14/01/2010 7:34:25 pm
How Poverty and Lack of Democracy Make the Disaster in Haiti Worse. The magnitude of the earthquake in Haiti is horrifying, and the people is in desperate need of international assistance. Natural disasters may always take place, but we need to remember that some societies can handle the consequences much better. Here are a few things we know:

"More than 80 percent of the total global disaster deaths from 1964 to 2004 occurred in just 15 countries, including China, Ethiopia, Sudan, Indonesia and Bangladesh, among others. Of these fifteen nations, 73 percent are below the median global GDP and 87 percent are below the median democracy index."

If the country is poor, it will find it more difficult to save lives. And often, it is poor because it is run by an oppressing gangster regime. Exactly like Haiti.