There can be no greater feeling of helplessness than watching a disaster unfold from position that renders it impossible to help. Such have the last few days been for many who have watched the people of Haiti deal with a catastrophic earthquake from the distant and sometime guilty comfort of their television sets.
For Haiti the clock is ticking, the actions taken in the first two weeks after such an event can reduce the overall death toll by a huge amount. The greatest killers in these situations are the diseases which can spread incredibly quickly where mass concentrations of people gather without sanitation, medicine, shelter or food. In 1994 in Ngara, Tanzania, where the exodus of refugees from Rwanda first gathered, some estimates put the daily death toll at a little short of ten thousand. But perhaps more startling is the fact that this number had decreased to a little as ten a day within a couple of weeks. It is astounding what medicine, sanitation and shelter can do in such a short time if properly administered.
In Haiti there is a huge amount of Aid being delivered through a port and airport not equipped to deal with even a tiny proportion of the traffic is is seeing now. The Militiary have already set up a full communication infrastructure and developed a coordinated system of planning and implementing everything from search and rescue activities to medical treatment centres and food distribution plans.
The initial phase of activity is intense with huge amounts of resources and a ‘save life at any cost attitude’. As the first few weeks go by the problems become more complicated as politics, corruption and security issues become more concerning. How many saw the images of a presidential palace in near ruins following the earthquake and wondered how such an opulent building could be justified amongst such impoverished neighbours. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to be rebuilt and just who pays for it!
The disaster response to Haiti has been tremendous and huge number of yachties have been involved gathering supplies and organising their despatch to Haiti. I has been great to see such efforts but there is still that never ending feeling of helplessness many seem to be experiencing. Wondering just what they can physically do to make a difference and there is something that we can all do. It is very simple and we are all capable of it, it cost little but it is vital. You see in a few short weeks and months the news will have another focus and our attention will be diverted elsewhere perhaps an Oscar upset or perhaps a new war. Very soon after donations will slow and relief will become development and in a few short months Haiti may just become a shocking memory. So it is most important not to forget. There is nothing the aid agencies fear more than donor fatigue and being forgotten it makes operations incredibly difficult.
Whatever we are doing now in the way of gathering donations and supplies we should keep doing it and perhaps this should be the theme of fundraising for the boatshow party season this year. It is vital not to forget what has happened in Haiti not in a few weeks or months. We may forget the recent property crash, no Haitian ever will.