Friday, January 22, 2010

Friday - Reprise of Perspectives

Pastor Ralph and I sat with Dr. Macklin, our Haitian doctor friend who worked with us at the local hospital. He said, “You know you have saved the lives of hundreds?” “If you had not been here to pay for the drugs this week, we could not have coped. Lives would have been lost, legs would not have been saved, infections would have maimed.” Your love has helped these people, your food and drink for the medical staff has helped sustain them through overwhelming hours of work, especially for the interns who have little reserve for themselves. It was a perspective that had been lost on us as we struggled to move from place to place changing money, buying drugs, delivering food and drink. It is so easy to be overtaken by the detail and miss the design. Ralph and Adrianne will accompany him for this last day. Keith goes back to the house building project way up the hill from one of the church projects.




Mike Hertz’ team arrange for many thousands of meals this week. We are beginning to see refugees from PaP. These add pressure to an already stressed community system. MaryLou was passing out cards to those who said they could not afford meals for themselves or their family. Of course there were many hands reaching for cards. Pastor Ralph noticed a group of five or so men, only one of whom had a card. He asked “Wouldn’t the rest of you like a card?” “No Pastor, they said. We have a little money and we can feed our families tonight.” Not everyone has a hand out for help.




The Church that lies precariously on the precipice created by the USAID excavation project for a water cistern now has fresh paint throughout. The minister remains adamant that his church will continue to function and provide support to his community. He proceeds ahead with a commitment and pride that is characteristic of many in Haiti. They seem to say “I will not be daunted by the challenges around me. I will remain true to myself, focused on what must be done and plan for a better future.” These are the people we seek to resource, for even though their priorities way not be those of our system, they know their countrymen and seek to fill their needs.




Even the clinic sees its trauma patients and experiences Haiti’s drama. I was told of a mother and daughter - apparently from PaP - arrived so dehydrated that the medical staff spent almost two hours trying to get a vein in the mother. She was later transported to the hospital; the daughter remains in local care.

Yesterday we visited another of the many orphanages in the area. Originally established by a particular Christian denomination, it was sustained with outside funds for a year. Then it had to on its own. It is a fine facility, by local standards, but it is no longer supported and struggles to make ends meet, let alone provide top-notch education to the forty or so children. Facilities there were in disrepair, but the children looked well and loved. Pastor Ralph tells me Haiti is where good intentions go to die.

I earlier asked “Why so many orphanages?” “First”, I was told “You should understand that being an orphan here places you in a social strata where no one will marry you - unless it is another orphan.” “Orphans are not given the same status as other children. No one wants them. No one will train them unless we do it ourselves or pay others to do it. That is why I concentrate less on accommodation and more on education. I want these children to be more than what they think the can be. We get them the best education I can afford and we study, study, study. I want to invest in and create the best educated Haitian young adults possible so THEY can improve their country.



Haiti, if you will forgive me, often presents itself as a well coifed woman. Makeup strategically placed to hide her imperfections, always seeking to turn they best side outward, while deemphasizing the imperfection. Almost everyone you meeting is well dressed and clean. It is unusual to meet any who have my girth, but most appear whole and hearty. But at its best that “Haiti” depends on the accruements of makeup and redirection. Each day is tenuous and fragile. Any disruption of the norm strips the façade of makeup away revealing a torn and battered body, like those we hear experiencing spousal abuse. Tenuous is a word that comes to mind. There are so many who give and minister here, but we contribute to Haiti’s makeup. We must also find the “abuser” and fix that problem. The good news is we see where good men can make a difference. I was braced for overwhelming smells, garbage in the streets, and the like. And I had been told that at times the garbage would be piled so high that only one car could pass at a time in a two lane street. That is not the case in much of Cap Haitien, today. “How did this transformation take place?” I asked of my doctor friend. “We have a good mayor now.” He replies. “I did not vote for him, but I will do so now.”



I am frustrated that it is so hard to push picture through or modest internet connection. I will try again today, but check back after we return (which is tomorrow - Saturday 23 January) and I will try and share some of the visuals we have collected as a group. For now I will concentrate on capturing my thoughts and impressions.



I am not a doctor, but I begin to appreciate frustrations that arise when every stitch of mending pushes problems elsewhere. As we struggle to fix the hemorrhage we can see, and perhaps we do, we need only look elsewhere to discover another crisis.



What can we do? How can Haiti be “fixed”? I am sure smarter men than I grapple with this conundrum. I think Cheron has it partially right. We can’t “graft” a western / American solution here. We must seek to develop the solutions from Haiti, not import them. The various NGOs and charities that invest here spend a tremendous amount of money. They invest even more in pure emotional capital, but often our investment brings “our solution” here. We need a stronger educated class of young adults who know their country and can help with the details of reconstruction. So good education is essential. Another component is to have people develop a pride in self that drives them to make things happen. Cheron calls this developing a work ethic. Yes many here do work, and work hard, but one can also find the hale and hearty lounging at the street corners - playing dominos or cards. How do we harness that? Yes there is little “major” industry to hire, train and sustain - but there could be. Japan imports almost everything to make its Toyota and Honda. They are geographically isolated - yet the have a major, global economic impact.



One thing I know for sure, Haiti is a world problem. Born with one country’s imperialism, broken by others. Embargoed by others, sharing an island continent grudgingly with others. History tells us many have contributed here, few though with a vision for a better Haiti, by Haitians for Haitians.

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