Essay On Haiti Earthquake

The Wall Street Journal opens by defining the Haiti Earthquake as the strongest to hit the Caribbean in more than two centuries. Various witness reports were included, one of which from the Administer of Mercy and Sharing in Haiti: a charity that houses 109 orphans, notes the various dead bodies lying on the street, the numerous injured citizens, and the ringing cries of help in an area just 10 miles outside of the earthquakes epicenter. The report specifically describes the devastated infrastructure not only in the presidential compound, the government ministry building, and U.N. headquarters, but also many other buildings and homes throughout Haiti. After describing the devastation in Haiti, the article describes the extent of immediate aid demanded in Haiti, and the approach of other nations to either help or avoid the issue.
However, in the Wall Street Journal it expressed that U.N. officials would “consider” immediate humanitarian aid, when contrastingly, BBC States the Obama “immediately” pledged humanitarian aid must be sent. This deviation in quoting president Obama’s statement brings into question the reliability of both sources. Following this quotation, Francis Ghesquire, lead disaster risk management specialist at World Bank was then consulted and stated that “ the toll would be exacerbated by the lack of zoning, building codes, and emergency preparedness,” (Córoboda and Luhnow). especially in a nation with a weak central government like Haiti. This lack of preparation and previous disasters in Haiti is noted in the article to emphasize Haiti’s security problems, alludes that victims will more than likely resort to looting to obtain supplies in amidst the chaos. This approach induces nations like the US to be disinterested in investing aid within a the country deemed as