Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Regarding the earthquake...

There was a terrible earthquake in Haiti yesterday. I am sure most of the world knows about it by now. Tremors were felt in my community, which is really not that far from the border. I am in the capital right now, but from what I can gather all of my friends and neigbors are fine. I appreciate the concern that has been shown.

We are still waiting to see if Peace Corps will be asked to play a role in responding to the disaster. I know that I, and other volunteers I've talked to, would be more than willing to roll up our sleeves and help. Many of us work with people who have emigrated from Haiti, so the pictures on the news are hitting pretty close to home.

If you are interested in helping out, I hear that the Red Cross is taking donations.

But please pray. There are a lot of people going to bed without roofs over their heads tonight.

2 comments:

April said...

Glad to know that you and your neighbors are okay. Was thinking of you after I heard about Haiti...

Jason said...

Hi Tim,

Much relieved to hear that you and your neighbors are OK & that the buildings in your community are still standing. I presume Kim is well too!?

I watch BBC World News most days at 5:30, and the scenes from Haiti were heartrending. The lack of heavy moving equipment, coupled with being on an island (it can't be trucked in), means that several thousand people are going to die horribly painful deaths. I was astonished to see the presidential palace's roof collapsed and the cathedral on fire - you'd think that if anything remained standing, those two buildings would.

I'm also disgusted at the collapse of the UN building and the failure of the UN to keep their employees safe. Ban Ki-moon has to go, the sooner the better! The UN is being overpowered by NGOs, on one side, and inter-governmental coalitions of powerful countries (G-20, OECD, etc.) on the other. With a SecGen who doesn't speak out and can't protect his staff, it's becoming a sad joke.

Pardon my rant - you're an old IR guy; I hope you're forgiving. I'm on Pumpkin duty tomorrow & Friday. Sometime in there (between walks), I'll give to Oxfam.

Looking forward to your safe return! Prayers, as always.
~ Jason

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