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Haiti on our Minds
By Jon D. Huddleston, January 21, 2010
It has been more than a week since the earthquake destroyed Port-Au Prince, Haiti. Tens of thousands are dead. Survivors are injured, homeless, and hungry. The carnage is of a magnitude that is too overwhelming to comprehend and too horrible to quantify. The ensuing weeks, months and years will be perilously difficult.
Americans have characteristically responded, as we characteristically do in such crises. Medical personnel and supplies, food, clothing and water have been transported to Haiti in hopes of ameliorating the dire conditions.
I do not pretend to know what lies ahead for this nation that was already impoverished before the cataclysmic events of last week. I do know that we are far closer to the beginning of the disaster than the end. The ability to regroup and recover will be dependent on the return of the systemic functions of government and a return to order. Ultimately, the importance of the law and the legal community will prove to be integral in the success of any such recovery.
In the meantime, our hearts go out to the citizens of Haiti during this time of tragedy, sorrow and profound loss.