People aren't really talking about Haiti much here. One friend asked if it was a popular travel destination for Americans and we could only think of examples of humanitarian work being done there, no vacationers that we knew of.
One of the fellows I went to school with has a business there and was in the earthquake. I don't know him well, as he lived in another city and I only saw him when we all met up for a few weeks each semester. Here are some quotes from emails he sent to another classmate:
"We barely made it. We were so close to death. Our warehouse and office building fell while we were still in it. Many employees were not as lucky. I do not wish anyone to experience what I've seen that day and the days after. Times are desperate here. Food, gas and medical supplies are extremely rare. Dead people all over the roads. We've been spending most of our days and nights helping the survivors and dead out of our company's rubbles. DONATE and raise as much as possible."
"We worked for 8 hours to remove a girl from the debris - we were so happy for her.... She had been under the rubble for 21 hours. We used our truck (the ones we use to distribute our products) to take her to a hospital. After being rejected by 5 hospitals, including the UN, a hospital accepted her. We just learned that she passed away because no one attended to her. No one had time. DONATE...."
It's pretty horrifying that Haiti had so little to start with - daunting how much suffering there must be and how long it will take to recover.
Anyway, my classmates are donating to Doctors Without Borders. Click here if you'd like to.
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