be outdone, are donating time and money to the disaster. It does my heart good to see what people are doing on a world scale to help out. The U.S. seems to be acting faster to help Haiti than it did to help New Orleans, but I am glad that they are not alone. It is a horrible tragedy, something that the much maligned country really didn't need. And it is only going to get worse long before it gets better. It's cliche to say that the survivors envy the dead, but I'm afraid that that will ... Read more

AP is reporting that the Chinese beat the US into Haiti by about two hours. Why that matters....I have no clue. All I can say is that Bush should be thankful that he is no longer in office. If he was, this would be a major story that would be blathered for weeks, if not longer. As to the people in Haiti, the short term tragedy of this is obvious. The real tragedy is the fact that billions will pour into Haiti and, when all is said and done, life will be no better for these people.

Care to help? http://tiny.cc/HelpHaitiNow http://doctorswithoutborders.org/

Horrific, sad, tragic. But in the perspective of world history or significant events of 2010 this will be remembered as monumentally sad but relatively minor in the grand scheme of things. Of particular unimportance and quickly forgotten will be the largesse of private and public donations to Haiti and Haitians from the United States. If you are personally affected by this tragedy, get out your checkbook and write a check to some efficient, non-corrupt organization, whatever you can afford, many of which are endorsed here by other raters, and put your money where your mouth is. The news from Haiti is only gonna get worse in the coming days, in much the same way as it has over the past several decades. They will be truly starting from scratch in the coming months and years.

This is a horribly sad and tragic event to happen to Haiti. I think it will go down as one of the worst natural disasters ever. It might be a good time to donate if you can even afford a little bit. I think it's really good to see the response time w/aid and help coming through so quickly. On a somewhat unrelated note, this made me think of New Orleans, and how I wish it was responded to more quickly.

I bet if Jerry Fallwell was still around he would have come out and said god caused that earthquake to hit Haiti because they practice voodoo as a religion. Seriously though, nothing worse could have happened to Haiti, which is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. I am glad to see several countries stepping up relief efforts.

Just too too sad.

On Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 4:53:10 PM a Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake hit the Haitian capitol of Port-Au-Prince. An estimated 100,000 people may have lost their lives to this calamity. Millions of people are homeless, Much needed hospitals are gone and people are dead and dying in the streets. The city is struggling to find clean water, something that was scarce even before the quake. Looting began immediately after, but people are only concerned with Taking food, and who can blame them? If things don't organize quickly, thirsty people will begin to die. Law enforcement, which was razor thin even before the tragedy, is not equipped to handle things now. The U.N. sent 9,000 Peacekeepers to control traffic and maintain Security in the city, the airport, port and Main buildings. Obama promised rescue and Humanitarian effort including the military and civilian emergency troops. Doctors without Borders is working with what they have, which includes two Hospitals that survived and a couple ... Read more

If it wasn't for bad luck, Haiti wouldn't have any luck at all. Not only is it among the worst run and most impoverished nations on the planet, it suffers a catastrophic earthquake with an epicenter near its capitol city, destroying hundreds of buildings and with a death toll expected to climb into the high thousands. In addition to the impact on Haitians, the quake has destroyed the installations of various international aid agencies which will only exacerbate the recovery process. And as if the people of Haiti don't have problems enough, well known bucket of shit evangelical leader Pat Robertson apparently believes that they had it coming. In a broadcast of his "700 Club" program shortly after the earthquake, he had this to say: "Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it," he said. "They were under the heel of the French ... and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you'll get us free fro... Read more

An awful end for many people who deserved a better life.

I've been to Haiti and have seen the feral, jaundice desperation in the eyes of these miserable people. Why any cruise ship would dock there is beyond belief. It is, literally, a shit hole. The people have lived in abject poverty under a boot of the looniest and most dangerous rulers the world has ever known, in terms of being a threat to their own people. Anyone familiar with FRAPH? This is the acronym for the CIA-backed "The Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti". In Haiti, this means "death squad". This death squad was established by Emmanuel "Toto" Constant, who became a born-again Democrat when the CIA offered its support in a coup to unseat the short-term Presidency of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Before that it was the horrific Tonton Macoute under the Duvaliers. Haitian have been living like this for generations. Oppression, hunger, disease, no infra-structure, little sewage or running water and fear. So, is this just another day in the life of a Haitian? Not quite. The... Read more

Things went from horrible to worse in Haiti, and the only guarantees are that people will suffer and those in power in Haiti are going to try their best to abuse the good intentions of people that are trying to help for their own gain.

The scenes coming out of Port-Au-Prince are horrific to say the least. I truly feel for the plight of the Haitian people, who have had to deal with one disaster after the next over the past few years. Back in 2008, they had 4 hurricanes strike the country directly, then last year they suffered through massive flooding, now an earthquake in the capital. Historically, they have had to deal with long periods of economic isolation, political instability, corruption, environmental degradation and disease. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and the latest disaster will only make matters worse for them. I have to imagine that this will create a new diaspora of Haitians looking for a new life here in the United States. It's going to take a massive logistical effort just to mount rescue efforts. All the buildings in Port-Au-Prince are made out of concrete, thus making matters more difficult with regards to search and rescue efforts. Hopefully the world does not forget... Read more

my heart goes out to these people. how horrible. I really do not know what I could say that everyone else has already said.

This is sounding more and more horrific. I just heard a Doctors Without Borders rep talking about their situation. All three of their hospitals have been demolished along with any ability they had to treat the injured. The dead are being piled on the streets. There is no power or phone. Most of the population was desperately poor before the earthquake. It sounds to me like a country of 9M people that was already on the edge, is about to teeter out of control. * Salesforce.com is matching donations here: http://www.salesforce.com/haiti/ *