Saturday, January 16, 2010

Haiti Earthquake

Latest news from Haiti (CNN)

My prayers and thoughts are with the people of Haiti. It is astonishing and incredibly awful what has happened there.

It is inspiring to see so many responding to this catastrophe and very sad and distressing to know that much more is needed.

One UN spokeswoman called it the worst disaster the UN has ever faced.

A U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman declared the quake the worst disaster the international organization has ever faced, since so much government and U.N. capacity in the country was demolished. In that way, Elisabeth Byrs said in Geneva, it's worse than the cataclysmic Asian tsunami of 2004: "Everything is damaged." (Source.)

Beware of any fake aid appeals.

Veteran Christian radio broadcaster Rich Buhler has warned his listeners to beware of fraudulent activity connected to Haiti quake relief....Fraudulent e-mails soliciting funds may appear legitimate, because the perpetrators often steal graphics from genuine websites of Christian organizations. However, donated funds usually flow into offshore bank accounts connected with criminal elements.

Buhler urged his listeners to go directly to established, recognized Christian aid organizations through their websites.

He also warns against phone scams. “Don’t respond to solicitations on the phone,” he says. “Call the organization directly.”...

The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability has a list of 82 Christian relief organizations working in Haiti, along with links and descriptions of their activities at www.ecfa.org/ServantMatch.aspx?Type=Haiti (Source.)

Some relevant resources:

The Livesay [Haiti] Weblog and photos on Flickr.

Ellen in Haiti

YouTube videos

Haitian Quake Survivors Turn To The Web For Help

Miracle rescues in Haiti after earthquake

Haiti Quake: Eyewitness Account

Haiti - CNN Anderson Cooper 360

2 comments:

  1. Unfortunately, there are lots of money making scams out there, that take advantage of the unmet needs of others, while claiming to be a good Samaritan. Thanks for the relevant sites.

    Also, you may have noticed that some of the televangelists are blaming the Haitian people for their plight(ie, Pat Robertson claims that the earthquake was the result of Haiti "making a pact with the Devil" -what ever that means, and David ben-Ariel says Americans should let the Haitian people fend for themselves)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Redfox,

    Did you translate the first comment? You don't want to know, then again you may want to delete it.

    ReplyDelete