trying to understand.

You'd think I'd be somewhat over it by now.

It would make sense for me to have moved on with my life.

But it still haunts me.

I still see the impact on my life of the earthquake in Haiti.

Every day.

It has truly changed the way I live.

It's been a lesson in self-discovery.

I didn't realize how crucial the Haiti aspect of my life was to my overall contentment.

I can't not have that as a constant part of my existence.

This morning, I listened to a speaker who was comparing Haiti's earthquake to 9/11.

I was honestly surprised at how strongly I reacted.

My whole body tensed up.

I was legitimately angry at him.

I shouldn't be angry. I realize that he just doesn't understand.

But I couldn't shake it.

2,819 people died in 9/11. [0.00001% of the US's population at the time.]

230,000 people died in Haiti. [2.8% of Haiti's population.]

The estimated cleanup cost from 9/11 is $600 million.

The projected cleanup cost in Haiti is $1 billion.

1,506,124 tons of debris was removed from the World Trade Center site.

An estimated 60,000,000 tons of debris is yet to be removed in Port-au-Prince.

source: nymag.com

I'm not trying to diminish the calamity of what happened on September 11, 2001.

I realize that the scope of thousands of people's lives was forever changed on that day.

There is no way to rectify or justify the attacks.

But please understand, there's no comparison between the two events.

Port-au-Prince has essentially ceased to exist.

"When arriving at a large tent city downtown, our police escort said, 'There is no more Port-au-Prince.' Heartbroken, she stayed inside the truck." -@troylivesay (January 21, 2010)