The Haitian Mess

One week ago today on Tuesday, January 12th at 4:53pm local time, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale rumbled from 6 miles under the Caribbean island of Hispaniola not far from the capital city of Port-au-Prince in the nation of Haiti.

Widespread damage and massive death resulted almost immediately, and as the ensuing week has passed the death toll estimates have risen into the hundreds of thousands. It was the worst quake to strike at Haiti in over two centuries, and is going to prove to be one of the largest natural disasters in human history.

There is a story here that is being mostly buried under the literal rubble that is now the nation of Haiti. It is a story that most humanitarians would say is secondary at this stage to the human loss and suffering. They are correct on one level. Help is needed, massive amounts of help, and it is needed quickly.

But that story needs to be told as well, because it tells the story of a nation that was a complete mess even before the earthquake struck. It is a story of a nation run by criminal gangs and thugs with little or no national authority. It is a cautionary tale about allowing anarchy to take hold and destroy lives.

Wilma !

Over a decade ago, my dad moved down to Florida, to the small town of Spring Hill, which lies just north of Tampa. 

During that time he has been blasted by a number of hurricanes, most notably last summer when four different storms roared over Florida within a one month period. 

However, his town has not yet felt the brunt of any direct hits. They have been skirted past and brushed by, feeling some effects of wind and rain, taking some minor roof damage, but escaping any large-scale or lasting effects. 

Now here comes what likely will be the final tropical storm of what has been one of the most memorable in history, what with the destruction wrought on the Gulf region by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita respectively. 

Hurricane Wilma (I can't help it, I keep picturing old Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Fred Flintstone's red-headed wife, and Fred yelling "Wilma!") suddenly formed in the Caribbean, exploded quickly into the strongest Category 5 in recorded history, and is poised to slash across Florida over the coming weekend. 

As of right now, the entire state is in the potential path, though that will narrow over the coming 48 hours. I will be saying yet another prayer for those folks, especially my dad and his wife, but someone is gonna get hit by this thing. 

Oh, and just as a parting gift to the season from the tropical storm gods, the storm may ride up the east coast and come visit me next week. As Fred would say..."Wilma!"