My time here is swiftly winding down. Two weeks ago I found out that I would be going home in mid-June. It seemed such a long ways off. I was in the middle of parent and child endline surveys and measurements – a seemingly never ending process that literally made May disappear in the blink of an eye. And now mid-June is here and I have less than one week left.
It is quite sad how time passes so quickly, whether I am here in Haiti, at school in St. Louis or home on Hidden Ln. I was just getting in to the swing of things; I had my routines, friends, activities, a to-do list, apartment decorating – all things that make you feel at home, comfortable and relaxed. A place that you know is yours. And now, just like that, this nomad packs up and is heading on to the next place.
Despite the short time here, there are plenty of things I will be taking back with me in one form or another. Some sentimental, some not so much and others pretty critical, I know these lessons will travel with me wherever I end up.
Smiling. Being polite even when others are not. It’s amazing thing, manners. You’re taught at an early age to say please and thank you, address adults with respect, etc. But living in a country where manners are not nearly as common, you learn to appreciate them. Greeting a market woman selling vegetables before buying them instantly gets me a smile, “wi cheri” and a “bon pri”. Smiling at a stranger in my line of walking will get me a smile in return. Greeting the hoard of children shouting “blan!” will get me a more polite line of questioning. Granted, it doesn’t always work. There will always be people who are rude, impolite and downright rotten. But I’ve found here that being openly friendly – dropping the standard guard most North Americans have can lead to a nicer and happier exchange and day. So smile.
History. Caribbean history is pretty much glazed over in North American history. Columbus ‘discovered’ it, there were pirates, and now there are golf courses and resorts. It leaves out so much – Haiti in particular has an amazing history. It is a country built on the only successful slave revolt. There is such a legacy of freedom and liberty here that stems from that. It was once the richest country in the world, building an empire on its exports of sugar, rum, coffee. The colonization of Hispaniola itself is remarkable. Here, history is everywhere. Cap-Haitien is right in line of sight to the Citadelle, a huge fortress built by Henri Christophe that contains some of the most impressive canons I’ve ever seen. Although things are not preserved here as they are in the states, there is something beautiful about the presence sites like the Citadelle have. They haven’t been turned into turned into a tourist trap or twisted into the ‘best’ fit history – they just are.
Control issues. There’s one thing to be organized, on time, and hard working. Then there’s another thing to be controlling, in charge, demanding. Like in Senegal, it is impossible to have control over how things operate here. Letting go of control and realizing that things happen when they do is how things get done. I don’t mean just becoming completely disinterested or invested in the work that is going on. But I mean recognizing the fact that in developing countries there are an infinite more numbers of obstacles inhibiting timely, organizing and efficient work. Yes, it’s partly the country’s fault for their crappy infrastructure and corruption, but issues go deeper and are much much complicated than that. Imagine a sequester that never actually ends, or driving over a fiscal cliff that is over a pool infested with everything that could possibly tear you to pieces. So there is another holiday in which schools are closed. Yes, it impacts our study in two major ways; kids don’t eat and we don’t get to complete some measurements that day. Instead of complaining to the school administration, the government, and the woman selling coconut water, you have to learn to deal, adjust and work within an environment that is always changing, and hardly ever going the way you want it to.
Accountability. This next one is a huge issue for me. And it’s a little soap boxy. Maybe a lot. Definitely a lot. But I’ve lived in several developing countries and I’ve seen organizations and governments working together, doing good things, making a change in the health and well-being of its people. And I’ve seen organizations and governments doing complete crap. Literally, creating shit for its people to live in. And there is much much more of this in Haiti. Yes, Haiti is poor. Yes there is hunger, extreme poverty, disease, death. But – and this is a big but – there are also hundreds of organizations here doing nothing that really is developing Haiti. Because the country is literally run on foreign aid, organizations such as UNICEF, World Bank, WFP, CARE, USAID determine the priorities and policies of the country. And these organizations are usually about making money, not developing a country. For example; food aid. Over the last fifty years, Haiti has been flooded with food aid, mostly rice grown in the States. The problem with this is that Haiti had a stable rice market; they were growing enough rice but the distribution and infrastructure of trade wasn’t there. So rather than fixing that, organizations flooded the market with imported rice, increasing its price and devastating the agriculture economy. This has resulting in a failed economy which Haiti has never – and perhaps – will never recover from because the same organizations are still here, doing the same work. There is no accountability from the government, people, and organizations themselves to take a step back, recognize what is going on, and demand change. Similarly, at a smaller level, organizations that run schools, orphanages, etc also take advantage of the system. I was shocked to learn that the ‘orphans’ from the earthquake in 2010 often have parents. They just don’t want to care for them, or the parents know that their children will be better provided if they send them away. Some children are even kids from influential and wealthy families and are used as a pawn in the political/organizational infrastructure that runs local municipalities. What culture of parenting and family is that creating? And these organizations know this and are doing nothing to address the issue because it makes them money.
Now not every organization is like this. And often, many organizations start out from good causes. There really want to make an impact, a difference. The problem is that there is no accountability to keep these organizations in line or create standards of operations, responsibility, etc. As a result, anyone can literally come down to Haiti, start and organization and make money. That’s not even touching on what this surge of organizations is doing to the capacity and empowerment of the people of Haiti. Why work when I can get everything donated and free from this organization? Why raise my children when this organization will take them? Why should I be interested in my government when they don’t actually run my country? Huge implications for the best intentions led way way way off the path. Like I said, a little soap boxy, but development work is a bit more complicated than just donating some old clothes.
I realize leaving this post like that seems that I’m jaded and that I didn’t enjoy my time here. Far from it. I really loved Haiti and spending time here and working here. There is beauty here that is often ignored. Humor that is often over-looked. Passion and drive that is turned away. And pride that runs deep. It is a place of strength and working with my team, I’ve seen that strength. Despite my best intentions I will always be an optimist at heart. And I see that there are good things happening to here – like in other places in the world, you just never hear about it. Development work is a tricky beast – and there is never ever one right answer or a cure-all solution. But the important thing is to have passion and commitment. To have an honest desire to create sustainable change so that every person has the opportunity to be happy, healthy, and live a good life. I’m still leaving Haiti a dreamer and still wanting to do my part.
No comments:
Post a Comment