The news of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hitting the small, populous demi-island of Haiti cannot be genuinely assimilated. Despite the bombardment of TV news in particular, where even the reporters' hair and make-up remains perfect in the face of humanitarian disaster, and the ever-increasing statistics of death, injury, loss and destruction of property, our simple human minds cannot truly take on the absolute enormity of such a tragedy.
It leaves me exceptionally numb, and puts all of life with its questions, its joys and sorrows, ambitions and failures, into a very clear, stark perspective before the power of nature. Whatever the final number (and some sources within the Haitian government are already talking about 100,000 and more fatalities)the cold morning fact is this: They, men,women and children, loved and unloved, are dead. And an entire nation grieves them.
Yet the sadness and grief is greater than family or community - it is economic and political. Haiti is a nation that simply cannot deal with, cannot cope with the aftermath of such a disaster. Ranked as the poorest country in the western hemisphere, it is easy to see why. No money, fragile infrastructure, no internal resources whatsoever.
All I can think and say is this: Lord have mercy. And we must give. Just give, and continue to pray....
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