Suffering in Haiti

Friday, Jan. 15, 2010 | 2:06 a.m.

The full extent of the damage and death in Haiti won’t be known for days. The rescue crew responding to the 7.0 earthquake that leveled the capital city of Port-au-Prince is still trying to get in — the country’s infrastructure, which was subpar to begin with — has crumbled. News and images from the country are horrific.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, doesn’t have the infrastructure or the building standards that we are used to, as the damage shows. Port-au-Prince’s major landmarks, including the presidential palace, the parliament and the national cathedral, are in ruins. The United Nations’ mission collapsed. Thousands of people are missing, and the Haitian Red Cross estimated Thursday that there could be 50,000 dead, although some officials suggest the number could be significantly higher. The Roman Catholic archbishop is dead, and the U.N.’s top official in Haiti and dozens of U.N. peacekeepers, who have provided security in the country, are among those missing and feared dead.

Search-and-rescue efforts have been hampered by the damage and the fact that many of the country’s emergency personnel are missing. Hospitals are badly damaged and unable to handle the injured. The relief effort has been frustrated because the roads are battered and clogged with debris, slowing attempts to distribute aid. Getting into the country has been difficult because the port is closed because of damage and the airport is overwhelmed. There is a dire need for food and clean water, not to mention places for people to sleep.

The United States’ quick response, along with efforts by the international community, are commendable, but the problems are daunting and will be for some time. It will take an international effort to ease the suffering and rebuild the country.

Sadly, some Americans don’t seem to see this as the human catastrophe it is. The juxtaposition between two of the cable news networks couldn’t be clearer. For example, while CNN was airing heartbreaking footage of the rescue attempts of a girl trapped in the rubble of a building Thursday, the Fox News Channel was busy criticizing President Barack Obama and his domestic policy.

On Wednesday night, Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly said, “Some conservative commentators pointed out it took President Obama three days to talk about the Christmas Day terror incident but just hours to address the disaster in Haiti.”

That is ridiculous. Obama was on top of the terror incident, in which no one was hurt. The situation in Haiti involves tens of thousands of people who are missing, an unknown number of injured and hundreds of thousands suffering.

O’Reilly went on to ask the question, “How much should the world do to save Haiti?” Although he said it was “appropriate” for Obama “to address Haiti quickly,” O’Reilly bemoaned corruption in Haiti and said that “no matter how much charity is given, no matter how many good intentions there are, Haiti will remain chaotic until discipline is imposed.”

Should we wait until there is “discipline” in the country — whatever that means — before helping? Should we let people who are trapped under rubble die or let the living starve to death? Perhaps we should wait for the country to pull itself up by its nonexistent bootstraps?

People’s lives are at stake, and they need help now. Our nation is close and has the resources and know-how to deal with the disaster. The United States has a responsibility to come to Haiti’s aid. Our nation should do all it can to help to ease the crisis, and it should be committed to helping rebuild the country and putting Haiti back on its feet.