It is almost unimaginable and certainly unthinkable. Could it happen here in the United States? A natural catastrophe resulting in scores of thousands of people lying dead on the roadside; under buildings and piled high in a ditch or mass graves unidentified. This is not some reality television show aimed at locking in viewers in order to capture high ratings. This is real and happening in real time in the country of Haiti. One of the largest earthquakes ever witnessed in my lifetime has devastated the Republic of Haiti, a country about roughly 8 million people, with nearly 2 million living at the epicenter of the quake in the capitol city of Port-au-Prince. The country remains largely without power, food, water or shelter.
The images and sounds we are just starting to receive around the world are riveting. Seventy-two hours after the quake hit, people are still missing. People are dying right before our eyes. Supplies are coming in from all over the world and yet it has been a logistical nightmare to get those supplies to the people who need it most. While some politicians and so called religious leaders either prefer not to talk about this crisis or declare prophetic idiotic references to this tragedy, it is hard to dispute what we are witnessing.
There are reality television shows where the winner usually gets a recording contract, large sum of money or instant fame. And then there’s Haiti TV; where people are fighting to stay alive. Families are searching to find love ones and some members will never be found. There are no winners. There is no large sum of money to make all things better. Could that reality ever happen here? I certainly hope not.
