bmobile

Imagine being trapped under some rubble with only a mobile phone for company. You could be hurt, bleeding, hungry, dehydrated or any combination of the above. If the mobile infrastructure is even partially intact, calling people on the phone would be limited by the likely overload of the mobile system. But SMS messages get queued. They also drain less battery life which, if you're stuck, could be very important in saving your life or the life of someone you love.

Via text message from BMobile:

Please help Haiti. Text HAITI to code GIVE (4483) to donate $10.00. Bmobile sends all proceeds to Medianet & Red Cross Relief Funds. Give to save a life.

So, one corporate sponsor could have a definitive impact on the amount of funding going to Haiti from Trinidad and Tobago's shores.

'But does that really balance the Beyonce issue?', someone asked me.

And I said: Do you think Beyonce would donate her proceeds from her concert to Haiti? 

Everyone seems to have something to say about Beyonce coming to Trinidad and Tobago (Paolo Kernahan's latest is the best so far, I think). This one has a ghastly picture of Beyonce, but did a good job of hitting the high points for the international community. The local community? 

Well, everyone has an opinion.

Here's mine.

It happens. People lose mobile phones; they are dropped and picked up by passing strangers or are taken by less passive strangers. One way or the other, people lose their phones.

Last Friday, I lost mine. I searched high, I searched low, I searched the spectrum in between. I checked the refrigerator, the dog (who did not ring when I called the number) and the yard. It was gone - and the ring could not be heard except through the receiver of another phone. After a few calls, I started getting my 'busy' message from the phone.