I made appointments to get shots and malaria meds for the trip.  I think of the anthropologist who does work in Haiti but felt helpless after the earthquake because he didn’t have medical skills to care for the injured.  I wonder how many Haitians don’t have access to medical care and public health measures to prevent disease.  This is part of my First World privilege.

The fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina has come and gone.  I recorded a slew of news shows and specials but haven’t watched them yet.

I heard about Dominicans helping Haitians.  They share one island and the disaster brought them together.

Last, I’m reading the incredible book, A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster by Rebecca Solnit.  The essayist and social critic wrote the book before the horrors of the January earthquake in Haiti, but the response of the people makes her point, that people don’t turn on each other in dire circumstances, but engage in community, solidarity, and agency.