Blog Entry #4

Title: “Fighting Starvation, Haitians Share Portions”

Summary:

It has been reported that there is an estimated 2 million Haitians that are need of food immediately. Many survivors of the Haiti earthquake have little food to eat, most have to share with one another. The majority of the earthquake victims do not digest at least one whole meal to sustain/fulfill themselves from hunger. Because of that people have become desperate enough to steal to survive, and in return some have been killed. Fruits, Vegetables, and other local grocer items are still there to consume but there are insufficient portions. The little mass of food that the country once had has been perished thanks to the earthquake, causing prices for cuisine to sky rocket.

Reflection:

This article is very unfortunate and in a way depressing to read. Because Haiti is already a poor country that is struggling but, now things are even worse than were before. Dying from starvation is a very painful and slow process, that’s why people should grow to really care and grow to understand. Everyone including myself knows how it feels when your stomach is empty, but many don’t know what that feeling feels like for more than a day. I think that people should raise more awareness to try to lower the rate of starving people in Haiti.

Evidence:

"The communal rationing, along with signs all over the city that say “S O S” and “we need food,” suggests that the food crisis here is growing."

"And food imports — typically 48 percent of the nation’s total food consumption, according to the United Nations — have slowed to a trickle. "

"Children are most likely to return with something to eat, but no matter what is found, or how hungry the forager, everything must be shared."

Questions:

What can people do to help?
Where is the main food source coming from?
How many have already died from starvation?
What kind of food are they eating to survive?
Approximately how many have been killed or injured due to fighting over food?

Works Cited:

Cave, Damien. “Fighting Starvation, Haitians Share Portions.” 2010 Jan. 25. New York Times.
2010 Jan. 28  <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/world/americas/26hunger.html>.

Picture

Photo taken by Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times

Caption: The government of René Préval handed out 10,000 bags of food, worth $50 each. Six thousand of those food bags were handed out at the Cite de Soleil police headquarters.

Blog Entry #3

Title: “Haiti’s Children Adrift in World of Chaos”

Summary:

Thousands of children all over Haiti have been abandoned and are basically left to survive on their own (Since many of their parents have passed or are missing as of the earthquake). It has been reported that 45 percent of Haitian children are survivors of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake. A lot of them have injuries and have undergone surgery. Although the earthquake happened nearly two weeks ago new issues are constantly popping up such as sex trafficking. People have been adopting children only to have their child innocence stripped away from them. The UNICEF foundation is trying to establish a database to monitor the few kids that are still alive. UNICEF is also trying to set up an adoption agency, so that kids who have no living relatives can find a suitable home.

Reflection:

What struck me the most is when I read that only 45 percent of kids survived. Even if this just an estimate and isn’t 100% exact, that is still not a lot compared to the original percentage. This is important because children are the future, and eventually will be the “new” representatives of the country. It is melancholy to know that not many kids are still going to be around to tell the story of this disaster.

Evidence:

"Haiti’s children, 45 percent of the population, are among the most disoriented and vulnerable of the survivors of the earthquake."

“The children of Haiti, unless they get help, they will have lost their childhoods, their innocence, Elisabeth Delatour Préval, Haiti’s first lady, said Tuesday"

“...A lot of group therapy” would be needed to make the children of Haiti feel safe again."

Questions:

How is UNICEF going to keep the percentage of surviving kids from increasing?
What are some solutions from reducing the amount of kids from getting introduced into Sex trafficking?
Will UNICEF’s database actually do what it’s intended to do?
What are some ways Haitians can find out if any of their relatives or friends survived the earthquake?


Work Cited:

ALL information, pictures and quotes were found using the following:

Sontag, Deborah. “Haiti’s Children Adrift in World of Chaos.” 2010 Jan. 26. New York Times.

2010 Jan. 28<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/world/americas/27children.html>.

Picture

Taken By Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times

Caption: Lovely, 8, and her sister, Mariefleur Morin 7, have been orphaned by the earthquake. Frades, a local collective that does everything from providing microloans to serving hot meals, is looking after them.

Blog Entry #2

Title: “What Caused the Devastating Haiti Earthquake?”

Summary:

The reason why there is a lot of destruction in response to the earthquake is because the two plates (Caribbean and North American) that run through Haiti moved about 20mm. Unfortunately the impact was so close, the intensity was more powerful than it would be if it was further away from the Earth’s surface. Another justification for why the earthquake was so disastrous is because it lasted approximently 35 seconds to 1 minute. This isn’t good because a lot of Haiti’s buildings, homes and other structures weren’t built nor designed to uphold an earthquake of any strength. According to a logarithmic scale the energy of the earthquake was a 7.0-magnitude (which is extremely strong).

Reflection:

When I found out how dramatic the earthquake was I was flabbergasted, as soon as the news anchor declared the earthquake was a 7.0 magnitude. I already knew extreme damage had been done. (From previous knowledge I know that earthquakes are determined on a scale of 1-10). This doesn’t specifically effect or relate to me, but I know if I had a loved one over there I would be concerned just like anybody else would be. In many ways I feel helpless, I wish I could help personally, but being that the distance is so far it is hard to do so.

Evidence:

“The shaking started on Tuesday, Jan. 12, at 4:53 p.m. ET in the Haiti region, just 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince.”

“The threat is not over.So far we have monitored over 40 aftershocks ranging from 4.5 all the way up to 5.9," Bedwell said. About 14 of those aftershocks were magnitude 5.0 or larger. And they expect more in the coming weeks”

“All of these effects get magnified when the infrastructure is shoddy and not built to withstand shaking.”

"Unfortunately, Haiti has a rather poor economy and not a wonderful building style for earthquake resistance, so we would expect that we would see quite severe and widespread damage from this earthquake,"Michael Blanpeid, associate coordinator for the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program, said in a podcast released today.”

Questions:

What does magnitude mean?
Where are these two plates located, and what do they look like?
Can or will it happen again?
Has this happened before?
What were the expenses of damage?
Where was the core of the earthquake?

Work Cited:
I found all of my information and quotes from the following:

“What caused the devastating Haiti earthquake?” MsnBc. 13 Jan. 2010. Live Science. 27 Jan. 2010 <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34842469/>.

Blog Entry #1

Essential Question: Why was the Haiti earthquake so devastating?

The reason why my partner and I decide to make this particular subject our focal point is because it pretty much will explain why the earthquake turned out the way it did. This subject would give people an overall view that we hope people can perceive further in depth.