Kip Magee

Megan Collins

INT 369 Natural Disasters

February 15, 2018

The Effect of Haiti Earthquake

During the earthquake of January 12^th, 2010 that hit the inhabitants of Haiti, just off the Port of Prince it measured at and 7.0 magnitude on the Richter scale. The earthquake devastated the island southeast of Florida, “It was estimated that 220,000 [people] died, more than 300,000 were wounded and more than half a million lost their homes.” (Lichtenberger M.D., et al 2010).

The Natives of Haiti’s were more devastated with the prolonging for help and the medical needs. The aid came with slow results by the Israel Defenses Forces (IDF) and the University of Miami Hospital in Haiti. (UMHH). The slow result were due to unfamiliar with the region. The area of Haiti’s is by far the less developed regional of island civilization of the tropical. Home dwellings were made up of cement wall that was not design to with stand earthquake are with a structural code standard. When the earthquake hit in the late night more people were in there beds sleep. “The house came crashing down on me. When I was knocked off my feet, I was with my child. When I looked for my other daughter, who was pregnant, I didn’t know what was going on.” (Schuller. 2011). This was the common scenario that happen in Haiti. People just lost contact with family relatives and confusion amongst everyone.

Nevertheless medical provision was set up to treat the wounded with UMHH and IDF that housed much needed beds facility. In the event of catastrophic happening the safety of the population was becoming questionable. Violent rapes began to happen and local police knew that the inmates of the prisons had escaped to the refugee camps. These camps was not protected and just made up of make shift canopy tents.

“The statistic of rape and violence against women have become alarming, a result of this close proximity, a lack of privacy, and ineffective response. Women’s organization KOFAVIV (Commission of Women Victims for Victims) reported 230 incidences of rape in 15 camps. Medecins Sans Frontieres reported 68 cases of rape in one of their clinics in April.” (Schuller .2011).

The rampart violent was to no concern to the police and what security the UMHH offer was to the medical patients.  The women activists organized lead efforts to stop the violent. The women leaders of the camp area offer up guidance and security measure to protect the women of Haiti. With songs and dances the tribal leaders looked towards harmony to create and tranquility with the victims and aggressor. This helped with the incident of violent against rape victims and change the atmosphere of the village. “You know in Haiti, folklore is a big deal. The drum is the sign of music and the sign of happiness that allows people to relax. When you beat it, ‘peem, peem, peem’ everybody dances. Even if you have problems, you dances.”(Mark Schuller, 2011).  In the Peom of the Day: by Bill Collins’s “The Dead”, I interpret, that in the path of life that we all take it might be one big event that happens…but we all have a path. “The dead are always looking down on us, they say, while we are putting on our shoes or making a sandwich, they are looking down through the glass bottom boats of heave as they row themselves slowly through eternity.” (Billy Collins’s, 2014).

Resources cited

Mark Schuller. 2011 “They Forgot about Us!” Gender and Haiti’s IDP Camps, Interview and Translation. Indiana University Press. Vol. 11. No. 1 (2011). Pp 149-157., www.jstor.org. 8/27/12

Paola Lichtenberger M.D., Ian Miskin M.D., Gordon Dickinson, M.D. Mitchell Schwaber M.D. , Omer E. Ankol M.D., MPH, MOccH Marcus Zervos. M.D.,  Rafael Campo, M.D., Susanne Doblecki-Lewis, M.D., Mark Alain Dery, D.O., MPH L. Silvia Munoz-Price. M.D. “Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology,” Vol. 31. No. 9 (September 2010). PP. 951-957. The University of Chicago Press. www.jstor.org. 3/6/2013.

Billy Collins.2014, “The Dead.” GW English News. April 12, 2014 http://gwenglish.bloghspot.com 2014. February 26, 2018