I feel so helpless against the recent destruction of much of Haiti by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, regarded as the most powerful one in the region for the last 200 years.
Being a recent victim of Typhoon Ondoy, I’m no longer a stranger to actually being caught in a disaster. We live in the Antipolo/Cainta area, one of the hardest hit by the typhoon. But even then, I can say what I went through was still better off than most people experienced. I still have a home. I’m still alive. There was nothing we lost that we couldn’t replace, nothing we couldn’t recover. No one I personally knew died, although many did lose something of value. I guess this makes me even more grateful to be alive.
But really, for one of the poorest countries in the world, how can you recover from an earthquake like this? As of today, and according to the headlines of the local newspaper, 500,000 people are feared dead.
Five hundred thousand.
The loss of one life is tragic. But the loss of five hundred thousand… it’s a catastrophe of the highest level.
Bodies are piling up on the streets, and they are being moved by the bulldozer. Local and foreign aid have already begun rescue efforts, but the magnitude of this event, I think, cannot and should not really be felt until Haiti can stand back up on its feet.
This is all probably sympathy and not empathy, and one may argue that writing about it solves nothing, and they are probably right. But even a moment of silence, a short prayer, or a kind thought is better than no thought at all.
God bless Haiti. God bless the world.
