sadly never made it to Haiti

back in august, when I thought I'd start this blog (and then got sidetracked again), I was excited about the possibility to going to Haiti in October to work on building an operating room module for a hospital in Leogande. sadly, really really sadly, that trip didn't materialize though i understand they may be going in December. by that time, however, i hope to be ensconced in a new job and not likely to be able to go. so, as some may have noticed, i've spent a lot of time on twitter getting to know some truly wonderful Haitians and supporters of Haiti. in many ways, Haiti is a great example of what is wrong with US media, government promises, and our society: out of sight, out of mind.

think about different problems and how a resolution is often dependent on focused attention: human trafficking where the money spent combating this atrocity is mere pittance compared to the profits, gutting off-shore drilling regulations and enforcement (see Deepwater Horizon). and those are the easiest ones off the top of my head.

and Haiti. less than a year after that country's most populist areas were devastated by an earthquake, after billions of dollars of aid were promised (but not delivered by the way), most people and certainly the lame stream media give it hardly a thought if they think of it at all. we moved on to the next shiny object or story. not that there hasn't been important events after that: back to the Gulf and BP, Pakistan's floods, and now the US's self-obsession with months-long ugly politics. but still people live in tent camps, die without needed medical attention, go without education or honest work -- all problems that could be addressed with the right attention.

Out of sight, Out of mind.