Very soon, the first phase of recovery operations in Haiti will end. Tragically thousands [some say as many as 200,000] will have died under the rubble.
The task ahead is to save Haiti itself. Port-au-Prince, the capital, is a city without reserves of food, water, power, shelter, hospitals, medicine and other vital supplies. In a land that already faced hunger and water shortages, life has got a lot more difficult. There is the danger of epidemic, and increased civil unrest.
In a country that already had a poor infrastructure, life has got a lot more difficult. The port is shut, the government is overwhelmed, the U.N. headquarters has been destroyed - with many leaders killed. Hospitals have collapsed, roads are impassible. I simply cannot comprehend what it is life in Haiti today.
There are no simple answers for Haiti. Billions of aid dollars will not fix the country. If Haiti is to be rescued, it is going to take more money, more leadership, more skill than the world has given to a single country before.
I'm not sure the world has the heart to do it, because I can hear the calls from dozens of other countries already - help us as well. What is the solution? I have no idea. But don't allow the unknown and the uncertainity to harden our hearts and do nothing.
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