Aftermath: Injured person on the streets of Port Au-Prince after an earthquake struck the island nation. (AP Photo/Jorge Cruz)

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Port Au-Prince, the capital of Haiti Tuesday evening (Wednesday morning, Malaysian time) leaving behind massive destruction and the loss of thousands of lives. Many others are still trapped under the debris as teams of international rescuers rush to provide aid and support.

"Parliament has collapsed. The tax office has collapsed. Schools have collapsed. Hospitals have collapsed," President Rene Preval told the Miami Herald. "There are a lot of schools that have a lot of dead people in them."

The Caribbean nation of about 10 million people, struggling with a history of despotic and corrupted leaders, has been assessed as the poorest country in the Americas. Literacy is recorded at 65.9 percent, again the lowest in the region.

The cost of human and environment destruction has been immense, and we pray the strength of the people of Haiti remain strong in this hour of pain.

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