Hearing about the earthquake in Haiti sent a chill down my spine, these horrific news about the life loss and all the structural damage that the earthquake caused. This reminded me of January 23rd 1973, when I was is the Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar) in Iceland when the volcanic eruption started that led to more than 1/3 of homes in the island being buried under lava and ash. The town was vacated safely overnight and all of the islanders had to be relocated, fortunately that night no one lost their life and only one life was lost due to volcanic gases in that eruption. I will never forget the walk down to the harbor, in the middle of the night the volcano rumbling loudly in the background, families walking in groups and then speeding up when the rumbling and the noises increased. And then after we left for the mainland on the fishing boats to see the people’s faces when they realized that they had just lost their homes, their livelihood, and possibly all their belongings.
But we Icelanders had good people all around the world who wanted to assist us in our greatest time of need and desperation. They sent us money, the Scandinavic nations sent us prefabricated homes, which were up to Icelandic building codes (must withstand earthquake up to 7 on the Richter scale), NATO assisted in rescuing homes, to mention a few things.
But in my mind the most valuable thing was the assistance we got in clearing the town after the eruption stopped and rebuilding homes, rebuilding infrastructure and the industry. Today Westman Island has a thriving industry on an average higher income per capita than other cities in Iceland and in many aspects better off than before the eruption.
I would like to see that happen in Haiti. This is why I am making this pledge. I encourage all of you to do the same and HELP RE-BUILD HAITI.
