A significant connection exists between the humanitarian disaster that struck Haiti following last week’s 7.0 Richter scale earthquake and the daily existence of Chelsea’s residents. At our core, we are fundamentally alike. Chelsea residents enjoy homes or apartments equipped with running water, heat and electricity, as well as access to health care. The city provides roads and businesses, food outlets and numerous shopping destinations. Should a 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastate Chelsea as it did Haiti, the consequences would be catastrophic. Most residents would lose their homes, food and water supplies, and access to needed medical care. The infrastructure that sustains us would be obliterated. Our streets and highways would crack and buckle. Electrical service would cease. Winter would bring no heat to our buildings, and hospitals struggling to treat tens of thousands of injured would reach capacity within hours. Such a scenario remains unlikely in Chelsea, though earthquakes here remain possible. Yet the gap separating those of us living in relative safety from those plunged into darkness and suffering in Haiti is not substantial. The boundary between a functioning society and one laid waste measures merely 40 seconds—the duration required to destroy Port au Prince. Recognizing this reality, we bear a responsibility to contribute whatever we can toward easing the pain and suffering of the Haitian people. Through our assistance to them, we serve ourselves and advance the broader human community.
Haiti and Chelsea
