Haiti: A Crisis Management Nightmare (Part 1)
Bob Weinstein is a journalist who covers technology, project management, the workplace and career development.
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Topics: International Development
The earthquake that pulverized Haiti on January 15 is still the top media story. Unlike other global news stories that lose their gloss after three or four days, the natural disaster that demolished so much of this country hasn’t quietly wended its way to newspapers’ back pages and news updates on the tube.
The Haitian earthquake falls into a new category--a breaking story that worsens every day. Haiti’s culture and communications minister, Marie-Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue, recently said that 150,000 bodies have been buried since the earthquake, and more than 250,000 people are homeless. Haiti’s worsening conditions can be likened to a nightmare that doesn’t end.
It’s not because the world doesn’t care. Aid in the form of food, water, medical supplies, all manner of equipment and more has been pouring in since day one. Every major world power is helping this crippled, starving nation that’s suffered from inept government rule for at least two centuries. And now this impoverished country with an unemployment rate exceeding 75 percent--a country that has been dependent upon foreign aid for decades--is suffering the worst natural disaster in its history.
Even in the most bungled disasters of recent times--Hurricane Katrina heads the list--inept local and national leaders managed to superficially clean up the mess so that the world…
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