Regarding the aid/supplies; what they were saying last night is during the first 72 hours they were more focused on getting the rescue crews, doctors and medical facilities in to find the missing while they are still alive, treat the wounded so they don't die while waiting for medical care and start to find a place for the bodies to stave off an epidemic and also get heavy machinery on the ground to start clearing the roadways so the envoys can get through. They are saying this morning that Port Au Prince is becoming enveloped in the god awful smell of thousands of bodies which have been lying in the tropical sun for going on three days. So, so sad.
I think the whole world has reacted very fast. It is impressive that within 24 hours rescue crews and relief orgs were already on the ground and within 48 hours tons and tons and tons of supplies are landing. Think about the time it takes to collect, load up and ship all those materials and people. And like Swag said and I think for us it is a little hard to comprehend but Haiti presents a ligistical nightmare because they had no infastructure to begin with and now what little they had is completely destroyed. The envoys are having a hell of a time trying to get where they need to go because the roads are destroyed and Haiti has no heavy machinery to clear them. The port is destroyed and they are having a hard time getting the supplies off the boats. The airport which is accustomed to handling about 20 flights a day is completely jammed packed and planes cannot land because there is no room. The whole thing is a mess but certainly not for a lack of people wanting to help but because the region has just been destroyed. I don't think the images we see on the news are able to portray the extent of the devestation and I think all the people who are there trying to help knew it was really bad but from what I have heard in interviews nothing could have prepared them for what they are seeing.
I think dropping supplies in theory sounds good but I think it reality it would cause complete and utter chaos, riots, people killing eachother to get what they can.
I saw so many images on the news last night that just touched my heart. The videos of just normal Haitian citizens, who have lost everything themselves, digging through rubble with their bare hands for hours trying to save a trapped stranger and refusing to give up until they do. One group who had been trying to save a trapped man had been at it for over 26 hours with no tools and they finally got him out and of course the 11 yr old girl who was trapped was saved because people walking past heard her cries for help. I cannot even think about all the people who are still there, trapped, alive, unable to move who will not be found in time.
In a bit of good news, last night they said that the Red Cross campaign to get donations through texting has been a huge success with over 5 million raised - and that was yesterday. I am sure that number has grown. That is just one organization too so combine that with all the other places people have been giving money too and we are talking about hundreds of million of dollars Americans have given to help the Haitians. I think that is awesome.
), but I just watched a story about a teen girl, beautiful, with black glasses still on her face, one leg caught under a what looks like a slab of concrete, otherwise the rest of her is free. They were deciding whether to cut off her leg, and the terror on her face I will not forget soon.
