Editor's Note

WNU Editor: Blogging is going to be light for the next day or two. The disaster in Haiti has hit me on a personal level, and on a professional level.

20 years ago I started a computer company with a friend of mine from Haiti. We made a vow at the time that a portion of our profits would go to each of our respective "home" countries. In my case it was Canada/Russia .... his was Haiti. But with time all of our energies became focused on Haiti.

We donated computers and software to charitable organizations and groups that we felt confident would not abuse our generosity and goodwill .... and would use our equipment and expertise to good use. One of the most moving experiences in my life was when I visited Haiti in 1994 to visit a school where some of our computers were being used by teachers and students to educate and learn all that there is to know about computers and technology. The experience was surreal .... ignoring the fact that I was a white man surrounded in a sea of black Haitians .... I will never forget witnessing the armed guards that were stationed 24 hours at the school to protect the computers and the generators that were used to provide the needed electricity to power these systems .... what to me was just a computer was to them equal to a vault of gold. But this security presence was quickly forgotten when I saw the kids in the school .... the hunger on their faces to know everything that there is to know about computers was a joy to watch and be a part of.

With time, we then focused our charity work by giving computers to "Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontiéres", as well as some money when the need calls for it. Our stipulation has always been that our donations be targeted for Haiti .... a practice that we have continued for the past 20 years.

But all was lost today. My friend tells me that he cannot get in contact with any members of his family .... and he is expecting the worse. As for "Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontiéres", they have three hospitals in the capital, and early reports indicate that all three have been severely damaged if not destroyed.

As for myself .... since the disaster yesterday I have been preoccupied with setting up a communications bridge with people in Haiti and with their family members in Montreal (I have a home in Montreal) .... this has not been easy, but it is the least that I can do for my Haitian friends in Montreal and in Haiti itself.

If anyone wants to make donations, I would strongly recommend "Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontiéres" .... their reputation is well deserved, and any help will always be appreciated.

Regular blogging at War News Updates will resume tomorrow afternoon.