IN spite of the positive response to deliver aid to the desperate people of Haiti, efforts must be stepped up to save survivors from disease and starvation.
The task that confronts Haiti and, indeed, the world is very daunting because three quarters of the capital, Port-au-Prince, will have to be rebuilt.
The devastation caused by last Tuesday’s earthquake has reduced the city, with a population of two million, to the situation where its resources can take care of only a few thousands of people.
The UN has described the humanitarian tragedy as the worst it has ever confronted, while the United States of America (USA) has launched its biggest relief effort in history.
While the world expresses grief over the Haitian quake that affected nearly three million people and has been described as “apocalyptic”, President Barrack Obama launched a nation-wide drive to raise money to aid survivors.
Flanked by his predecessors, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, President Obama said his predecessors “will help the American people to do their part because responding to disaster is the work of all of us”.
The Clinton/Bush Haiti Fund echoes a similar bipartisan effort in 2004 after a massive earthquake caused a huge tsunami in South Asia and killed 226,000.
The gesture by Obama sends clear signals to the world, especially fledgling democracies, that disasters or national reconstruction efforts have no partisan colours. It is a reminder to our governments to engage our past leaders in the development process.
The DAILY GRAPHIC can vouch that public response to the appeal launched by President Obama will be overwhelming, simply because the move manifests the diversity of the American public.
Conditions in Haiti are not different from the circumstances in most development countries, but the situation has been compounded by the earthquake.
Despite our economic circumstances, Ghanaians can also join the global effort at helping Haiti to reconstruct its country.
We commend the efforts so far by the international community to get aid to the survivors because it is not possible to extend food, water and medical supplies to all, including those in places that are inaccessible.
The DAILY GRAPHIC simply asks for the doubling of efforts to save the situation and also address the security concerns that have emerged, especially reports of looting in Port-au-Prince.
It is heartbreaking to observe rescuers foraging through the rubble with bare hands to save people trapped by collapsed buildings. This development requires that the world delivers on its promises so that rescuers can have heavy equipment to save those under the debris.
Our people say, “Se egya to wo yonko abodwese mu a, sa nsuo si wo dee ho”; to wit, “If your neighbour’s beard catches fire, get a bucket of water by yours”.
This requires that as a nation we develop early warning signs to put our house in order.
We have experienced earth tremors in the past, the more serious one being the earthquake of 1938 when some houses were destroyed.
That experience means that we have a few earthquake zones in the country, but there is very little we can do to prevent a natural disaster such as an earthquake.
Nonetheless, the DAILY GRAPHIC believes that there are certain steps that we can take to reduce the pain of devastation during natural disasters. A stitch in time, they say, saves nine.
Meanwhile, our heartfelt condolences go to the people and the government of Haiti and we appeal to the international community to step up aid to that country.
No comments:
Post a Comment