1.
Reading the various accounts on the Haitian
earthquake tragedy, the stories of individual Reading the various accounts on the Haitian earthquake tragedy,
the stories of individual tragedy had the greatest emotional impact, as
compared to the wide scale human catastrophe. As much as the numbers are huge,
it is hard to grasp the actual predicament of Haitians. It is easy to imagine
that people elsewhere in the world go through the same challenges and Haiti
case is only made special by the scale and that they will eventually get out,
like everybody else did. However, reading about the experiences of Haitians
stirs emotions and arouses the realization that these are real people who had a
normal life, but which was ruined by the tragedy. The reader identifies with
the hardship more easily when a background is provided, that is, the previous
life of the victim and the degree of change brought about by the tragedy. Also,
narrowing the report to an individual appeals to a person’s compassionate
nature, creating a notion that they might be able to do something about it,
unlike the wide scale reports which the audience feel are way out of their
hand.
2. To get a glimpse of the scale of a
catastrophe, several, rather than a single perspectives are required. The
scientific measurement of the magnitude of an earthquake or for any other
catastrophe makes little sense to a majority of people but a description of
what it could do can help create an impression of a catastrophe of the
described measurement. However, it is the information on the ground that
creates a clearer picture of the scale of any catastrophe. A combination of
close-up photographs, pictures photographed from the air and from satellites
and statistical figures helps a person to visualize the extent of damage to an
area. Narrations by individuals reflecting what the tragedy has done to them
highlights the implications on individuals which can enhance the statistics.
However, it is statistics that convey most of the information as opposed to
photographs and individual accounts of tragedy. Many people rely on pictures
but they cannot provide clear information especially if they cover a large
area. This information can be easily and accurately conveyed in form of
numbers.
3. People had different views of the reason
for the Haitian tragedy, some citing religion and others ignore the subject of
the cause altogether, focusing on the way forward. In my view, tragedies, both
natural and manmade occur everywhere and can hardly be prevented. However, the
preparedness of Haiti was very wanting, therefore the level of suffering was
very high. Lacking a proper building code, there was hardly a structure that
could withstand the quake. Again, all Haitians depended on a single source of
aid, the UN whose premises were destroyed and a great number of employees
killed. Had they been better prepared and diversified their sources of aid, the
level of suffering and destruction would have been lower.
The
world took a humanitarian approach to the events in Haiti. They therefore had a
responsibility, as fellow humans to the Haiti population to extend aid and
alleviate the suffering of Haitians.
4. The Haitian earthquake caused a great deal
of destruction to structures and life. It is not only informal structures such
as slums that were destroyed but also other buildings that would be expected to
be of far superior quality such as the presidential palace and UN building.
However, building codes are not observed in Haiti, partly because of economic
constraints. This massive destruction of buildings took a toll on human life,
killing thousands. This figure is very high, compared to 63 who died and the
few buildings that were damaged in the San Francisco Bay Area, due to an
earthquake of similar magnitude.
Haiti
is unsafe mainly due to poverty. The first step in enhancing safety would be
empowering the country financially. With a higher income and more transparent
government, Haiti would institute building codes to ensure safety of buildings.
This will only be achieved by allocating Haiti a role in the global economy.
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