In the aftermath of the massive earthquake that shook Haiti one year ago today, improvements have been made to help people’s day to day existence, but there is still an immeasurable amount of work that must be done to fix what was in rubble well before the quake - the Haitian state. What rumbled the earth on January 12, 2010, was really the “straw that broke the camel’s back,” in terms of exposing (in the worlds collective living room) what a failed state actually looks like. It has been said that Haiti is “the nation of NGO’s,” and the foreign aid, while generous, has taken some serious criticism. Handouts are common place and while necessary for some, the dependency on aid hasn’t done much in the way of inspiring new generations to take initiative to become self sufficient. Investment in industry is the key to helping Haiti help themselves. Work follows investment and jobs are of key importance to the nation’s future.
President Clinton and President Bush have created the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund to help create an environment for dynamic, sustained economic growth by “putting people back to work.” The idea is to empower locals with the tools they need to improve their lives and overcome poverty.
Anniversaries provide perfect opportunities to remember and reflect on events that are still very much an inescapable reality for many, despite perhaps having faded from your local headline news.
Dr Farmer's 5 Lessons from Haiti's Disaster:
- Jobs are everything
- Don't starve the government
- Give them something to go home to
- Waste not, want not
- Relief is the easy part
USGS estimates that several million earthquakes occur in the world each year. Many go undetected because they hit remote areas or have very small magnitudes. The NEIC now locates about 50 earthquakes each day, or about 20,000 a year.
One page Red Cross checklist explains how to prepare for an earthquake, what to do when shaking begins, and what to do after shaking stops. CHECKLIST