As China suffered so terribly in 2008, and Indonesia last year, Haiti is suffering right now.
Tuesday's shallow 7.0-earthquake has devastated Port-au-Prince and nearly destroyed the civil infrastructure of a nation that has seen enough pain in the span of its free history. The UN mission director in Haiti, the Port-au-Prince archbishop, and hip-hop star Jimmy O. Barikad are believed to have been killed. Tens of thousands more are feared dead.
From Bob Poff, a Salvation Army director in Haiti, on experiencing the quake:
When the earthquake struck, I was driving down the mountain from Petionville. Our truck was being tossed to and fro like a toy, and when it stopped, I looked out the windows to see buildings “pancaking” down, like I have never witnessed before. Traffic, of course, came to a stand-still, while thousands of people poured out into the streets, crying, carrying bloody bodies, looking for anyone who could help them. We piled as many bodies into the back of our truck, and took them down the hill with us, hoping to find medical attention. All of them were older, scared, bleeding, and terrified. It took about 2 hours to go less than 1 mile. Traffic was horrible, devastation was everywhere, and suffering humanity was front and center.
Here is roadside video capturing the shaking and collapse of buildings. More video here of the aftermath. You can hear people screaming in agony and shock among the rubble. Aftershocks are still terrifying survivors. Journalist Erik Parker is tweeting updates and photos.
From a Reuters dispatch:
Scattered bodies were laid out on sidewalks, neatly wrapped in sheets and blankets. Voices cried out from the rubble. "Please take me out, I am dying. I have two children with me," a woman told a Reuters journalist from under a collapsed kindergarten in the Canape-Vert area of the capital.
We can help. The NYT Lede blog lists relief organizations taking donations. On Twitter, Wyclef Jean is asking people to donate quickly via Yele. The Matador Network, an independent travel magazine, is organizing a volunteer mission. The Haitian diaspora is mobilizing. Check out also the efforts of Architecture for Humanity.
In Mexico, the president asked citizens to stand in solidarity with the people of Haiti. Relief and donation centers are opening up, centering on the Haitian embassy in Mexico City. Three Mexican Air Force planes tonight are carrying 50 tons of aid to Port-au-Prince. On AM news radio, announcers are referring to "our brothers" in the Caribbean.
* ADD: Oscar Garza posts a song for Haiti: "That's my blood down there."
* Previously on Intersections, "Mourning in China," "A Friday shake: Earthquake in Mexico City."
* Image above, widely circulated, via FT.