During the first week back to classes, most of us would like to focus on ourselves. But as we try to organize our own lives, we cannot forget about others in need, particularly those affected by the massive earthquake that hit Haiti a week ago.
Yes, it was a week ago, but that certainly does not mean that our window of opportunity to help is over. Haiti is considered the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere; four out of five people live in poverty. While getting immediate relief to the country was important, the future of Haiti is a very serious concern. The first few days were crucial for search and rescue efforts, but Haiti will feel the effects of this natural disaster for much longer.
Because of the magnitude of the earthquake, combined with poorly constructed buildings and homes, almost all architecture was destroyed, including governmental buildings, churches, and the Presidential palace. Now, the country must deal with the homeless, the injured, and the orphaned. Providing the most simple services to people will be difficult. In desperation, people will turn towards violence and theft.
Haitian News predicts that it will take more than five years to “get back on its feet” in terms of reconstruction. But that is wishful thinking even with help from the U.S. — consider that some areas of Louisiana are still have not recovered from Hurricane Katrina, nearly five years later.
Although the U.S. response to the crisis could have performed faster to get aid to the Haitians, we should be proud of our efforts so far. American donors raised more than $150 million in four days, a record for post-disaster fundraising, according to The Wall Street Journal. Technology allowed anyone to donate quickly and easily, by just texting. To date, The American Red Cross has raised more than $24 million for the people of Haiti from text messages alone. Argue all you want, professors; sometimes texting and social networking can be used to actually help people.
But although we have been sending money, the distribution of food and supplies in Haiti has been difficult. Communicating where supplies are can be an obstacle, roads and seaports are destroyed, and many are not healthy enough to travel distances. The U.S. military has resigned to airdropping supplies, which relief workers say is among the worst ways to deliver help. However, Haitians are resilient. They are people of tremendous faith and courage. With help, their country can pull through.
Now, we can only help through donations, but in the future, we will be able to go and help Haitians firsthand. And hopefully, this help will not only aid with the disaster of the earthquake, but might provide some basic help that Haiti has been severely lacking. The goal should not just get the country restored to its conditions before the earthquake — now that attention is being paid to the country, the international community should realize that Haiti should be improved as much as possible. Forget getting it back on its feet — we should be building Haiti new, strong legs to stand on.
We can’t let the lack of novelty affect our willingness to help people who are truly in need. Innovation and persistence in humanitarian efforts will be crucial.
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