Rescue crews came face to face with the stench of death Thursday in Haiti's quake-battered capital as they began the arduous task of pulling survivors from rubble, providing food and water to the homeless and treating thousands left injured. "The vast majority of downtown Port-au-Prince is a mess of dead bodies, rebar and concrete," said Eric Marrapodi, one of a team of CNN journalists in Haiti.
Aid workers trickled into Haiti two days after a 7.0-magnitude quake walloped the teeming hillside city of Port-au-Prince. They were part of a relief effort rivaling the worldwide response to the 2004 tsunami. The Haitian government has halted flights into the Port-au-Prince airport for now because ramp space is too crowded, and there is no fuel, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said Thursday. The FAA's Laura Brown said no flights from the United States will be taking off until clearance is given. Rescue efforts have become top priority around the globe.
President Obama announced $100 million in aid Thursday, saying, "This is one of those moments that calls for American leadership. ...I can report that the first waves of our rescue and relief workers are on the ground and are at work," President Obama said, calling the relief effort one of the largest in recent U.S. history. "To the people of Haiti, we say clearly and with conviction: You will not be forsaken," he said. "You will not be forgotten. In this, your hour of greatest need, America stands with you. The world stands with you."
QUESTION: What is your reaction to the devastating earthquake in Haiti and the United States’ response?
COMMENT: The immediate natural disaster in Haiti has compounded the man-made disaster that has been on-going in that tiny nation. The earthquake only exacerbates the rampant corruption in the government, crime in the society, and the economic and spiritual poverty of the poeple.
Various Christian denominations have had a long-standing presence in Haiti - working to address the day-to-day needs of the people. Christians in America have always had Haiti on their hearts and minds and in their prayers. Many American Christians have participated in or funded long-term and short-term mission work.
The immediate and overwhelming response of the Christian individuals, organizations, and denominations has been sacrificial and impressive. Other religious groups - Jewish and Islamic, for example - around the world are also responding. I encourage everyone to participate as they can.
The response of the United States government has been massive and appropriate. There are some things that only our government can provide - security on the ground and massive lift of emergency supplies. The United States military performs these "secondary missions" well. Our young Marines, soldiers, sailors, and airmen work hard in these efforts and their involvement reflects their individual values and our values as a nation.
Thank God for the US military. The US military will provide as secure environment for the response to this emergency. There is definitely a calming effect seeing a young Lance Corporal of Marines with M-16 locked and loaded and bayonet fixed.
Now to a moral and political comment: We should understand that there is a difference between the voluntary giving and service that many individuals provide at this time and other times and the use of government resources. Yes, I support our government spending the resources to help the people of Haiti in this catastrophe, but let us not confuse it with charity.
Charity is voluntary. Charity is not taking money from someone else through taxation and sending it to another - and then taking credit for doing something good. Charity is not ordering another to do something. Do we see the difference?
Yes, what the President has order our nation to provide for Haiti and our military to accomplish in Haiti is appropriate and necessary. I support it. Let us, however, not substitute this expenditure of resouces as charity of the heart. Charity of the heart involves "ME" personally.
I encourage us all to do as God invites each of us to do for the relief of Haiti.
The Earthquakes in Haiti (January), Chile (February), and Indonesia (October) - The destructive power of nature was shown in these massive earthquakes and the aftermath of these disasters. The earthquake in Haiti caused the greatest suffering. Once again Americans responded with concern and generosity. The funds raised by celebrities, however, have often times not reached those in need. These tragedies have faded from the mainstream view. Christians were there before, during, and after the quake in Haiti. How true we find the words of Paul in Romans 8.20-23 to be: "For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to son-ship, the redemption of our bodies."
The Collapsing Western European Socialist Economy as exemplified most drastically in the bailout of Greece (April) and Ireland (November) - Margaret Thatcher was correct: "Eventually you run out of other people's money." The economic collapse will have far-reaching effects in all of Europe and the different countries attempt to prop up each other and save themselves. No longer can the governments provide everything to their citizens.
The Local, State, and National Elections in the United States (November) - This mid-term correction at the national level provides hope for a return to fiscal responsibility and reaches far down into state legislatures and governorships, as well as local governing bodies. Fueled by the "Taxed Enough Already" people and groups, this historic change is a reaction to the economic and political trends. It gives energy to the attempt to repeal the national health care legislation and has already had an impact on federal income taxes.
The Arizona Immigration Law(SB 1070 signed into law in April) - This law focused the frustration of the American people on illegal immigration and the apathy of the federal government. The Arizona Law and the challenge to it by the federal government sets up a constitutional conflict that will be resolved in 2011.
The Enactment of Health Care Legislation(March) - This new legislation will have far reaching consequences -intended and unintended, foreseen and unforeseen. The legislation does nothing to improve medical care, but it will have serious impacts on the economy, the medical profession, and the health of individuals. Challenges to the legislation will continue into 2011 in the judicial and political areas.
The Wiki-Leaks Information Dump (July and November) - The leaks and the lethargic response of the US government are alarming. Publicly the US government has not been damaged, but embarrassed. The leaks make diplomacy and the war more difficult.
The Aggression of North Korea as exemplified in the attack of the South Korean Navy ship (March) and the artillery shelling of the South Korean island (November) - North Korea has always been an unstable rogue nation. The upcoming change in leadership and North Korea's development of a deliverable nuclear weapon will cause greater instability in Asia.
The British Petroleum Oil Spill (April) - This spill certainly had immediate economic and natural consequences. The negative results of the spill were exacerbated by the slow immediate response of the Obama Administration and the long term response of the administration that has blocked much of the oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Floods from the Monsoon in Pakistan (July) - This devastating natural disaster caused great suffering to that struggling nation. The devastation reminds one of the Haitian earthquake. Again I am reminded of Romans 8.20-23.
The Eruption of the Volcano in Iceland (Aptil) - Though this event had no great loss of life, the eruption and the spread of volcanic ash through the atmosphere brought air travel in Europe to a standstill for about two weeks. Once again saw the power of Creation over human endeavors, and once again I was reminded of Romans 8.20-23.
