1. Reading the various accounts on the Haitian earthquake tragedy, the stories of individual Reading the various accounts on the Haitian earthquake tragedy, the stories of individual tragedy had the greatest emotional impact, as compared to the wide scale human catastrophe. As much as the numbers are huge, it is hard to grasp the actual predicament of Haitians. It is easy to imagine that people elsewhere in the world go through the same challenges and Haiti case is only made special by the scale and that they will eventually get out, like everybody else did. However, reading about the experiences of Haitians stirs emotions and arouses the realization that these are real people who had a normal life, but which was ruined by the tragedy. The reader identifies with the hardship more easily when a background is provided, that is, the previous life of the victim and the degree of change brought about by the tragedy. Also, narrowing the report to an individual appeals to a person’s compassionate nature, creating a notion that they might be able to do something about it, unlike the wide scale reports which the audience feel are way out of their hand.
2. To get a glimpse of the scale of a catastrophe, several, rather than a single perspectives are required. The scientific measurement of the magnitude of an earthquake or for any other catastrophe makes little sense to a majority of people but a description of what it could do can help create an impression of a catastrophe of the described measurement. However, it is the information on the ground that creates a clearer picture of the scale of any catastrophe. A combination of close-up photographs, pictures photographed from the air and from satellites and statistical figures helps a person to visualize the extent of damage to an area. Narrations by individuals reflecting what the tragedy has done to them highlights the implications on individuals which can enhance the statistics. However, it is statistics that convey most of the information as opposed to photographs and individual accounts of tragedy. Many people rely on pictures but they cannot provide clear information especially if they cover a large area. This information can be easily and accurately conveyed in form of numbers.
3. People had different views of the reason for the Haitian tragedy, some citing religion and others ignore the subject of the cause altogether, focusing on the way forward. In my view, tragedies, both natural and manmade occur everywhere and can hardly be prevented. However, the preparedness of Haiti was very wanting, therefore the level of suffering was very high. Lacking a proper building code, there was hardly a structure that could withstand the quake. Again, all Haitians depended on a single source of aid, the UN whose premises were destroyed and a great number of employees killed. Had they been better prepared and diversified their sources of aid, the level of suffering and destruction would have been lower.

The world took a humanitarian approach to the events in Haiti. They therefore had a responsibility, as fellow humans to the Haiti population to extend aid and alleviate the suffering of Haitians.

1. The Haitian earthquake caused a great deal of destruction to structures and life. It is not only informal structures such as slums that were destroyed but also other buildings that would be expected to be of far superior quality such as the presidential palace and UN building. However, building codes are not observed in Haiti, partly because of economic constraints. This massive destruction of buildings took a toll on human life, killing thousands. This figure is very high, compared to 63 who died and the few buildings that were damaged in the San Francisco Bay Area, due to an earthquake of similar magnitude.

Haiti is unsafe mainly due to poverty. The first step in enhancing safety would be empowering the country financially. With a higher income and more transparent government, Haiti would institute building codes to ensure safety of buildings. This will only be achieved by allocating Haiti a role in the global economy.