The Haiti Earthquake — A Remembrance of Resilience
January 12th, 2010: The World is Shaken
January 12th. This is a date that will solemnly live forever in the memories of Haiti’s people and their many friends around the globe. Exactly eight years ago at 4:53 pm EST a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck approximately 16 miles west of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. In mere minutes, the geological blink of an eye, Haiti’s history was changed forever.
Estimates of the number of lives lost range from 100,000 to upwards of 360,000. Think about that for a second… This was such a catastrophic disaster that we don’t even have a good sense of how many people died. Even at the low end, the scope of loss is staggering. To put it in perspective, losing 100,000 people in a country of 10 million is the equivalent of losing the combined populations of San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and many of the surrounding communities in one horrible moment.
Entire families disappeared. Rich and poor. Old and young. Tens of thousands of ordinary people, who were simply going about their business, working, playing, laughing, loving.
Many of these people were buried in the rubble of homes and offices that collapsed around them. Hundreds were rescued over the coming days and their life-affirming stories awed us and gave us hope. Stories like that of Monley, the five year old boy, who lost both his parents, but by virtue of his own resilience and dogged determination, survived for eight days, buried under the ruins of his collapsed house.
Unfortunately, for all too many people the story was different. In their time of greatest need, help was too slow to come. Not for lack of trying, or lack of commitment, but because the problem was too daunting for a system that was overwhelmed and unprepared. 250,000 residences were destroyed, along with a further 30,000 commercial buildings, 1,300 schools and 50 health care facilities. Each of those buildings represented lives and livelihoods, many of which were lost forever.
For those who did survive, conditions were dire. Many people slept in the streets for fear of aftershocks. Food, water and medical supplies were scarce and in many places non-existent. The degree of hardship and human suffering that survivors faced in those painfully long hours and days after January 12th is impossible to imagine.
Resilience in the Face of Tragedy — The Human Spirit Gives Us Hope
In spite of all this, while facing their darkest hour, the spirit of the Haitian people, which is that same human spirit we all share, shone through. Literally surrounded by rubble, death and destruction, mere hours after their world was shattered, hundreds of Haitians joined together in song. These were songs of lament, but also songs of life-affirming celebration and fortitude in the face of devastation.
The resiliency of the human spirit is a remarkable and inspiring thing. We saw it in the aftermath of Haiti’s horrific earthquake, I saw it when I was stranded in my house for seven days during a terrible flood in Kashmir, and we all see it time and again in the face of disasters across the world.
Harnessing that spirit and empowering people to bounce back from the most trying and tragic of circumstances is why I am so passionate about pursuing a vision of planetary-scale resilience, where everyone lives in a safe, equitable and sustainable world. This is why One Concern exists.
Every Life Matters — Building a Safer, More Sustainable Future Together
We can’t go back in time and alleviate the suffering caused by the Haiti earthquake, but its anniversary should serve as a reminder to all of us that we can and must do better. Even in the face of a catastrophe the size of Haiti’s earthquake, government should not be rendered helpless. The loss of some lives may be unavoidable, but every life matters and I believe that many more lives can and will be saved in the next disaster, whether that is an earthquake, a flood, or a fire. To realize this goal, however, local communities need to be empowered with powerful new insights.
At One Concern, we are building the tools to provide these insights. By combing human expertise, science and deep learning, we are building a benevolent AI company that is driving deep social impact aimed at saving lives and livelihoods. This is our mission, but it’s one we only have the privilege to pursue because of the steadfast commitment and support of our partners, investors, advisors, clients and the dedicated emergency response professionals and public servants, who are the real heroes of our efforts.
For me and my team at One Concern, January 12th is not only a somber reminder of why we do what we do, but also a call to action. We want to ensure that the resilience of those who survived that terrible day continues to serve as an inspiration for all those who, like us, are striving to make the world a safer, more sustainable place.
When the next disaster strikes, and following on the heels of 2017’s devastation we know it is only a matter of time before it does, I believe that together we will be able to save more lives and in the process make this world we all share that much more resilient and hopeful.
~ Ahmad
Co-founder and CEO, One Concern
