Tragedy In Haiti
Just a bit of the aftermath of the EarthQuake that struck Port-au-Prince, the largest city in Haiti.
Before I start this post I want to say that I am greatly disappointed in myself, because as someone who is always about taking the initiative and getting things done I have really failed to fulfill my duties as a man, and as a friend.
I refuse to fail as a Haitian as well.
If you have been watching the News you know that recently Haiti had been hit with a terrible 7.0 Earth Quake, which I believe was said to contain the force of 100 billion pounds of TNT, on Tuesday January 12th at 4:53pm EST. To make matters worse about this Earth Quake it struck 14 miles west of the most population dense city on the entire Island; Port-Au-Prince. Along with the death of thousands, numbering up to 40,000-50,000, it has also destroyed many precious relics of our history, including the Presidential Palace; a construct that gave the people hope and faith in their culture and spirit, because it showed just what we are capable of if we put our heads together, but now it’s gone.
However, despite our loss the Haitian people, who are used to suffering under the hand of mother nature (4 Hurricanes in 2008) as well as an extensive history of cruel and corrupt governmental control (countless dictators and rebel military leaders), the Haitian people have proven themselves to be resilient, and I’m sure we will make it through this. However I don’t think any of us can pretend we can do this on our own.
The Haitian people are definitely suffering and need our help, they have to walk the streets and, in the wake of the destruction, have to see the bodies of their friends, family –amongst them children as young as infants– laying about the streets, merely covered with a sheet to respect their deaths simply because there are too many bodies to account for. Almost every significant construct is down because let’s face it, Haiti does not have the infrastructural prowess to construct something resistant to Earth Quakes of this magnitude –which had been followed by up to 40 after shocks with an average magnitude of 5.
I’m sorry that I’m rambling, and I’m just writing this as I go along and not editing, but my point is that I think we should all do something to help. There are a multitude of organisations taking donations seeking to provide some sort of aid to Haiti, be it for recovery of the living in the midst destruction, to providing food to the large number of now homeless people in Haiti’s largest city.
I recommend going to CNN.com and finding a list of legitimate organisations taking donations, but my personal recommendation would be http://www.yele.org/, it’s run by Wyclef Jeanne (famous Haitian rapper), and he’s been working to help the Haitian people for as long as I can remember. He is definitely keeping true to his people by trying his best to provide relief.
One of the easiest ways to donate to Yele would be to text “YELE” to 501501. It automatically charges your mobile provider 5 dollars which appears in your following billing cycle. You can also go to the Yele homepage and donate from $50.00 to $300.00 (I’m writing this purely by memory, so forgive me if I’m off). Do what you can, but please do something.
Please share this website with as many people as you can, and my prayers go out to everyone who has family and or friends in Haiti. I myself have an aunt and a cousin with his wife and 6 kids –all of whom live in proximity of Port-au-Price– and I pray that they are all right.
Haiti is part of the Americas as well, so they are part of us. Please, let’s all take care of our own.
I thank all of you who took the time to read of all of this and once again apologize for the unorganized content. I still hope that this will bring positive results.
God bless.
-Johnny.
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Update: Aside from editing the article above, I wanted to let everyone know that today my family in Haiti called; they’re all OK! We were notified that their home in Taba, Haiti was not affected greatly by the quake and still stands firmly with no structural damage. Words cannot describe how happy I am that all of those kids are safe, our family in Haiti can continue to thrive. I’m thankful for all of the support from my friends, the spam on MSN, txt messages, and phone calls; I’m glad to know I have such awesome, caring friends!
