Ireland rallies to aid of Haiti.

The good news here at the moment is that it looks like our cold weather spell is coming to an end. The bad news is that now we are faced with water supply problems due to all the pipes that are bursting as the thaw sets in. Our reservoirs are nearly empty as, along with all the bursting of pipes, many people have been leaving taps running to keep their systems flowing and from freezing up. We are also now faced with more flooding problems due to the snow melting. It seems crazy that we are short of water and suffering from flooding at the same time. God only knows what kind of repair costs we are facing when the real work starts. Our main water supply pipelines in many areas are forty years old, and more, and they are the old iron type piping. They literally rot with time and the whole system will have to be replaced sooner or later. Our reservoirs are inadequate as we rarely have these kind of weather problems. In Ireland you never imagine yourself being short of water.If this type of weather becomes the norm here then we will have to make drastic changes. Now i am beginning to sound like i think we have real problems in Ireland. The problems we are faced with here would appear to be luxuries to the people of Haiti right now. What a terrible situation they are in at this time. Even listening to it on the news or reading about it in the papers must be a million light years from experiencing what it is really like to actually be there . I hope that the world responds immediately and that everybody does all that they can to help. I think many of us are only becoming aware of just how bad things were there before this happened. These people were trying to exist on less than $2:00 a day. Is that not an emergency? How come so little was being done prior to this? Was it front page news on any newspaper? If it was i did not see it. If any good is going to come out of this maybe it will be that world attention has been brought to their plight. Haiti is one of the poorest and most deprived nations on earth. Their suffering did not start yesterday. Just try to imagine what it would be like to have never had a single moment of real happiness in your whole life, never having had a decent meal, not even one, never having had a proper bed to lie in or a decent roof over your head. Never having had proper medical attention no matter what your problem was. Imagine what it must be like to know that you will never ever have a car or a house or a job or a holiday. We complain because we have to work so hard. People now think that a 36 hour week is hard work. Not only do we have holidays ....we have holiday pay. It is our divine right to own a home.....a car we take for granted. We complain because we have to queue in hospitals before we get top class treatment. We are bussed to school.....subsidised when we reach a particular age or have particular problems. We get childrens allowances, old age pensions, rent allowances, food and fuel vouches.In Ireland we get free TV licences when we reach a certain age. We get free travel. I could go on. If the people of Haiti knew that there were places where this was the norm they would think that that was where you go when you die....heaven.
I watched a program a few years ago about aids in Africa and i will never forget the family portrayed in that program. There was a dying father, the mother was already gone. There was a little girl no more than about eight years of age and her little brother who might have been about six. Soon she was going to be the mother of the family....when Dad passed on. It was heartbreaking. I wrote a poem about it and i will post it separately when i finish this Blog.
I have no doubt that the people of Ireland will respond as they always do to this terrible tragedy in Haiti. Our country is in a grave financial state but already our government has responded with over 20 million of support. Irish relief organizations are already moving in and many more will follow. Donations from people at large will be flooding in. We know what hardship and suffering are. The memory of what our forefathers had to endure is still fresh in our minds and we can empathise with these people. It is in our nature to want to help. Before this happened Irish people have been out there building homes for these people voluntarily. They are doing the same in South Africa. I know that we are not the only nation with a conscience but we do not stand back and wait to be asked. Not only is it good to help...it also feels good. The immediate help that is needed will be for food and clothing and medical assistance, and assistance with restoring the services. The long term help has to be continued now. This country needs to be pulled out of the dark ages. They need the investment necessary to create jobs that will allow them to enjoy even a basic standard of living. It can be done. Lets hope that we do not forget about them as soon as it stops making the front pages of the newspapers. Good people everywhere will want to help. they just need leadership. I am sure that you are as aware as i am. I know that we will do our best.