Haitian Relief Efforts

I am somewhat hesitate to post the links to these pictures from The Boston Globe of the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake. Many are quite disturbing. But among the pictures there are signs of hope as the international community mobilizes to help.

[Warning: Many pictures are disturbing and some graphic in nature.]

These pictures were taken immediately after the quake.

Ruins of a neighbourhood in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

The Presidential Palace.

This is one taken 48 hours after the earthquake.

A make shift community set up by survivors.

But there are some good stories of people being rescued after a day or more of being trapped. One Canadian citizen was freed after being trapped for 18 hours. Canadians, including two Newfoundlanders, have started to arrive home thanks to the our Armed Forces relief effort. A UN worker from Estonia was pulled alive from the ruins of the UN building. Unfortunately, 36 other UN workers were killed.

But for every good story there are many – too many – of people who did not survive. Many people are still trapped but unable to be reached by rescue workers. Compounding the problem is the inability of aircraft to land at the airport at Port-au-Prince because of the high number of relief planes already on the ground. Relief workers have now begun to drive from the Dominican Republic into Haiti.

If you can, please donate to the Red Cross or any relief agency offering help. Every dollar helps.

Today is one to be thankful for everything and everyone we have.