Attention shifts from rescuing to rebuilding

It has been nearly two weeks since a magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck Haiti and there have been more than 50 aftershocks since. But the waves that shock the human consciousness continue as news spreads from Haiti.

The government now counts 150,000 confirmed dead in and around the capital of Port-au-Prince and thousands more in the countryside.

Incredibly, a few survivors have been pulled from the rubble in recent days, long past the three-to-five days that survivors are expected to be found after natural disasters.

It is, we suppose, a testament to the toughness of the people who have managed to survive for generations in Haiti, a nation far too familiar with the pain that accompanies corruption and the death that comes with violence born of abject poverty.

The world has responded quickly and compassionately to Haiti’s tragedy, and no nation has exceeded the generosity shown by the United States and its people.

While the need for donations and relief work remains critical, it is necessary to begin the monumental job of rebuilding Haiti. The goal must not only be to put roofs over people’s heads, but to help build a better infrastructure and a better society. The two go hand-in-hand.

Whatever goes up in Haiti must be better engineered and better built than that which came tumbling down. There are already dozens of engineers on the ground working on ways of building better buildings while working with finite resources.

Jobs to be done

And while engineers and specialists will be needed from outside, every effort must be made to put Haitians to work. Nothing helps restore a sense of hope like having a job. Those who have lost so much since Jan. 12 must be given the means to rebuild their lives and those of their shattered families.

Tens of thousands of Haitians have left the rubble of their cities for the countryside. But an influx of displaced urban poor into impoverished rural areas is a recipe for future disaster.

Deliveries of food, medicine and water have become more reliable and medical personnel are beginning to concentrate on treating the infections and complications that inevitably follow emergency treatment provided under trying circumstances. Guarding against the spread of disease remains a priority. Proper sanitation is more necessary than ever when dealing with hundreds of thousands of people whose lives have been disrupted and whose immunity systems have been weakened.

Back here in the United States, where we have our trials and our troubles, but where life continues to be good, we can do what we have been doing: opening our hearts and our wallets. No one has been able to get through the last week without having an opportunity to contribute, through a basket passed at church, a canister sitting on a store counter top, a star-studded television special or an appeal from any one of a number of trusted charities. Most have already given and there are still opportunities for those who haven’t or those who want to give again.

Giving is the charitable thing to do, but it is also an opportunity to help rebuild a nation and give a people who have suffered — historically through generations and in recent days through this natural disaster — a glimmer of hope.