Over 100,000 Dead in Haiti

[charolastra00]

Reports of at least 100,000 dead, possibly double or triple that amount, coming from the aftermath of yesterday's earthquake of the coast of Haiti. This number might include many of the more than 100 people involved in the UN's peacekeeping mission (out of around 250). The Haitian capitol Port-au-Prince has been completely leveled. Luckily, the airport appears functional to allow aid workers to come.

How do tragic natural disasters such as this and the 12/26 typhoon affect you? Do you get upset? Do you donate money or attempt to offer time? Does it make you concerned yourself about whatever kind of natural disasters are prevalent in your area?

[Genopuff]

i have friends in Haiti i cant get ahold of and some that are here that cant get ahold of their families, it kinda sucks.

[charolastra00]

I'm really sorry. I hope you can get in touch with them soon. Americans seeking information can call 1-888-407-4747. The lines are busy so it might take time to get through, but it's at least one resource to try to find information about friends and family in Haiti.

[freeflow^]

I volunteered in Pisco Peru to help out with an earthquake that had struck there a couple years prior. There was soo much work to do, and it was probably 1/10th of the magnitude of this one. I will probably fly there in a couple years after my degree to help out for a while. My girlfriend and I were talking about this last night, and we had such a great experience rebuilding houses and schools in Pisco. I feel it's much more rewarding and prodcutive method than just donating money, but if that's all time alots to you, then that's still a good method. Hopefully the political situation is stable enough to let volunteers help out safely.

[WOTON]

I wish I could go down there and help. I have a medic background. I hope they can recover down there fast. It looks very bad. The government down there is very corrupt and doesn't help much.

[Elon]

I feel bad for the people, it is a tragic loss of life. Yet sadly theres not much that can be done. Sure put your change in a tub next to the gas station cashier. But its not going to make much of a difference. Most donated money is lost in the movement of said resources.

[Aquasol]

Originally Posted by Elon

I feel bad for the people, it is a tragic loss of life. Yet sadly theres not much that can be done. Sure put your change in a tub next to the gas station cashier. But its not going to make much of a difference. Most donated money is lost in the movement of said resources.

But that's the intent, donate money to help get some of the equipment and materials down there. Haiti isn't North Korea, there's no expectation for the government to hoard all the money and starve off the populace.

[Atlas]

It definitely shocks the hell out of me whenever something this catastrophic occurs, but I admit that I do feel somewhat helpless when it comes to actually helping the affected individuals. I suppose I could donate.

[Elon]

What I'm saying is it will be rare if your donations actually make it to the populace of Haiti. Perhaps if you donated red cross, it would....

[charolastra00]

I donate to Doctors without Borders. The donations will ABSOLUTELY make it to the people through airlifts of more doctors and supplies. DWB has a respected history in Haiti specifically and while all of their hospitals and clinics in the Port au Prince area have been destroyed, they are THE medical force on the ground.

While Haiti's kleptocracy government takes quite a bit of the aid, they can't get to Doctors Without Borders. Not to mention at present, the government is in complete disarray with many key members dead or missing. They are not going to be able to skim off the top of much of the money going into the country- particularly money going in the form of doctors, medical supplies, food, and water.

[freeflow^]

Originally Posted by Elon

What I'm saying is it will be rare if your donations actually make it to the populace of Haiti. Perhaps if you donated red cross, it would....

That's simply not true. There's dozens of help organizations that are working solely for the benefit of Haitian people, bringing them medical aid (Doctors without Borders, UNICEF, Red Cross and many more). It's extremely easy to avoid corrupt companies, mainly because they don't last more than a year.

[Less Than Liz]

http://www.charitynavigator.org/

[Elon]

I don't trust any kind of corporate or organizations in the United States. I have seen them all fail in many third world countries in person. The majority of help will come from the United Nations and the military. There is no need to provide medical aid if they cannot bring food and water in. Save a mans life to let him starve to death.

The navy is surmounting a huge effort. And It is a moment I am glad that I'm a American, and my military is not fighting but helping. I spent a day on the USS Comfort when I was in Iraq. It is a amazing ship.

[Devil King]

It sucks to say the least, but I can't say that I was affected on a deep level. Stuff like that usually never does.

I wouldn't mind donating, however.

[charolastra00]

Originally Posted by Elon

I don't trust any kind of corporate or organizations in the United States. I have seen them all fail in many third world countries in person. The majority of help will come from the United Nations and the military. There is no need to provide medical aid if they cannot bring food and water in. Save a mans life to let him starve to death.

I have seen several truly help people in the third world - even worked with a few both domestically and abroad. To be fair, I have never worked on an issue as serious, devastating, and widespread as what is currently going on in Haiti. I want to make my career in development in Latin America in the Caribbean and I absolutely would not have those ambitions if I had not seen the results. The Clinton Foundation is one foundation I regard highly for their ongoing work in Haiti, for instance.

The World Bank is a completely different monster and I wish it would stay far, far away from Haiti as it is the root cause of many of the problems there.

Yes, there needs to be food and water in the country ASAP. However, this cannot be done until more roads are cleared. Airspace is precious and the port is destroyed, so much of the aid is going to need to come over from the DR- and those roads are rough even when not damaged by an earthquake. Many of the roads through Port-au-Prince are blocked but those are secondary priorities until the bodies are recovered. I do not know of the organizations specifically focusing on that issue- it's all a mess now. However, the nation will need continuing medical care long after the current crisis is over due to the completely decimated sanitation system. That will take months to get under control. Medical costs are some of the most expensive necessities at present which is why I focus on Doctors Without Borders.