putting myself in another's life

I have been without shelter and food before and it's not pleasant but at least I was here in the States and not in a place that has suffered a disaster. I have no idea if I would be able to be useful there or not--when there isn't even the most basic of amenities, it's hard to live. Even before the earthquake many places there didn't have good healthy water sources and people were living in shacks, in the worst poverty while the government lived in palaces. Good news is they are going to build 40,000 houses. Might be the first decent dwellings some people have had in their lives. Maybe they'll get a decent sewage system, too. I cannot imagine living the way they used to live, and especially not the way those poor people are living now.

Haiti, from what I have heard, is almost split in half....one half of is inhabitated by rich Government folks who control all the coming and going in Haiti. The other half are the poor people who get no help from their Government. I know quite a few people who go there two or three times a year to bring supplies to nuns who run schools and orphanages, and they actually have to put somethings aside (like medical items) for Government trade,in order to be able to bring their other supplies to those who need it. The Government wants their share of what people bring over there for the poor. So, for some of the poor people, they are accustomed to not having anything - they've never had clean water to drink from, or clothes, or medical supplies. Many didn't have parents before the Earthquake. However, it's probably the rich folks who now find themselves in a dilema...they are probably experiencing deprivation of everything they were used to having. Well, I believe there is a reason for everything. The poor will get thru this, as they always do..and the Rich will have to walk in their shoes for awhile...maybe it will enlighten them to what they have done to the poor for so long.

Hey pat! There is absolutely no way that I could even imagine myself in that sort of situation! I wouldn't have a clue as to what I would do if that same thing would have happened here! Many years ago. I would say about 23 we had a surprise earthquake here in NY! Now, we NY'rs were never supposed to have earthquakes. or so we thought! This was about 6:00AM and everyone was just waking up! I was alone with my little cat and all of a sudden I heard this incredibly loud roar like I've never heard before and then my bed began to move across the room! Earthquake! It was so scary! Anyway turns out that we had an Earthquake about a 2.somthing on the Richter scale which isn't huge, but is enough to shake up the place and scare the crap out of us! And the fault line was about 5 minutes from where I live and then the next day while I was in the shower it happened again-aftershock! So, NY who was NEVER supposed to EVER have Earthquakes had a nice one! So to this day I've been waiting for the next one! Never say never! So my heart really does go out to the people in Haiti because it what I went through was just a little one, I can only imagine what theirs could have been and I so do pray for all those poor people! It surely is one of the most frightening and devastating experiences ever~

That's a really hard thing to imagine. As you say, you'd keep getting pulled up short because what you needed to get something done wasn't there. A few days ago, I was watching TV and seeing babies being born on hospital beds on the street. It's all absolutely horrendous. But you have to thank God for the small miracles - like yesterday a tiny baby just a few weeks old was rescued alive. Amazing.

I recently wrote a poem about this very thing...trying to wrap my imagination around what that must be like. And that is all we can do...imagine. As for what one would do? If I had not been injured and had lost all, I would hope I'd be in too much shock to take all of that in at one time, but instead, would go into "automatic pilot," and keep busy doing anything. God knows, there would be plenty to do. And I'm sure at some point, survival instincts makes one do what is necessary. Such catastrophic events also make one tend to reach out to help others. Karen

I wish I could be there and I would probably do everything in my power to be there if I didn't have to watch my granddaughter. I would love to help take care of the poor kids who have been left homeless and orphaned.

Hi savypat, I find it very difficult to imagine what's happening in Haiti, but I do realize that it is happening right now, even while I sit here in my comfortable home. I know that I would try to help if I wasn't injured, yet without the things you mention,I'm not sure how much I could do but I know I would want to keep busy. Blessings.

No way I could put myself in their place. Their suffering there is more than my mind can imagine. I've had tough times but never anything near that.