The January 12th earthquake in Haiti has been quite devastating. Only 135 have been pulled out alive from the rubble over a 2 week period. Thankfully, a 17 year old girl was found today. She is alive and expected to live. However, over 200,000+ lost their lives it is estimated.
The Haitian people are no strangers to effects of stress and poverty. They have been conquered by a foreign power, been victims of corruption down through the centuries and around 80% of the population live in poverty. Only about 50% of the population have regular jobs.
The devastation is great. Before it was estimated that there were approximately 400,000 orphans. Now that figure is around 1 million. And many of the people who have survived are dealing with amputation, sometimes multiple amputations. The long term effects of stress are beginning in earnest.
Government estimates say 5-10 years before Haiti can get rebuilt. With 80% of its population having always lived their lives in poverty, one wonders if Haiti will ever completely regain its footing. In fact, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
So far, food and medical aid was slow in coming due to who knows what. When a disaster occurs like this, time is of the essence. We don’t have the luxury of taking our time or wondering who is in charge when lives are at stake. My guess is that this is one of the more ineffective rescue attempts.
At any rate, the Haitian people have a long road of recovery ahead of them. The long term effects of stress are just really hitting their stride. It wouldn’t be surprising if many of the people wind up dealing with nightmares, panic attacks and post traumatic stress disorder. It will be interesting to see what the future holds and if the other countries of the world meet their goals of really helping the Haitian people.
In the meantime, we can add them to our prayers and make donations to reputable groups who will see to it that the Haitian people receive them.
Karen C Groves