Tragedy after tragedy in Haiti
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Maswood Alam Khan
WE Bangladeshis have not witnessed what an earthquake is like; so it is not really possible for us to visualise the horrific scenes of bedlam and pandemonium that ensue an earthquake. But those who ever witnessed a fire breaking out and consuming life and properties can to an extent picture the apocalypse of an earthquake and empathise with the victims.
In the event of an earthquake heavy casualties are mainly suffered by those who fail to take a shelter that could protect them from falling debris, those who cannot escape fire, and those unfortunate who are pinned down in wreckage.
When we hear about an earthquake in Indonesia, Peru or Turkey we feel terribly shocked and the sad news gives us the creeps; we wonder what would happen to us if a similar earthquake ever hits our city; we question what will happen to those in the old part of Dhaka city where buildings are rickety and hundred years old and the lanes lining the congested houses are too narrow for even two rickshaws to bypass each other.
On Tuesday, Haiti was hit by an earthquake of magnitude 7 which devastated Port-au-Prince, its capital city, with large numbers of structures damaged or destroyed. Perhaps more than 100,000 Haitians have been killed, though there is no confirmed death toll declared as yet. Haiti, with a history of violence, instability and dictatorship, is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Most Haitians live on less than $2.0 a day.
The epicentre of the earthquake was only 15 km from the capital and the focus (depth) was just 8.0 km. The earthquake is thought to be the strongest earthquake on Haiti in more than two centuries.
As was reported by BBC, the destructions and casualties would be high because Haiti is an impoverished country with little recent experience or preparedness for such a major catastrophe of this kind. An earthquake of similar magnitude, the report further said, would not wreak much of havoc in a developed country where planners take special care while designing a structure in quake zones by erecting buildings on what the engineers call "damping systems" that allow structures to ride out tremors.
The Red Cross says up to three million people have been affected. Describing the earthquake as a "catastrophe", Haiti's envoy to the US said the cost of the damage could run into billions of dollars. A number of nations, including the US, the UK and Venezuela, are gearing up to send aid. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the UN HQ in Port-au-Prince had collapsed "and it would appear that all those who were in the building, including UN mission head Hedi Annabi and all those who were with him and around him are dead".
The Presidential Palace in Port-au-Prince lied in ruins. The parliament building and the ministries of finance, justice, labour, culture and communications were seriously damaged. Only one hospital is functioning in the capital. The country's main prison in the capital was also totally destroyed and an unknown number of inmates escaped.
Speaking on Wednesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon confirmed that the Tunisian head of the UN mission in Haiti and his deputy were missing, along with many other UN workers. He said hundreds of people were feared dead and aerial reconnaissance showed Port au Prince had been "devastated" by the quake. Stressing a major international relief effort would be needed, Mr Ban said the UN would immediately release $10m (£6.15m) from its emergency response fund.
China has already indicated in reports in state media that eight of its peacekeepers are dead, with another 10 unaccounted for. US President Barack Obama said his "thoughts and prayers" were with the people of Haiti and that he expected "an aggressive, coordinated aid effort by the US government".
The Red Cross is dispatching a relief team from Geneva and the UN's World Food Program is flying in two planes with emergency food aid. The Inter-American Development Bank said it was immediately approving a $200,000 grant for emergency aid.
The UK said it was mobilising help and was "ready to provide whatever humanitarian assistance may be required". Canada, Australia, France and a number of Latin American nations have also said they are mobilising their aid response. Pope Benedict XVI has called for a generous response to the "tragic situation" in Haiti.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev earlier on Wednesday sent his condolences to his Haitian counterpart Rene Preval over the devastating earthquake. Russia is preparing to send disaster relief to quake-struck Haiti, including a mobile air hospital.
The European Union has allocated 3.0 million euros ($4.3 million) in aid, and US President Barack Obama gave orders to assist the Caribbean nation. The State Department, US Agency for International Development and US Southern Command has started to coordinate and estimate the volume of food supplies.
Tuesday's tragedy is not the first or a rare tragedy that has stricken the impoverished nation. Haitians have suffered a number of recent disasters, including four hurricanes and storms in 2008 that killed hundreds.
Haiti's history is a tale of misery and tragedy. The United States invaded Haiti in 1915 and occupied the country till 1935. The U.S. invasion on July 28, 1915 came in the wake of President Woodrow Wilson's professed commitment to make the world safe for democracy. However, as soon as the American Marines landed in Haiti, Wilson's administration remapped the country into police departments, shut down the press, installed a lame-duck government, rewrote the constitution to give foreigners land-owning rights and took charge of Haiti's banks and customs and instituted a system of compulsory labour for poor Haitians. Those who resisted the occupation were crushed. By the end of the occupation, more than 15,000 Haitians had lost their lives.
Haiti also suffered throughout its history from political turmoil and misrule. When 'Baby Doc' Duvalier was forced from power in 1986, it seemed as though the country might finally enjoy a period of democratic rule. But, thereafter, as has happened so often in Haiti's past, one fresh hope after another had been extinguished. The democratic experience was cut short many a time and several thousand Haitians became victims of one new regime after another.
As I was watching the footages of destructions, deaths, mutilations, wails, and howls of the Haitians after the deadly earthquake struck their capital city, I smiled to wonder why God at times should become so unkind to shower curses after curses on some people for no fault of their own.
Scenes of the tragedy, however horrific, could not wipe that smile off my face. When you are heavily struck by a shock or a misfortune it is much easier to laugh than to cry -- a peculiar facial reflex you cannot really control, something that you and I do without thinking.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., one of the best American writers of the 19th century, who was basically a physician, wrote in "Poet at the Breakfast Table": "There are a good many real miseries in life that we cannot help smiling at, but they are the smiles that make wrinkles and not dimples".
(Maswood Alam Khan is Editorial Consultant of The Financial Express. His e-address: maswood@hotmail.com)
WE Bangladeshis have not witnessed what an earthquake is like; so it is not really possible for us to visualise the horrific scenes of bedlam and pandemonium that ensue an earthquake. But those who ever witnessed a fire breaking out and consuming life and properties can to an extent picture the apocalypse of an earthquake and empathise with the victims.
In the event of an earthquake heavy casualties are mainly suffered by those who fail to take a shelter that could protect them from falling debris, those who cannot escape fire, and those unfortunate who are pinned down in wreckage.
When we hear about an earthquake in Indonesia, Peru or Turkey we feel terribly shocked and the sad news gives us the creeps; we wonder what would happen to us if a similar earthquake ever hits our city; we question what will happen to those in the old part of Dhaka city where buildings are rickety and hundred years old and the lanes lining the congested houses are too narrow for even two rickshaws to bypass each other.
On Tuesday, Haiti was hit by an earthquake of magnitude 7 which devastated Port-au-Prince, its capital city, with large numbers of structures damaged or destroyed. Perhaps more than 100,000 Haitians have been killed, though there is no confirmed death toll declared as yet. Haiti, with a history of violence, instability and dictatorship, is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Most Haitians live on less than $2.0 a day.
The epicentre of the earthquake was only 15 km from the capital and the focus (depth) was just 8.0 km. The earthquake is thought to be the strongest earthquake on Haiti in more than two centuries.
As was reported by BBC, the destructions and casualties would be high because Haiti is an impoverished country with little recent experience or preparedness for such a major catastrophe of this kind. An earthquake of similar magnitude, the report further said, would not wreak much of havoc in a developed country where planners take special care while designing a structure in quake zones by erecting buildings on what the engineers call "damping systems" that allow structures to ride out tremors.
The Red Cross says up to three million people have been affected. Describing the earthquake as a "catastrophe", Haiti's envoy to the US said the cost of the damage could run into billions of dollars. A number of nations, including the US, the UK and Venezuela, are gearing up to send aid. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the UN HQ in Port-au-Prince had collapsed "and it would appear that all those who were in the building, including UN mission head Hedi Annabi and all those who were with him and around him are dead".
The Presidential Palace in Port-au-Prince lied in ruins. The parliament building and the ministries of finance, justice, labour, culture and communications were seriously damaged. Only one hospital is functioning in the capital. The country's main prison in the capital was also totally destroyed and an unknown number of inmates escaped.
Speaking on Wednesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon confirmed that the Tunisian head of the UN mission in Haiti and his deputy were missing, along with many other UN workers. He said hundreds of people were feared dead and aerial reconnaissance showed Port au Prince had been "devastated" by the quake. Stressing a major international relief effort would be needed, Mr Ban said the UN would immediately release $10m (£6.15m) from its emergency response fund.
China has already indicated in reports in state media that eight of its peacekeepers are dead, with another 10 unaccounted for. US President Barack Obama said his "thoughts and prayers" were with the people of Haiti and that he expected "an aggressive, coordinated aid effort by the US government".
The Red Cross is dispatching a relief team from Geneva and the UN's World Food Program is flying in two planes with emergency food aid. The Inter-American Development Bank said it was immediately approving a $200,000 grant for emergency aid.
The UK said it was mobilising help and was "ready to provide whatever humanitarian assistance may be required". Canada, Australia, France and a number of Latin American nations have also said they are mobilising their aid response. Pope Benedict XVI has called for a generous response to the "tragic situation" in Haiti.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev earlier on Wednesday sent his condolences to his Haitian counterpart Rene Preval over the devastating earthquake. Russia is preparing to send disaster relief to quake-struck Haiti, including a mobile air hospital.
The European Union has allocated 3.0 million euros ($4.3 million) in aid, and US President Barack Obama gave orders to assist the Caribbean nation. The State Department, US Agency for International Development and US Southern Command has started to coordinate and estimate the volume of food supplies.
Tuesday's tragedy is not the first or a rare tragedy that has stricken the impoverished nation. Haitians have suffered a number of recent disasters, including four hurricanes and storms in 2008 that killed hundreds.
Haiti's history is a tale of misery and tragedy. The United States invaded Haiti in 1915 and occupied the country till 1935. The U.S. invasion on July 28, 1915 came in the wake of President Woodrow Wilson's professed commitment to make the world safe for democracy. However, as soon as the American Marines landed in Haiti, Wilson's administration remapped the country into police departments, shut down the press, installed a lame-duck government, rewrote the constitution to give foreigners land-owning rights and took charge of Haiti's banks and customs and instituted a system of compulsory labour for poor Haitians. Those who resisted the occupation were crushed. By the end of the occupation, more than 15,000 Haitians had lost their lives.
Haiti also suffered throughout its history from political turmoil and misrule. When 'Baby Doc' Duvalier was forced from power in 1986, it seemed as though the country might finally enjoy a period of democratic rule. But, thereafter, as has happened so often in Haiti's past, one fresh hope after another had been extinguished. The democratic experience was cut short many a time and several thousand Haitians became victims of one new regime after another.
As I was watching the footages of destructions, deaths, mutilations, wails, and howls of the Haitians after the deadly earthquake struck their capital city, I smiled to wonder why God at times should become so unkind to shower curses after curses on some people for no fault of their own.
Scenes of the tragedy, however horrific, could not wipe that smile off my face. When you are heavily struck by a shock or a misfortune it is much easier to laugh than to cry -- a peculiar facial reflex you cannot really control, something that you and I do without thinking.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., one of the best American writers of the 19th century, who was basically a physician, wrote in "Poet at the Breakfast Table": "There are a good many real miseries in life that we cannot help smiling at, but they are the smiles that make wrinkles and not dimples".
(Maswood Alam Khan is Editorial Consultant of The Financial Express. His e-address: maswood@hotmail.com)