Editorial

Beyond Haiti

1/24/2010

While the situation in Haiti demands relief at the present, would-be supporters must use Haiti as the example rather than the singular success in the process of delivering natural disaster aid.

For all the biblical tales of good Samaritans and the golden rules of childhood, identifying and delivering aid to world nations continues to be a selfish and selective process.

Natural disasters occur every day in varying intensities and affect every country on the planet. However, only a handful of these, which are especially devastating or timely, garner widespread attention and relief.

When the world learned of the earthquake in Haiti and the destruction it wreaked across the impoverished island nation, all manner of government, nonprofit and individual relief outfits rushed to aid victims of the devastation.

International relief efforts during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which struck 14 countries and is considered one of the deadliest natural disasters in history, were noticeably less.

In the case of the 2004 earthquake, the paperwork wasn't waived for U.S. parents to immediately adopt children orphaned by the disaster and a text did not donate $10 to relief organizations.

The media covered the initial destruction with zeal but barely blinked when rebuilding efforts began and additional aid was sought.

The intensity and immediacy of aid for Haiti is commendable but only significant if it is illustrative of improvement in the organization of disaster relief and support for such efforts worldwide.

The speed and efficiency of relief efforts in the days following Haiti's earthquake have long surpassed the progress made along America's Gulf Coast in the weeks following Hurricane Katrina.

Yet, for all the benefit concerts, text donations and on-the-ground support, people should not view Haiti a one-time service project. Every year hundreds of nations around the world suffer some form of devastation by natural disaster. Less than a dozen receive media attention and only one or two are lucky enough to receive any significant aid.

Were another 7.0-earthquake or tsunami to hit some Asian-Pacific nation tomorrow, would relief efforts there be comparable to those currently in Haiti? Probably not, but there will be another disaster of similar or greater severity and the need for widespread, organized aid will arise again.

To continue to grow and progress as a global community, the response to Haiti must serve as an example for future relief efforts rather than a one-time success.

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