I have read that one of the reasons this is so devastating is because, as an Island, there is really nowhere to flee to that has not been pretty well destroyed. I am so thankful to be privileged enough to live in a country with decent emergency/disaster response teams. My mom, Grandma and I made our donations today.
Naked except for a cigarette, you let your mind drift and forget your disbelief. Feel the chill down your back and the flutter of wings through dandelion fields, and forget the pull of gravity in a night without stars.
I lack eloquence and commitment to my arguments. They are half baked, and I will begin passionately, and then abandon them.
As much as I would agree that it is important to help now in this moment of crisis. This is a state that is perpetually in a state of crisis and ignoring what leads to this situation will just leave Haiti back in the terrible state it was in prior to the earthquake and we have all moved on to the next hot news topic.Originally Posted by Scheherazade
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Something beyond spontaneous charity needs to be done to help fix this country, and when all the world has its eyes on Haiti is the perfect time to talk about it.
I'll leave it at that though.
Last edited by Scheherazade; 01-15-2010 at 04:08 AM. Reason: No politics!
"If the national mental illness of the United States is megalomania, that of Canada is paranoid schizophrenia."
- Margaret Atwood
Haiti lies on a fault line that has been dormant for over 200 years. This quake is so severe because the ground shaking occurred close to the surface.
Adding to the horror is the rise of gangs with machetes ruling the streets.
There are other victims as well but they're often overlooked — cats, dogs, livestock. I haven't seen one image/footage of an animal, or anyone even mentioning it.
"But do you really, seriously, Major Scobie," Dr. Sykes asked, "believe in hell?"
"In flames and torment?""Oh, yes, I do."
"That sort of hell wouldn't worry me," Fellowes said."Perhaps not quite that. They tell us it may be a permanent sense of loss."
"Perhaps you've never lost anything of importance," Scobie said.
This comment is so rhetorical. I am more interested in humans. And animals might have had a better chance to be outdoors maybe. And I don't think one should go look for footage of every ant that has died. I haven't seen a footage of every single one of the people who died there, but one is more than enough to know that it's a mess there.
dead on the inside, i've got nothing to prove
keep me alive and give me something to lose
I meant what I said. There are people who truly care about animals.
"But do you really, seriously, Major Scobie," Dr. Sykes asked, "believe in hell?"
"In flames and torment?""Oh, yes, I do."
"That sort of hell wouldn't worry me," Fellowes said."Perhaps not quite that. They tell us it may be a permanent sense of loss."
"Perhaps you've never lost anything of importance," Scobie said.
No, it's a good point. The only thing is that Haitians are so poor they can't keep pets, and so most of the animals would be outside; and being outside means they're safer. I agree with what you said, except that from what I understand there wouldn't have been nearly as much suffering of animals.
Thanks Nikolai. Animal lives are precious too. It bothers me if no one goes looking for them. Your explanation is comforting and I hope most of them are safe being that they're mostly outside.
I too, am under the impression that there's probably not much in that country in terms of material presence or pet population to report other than human casualties. During the Katrina disaster, there was coverage of everything: from people to homes to pets that were left behind.
Anyone who's interested in animal welfare, here's some donation information.
http://www.bestfriends.org/
https://www.bestfriends.org/donate/give.cfm?tc=WDGENA
Best Friends probably has the largest organized animal rescue first response team there is. They arrived in New Orleans within days of Katrina. They airlifted dogs and cats from war torn Lebanon, they also rescued Michael Vick's fight dogs and rehabilitated them. The show Dogtown on the National Geographic channel is about them. Through Friday they still received no information of the pet situation on the island.
"But do you really, seriously, Major Scobie," Dr. Sykes asked, "believe in hell?"
"In flames and torment?""Oh, yes, I do."
"That sort of hell wouldn't worry me," Fellowes said."Perhaps not quite that. They tell us it may be a permanent sense of loss."
"Perhaps you've never lost anything of importance," Scobie said.
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