Quake devastates the Western hemisphere's poorest country

January 14, 2010
Quake devastates the Western hemisphere’s poorest country

Victims of Haiti’s catastrophic earthquake spent their second day coping with the destruction.

Hundreds of thousands of people have neither water, sanitation nor electricity.

The Red Cross in Haiti estimates that as many as 50,000 people died in Tuesday’s quake, but many Haitian officials say the number could be twice as high.

Al Jazeera English’s Sebastian Walker reports from Port-au-Prince. [Some of the following images are very graphic].

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.

The country’s history beset with countless natural disasters and by almost interminable political and economic conflict.

International intervention has often been a mixed bag, and the nation 9 million people remain extremely vulnerable.

Avi Lewis of Al Jazeera English reports.

For more Worldfocus coverage of Haiti, visit our extended coverage page: Haiti’s Poor.

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Tags: aid efforts, Al Jazeera English, Avi Lewis, disaster relief, Haiti, Haiti's Poor, natural disaster, Port-au-Prince, Red Cross, Sebastian Walker

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3 comments

04/26/2010 :: 06:14:15 PM
Putting the “Hate” In Haiti « Says:

[...] diatribes, Haiti needs as much help as it can get as quickly as possible (Haiti was already the poorest country in the western hemisphere even before this [...]

01/17/2010 :: 08:50:59 PM
Secretary Says:

One of the poorest nation gets hit with an earthquack. The other poor nation could be USA since it is going thru a big problem of being in debit. To our ears and up. America has 20% unemployment of its working force. Were fighting two major wars against an enemy who is bent of blowing themselves up. We own China and other countries trillions. We have 20 million Americans that are illegal drug users. Major city gangs shoot school children at will and for fun. The list goes on and on.
Is it not nice to be able to help a country a country that is always on the edge of getting its act together. This diaster is just a another set back to its problem. It seems that the quack has done little damage to the countryside itself. It is the capital city that took the most damage. The real problem is that America can not just go into that country and take over. The UN is already there and would be in charge. The other problem is that to get food from the USA you need to fly it directly to Haiti. You need to fly over Cuba. Once there you need to land your aircraft, then get refueled (short supply) and return to the USA. It seems that current supply of food going into Haiti has found its way to the Blackmarket, that is fast. To give out food and water might be nice, but is little used if its being put on the blackmarket.

01/15/2010 :: 10:43:36 AM
J Scott Says:

How I See It !

AIR DROP ! AIR DROP !! AIR DROP !!! some basic food supplies, medicine, and water ! with a few troops to protect the pallets of IMMEDIATE supplies !! this should have been done YESTERDAY !!! in this way the people can better survive the four to five days of actually getting In Country with the bulk of humanitarian aid. That’s what our C-130’s are for !!! they don’t need roads !!! or ports !!! So WHAT’S THE PROBLEM ?!?

Second, How Come with the MANY news crews on site! None of them are Smart enough to take photos or short clips of the faces of the dead, for NO OTHER REASON !!!! then to provide a database documentation of family members who didn’t make it ! before the bodies get buried in mass graves or in a unmarked grave ! and bring some relief to the many, many families who just need to KNOW ! They are already there trying to make a Name for themselves ! with an exclusive story !! So how come they CAN’T Do the RIGHT Thing !!!

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