Haiti Earthquake

[chen yan]

Does brothers watch the news about Haiti earthquake?
It says there are 100,000 people die.That's a terriable disaster, It is the same amount like the Sichuan earthquake in 2008. God bless them! We really have to be grateful we are still alive.

[rockycoon]

actually Chen, CNN is reporting over 100,000 and more like 200,000.  It is sad, and I'm watching CNN right now and the help hasn't arrived yet, but the news reporters arrived this morning.  EX president clinton is there now, he is spokesperson for United Nations.  He is saying that help is on the way.  People are sleeping in the streets, the park and anywhere they can.  The president of Haiti was on tv 5 minutes ago, saying that he has no place to sleep and no home to go to.  When asked what he was going to do, he said he didn't know.  Now keep in mind that this is the president of Haiti that is homeless and doesn't know what to do.  This is sad!

[Willy The Londoner]

The Parks and streets away from buildings is the safest place to be in case of aftershocks.
  I was in a earthquake in London once. just 20 seconds and very minor but I just could not focus on what what happening - I cannot imagine what the people who go through that high a richter scale ranking for so long.

TV always get there first - sometimes they have crews standing by for such events and it takes then minutes to get on their way.  But the relief orgs have to get themself together first.  Nice to hear that the Chinese were the first on their way and the Chinese already have 200 UN peace keeping soldiers there.

Willy

[rockycoon]

Now that is somthing I didn't know, according to cnn, reporters were the first?  They have not said anything about the chinese. Go figure?:huh::huh::huh:

[ttwjr32]

to bad for all those people hopefully help will arrive soon
 they do have some un people there with search dogs looking

[Vince G]

I'm the closest to Haiti. There is a large population of haitians here as well (Little Haiti) so they have been having full coverage of it all day long. The aid is taking off in the morning they are loading up the planes in Homestead (air force base further south).

[maxx]

I read on MSN tonight that the U.S,China,And Germany were on there way with relief supplies and manpower to start helping with the clean up and the hunt for survivors.

[Vince G]

They are flying in many of the hurt that need hospitalization to Miami. There are already crews there helping. The place is a mess. Shoddy buildings to begin with didn't help. There's no regulation so they built homes on side of hills and mountains with no main supports.

[rockycoon]

There is a lady here that trains cadavor dogs up in the hills, I saw her at the post office yesterday and she told me she is sending 4 dogs there today.

[Voiceroveip]

Willy is right,

The French news mentioned that the Chinese relief planes got there first, search and rescue and medical teams according to the report. The French sent a couple of planes with mobile hospital and more search and rescue, all of Europe are getting their act together, at least the core countries.

The largest support group is being deployed by the US, not that this is a comptetition ... a US aircraft carrier will be there shortly and so will 2 French Navy ships.

I was in Haiti in 1979 (12 years old), a horrible experience to be honest,  slums everywhere, the smell of open air sewage, crowds of people living in cardbboard houses, so many people without jobs and really no money at all. That poor little country has been hit hard in the last 10 years, a too harsh dictator caused a rebellion, they've had bad damage due to hurricanes in 2008 and just got to the end of rebuilding what could be before the earthquake struck.

The more help they will get the better, the long years of humanitarian help have ony increased corruption and criminality, a French reporter said that the GDP of Haiti had increased by 3% last year, but 3% of not much is still not much. Maybe this would be an occasion to put the country under UN government, clean out the corrupt administration and rebuild and develop an economy, and bring them back to democracy in the next 20 years or even later. I can't be that hard, they are less than 10 million without national identity, no economy, little education except for their diaspora.

Those people have suffered too much already.

Enough ranting ...
Frank

[rockycoon]

Actually, the person who I admire during this whole affair is the president of Haiti.  There he was on TV, in a t-shirt and dirty baggie pants, covered with dust, didn't have a place to stay, didn't know where he would sleep that night, but was outside digging people out with his bare hands.  Now that's what I call a man of the people!!!
You wouldn't see any other president in a t-shirt helping out like that....
After I saw that, I had a lot of respect for that man.

[ttwjr32]

that was a good thing he was doing instead of being somewere
 safe and clean and fed he was there digging in with everyone else
 you do have to admire that.  the new huriicane seaso is coming up so lets all
 hope that they get passed by this year that would not be a good thing

[rockycoon]

I've got a weeklong snowstorm coming my way (Arizona) this next week,  will have to send that white stuff to Vince, I hear he likes it now.....:icon_cheesygrin:

[Willy The Londoner]

The Chinese news do not hold back anything when it comes to showing the dead bodies and the horrific injuries sustained by the dead.  In the UK the news is so sterile but here it certainly brings a new meaning to the suffering they went through and are still going through.

Trouble is another couple of days and it will be look after the living but in between we will see the miracles of a few people who have survived through the most horrific ordeal imaginable.

Offically the poorest country in the world where the majority of people had nothing of worth and what little they did have is now gone!

I think we should all give thanks for what we have.

Willy

[Vince G]

Willy, I always everyday give thanks for what I have.

They were showing rescuers going through a rubble when I noticed you can tell which ones were chinese... They had the bright red jumpsuits on with hard hat. Actually I thought it pretty good that they were there already. I wondered if they were part of the UN who were there before the quake?