Shoutbox » Haiti revealed

Haiti's earthquake has brought the impoverished nation to the forefront of our consciences. But really it should have been there a long time ago.

Devastated by politics, a weak economy and an unfortunate succession of hurricanes, Haiti has long stood out in the Americas as a beacon of despair. That so many countries, companies and individuals are now donating money and supplies is admirable but more could have been done to prevent such widescale death and devastation.

There is no such thing as a 'natural disaster' - individuals' and countries' vulnerability to natural phenomena is politically made, not naturally. Unlike Guatemala's 'class-quake' in 1976 in which the poor were disproportionately hit by an earthquake as they were the ones living in poorly built shanty towns and on hillsides, Haiti's quake affected rich and poor nearly equally - even the presidential palace was destroyed. But Haiti's earthquake is still a class-quake - of international proportions. Forgotten or ignored by most, it is only now that its neglect is, tragically, becoming clear.

The Onion (an American parody online newspaper) has published a brilliant article this week on Haiti. Topical and funny, it has such gems as:

"Of course, there have been rumours in the past about a long-forgotten Caribbean nation whose people struggle every day to survive, live in constant fear of a corrupt government, and endure such squalor and hunger that they have resorted to eating dirt. But never did we give them much thought."

And

"They must have had no way of communicating with the outside world, because had we known about these Haitians, we would have done everything in our power to help them" US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said "Of that I have no doubt."

Sadly this article hits a little too close to home!

Posted By Rachel Schofield on Thursday 28th January 2010 a 10:23am

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