A catastrophic earth quake of the magnitude of  eight degrees in the Richter scale hit  Haiti’s capital  Port au Prince  on Tuesday  January 12 at a depth of  13 km  or 8.1 miles The earthquake  left in its wake great calamity and destruction  that the whole world witnessed  firsthand in a world that has shrunk to a village thanks  to information technology and  satellite TV.

Eight days  later as relief efforts were being marshaled and  organized to ensure that they get  to  the needy and injured before it is too late another earth quake of the  magnitude of  6.1 on the Richter  scale struck  the nation again on Wednesday January 20 to cause further havoc and  calamity amongst  Haitians.

So far the death  toll has been put at  over 200,000 people whilst  Haiti’s prime minister  Jean-Max  Bellerive   announced on 18 January that  over 70000 bodies had been buried  in mass graves. About 1.5 million Haitians are now homeless.

Most  major landmark buildings  including  presidential palace, the national assembly  building, the Port au Prince Cathedral  and the main prison in the capital and its environs  either collapsed or were significantly damaged  or destroyed by  the quake.Relief materials  in terms of  food,  water,  clothes and medicines have since started arriving in Haiti although there  are complaints that they are not being  distributed  or  delivered fast enough. This is to be expected in the prevailing chaos  that followed the quake which killed  or affected fatally   key officials and  institutions that should have coordinated the  relief efforts. Most hospitals in the area were destroyed as well as the UN headquarters of  the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti. The mission's chief, his deputy and police commissioner were confirmed killed by the calamity. One must, however, commend  the USA  and its  President Barack Obama for the speed   of response and concern it showed  the suffering people  of  Haiti  in bringing in US marines accustomed to dealing  with such disasters    and emergencies  to provide urgent aid in terms of logistics, transportation, medicines and medical personnel. As at now there are at least 16,000  US   troops  in Haiti  for the relief effort. We also commend all the countries that have sent relief materials and donations .It all goes to show that at the end of the day we are all human beings bonded by our common humanity and we should be our brother's keeper  in the face of unexpected    and inexplicable disasters and calamities  such as this  tragic earthquake that has brought  Haiti as a nation to its knees.We, however, frown at reports that indicate that some well known relief agencies are more interested in marketing their names and presence in Haiti and are delaying delivery of urgent relief materials while seeking media attention. Such action is bound to backfire and tarnish the reputation of such bodies as genuine relief agencies and  compassion brands. We call on all involved to ensure that the relief materials get to those who urgently need them and that the process is not cannibalized or commercialised by greedy people who always want to make money out of the calamity and  misery of others. We stand by the people of Haiti in this their hour of  grief and assure them  that  they have  the sympathy and pity of  a watching world as they face a  tragic but natural calamity that  no one will wish even his enemy.