It is no surprise the Haitian infrastructure could not stand up to the earthquake, said Bill Fletcher, executive editor for the Black Commentator.
“What we are seeing should not surprise us. Haiti’s infrastructure prior to the earthquake was extremely weak, extremely fragile and you are dealing with the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, a country where 80 per cent of the population lives beneath the poverty line,” Fletcher said.
The priority for Haiti in the next 72 hours is to recover and bury the dead, he added.
“This is very difficult to say, but at some point they have to declare they are no longer looking for survivors, they are essentially looking to remove bodies,” Fletcher said.
“This is obviously very difficult for the families of the people who have disappeared but they have to very quickly begin moving these bodies out of the way and moving the debris out to prevent the spread of contamination and disease,” he added.