Haitian Tragedy

As I am writing this at least 100,000 Haitians have been killed in a massive earthquake that will also have caused much more human misery and suffering, both mental and physical. Many of us in our privileged lives will find this suffering hard to really comprehend.

But these are our brothers and sisters in humanity. We have to do all we can to relieve such suffering. Our natural human compassion should require that.

It is also a sad truth that it is the poorest countries, like Haiti, that suffer most from natural disaster - they simply do not have the resources to protect themselves - poverty is linked to lack of education, poor building standards etc.

What can we do - all of us - to make such news a rare event - to ensure that natural disasters have less distressing consequences in the future? What are our responsibilities? What will you do personally towards the relief effort today, and for the future? How can we allow such tragedy in the 21st century? How do we relieve such appalling poverty and help build a better, more just world for all of us?

Please let me have your thoughts.