So many of those to choose from when it comes to Haiti and her people I'm not sure where to begin. But let's go with the old adage that a picture "speaks a thousand words" and start with the above photograph I took in Port au Prince.
It depicts a white female who - driving alone - got stuck on a curb. When we drove up on this scene, the woman was smiling and talking to the group of men who had gathered around to try and help her. You can't see it from the picture, but there were two men at the upper right corner of the vehicle trying to dislodge it.
I told friends and family via e-mail while I was still in Haiti - in an attempt to ease their concerns - that I honestly have felt more uncomfortable walking/driving the more impoverished, seedier parts of San Francisco than I ever did in Haiti. Why is that? I've thought about it a great deal since I've been back. Had I come across this same scene and situation in any of the more unsavory and impoverished sections of any large American city, I doubt I'd have wrtten what I did above to describe it. To the contrary I probably would have been inclined to pull over and "rescue" her. If you live in the states, if you've ever driven through some of the areas I'm referring to - I know you know what I mean.
I suppose it has something to do with drugs not being an issue in Haiti as they are in much of the U.S. But more than that I keep coming back to it being something intrinsic about the Haitian people themselves. There is an inherent grace, dignity and good-natured spirit about them; honed I can probably rightly conjecture, from a long history of oppression ... combined with a dogged and sustained through generations determination to hold on to their deep faith, wherever that may come from (I will not venture down the path of religious discussion here - ever) as well as what seems to be enormous wells of courage and the ability to make the best of what life hands them to deal with.
Given that, it makes their situation - before and after the quake - that much more heartwrenching.
I was told by a native Haitian their greatest strengths, seem to often be their greatest weaknesses. As I come home from this trip and continue my journey by continuing to educate myself about the history of Haiti, both of the country and of the people themselves, as well as how they have been treated by the world at large ... I get what he's saying. It's hard not to just sum up an extremely complicated and involved subject by saying simply - over time this country and its people have been horribly oppressed and used due in part to their having been too complacent because of circumstance and their basic nature. And it is difficult to assert yourself when looking down the barrel of a gun - the history of Haiti has also included far too much violence directed at those who tried.......
I deeply hope - as do many Haitians I spoke with - that this earthquake will open a window of insight for the world and for Haitians themselves. I hope the Haitian people will find the continued strength, needed determination, combined with that intrinsic courage, to stand up after this tragedy and demand a place at the table as it is set for recovery largely by outside interests. I hope the world because of this earthquake and a chance for a new start for the country, will take a look at what has been done over many years in Haiti and see larger lessons for us all - help Haiti and her people become more self-sufficient and less dependent on aid. They want that for themselves. They are not ignorant of their own internal issues, nor are they lacking the desire for something better for the future.
But they are poster children for how oppressive the world can be - both from outside and within, for there are indeed also internal forces at work against them - when money, power and control take precedent long term, over basic human rights. We need to give them a chance for meaningful, long-term, empowering change. Now.
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