Haiti's misery just compounded itself

The situation in Haiti leaves all of us shaken, seeing death and destruction on a scale rarely witnessed these days. It reminds us that massive catastrophe can strike anywhere at anytime. No mercy is shown to people already living a tough existence.

Haiti, however, is a special case. It was a disaster before a disaster came. The nearly lawless nation is filled with slums and the poorest of the poor. Corruption and violence is an everyday thing.

It looks as if God picked up Haiti and shook it. The damage is complete to the most populated parts of the country. Houses are reduced to rubble, and even the highest government offices are shattered.

Leaders there seem to be in shock. Deaths are estimated to be as high as 500,000, but no one has a clue. It's clear people are trapped and are still alive - for now. That won't last long, though.

Trying to figure out where to begin to help is next to impossible. So much death and destruction permeates the land there. The world community is responding, though, but hope is slim in a place where there isn't much hope in the first place.

Haiti is filled with many good people, but their country is a mess. Actually, it's been that way for a long time, but little ever changes. People live in the most crushing poverty on earth in Haiti. Much of the land is so stripped of trees and vegetation, due to residents needing wood for cooking and heat, that the countryside is eroding.

Packs of bandits rob and rape in some places, and life is extremely hard. It's no wonder so many people want to escape.

Just when it seems it can't get worse in Haiti, it gets much worse. The dazed looks, the pure agony of and the hopelessness is plastered on the faces of millions of people. It's heartbreaking.

A lot of good people are working hard to make the situation better, and all of us can help. The Red Cross and many church groups are scrambling to raise money and get relief supplies into this mangled country. We hope all Americans do what they can to help those poor folks in the most extraordinary of times.