{"id":193569,"date":"2010-01-15T17:55:34","date_gmt":"2010-01-15T22:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seattletimes.nwsource.com\/html\/northwestvoices\/2010806768_haitimovingforward.html?syndication=rss"},"modified":"2010-01-15T17:55:34","modified_gmt":"2010-01-15T22:55:34","slug":"haiti-moving-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/193569","title":{"rendered":"Haiti: moving forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are part of the same human family<\/strong><\/p>\n

Editor, The Times:<\/p>\n

As we see the human tragedy unfold in Haiti and know that the suffering will only deepen and continue, how are we to respond? [\u201cDesperation grips Haiti as aid struggles to get in,\u201d page one, Jan. 15] How might we \u2014 as individuals, but also as a community \u2014 mobilize material response while also asking deeper questions?<\/p>\n

Do we see ourselves in the faces of Haitian children, women and men? Are we really members of one human family sharing one Earth? How are disasters made worse by the structural violence of poverty and the convoluted mix of the environment and politics?<\/p>\n

The basic human rights of food, water, home and health, denied to many Haitians daily, are now utterly absent for hundreds of thousands. But is this just another natural disaster, news flash or tragic case study? And will we refuse to accept that our lives are too busy and our personal connections too distant to get involved?<\/p>\n

As our hearts are moved, we can resolve to work collectively, creatively and concretely in the months ahead. Such understanding and efforts are the essence of the hope for a better world we so readily avow.<\/p>\n

\u2014 James Loucky, Bellingham<\/p>\n

Organize airdrops<\/strong><\/p>\n

Your headline in Friday\u2019s paper refers to aid to Haiti not being able to be delivered. It seems to me that others must have had thoughts similar to mine: Organize a parachute drop. The roads are virtually nonexistent, the airfield has one landing strip and supplies are delivered in planes from all over the world that have had to circle Haiti for hours waiting for permission to land.<\/p>\n

Fly the supplies to bases in the U.S., transfer the supplies to planes such as C-130s and go to Haiti flying a grid pattern and drop the goods from the planes.<\/p>\n

People will at least get water, food and medical necessities days earlier than by the method currently in use. We are trying to distribute emergency supplies in a time-honored fashion that is just not consistent with the nature and scope of this particular natural catastrophe.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Don Rogers, Camano Island<\/em><\/p>\n

Earthquake foreboding for the U.S.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hey all you anti-taxers, take a look at earthquake-devastated Haiti for a vision of the USA\u2019s future if you get your way.<\/p>\n

Haiti has no building code to build safe, strong buildings. Building codes are developed and enforced by government, financed by taxes. Haiti has virtually no public hospitals, fire or emergency services, which are run by government and financed by taxes. The airport in Port-au-Prince has one runway and one access road. Of course, airports and roads are generally built by tax dollars, then operated by a public, aka government, agency.<\/p>\n

Transport of relief supplies from the airport is hindered by limited and damaged roads. Roads are generally built by the government and financed by tax dollars. Delivery of relief supplies by sea is impossible as port facilities are in shambles and there are no operating cranes. Port facilities are a government function and financed by tax dollars.<\/p>\n

As our state legislators and the U.S. Congress consider tax issues that will improve the common good, I invite every tax protester to consider the importance of government responses to earthquakes and wildfires in California, volcanoes and forest fires in Washington, hurricanes on the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast, tornadoes in the Midwest, floods in our river valleys and, of course, 9\/11. In every instance, the government has stepped in, provided services and helped to rebuild. These services are not free; they are financed by taxes.<\/p>\n

Taxes are the dues we pay to belong to the greatest club on the planet: club USA. That club strives to assure our safe travel by land, air and sea. It guarantees the basic education of our children, financial subsistence of our elderly and disabled and safety of our population through police, fire and emergency services. To deny our responsibility to each other is to deny our own humanity.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Paula Joneli, Des Moines<\/em><\/p>\n

Another way to help<\/strong><\/p>\n

You really should include Partners in Health on your list of recommended charities [\u201cHaiti earthquake: how to help,\u201d News, Jan. 15]. It was founded by Dr. Paul Farmer, whose biography by Tracy Kidder \u2014 a New York Times Notable Book for 2003 \u2014 was the first book adopted by the University of Washington as a recommended read for all incoming freshmen the next year.<\/p>\n

PIH has operated in Haiti for 20 years and is known as a model for charities in other poor countries. Its reputation is as an excellent organization that makes the most of its contributions and has very low operating costs.<\/p>\n

PIH was praised after getting assistance to Port-au-Prince very early after the quake and Farmer\u2019s hospital in Cange is already filled with injured refugees from the city.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Edna R. Peak, Des Moines<\/em><\/p>\n

Limbaugh\u2019s comments<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rush Limbaugh should be charged with a hate crime. When someone like Limbaugh, who has a national radio show that reaches millions, asks people not to donate to relief efforts in Haiti after the devastating earthquake, should he not be charged with a hate crime?<\/p>\n

Without donations that some Americans might not now give, many more people could die because of his cruel words.<\/p>\n

He said Americans don\u2019t need to contribute to earthquake relief because they already donate to Haiti through their income taxes. He will do anything, no mater how low, to get reactions from the media, Robert Gibbs, myself and countless others.<\/p>\n

In our lives, most of us know people just as petty but they don\u2019t have radio shows. How can this man sleep at night knowing there are small babies, children and other human beings buried under rubble at this very moment?<\/p>\n

\u2014 Joe Giannunzio, Redmond<\/em><\/p>\n

Photo of bodies inappropriate<\/strong><\/p>\n

The photo on the front page of Friday\u2019s Seattle Times of the dead earthquake victims in Haiti is abhorrent and completely inappropriate.<\/p>\n

One of the important tenets of humanity is that we care for the dead and respectfully honor their passing. In the situation in Haiti, with so many deaths resulting from a natural disaster, there are not enough resources and too many dead for this to occur.<\/p>\n

By publishing such a horrific picture of these victims, The Seattle Times has shown only the highest disrespect for these victims and their country in its hour of need.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Christy Wyborny, Seattle<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are part of the same human family Editor, The Times: As we see the human tragedy unfold in Haiti and know that the suffering will only deepen and continue, how are we to respond? [\u201cDesperation grips Haiti as aid struggles to get in,\u201d page one, Jan. 15] How might we \u2014 as individuals, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2861,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-193569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2861"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193569\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}