Le peuple d'Haiti a besoin de nous - Updated for donations

As Digby reports:

UN Dispatch has twitter feeds and other social networking links following the story. Hotels are reportedly collapsed, hospitals are destroyed and god only knows what has happened to the make-shift dwellings that house so many residents. It just couldn't happen to a poorer, less fortunate place.

Simon Romero and Mark Lacey report at the NYT:

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — A fierce earthquake struck Haiti late Tuesday afternoon, causing a crowded hospital to collapse, leveling countless shantytown dwellings and bringing even more suffering to a nation that was already the hemisphere’s poorest and most disaster-prone.

The earthquake, the worst in the region in more than 200 years, left the country in a shambles. As night fell in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, fires burned near the shoreline downtown, but otherwise the city fell into darkness. The electricity was out, telephones were not working and relief workers struggled to make their way through streets blocked by rubble.

In the chaos, it was not possible for officials to determine how many people had been killed and injured, but they warned that the casualties could be substantial.

UPDATE:
Episcopal Relief and Development is collecting donations for relief. You may donate here.

Dallasdoc has a post up at Daily Kos with links to lots of ways we can help the people of Haiti following the Richter 7.0 quake just outside Port-au-Prince.

Compassionate Savior, behold your stricken children in Haiti, strengthen those who bend their efforts to rescue the trapped, heal the injured, comfort the dying, and console the sorrowful. Guide those who channel aid and assistance that they may do so efficiently and effectively. Speed and sustain all efforts to bring relief. May your holy angels guide, guard, and defend the defenseless. All this we ask for your tender mercy's sake. Amen.

O merciful Father, who hast taught us in thy holy Word that thou dost not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men: Look with pity upon the sorrows of thy servants for whom our prayers are offered. Remember them, O Lord, in mercy, nourish their souls with patience, comfort them with a sense of thy goodness, lift up thy countenance upon them, and give them peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Map from The New York Times

--the BB

Welcoming two more

We have had first-time visitors from a few more countries and I am still a bit behind on my welcomes, for which I apologize. My body is adjusting back to life at 5000 feet altitude and I have been sluggish ever since returning from sea level in Louisiana. Indeed, I was still in New Orleans when these visitors arrived the same day as our first visitors from Mongolia and French Polynesia. So, a very tardy but hearty welcome to our first visitors from Haiti and the Gambia.

The Republic of Haiti (French, République d'Haïti; Haitian Creole, Republik Ayiti) occupies the western third of the island of Hispaniola, the rest being occupied by the Dominican Republic. This division has historical roots in a division of the island between the French and Spanish in the Treaty of Ryswick (1697). The nation takes its name from the indigenous Taino word Aytí, meaning "mountainous land." The capital is Port-au-Prince, the official languages are French and Haitian Creole. Its governance is as a presidential republic and the estimated population is 8.7 million.

Haiti is the only country in the western hemisphere with a successful slave revolution but its history is marked with foreign intervention and brutal dictatorship. Poverty and political instability have made life difficult for the Haitian people. [Wikipedia]

One night, after flying back to New Orleans, I rode a cab downtown with a Haitian driver and we chatted almost the entire trip in French, which was fun.

The Republic of the Gambia flanks the Gambia River and is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except the coast, being the smalled nation in mainland Africa. The capital is Banjul and the largest metropolitan area is Serekunda. English is the official language and the population is estimated at 1.7 million. The population is 90% Muslim and both Muslim and Christian holidays are celebrated. The media operate under strong constraints and journalists must toe the line with respect to any semblance of criticizing the government. [Wikipedia]

And now for some music:

1998 video song from this legendary Haitian group (Zèklè) who's been playing music for more than 25 years composed of the Widmaier brothers (Joel, Mushi) whose family had a crucial role in the evolution of Haitian jazz and kompa. Grandfather Ricardo Widmaier was the first to record Haitian jazz, and father Herby Widmaier was the first to record "Kompa direct" of Nemours Jean-Baptiste who's accredited as the father of Kompa.
Also featuring popular guitarist/composer Claude Marcelin and Raoul Denis, Jr.



Koudjay-Gran manje-Haitian music



ZIN-Ti randevou(Haitian music)



Gambia Music and Images



Gambia Banko [lots of photos of the Gambia and its people]



Toumani Diabate plays the Kora [lovely but way too short!]



So just a bit more - Kora Playing by TOUMANI DIABATE & THE SYMMETRIC ORCHESTRA



Enjoy!
--the BB