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.