Haiti

not very long ago, i remember during the MUN trip, Sandev from year 12 represented Haiti. this memory's so distinct because i remember mr. H correcting Sandev when he pronounced it as Haaa-ee-tee, when it should be Hey-ee-tee. i remember during the actual conference in KL, when it was Sandev's turn to make his speech, he still said it Haaa-ee-tee. and i saw mr. H smiling and shaking his head. i've heard of Haiti before the trip, but Sandev left me with a more profound impression of the name.

but since 5pm this Tuesday, people around the world were left with an imprint of the name.
an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 took a shocking estimated number of 100,000 lives away.

there are dead bodies. people were screaming. people are hurt. mothers are digging through the rubbles with their bare hands for the bodies of their dead children. the survivors are searching for the remains of the dead.

it's absolutely heart-wrenching to know that as I sit here typing this, thousands of people are mourning over the losses of their family - pregnant wives, parents, children, sisters, brothers, friends, crumbled homes. it's very painful to know that there's nothing much i can do to help. and that even all our efforts will not be able to bring back the dead. the extent of devastation to the victims is beyond repair.
nevertheless, i wish i could be there to do something, even if very small, for the people.

it's strange how tragedies like this always remind us of the common humanity that we all share.

let us spare a moment of silence for Haiti.