Day 2!

           On the second day of our trip we got to speak to Rev. Djaloki who told us things about Haiti and the Haitian people that you can't read in a book or see in the news.  He emphasized the importance of establishing human relationships in order to build trust. "With a trusting relationship, the impossible is possible...without it, things that seem very easy become impossible." All to often in the U.S. we meet and work with people without even asking how they are doing. In the Haitian culture trust is built through human relations. If you don't build that trust you will accomplish very little. Life and experiences have showed them that promises are going to be broken. This is why the 5 billion dollars of aid has made little change. Throwing money and goods to them will not help in the long run. Yes, they will accept the goods and the money knowing that its not going to make a difference. However, if you befriend the Haitians, they will put their mind, body and soul into the effort and make the impossible come to fruition.

            What we don't realize is that in the process of helping, the U.S. is actually harming them and their economy. For example, donating clothes takes away business from the Haitian tailors and thus takes away from their economy. Also when the U.S. gave all of the subsidized rice to Haiti no one wanted to buy the Haitian rice because it was more expensive. Also by doing these things and coming in and trying to make their county more like ours,  they are belittling the Haitian culture. Djaloki advised us to be apart of the group of Americans that respects Haitian culture not ignores it.

            However there are ways that we can help! Fifty percent of the decisions need to be made on capitol hill. A country cannot change by itself, they need the international community's help. They do not what you to do it for them though. Haitians are not looking for handouts! They want you to help them help themselves. As Einstein eloquent stated, "You cannot solve a problem from the same state of mind that created the problem." This means that the former European colonizers of Haiti who have harmed Haiti through economic and political oppression cannot help restore Haiti under those same circumstances. The Haitian people know that they need a stable government, but they don't yet know what kind. However, they know that it will not be that of Europe or of the U.S., they need to find a form of government that works for them.

             In Haiti, they the Elite, which is the richest people in the country who only make up 5% of the population, basically run the government. They speak French, they're usually Catholic, and because they're over privileged, economic conditions don't affect them. They are essentially above the law. Therefore the people who need the most help from the government, the poor, have no say in the government. The Haitian people, minus the elite, don't expect the government to take care of them. They expect the government to oppress them as they have done in the past. The elite are often descendants of the slave owners and are also lighter in skin tone.

            Although Haiti is facing tough times right now and all people see is bad,  Rev. Djaloki reminded us that dye moon, gene moon. Literally meaning "Beyond mountains, more mountains." This proverb speak to Haiti's topography, but symbolically represents the idea that there is so much to learn about Haiti. The country's history has many layers-- sometimes they aren't congruent.To truly be committed to being apart of the healing process, we have to be committed to tackling one mountain, one obstacle, one layer of history at a time and then continue our commitment on to the next.

-Patrice Noel