Poverty at root of Haiti disaster

Reports from Haiti are never uplifting. The country makes the news only during times of civil unrest or natural disaster. One gets the sense that Haiti itself is a natural disaster. Countless countries, not counting the United Nations, have missions there ministering to the millions who cling to a living amidst the grinding poverty. Haiti has few natural or human resources. It is broken beyond repair.

That’s precisely why the earthquake was so devastating. In 1989 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Oakland and San Francisco. Sixty-three people died. The dead in Haiti, again from a 7.0 earthquake, could hit 50,000. Poverty is the difference between 63 and 50,000.

“How much more can those people take?” my sister asked rhetorically during an online chat last Wednesday.

“Whatever comes,” was my reaction, though I did not voice that thought. Haitians have no choice; they suffer through whatever life throws at them because there is no alternative.

I hope the United States will live up to President Obama’s promise of sweeping aid. We may be mired in the worst economy since the Great Depression, but it would be shameful if the richest nation in the world were not a leader in bringing relief to a poor and devastated nation on its doorstep. This, like the tsunami, is a disaster that begs for every possible resource that can be mustered, even though we know that no amount of aid will adequately relieve the suffering.

If it can be said there is a silver lining to this disaster it is that traditional adversaries — Cuba and China, for example — work side-by-side with us to help Haiti restore the basic necessities of food, water, sanitation, shelter and security. Compassion brings us together.

The devastation we see just a few hundred miles offshore is hardly unique; earthquakes, typhoons and tsunamis strike in China, India, Malaysia, Iran or other remote areas off the radar of our collective consciousness. The poorer the country, the higher the toll. Haiti is very poor. Its people had no chance.

The best we can do is to help one another when disaster strikes. Earth is a dangerous place, but more so in areas of extreme poverty. Still, while last week Haiti was ground zero, next time it may be Seattle, St. Louis, Lima or Mexico City.

Today Haiti is desperate for any assistance it can get. May our hearts and wallets be open to a country in grievous need.

Mark Beardsley is editor of The Commerce News. He lives in Commerce.