The earthquake that devastated Haiti like its predecessor the hurricane that decimated New Orleans is ironic in its sad commentary on the preparedness needed to reduce the tragic loss of life. Here is an article from the New York Times by way of the Hudlin Entertainment Forum. It gives an account of the history of Haiti as well as some insightful commentary.
"And yet there is nothing mystical in Haiti’s pain, no inescapable curse that haunts the land. From independence and before, Haiti’s harms have been caused by men, not demons. Act of nature that it was, the earthquake last week was able to kill so many because of the corruption and weakness of the Haitian state, a state built for predation and plunder.
Recovery can come only with vital, even heroic, outside help; but such help, no matter how inspiring the generosity it embodies, will do little to restore Haiti unless it addresses, as countless prior interventions built on transports of sympathy have not, the man-made causes that lie beneath the Haitian malady."
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