Ey You, Give Me One Dollah

I had been told countless times, but in June 2008 flying over the country into the Port Au Prince airport, I saw for the first time the reality of Haiti’s devastated existence. The island of Hispaniola contains Haiti to the west and the Dominican Republic to the East. From an aerial view, there is a line running through the entire island. The Eastern side is green and lush, and the Western side is a mix of brown, gray, smoky clouds from burning trash. The plane lands in an airport that reminds me of the K-Mart parking lot in my hometown. There is rundown and cracked concrete, bumps and potholes all over. Little bits of grass trying to poke through here and there. The lot is now enclosed by one of those short metal fences that we’re used to seeing around school playgrounds. It’s an attempt to keep cows off the runway. Once the plane stops, the doors open and we slowly make our way down the steps that have been wheeled up to the side of the plane. I step into the sun and instantly feel my Irish skin begin to burn, and the stench of animal and human defecation, burning trash, rotting food and flesh, hits my nose. I breathe in. This is Haiti.

One night we sit around Claudel, intensely listening to the words he speaks in his Creole accent over the soft strumming of his acoustic guitar. He tells us the story of the beginnings of “Aiti,” his beloved homeland. Christopher Columbus was the first well known white-skinned man to step foot on Hispaniola, and his visit was shortly followed by the arrival of other European treasure seekers and settlers, specifically the French. They attempted to use the Natives as a workforce, but they died off quickly from contact with European disease. As a replacement, boats of Africans, immune to European disease because of their proximity, were shipped in and put to work.

The African slaves came from tribes throughout their continent, so communication even among each other was difficult. They developed a new language, combining their different native tongues with French and bits of the Native language that remained on the island. Soon all Natives were eliminated, and the African slaves had their own new identity, language, and culture. In 1810 this artificially created people, led by Voodoo priests, revolted against their French oppressors. According to Haitian legend, these priests made a pact with Satan that if he assisted them in gaining independence, he would be given free reign of their country for 200 years. In an entirely unlikely and unexpected success, the Haitian people gained their own nation. Ever since, famine, hunger, disease, lack of education, unemployment, and just about every bad thing you can think of has plagued the country. More concretely, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has a 30% employment rate, and 41% of its two million people population is under the age of 15.

" Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father… For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
-Matthew 25:31-40, NIV

Christian groups love to do as Jesus commanded, and as you can see above, Jesus commanded that his followers help the needy. So, Haiti has been a hotspot for Christian missions trips, charity work, and all-around help for quite a while, even though it hasn’t really gotten much attention from anyone else in the world. I grew up in a very devout Christian home, so I heard about Haiti in church from the time I was a little girl. Many events and people led me to my eventual decision to take a couple trips there of my own.

Here’s my reaction to my second trip

Claudel told us that he and innumerable Haitians were praying earnestly that in 2010, Satan’s rule would be up. He asked us to join him in prayer that God would take control and make Haiti the great nation that it should be. On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, at 4:53 in the afternoon, the starving island of Haiti was struck by an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0. Three million people were estimated to need immediate emergency care, countless were left dead, and essentially every building in and around the capital was destroyed. In all honesty, you probably know more about the devastating effects of Haiti’s earthquakes than I do. I’ve avoided the news reels and papers at all costs, because it wrenches my mind and my heart to remember the people I grew to love, and the babies who may never know more love than they felt in my touch, and wonder whether or not they’re alive.