Hope For Haiti!!!

The scenes of desperation and distress coming from Haiti these past ten days have been overwhelmingly heart-rending and gut-wrenching. After the monstrous 7.1 on the Richter scale earthquake to hit this impoverished island nation, it has been too horrible to comprehend the enormity of the devastation that has left 90% of the people in and around Port-au-Prince homeless. Entire villages have been decimated, only 50% of the buildings are left standing, and the dazed survivors have no time left to mourn their loved ones. Government sources state that an estimated 111,000 plus people who were killed in this apocalyptic quake have been buried in mass graves so far, and noone honestly knows how many thousands more still remain under the collapsed, mangled mountains of debris. After ten days of search and rescue, the government has officially halted those missions and is now focusing on rehabilitating the survivors. Yet, defying all odds, nearly 132 survivors have been pulled out of the rubble so far, the most recent ones being an 88 year old woman and a 22 year old man who were discovered and pulled out on the 10th day yesterday.

Death the Leveller has been quite impartial in Haiti with regard to age, gender, class, or whatever. From the President to the common man to the escaped convict, all are on the streets right now, which brings me to question the meaning and purpose of life and why there has to be so much suffering in the world. Answers to these we will never know. However, needless to say, more than just witnessing the death and destruction and desperation in Haiti as shown on TV, the unaffected in the rest of the world are morally linked to the survivors left behind in Haiti and it is our greatest responsibility to reach out to our fellow human beings in distress. The Hope for Haiti telethons, both in the US and Canada, have raised millions of dollars from the public to rebuild Haiti, and with governments pitching in, celebrities putting their money where their mouth is, and altruism running high in the rest of the world, hope is not lost for Haiti!

Humankind has always been known for its resilience and determination, and it is my firm conviction that Haiti will rise from the ashes with all the overwhelming global support it's receiving right now. Each one of us needs to do our part, however little it might be, and realize that the rehabilitation of Haiti is not a one time thing, but a prolonged endeavor for months and years to come. We lead increasingly narcissistic and exhibitionist lives in today's world, but here is the chance for all of us to transcend the pettiness of our self-absorbed lives and be proactive in rebuilding Haiti. One knows not how many more apocalyptic events are to unfold on our planet yet, but as long as we rally round and reach out to those fellow human beings in distress, there is plenty of hope yet for the world and humanity in general!