Earthquakes and Empty Bellies

I am part of a communtiy service organization at my school, and last week was dedicated to aiding further relief for the earthquake survivers in Haiti. We worked on gathering supplies to send, like water and medical aid, but another thing being gathered was money to pay for food that was being sent over as well. We learned that while many lives had been lost in the intitial quake and that others had died of inguries from the quake, one of the leading causes of death was a food and water shortage in the disaster areas. Because Haiti is such a poor country, aid immediately after the quake was hard to find and food was scarce. That was one of the reasons so many supermarkets were robbed.

When the quake hit Chile, there were fewer casualties even though the magnaude was higher than that of the Haiti quake. One of the reasons for that is that Chile is a richer country and had money to pay for fodd, clean water, and immediate medical help.

The death tole due to starvation made me think of my own communtiy. Every day I see homeless people either roaming the streets or on the trains begging for money. If there was a food shortage in my hometown, those would be the people hit hardest first. Everything costs money these days, more and more, and when things get expensive, the people hurt hardest are those who can't afford the basics like water, shelter, and food.