BY JESSICA PALL &
MINDY PIERCE
Lions’ Pride Sports Editors

Courtesy of mirror.co.uk

Many homes were destroyed like this one, leaving the people with nothing left.

The New Year began with new hopes and resolutions, until an earthquake hitting Haiti produced overwhelming destruction, sorrow and confusion.

At 4:53 pm on Tuesday, January 13th , a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, the worst to hit the country in 200 years, ravaged the Caribbean country of Haiti. With a population of 7 million, the Haitian Red Cross estimated on Thursday, January 14th, that 45,000-50,000 people had died and 3 million more were hurt or left homeless.

News reports from the Washington Post and CNN stated people are laying dead everywhere, and further the amounted mass of rubble is overwhelming. The earthquake left none to mercy destroying small buildings including shacks in shanty-towns, President Rene Preval’s National Palace, hospitals, schools, and the main prison.

Looting began immediately, adding to the already hyped confusion surrounding this catastrophe.
People used wheel barrows to transport the dead and wounded and doors were transformed into stretchers for the same purpose. Police officers also turned their pickup trucks into ambulances for their rescue missions.

The Washington Post informed readers that the capital’s Roman Catholic Archbishop was killed, and the head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission was listed as missing among the fallen buildings.

3,000 police and international peacekeepers cleared debris, directed traffic and maintained security in the capital Wednesday but help was stretched thin. However, rescue specialists from the United States, Iceland, Britain, France, and China gathered together using tools ranging from jackhammers to dogs in their effort to rescue victims. Rescue attempts were first bestowed upon the city’s schools, hotels and hospitals before continuing on to private property.

“By sending over 10,0000 American soldiers, I feel that our country is taking responsibility in this moment of crisis,” Sophomore Allison Cary stated when asked what her thoughts were concerning this crisis. A Communication Management Major, Cary stated that her communications class discussed this issue and added, “It’s interesting that foreign countries are angry with us for not sending support over sooner.”

“Money is worth nothing right now”, a foreign aid worker told Reuters, “water is more important as it is vital for one’s survival” (http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com). A doctor’s assistant Jimitre Coquillon also suggested that this earthquake was worse than a hurricane because of the lack of water. “Without water” Coquillon commented, “the citizens will die” (http://www.npr.org).

Field hospitals, staffed with doctors from the organization Doctors without Borders and Cuba, were set up in order to treat the wounded.

With the poor conditions, some of the immediate health threats for Haitians and relief workers include respiratory disease from inhaling the massive amounts of loose dust created from the earthquake and diarrhea from drinking contaminated water.

There also is an increased risk of dengue fever, malaria, and measles, Kimberley Shoaf, associate director of the UCLA Center for Public Health and Disasters commented.

In a direct message to the citizens of Haiti, President Obama said, “This is one of those moments that calls out for American leadership—for the sake of our citizens who are in Haiti, for the sake of the Haitian people who have suffered so much, and for the sake of our common humanity—You will not be forsaken”(http://wap.cbsnews.com).

If students want to help in the aid of Haiti, there are a number of ways. Simply text Haiti to 90999 or Yele to 501501. This is a text that goes to the Red Cross and an automatic $10 will be added to one’s next phone bill.

By also visiting www.haitianeducationproject.net, students can learn more about the severity of what horrific events Haiti has been hit with and what they can do to help.