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hnpccTuesday afternoon I caught the tail end of "Newshour with Jim Lehrer". As part of their bulletin they had a segment on Haiti. It was a cautiously optimistic piece, focusing on the current peace in the capital, the UN's wresting of control of the streets back from the gangs, the reasonably stable government, and the foreign investors who were cautiously tiptoeing back in, with a resulting increase in jobs in Port-au-Prince. There were notes of caution sounded both by diplomats and by local politicians - the work is not over, the backbone of the economy is still agriculture and infrastructure had either been destroyed or not maintained. The diplomats warned that there was a feeling that this was Haiti's last chance - that if things broke down and anarchy returned it would be extremely difficult to convince western governments and investors to return. Overall though the note was optimistic, summed up in an interview with a young illiterate woman who was training as a garment worker and was hopeful that the opportunities that had opened up for her would continue.
The following day I caught the word "earthquake" on the radio news bulletin over the roar of the hood. I missed where it was, and didn't find out until I was heading home.
The news out of Haiti is terrible. The casualty numbers are appalling. The lack of infrastructure has also hindered rescue efforts being able to get in, with planes circling waiting to land.
I keep wondering about the people interviewed, and whether they're OK. I hope they are.
In the midst of it all, the New York Times at least can see some hope:
But the grim pileup of bodies all but masked one positive note: Haiti’s barely functioning state had begun to work, if still just minimally, by sending the police to gather bodies. The police pickup trucks were virtually the first organized recovery efforts seen in many parts of the city.
It's such a small, small note. The government sent police in to help. Something so completely ordinary in Australia that it doesn't get mentioned, even in the face of disaster. And it's overwhelmed by the louder, more angry notes of people desperate for help. But it is there, and I pray that it will continue to grow.
In the interim of course we can help by ignoring morons like Pat Robertson, or at the very least stopping giving him a platform to spread his delusional gibberish with. When and if he decides to join us in the 21st century - a bit of an ask seeing as I don't think he's made it mentally into the 20th century yet - we might listen to him again. Maybe. OK, not. God, what is it with these idiots? You'd think running water would be enough to stop them, but no, we have similar rejects here too. *sigh*
Such an awful disaster. I hope that Haiti can manage to hang on to the peace, and continue moving forward.
The following day I caught the word "earthquake" on the radio news bulletin over the roar of the hood. I missed where it was, and didn't find out until I was heading home.
The news out of Haiti is terrible. The casualty numbers are appalling. The lack of infrastructure has also hindered rescue efforts being able to get in, with planes circling waiting to land.
I keep wondering about the people interviewed, and whether they're OK. I hope they are.
In the midst of it all, the New York Times at least can see some hope:
But the grim pileup of bodies all but masked one positive note: Haiti’s barely functioning state had begun to work, if still just minimally, by sending the police to gather bodies. The police pickup trucks were virtually the first organized recovery efforts seen in many parts of the city.
It's such a small, small note. The government sent police in to help. Something so completely ordinary in Australia that it doesn't get mentioned, even in the face of disaster. And it's overwhelmed by the louder, more angry notes of people desperate for help. But it is there, and I pray that it will continue to grow.
In the interim of course we can help by ignoring morons like Pat Robertson, or at the very least stopping giving him a platform to spread his delusional gibberish with. When and if he decides to join us in the 21st century - a bit of an ask seeing as I don't think he's made it mentally into the 20th century yet - we might listen to him again. Maybe. OK, not. God, what is it with these idiots? You'd think running water would be enough to stop them, but no, we have similar rejects here too. *sigh*
Such an awful disaster. I hope that Haiti can manage to hang on to the peace, and continue moving forward.
