Editorial: Disaster a test for all

OPINION: When a devastating earthquake strikes, it inevitably tests the strength and character of the people at its epicentre.

The magnitude 7 earthquake that devastated the Caribbean nation of Haiti on Wednesday is by world standards a monster, causing widespread destruction and killing thousands including, regrettably, members of former Nelson woman Emily Sanson-Rejouis' family.

Disasters such as these bring out the best in many nations, and there has been no shortage of offers of aid flooding in from around the world. New Zealand has been quick off the mark, offering $1 million in aid.

Help is desperately needed. Many more are likely to die unless the right help gets to Haiti as quickly as possible.

What makes the disaster that has befallen Haiti so pernicious is that there are few countries in the world less able to cope with such a devastating event.

Haiti's Government is already impoverished and coping with the earthquake is likely to be way beyond its meagre resources.

The lot of everyday Haitians is a poor one by world standards.

Haiti is one of the poorest nations on earth, and is prone to instability. Its structural problems are daunting, and its human rights record is terrible.

Its political history reads like a tug-of-war between former colonial powers and a succession of local tyrants, with the main losers being Haiti's 8.7 million residents.

As a result it is one of the most corrupt nations in the world, which is a concern given the wall of money and aid that will be flowing into the country following the earthquake.

The United Nations (UN) has had a stabilisation mission in Haiti since 2004, and has close to 11,000 military personnel, police, administrators and volunteers in Haiti.

Indeed, it was for this administration that Ms Sanson-Rejouis was working.

The UN's mission was to establish the sort of conditions in Haiti that countries such as ours take for granted. As well as keeping the peace the UN's aim was to promote political stability, strengthen Haiti's Government institutions including its legal system, as well as promoting and protecting human rights.

The disaster is also a huge tragedy for the UN given the scale of its operations. The death of UN staff sent to help the struggling nation is likely to be in the hundreds.

Hopefully all of this will bring out the best in Haiti's politicians and community leaders and a stronger nation will emerge from the wreckage of Wednesday's quake.

Haiti's people have suffered enough.

- © Fairfax NZ News