My sister's Hurricane Isaac experience in Tonga
Keith Lofstrom
If they don't have any skills and they don't speak French or Haitian
creole, yeah, the chances that they'll be able to actually help is
NIL. What can I add to what dozens of experts have already said?
I've been in the middle of one disaster overseas, in Ha'apai during
hurricane Isaac, but I was there before the hurricane, knew the people
involved, spoke the language, and ended up translating for the New
Zealand army relief team. If your friend can't do that, then forget it.
----- End forwarded message -----
My own experiences:
Years ago, my wife and I went on vacation in rural Thailand, with our
little pocket tourist dictionaries. In one small town, we made the
mistake of letting the locals know she was a doctor. We were mobbed.
Our little books had like 10 words for body parts, and we could not
understand these desperately needy people, much less help them.
A humbling experience.
When we got back to Bangkok, we bought a full Thai/English medical
dictionary. If we ever go again, we will be ready.
I recently read "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder, about
Dr. Paul Farmer, who set up clinics in the Haitian uplands. If you
want to understand conditions there, that is a good start.
Keith
--
Keith Lofstrom kei...@keithl.com Voice (503)-520-1993
KLIC --- Keith Lofstrom Integrated Circuits --- "Your Ideas in Silicon"
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