Haiti Earthquake Research Paper

Haiti, known for its histories of earthquakes has long been known to be at risk for a major quake. On January 12 2010, that major quake occurred. Haiti was struck with the most devastating quake they have ever seen in two hundred years, a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake. More than two hundred thousand people were killed by the quake, hundreds of thousands were injured and millions left homeless because of this major earthquake. Thousands of people also died from Cholera, an infection in the small intestine caused by bacteria. Mother Nature is not the only one to be blamed for this horrific disaster; people are to be blamed too for this disaster. Many of the NGOs and other companies out there helping Haiti are not really helping out
of their own good will; they are all doing it to make a name for themselves and to earn money.
Even with all these NGOs (Non-governmental organizations) trying to help Haiti before and after the earthquake, they still managed to rack up a high death toll of two hundred thousand people because the country is poor, most of the money that general public donated did not go to Haiti and the aftermath of the earthquake.

Mother Nature cannot take all the blame of this disaster. People are to be blamed too. Haiti was a poor country before the quake had happened. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world because of its restrictions on economic liberty. Not only is it poor, but it is also considered one of the most corrupted countries too. “Haiti is ranked 177 out of 179 countries in the 2007 Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index” (Haiti’s Avoidable Death Toll). Crimes and lawlessness are rampant in Haiti. “The extreme poverty in the region and the lack of proper education regarding its dangerous seismic past caused the Haitian people significant issues with regard to seismic
preparation. The building methods used were improper and dangerous for occupants inside” (Haiti’s Avoidable Death Toll). Haiti could not afford to build stronger homes. North America has greater wealth, which is why we are able to build stronger homes and office buildings. “When natural disaster hits us, our wealth provides the emergency personnel, heavy machinery and medical services to reduce the death toll and suffering” (Haiti’s Avoidable Death Toll). Because of Haiti’s lack of wealth, they could not afford strong houses and buildings; they had to make their homes out of cheap materials. They also could not afford medical care. Many died from cholera, a curable infection in the small intestine. Haitian’s got this infection shortly after the earthquake. Transmission occurs by drinking water or eating food that has been contaminated by the waste of another person who has been infected with cholera. A simple solution to the infection is antibacterial drugs, but Haiti is so poor that they could not even afford that. If Haiti was not as poor as it is now, there might not have been so many people dying from the earthquake, they could have minimized the casualties.

After hearing about Haiti’s major earthquake, a lot of donations were sent to help them out.
“It turns out that almost none of the money that the general public thought was going to Haiti actually went directly to Haiti. Only one percent of the money went to the Haitian government” (Haiti: Where is the Money). Most of the money went to outside governments, international aid agencies and big well connected non-governmental organizations. Some even went to profit companies whose business involved natural disasters. Many organizations and people saw this as an opportunity to capitalize on the disaster. Other private groups in the US also immediately started lobbying for a share of the Haiti money. “The US military had to suspend medical evacuations of critically injured Haitians to hospitals in Florida after officials there formally asked the US to pay some of the medical costs of care. Florida was ultimately reimbursed more than $5 million in Haiti relief funds for helping Haitians” (Haiti: Where is the Money). Many other companies started taking advantage too, “The Orlando Sanford Airport, which handles a million visitors a year, received $583000 in federal funds for receiving 9500 evacuees plus volunteers and staff” (Haiti: Where is the Money). “The American Red Cross reported receiving $486 million in donations for Haiti as of June 2011… As of August 2011, the American Red Cross had spent less than half the money it raised for relief and reconstruction in Haiti. The CEO of
American Red Cross has a salary of over $500000 per year” (Haiti: Where is the Money). “Capitalizing on the disaster, Lewis Locke, a high ranking USAID relief coordinator, quit the agency and was hired for $30000 a month by a Florida corporation Ashbritt and a prosperous Haitian partner to lobby for disaster contracts” (Haiti: Where is the Money). A lot of companies and organizations took advantage of Haiti’s earthquake to put money in their own pockets.

Shortly after the earthquake, thousands of Haitians were infected with cholera. Haitians had to pile up the dead bodies of their family and friends on the streets. A few years after the earthquake, Haiti is still doing terribly trying to recover from the disaster. Many have died and even more are left homeless and hungry. Many of the Haitians lost their home so they ended up in small shelter homes and some even used sheets of plastics, tents and tarps to provide shelter. Rubbles and debris all around the street still. Many Haitians are jobless too so they do not have the money to even buy food. Many children of Haitians are currently hunger, they are facing malnutrition. With many buildings destroyed too, Haitians are finding it hard to even find a job in that kind of situation. If only they had the finance, they would be able to pay workers to start rebuilding all the damaged and destroyed buildings home. But from the very beginning, Haiti was considered to be one of the world’s poorest countries (Haiti’s Avoidable Death Toll).

The reasons for Haiti’s high death toll even with the help of NGOs and aid responses is because of Haiti’s money problems, donated money not being sent to Haiti and the aftermath of the earthquake. With the information given, lack of financial aid from NGOs and countries are a major factor in Haiti’s high death toll. If they had the financial aid they needed, they could have built better and stronger homes that can withstand an earthquake. With the money, they could have also got better health care so thousand would not have died from a minor infection which they could have healed with antibacterial drugs. But one of the reasons why they did not receive the money from the NGOs is because some of the NGOs kept most of the money for themselves. Every company out there is trying to take advantage of Haiti’s terrible situation to earn a millions of dollars. If these companies actually gave 100% of the money donated to Haiti, their lives would not be so bad and could even be better than before. They can actually afford to build better houses and afford medical care. It is a shame that not a lot of NGOs and other companies are out there to help Haiti without trying to put some of the money earned into their own pockets. Haiti is a poor country, the people to be blamed for that is us and the Haitian themselves.