The visuals are graphic and painfully heart-wrenching. For us in Guyana, looking at the horrifying scenes unfold as intrepid journalists brave the dangers and discomfort to tell us the stories of tragedy, horror, pain, courage, agony – the gamut of human suffering and emotions from the comfort of our homes, the magnitude of the tragedy of Haiti cannot be measured.

But cameos, where exquisite human suffering is captured on camera for posterity to experience some of the ethos of this unfolding saga of suffering, and where human courage is transcending the parameters of reasonable human endeavour, have given all of us a glimpse of the ordeal of the Haitian people, and the unimaginable bravery of simple, ordinary persons, who are putting their lives at risk for their fellow human beings.

Of course, every decent person, across every divide, is commiserating with the devastated people of Haiti, but it is the volunteers from various corners of the world who are working indefatigably to rescue and provide relief and care to citizens of this beleaguered nation, which, even before this catastrophic earthquake, had been graphed as the poorest nation in the hemisphere.

Battered by four hurricanes in rapid succession last year, after a plethora of political upheavals that took that nation to the brink, Haitians stoically engaged their existence and tried to recover a semblance of normality, until last Tuesday’s devastating earthquake and its accompanying aftershocks, which toppled buildings, including the presidential palace and hospitals, like so many houses of cards, killing estimated hundreds of thousands of people and injuring and displacing thousands more.

And this is where the best of humanity surfaced. All across the world hearts are bleeding for the people of Haiti, but it is those who put their own lives and personal affairs on hold and went to the assistance of their suffering fellow humans who are heroes in a very real sense.

And their tales of heroism would fill volumes.

Like the Dominican man who jumped into a tiny, dark crevice, not knowing whether the walls would come crashing down and either crush or bury him alive, but instead the Lord was good and he emerged with a two-year-old baby who had survived being entombed alone for four days, with neither food nor water.

Strong men were crying as they tore into rubble with their bare hands, attempting to save as many lives as they could, entering holes and apertures in broken buildings without caring that the rest of the structure would collapse on them. Their sole intent was to rescue as many people as possible.

Then there are the medical personnel. Without even the basic material for medical and surgical interventions they are using their skills and experience, under the most rigorous and dangerous conditions, in efforts to save as many lives as they could within their constrained circumstances and resources.

There is a hero in most human beings, and it is at times when human suffering has crested to unimaginable levels that the hero emerges and scales superlative heights, sometimes even beyond human endurance.

The heroes of Haiti may remain unsung in the future; but within this span of time and space, it is the heroes of Haiti who merit the highest accolades, even more than presidents, princes, and kings.