The Haiti Laboratory

The 7-point Haiti earthquake, as I said in an earlier post, is a clear candidate for the greatest tragedy of the century, which admittedly is still young. But at the risk of sounding cold, it’s a critical learning opportunity.

At some point we have to set emotions aside and look upon Haiti as a sociopolitical laboratory, if we can use that term, albeit an unwanted one What questions does it raise, and what answers will it provide, about human behavior in such circumstances?

Of course, all these situations have unique elements: Haiti is not California, nor central China, nor New Orleans, but since human beings are involved, there are common elements. This was a major earthquake that hit a population center – something that really doesn’t happen that often – so we need to pay attention to the questions.

Do we need to revise our estimates of how long human beings can survive after being buried under rubble? What causes them to survive so long – is it faith, temperament or genetics?

The stories of courageous family members digging out their relatives against all odds are heartwarming, but how is the great mass of the population behaving in unbelievably extreme circumstances? Is there any reason to believe people in more “civilized” places would behave any better? How do you think you’d behave after a week without water?

What role does communication play in affecting human behavior -- online, satellite and conventional (“old-fashioned,” if you prefer) methods?

There’s a lot of Monday-morning quarterbacking in play here, revolving around the issues of planning and security. One camp says you have to assess the situation first in order to apply help most effectively, ensuring the security of those providing the help. The other says, jump in and help those you can, and when the victims see that they’re getting help quickly, security will take care of itself. So who’s right?

Retired Gen. Russel Honore, who was military commander in the Katrina hurricane response and now a CNN consultant, is in the second camp. He said early on that able-bodied Haitians should be recruited to clear landing sites for helicopters around Port-au-Prince, to get around the blocked-roads problem. Was that done, or was that idea even feasible?

Who can manage these situations most effectively? Does there need to be a “czar” to run things – civilian or military?

In Haiti’s case, why did it take more than a week to figure out that victims in outlying cities also need help? Did Katrina teach us nothing?

Rebuilding Port-au-Prince will probably take decades, and some may be wondering, is it worth it?

George Clooney’s telethon took over most of the networks in the U.S. Friday as well as others around the world. It likely had much better pickup than the State of the Union message will get on Wednesday. The big question, of course, is what happens with the ADD-afflicted audience in, say, six months or a year from now.

The big overarching question is – are we really going to take what we learn from Haiti and apply it to the next disaster?

A Nation That Needs Building

While only 10 percent of this century is in the books, January 12, 2010 will surely be remembered for one of its worst natural disasters, anywhere on the globe.

While one American religious figure (who needs no publicity here) has called the Haiti earthquake God’s payback for revolution and/or voodoo, it could be argued that this is God’s two-by-four aimed at waking the world up to a country that needs attention – but this presupposes that you believe that God is involved at all, a whole different discussion.

While the U.S. is busy with nation-building halfway around the world – supposedly in the interests of national defense -- Haiti is a nation that needs building right now. And it’s only 700 miles away.

Haiti is a poster child for “failed states.” Its government was incapable of responding to Tuesday’s cataclysm in the most basic of ways (indeed, the government itself is a victim). Haiti is one of the first independent countries in our hemisphere, but in 200 years – basically since the last big earthquake there – no one has really shown its people how to do things. It needs that kind of help, and in contrast to the countries we’re involved in on the other side of the world, I believe Haiti would welcome it.

A right-wing talk-show host (again, someone who needs no publicity here) has suggested that the Obama administration will use the Haiti disaster to burnish its image and boost its approval rating. I submit that there’s plenty of time later to judge motives for helping Haiti, but there’s no time now for such things. After seeing the images conveyed on TV and through social networks, who can even think of ulterior motives right now? We just have to help, in any way that’s available, as fellow citizens of Earth.