Before the earthquake, the South East Regional Office of the American Friends Serivice Committee was working on a school kit project here
There were two boxes collected but we we reached an impasse at delivery since the traditional method for delivery had been through visiting Friends and there are few Friends visiting Haiti. I had wished for them to be shipped so that Friends who were making the contributions could also contribute the cost of the shipping.
The Lambi Fund in Haiti, here, works in the rural areas of Haiti, and shares Quaker values. They, had, at the time, agreed to work with AFSC in receiving donations in Haiti and helping to distribute them.
Although the primary need is always for money, I know that Friends prefer to involve their Meetings and particularly their First Day Schools in direct contact with materials and the recipients.
At the time of our initial discussions, with Patrick Lucien of the Edem Foundation, there was a request from Friends that the children in Haiti correspond with the donors in the United States. While this might be a lovely exchange, I would hope that it is not placed as a requirement upon the recipients, given their circumstances.
I would request that SERO, AFSC and all Quaker Meetings might consider this project as a way to reach out to the people of Haiti.
Thirty six percent of the population of Haiti is under the age of 14, as opposed to 13% of the United States under that age.
Mesi d'avant.
Showing posts with label Aid to Haiti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aid to Haiti. Show all posts
Monday, April 16, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Saving Turtle Island
It's only 4 pm and already it is the best birthday EVER
Woke up to snuggles of love ... hugs from all around
went with my fFriend Marcos to Unity
lunched in the Zona
ran into Luis.. MORE hugs
back to my little corner of AYATI here in Sainte Domingue
to read the wonderful news
That HEINEKEN has bought both Presidente (Dominican) and Prestige(Haitian) breweries
and that DIGICEL
from Ireland.. which revolutionized communications in Haiti a few years back by taking it wireless.. has just bought VIVA.. an internet provider there and about second in the market here
so
if
we
could
now
have
some
tree hugging
birkenstock
wearing
goddess worshipping
members of the
eco feminista
teamsters union
who would like to spend their winters in the tropics
come and join me on the hills of SAMANA
i
think that
we
might
just
SAVE TURTLE ISLAND
many many thanks to all for the generous contributions of gold and rubies and light and love
caught the high wind from Jamaica
now running free
Woke up to snuggles of love ... hugs from all around
went with my fFriend Marcos to Unity
lunched in the Zona
ran into Luis.. MORE hugs
back to my little corner of AYATI here in Sainte Domingue
to read the wonderful news
That HEINEKEN has bought both Presidente (Dominican) and Prestige(Haitian) breweries
and that DIGICEL
from Ireland.. which revolutionized communications in Haiti a few years back by taking it wireless.. has just bought VIVA.. an internet provider there and about second in the market here
so
if
we
could
now
have
some
tree hugging
birkenstock
wearing
goddess worshipping
members of the
eco feminista
teamsters union
who would like to spend their winters in the tropics
come and join me on the hills of SAMANA
i
think that
we
might
just
SAVE TURTLE ISLAND
many many thanks to all for the generous contributions of gold and rubies and light and love
caught the high wind from Jamaica
now running free
Friday, April 13, 2012
Why Other Nations must help Haiti.. NOT the USA
I am much assisted now by the many new readers of the blog from the international team with whom I worked on the narcotrafficante story. Every morning I can check the out clicks on the blog here and find that they have left me a question by which blog entry they click out from , or sometimes just an uplift.. by referring me back to a time where I was more optimistic and happy.
This morning's question's from Finland, refers back to logistics.. to this post.. here wrutten by Michael Keizer. Now at the time of that post, there was essentially no functioning government in Haiti. Now there is.
Haiti has long suffered from a lack of confidence in its government and a manipulation and sabatoge of its electoral process by the interntional community.
Since I lived and worked in Haiti 30 years ago with a diving operation, I have always watched what was going on there.
When Aristide was elected President in 1990, the very first democratically elected president, I remember listening to a US State Department official being interviewed,, perhaps on NPR. He said something along the lines that the US did not like his rhetoric, his talk that perhaps he was going to nationalize the banks, and that the US was, therefore, going to withhold aid and adopt a "wait and see" attitude.
Now at the time,as it is still, the Haitian government was almost completely aid dependent - primarily on the US. I do not know the actual percentage but the US has always been the major donor to Haiti. I do not know if the US actually withheld aid to Aristide or was simply very sloooow in paying out or simpy funded the military opposition or let it be known that it would not object to a coup against the fiery leftest priest but within a year, he was gone.
For a full run down on what happened with Aristide, with Clinton, with the behind the scenes politics that went on.. I recommend Michael Deibert's book, Notes from the Last Testament, I have read the book four times and given away ten copies, one to the former ambassador here to the OAS, although I was shocked that he had not already read it.
It should be required reading for everyone who is working in Haiti now.
Rather than fund the government, the United States delivered its funding through various non governmental organizations, who are registered with USAID, and located around the Washington beltway. We refer to them as the Beltway Bandits. They are known for extremely rigourous accounting. For a USAID grant, one must account for every pencil, every jot, every tittle.
What one does not actually have to account for is the efficacy and the results of the project -- simply that the money was not stolen and used for personal use.
I believe this is changing now .. that projects must now show that they actually had some impact - as it is for projects for the World Bank and the International Bank for Development.. but slowly.
The lastest and best idea from the US for the development of Haiti is a Korean textile factory which is to be placed on agricultural land, displace farmers, house the workers with pit toilets without running water, and put the polluted run off from the factory into the surrounding mangrove swamp.
The Haitian intellectuals very calmly and politely point out, in perfect French, in their one remaining daily newspaper, that while indeed they do not wish to appear to be unwelcoming to foreign investment, especially when the International Bank of Development is involved, but the mangrove swamps are an environmental treasure and extremely valuable for tourism and perhaps there might be another place that the factory might be located?
USAID has constructed some of the ugliest houses ever seen. Without kitchens. Without latrines. abominations.. really, hideous.
The grant that was given to the IOM is so stringent that we cannot get the very qualified Haitian builders who are here in the DR back to Haiti with $400 worth of tools. So I would also ask the international community to give grant money to the IOM so that they might be able to help us do that.
We are penny wise and pound foolish.
Under President Bush, the US Congress passed what some would call a breach of our founding principles in the form of the Faith Based Initiative, so that funding from the government is now given to many religious groups in Haiti, the majority of whom are Christian, some of whom consider that Haiti's traditional African religion Satanic
The Friends Committee on National Legislation opposed this legislation as a breach of the Constitution of the United States. Quaker organization will not accept government money in any circumstances.
The United States thus created in Haiti what is called The Republic of NGOs. Rather than fund the government itself, which leaned closer to Castro and Chavez than Bush, it delivered aid through a patchwork of NGOs, reportable to no one except USAID. Grants were micro designed in DC, with no centralized planning. While there was a certain courteous ballet dance around the authority of the Haitian government, it was the US Embassy which had and has the purse strings.
That is why it is so URGENT that the international community make good on its funding to the GOVERNMENT of HAITI.
Former President Aristide is back in Haiti and there has been more than one demonstration in his favor. Although many of his cabinet and close associates are in jail in the US on drug dealing, there have been no charges against him. Despite the fact that he lost the confidence of many of his former followers, he speaks the truth about the oppression and exploitation of the poor in Haiti. His apparent willingness to do business with narcotrafficers does not bode well for the future stability of the island.
This morning's question's from Finland, refers back to logistics.. to this post.. here wrutten by Michael Keizer. Now at the time of that post, there was essentially no functioning government in Haiti. Now there is.
Haiti has long suffered from a lack of confidence in its government and a manipulation and sabatoge of its electoral process by the interntional community.
Since I lived and worked in Haiti 30 years ago with a diving operation, I have always watched what was going on there.
When Aristide was elected President in 1990, the very first democratically elected president, I remember listening to a US State Department official being interviewed,, perhaps on NPR. He said something along the lines that the US did not like his rhetoric, his talk that perhaps he was going to nationalize the banks, and that the US was, therefore, going to withhold aid and adopt a "wait and see" attitude.
Now at the time,as it is still, the Haitian government was almost completely aid dependent - primarily on the US. I do not know the actual percentage but the US has always been the major donor to Haiti. I do not know if the US actually withheld aid to Aristide or was simply very sloooow in paying out or simpy funded the military opposition or let it be known that it would not object to a coup against the fiery leftest priest but within a year, he was gone.
For a full run down on what happened with Aristide, with Clinton, with the behind the scenes politics that went on.. I recommend Michael Deibert's book, Notes from the Last Testament, I have read the book four times and given away ten copies, one to the former ambassador here to the OAS, although I was shocked that he had not already read it.
It should be required reading for everyone who is working in Haiti now.
Rather than fund the government, the United States delivered its funding through various non governmental organizations, who are registered with USAID, and located around the Washington beltway. We refer to them as the Beltway Bandits. They are known for extremely rigourous accounting. For a USAID grant, one must account for every pencil, every jot, every tittle.
What one does not actually have to account for is the efficacy and the results of the project -- simply that the money was not stolen and used for personal use.
I believe this is changing now .. that projects must now show that they actually had some impact - as it is for projects for the World Bank and the International Bank for Development.. but slowly.
The lastest and best idea from the US for the development of Haiti is a Korean textile factory which is to be placed on agricultural land, displace farmers, house the workers with pit toilets without running water, and put the polluted run off from the factory into the surrounding mangrove swamp.
The Haitian intellectuals very calmly and politely point out, in perfect French, in their one remaining daily newspaper, that while indeed they do not wish to appear to be unwelcoming to foreign investment, especially when the International Bank of Development is involved, but the mangrove swamps are an environmental treasure and extremely valuable for tourism and perhaps there might be another place that the factory might be located?
USAID has constructed some of the ugliest houses ever seen. Without kitchens. Without latrines. abominations.. really, hideous.
The grant that was given to the IOM is so stringent that we cannot get the very qualified Haitian builders who are here in the DR back to Haiti with $400 worth of tools. So I would also ask the international community to give grant money to the IOM so that they might be able to help us do that.
We are penny wise and pound foolish.
Under President Bush, the US Congress passed what some would call a breach of our founding principles in the form of the Faith Based Initiative, so that funding from the government is now given to many religious groups in Haiti, the majority of whom are Christian, some of whom consider that Haiti's traditional African religion Satanic
The Friends Committee on National Legislation opposed this legislation as a breach of the Constitution of the United States. Quaker organization will not accept government money in any circumstances.
The United States thus created in Haiti what is called The Republic of NGOs. Rather than fund the government itself, which leaned closer to Castro and Chavez than Bush, it delivered aid through a patchwork of NGOs, reportable to no one except USAID. Grants were micro designed in DC, with no centralized planning. While there was a certain courteous ballet dance around the authority of the Haitian government, it was the US Embassy which had and has the purse strings.
That is why it is so URGENT that the international community make good on its funding to the GOVERNMENT of HAITI.
Former President Aristide is back in Haiti and there has been more than one demonstration in his favor. Although many of his cabinet and close associates are in jail in the US on drug dealing, there have been no charges against him. Despite the fact that he lost the confidence of many of his former followers, he speaks the truth about the oppression and exploitation of the poor in Haiti. His apparent willingness to do business with narcotrafficers does not bode well for the future stability of the island.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
We Promised them, didn't we?
Before the earthquake in 2012, Haiti was the poorest country in the hemisphere.
It is also the second oldest independent nation in the hemisphere.
The first black republic.
The first nation in the world to break the chains of slavery.
After the quake, we, that is the rest of the world, poured out our hearts. Estimates are that one of every two Americans, for instance, pledged or gave money. You had telethons, and dance contents and concerts.
Here in the DR every single church, business, and grocery store raised collections and sent aid.
But now looking at the international pledges, the big donations from governments, I see that only 11% of the money has been given
And I ask you.. What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for the tottering remnants of the extremely fragile government to collapse?
The Presiden is doing his best. He is perhaps conducting the country's business in a circus tent left over from Cirque du Soleil. The Nevada real estate developer who contributed it got a tax write off of five million dollars.
Is this the best that the international community can do?
A UN force that brings cholera then refuses responsibility for it, rapes both young boys and girls and points its weapons at the peaceful residents.
Grant money that is so restrictive that it does not take into account conditions on the ground.
And no money for the government....
Every Embassy in the world is there and watching.
Do you think that they can rebuild their country with air?
Please send THEM the money.
You did PLEDGE it, did you not?
TWO years ago, was it not?
HELP
THE COUNTRY IS FALLING
THEY HAVE NO MONEY
Just give them the money,
please
before we lose the entire island to the cartels
http://elizabetheames.blogspot.com/2012/02/haiti-get-back-up-ayiti-leve-kanpe.html
It is also the second oldest independent nation in the hemisphere.
The first black republic.
The first nation in the world to break the chains of slavery.
After the quake, we, that is the rest of the world, poured out our hearts. Estimates are that one of every two Americans, for instance, pledged or gave money. You had telethons, and dance contents and concerts.
Here in the DR every single church, business, and grocery store raised collections and sent aid.
But now looking at the international pledges, the big donations from governments, I see that only 11% of the money has been given
And I ask you.. What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for the tottering remnants of the extremely fragile government to collapse?
The Presiden is doing his best. He is perhaps conducting the country's business in a circus tent left over from Cirque du Soleil. The Nevada real estate developer who contributed it got a tax write off of five million dollars.
Is this the best that the international community can do?
A UN force that brings cholera then refuses responsibility for it, rapes both young boys and girls and points its weapons at the peaceful residents.
Grant money that is so restrictive that it does not take into account conditions on the ground.
And no money for the government....
Every Embassy in the world is there and watching.
Do you think that they can rebuild their country with air?
Please send THEM the money.
You did PLEDGE it, did you not?
TWO years ago, was it not?
HELP
THE COUNTRY IS FALLING
THEY HAVE NO MONEY
Just give them the money,
please
before we lose the entire island to the cartels
http://elizabetheames.blogspot.com/2012/02/haiti-get-back-up-ayiti-leve-kanpe.html
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
A note on Mother England
Lest all the blame fall on the United States for failures here in the Caribean, I would like to take my spyglass and pen to another of the imperial power here in the basin, Great Britian. While I was great friends with the last British Ambassador here, Ian Worthington, I was appalled that the Foreign Office would send an Ambassador to a foreign country with a woman who was not his wife
What has happened to one's standards?
In another incident, a British company, Biwater, had to leave the country after bribery allegations.
Standards, again, Gentlemen.
After my service in the Fastnet race, Lord Mountbattan was executed by the IRA and I heard the Seaman's Hymn for the second time in my life. I was tucked in safely with friends in Scotland but sorely distressed in body and soul. I went to Findhorn for a long scheduled two week sojourn. Then bought an old car and went out to search for the peace community.
On the way I stopped to load up on books on the what one title amusingly called "Ireland's English Question". At the St Andrew's bookshop, I was unable to find one single copy of the United States Constitution, despite finding shelves full of Marx and Engels. I told my sales clerk, who quite ressembled the White Rabbit, that he ought to be ashamed. He acknowledged that he was.
I then repaired to Brighton to the America's Cup trials, where my friends were sailing on Lionheart. I occupied the press tent with an ever growing table, discussing not the America's Cup, although I did do that, but rather The War in Ireland.
The Marina tried to have me expelled, tried to have my visa pulled. We Yanks did not need a visa for the UK then.
In the end, they were successful and I ended up in Holloway Prison, then, after sentancing to deportation, was transfered to Cookham Wood which was a facility long term prisoners. After the governor told me that they did not take deportees.. I really became scared. Finally I was visited by a representative of the US Embassy.
And even better, by the wife of my godfather, the Lord Bishop of Lincoln, who worked on reducing my sentance to an escorted departure, so that I might be able to return to the land of my foremothers should I ever wish to.
But, my mother land, much as I respect your sense of law and justice, you are racist.
You have produced the harshest form of racism in the world in the apartheid states of South Africa and America.
You are monolingual and unimginative. You are running a slave camp up there in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos, putting the natives in service to the white folks of the one percent with their fancy yachts.
When I chose to emigrate, I decided not to be in an English colony, because I wished not be within your form of racism again. The Catholics, at least, converted and married them.
Ah, we all have our shadows. No one is perfect.
least of all me
We are just works in progress.
l
What has happened to one's standards?
In another incident, a British company, Biwater, had to leave the country after bribery allegations.
Standards, again, Gentlemen.
After my service in the Fastnet race, Lord Mountbattan was executed by the IRA and I heard the Seaman's Hymn for the second time in my life. I was tucked in safely with friends in Scotland but sorely distressed in body and soul. I went to Findhorn for a long scheduled two week sojourn. Then bought an old car and went out to search for the peace community.
On the way I stopped to load up on books on the what one title amusingly called "Ireland's English Question". At the St Andrew's bookshop, I was unable to find one single copy of the United States Constitution, despite finding shelves full of Marx and Engels. I told my sales clerk, who quite ressembled the White Rabbit, that he ought to be ashamed. He acknowledged that he was.
I then repaired to Brighton to the America's Cup trials, where my friends were sailing on Lionheart. I occupied the press tent with an ever growing table, discussing not the America's Cup, although I did do that, but rather The War in Ireland.
The Marina tried to have me expelled, tried to have my visa pulled. We Yanks did not need a visa for the UK then.
In the end, they were successful and I ended up in Holloway Prison, then, after sentancing to deportation, was transfered to Cookham Wood which was a facility long term prisoners. After the governor told me that they did not take deportees.. I really became scared. Finally I was visited by a representative of the US Embassy.
And even better, by the wife of my godfather, the Lord Bishop of Lincoln, who worked on reducing my sentance to an escorted departure, so that I might be able to return to the land of my foremothers should I ever wish to.
But, my mother land, much as I respect your sense of law and justice, you are racist.
You have produced the harshest form of racism in the world in the apartheid states of South Africa and America.
You are monolingual and unimginative. You are running a slave camp up there in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos, putting the natives in service to the white folks of the one percent with their fancy yachts.
When I chose to emigrate, I decided not to be in an English colony, because I wished not be within your form of racism again. The Catholics, at least, converted and married them.
Ah, we all have our shadows. No one is perfect.
least of all me
We are just works in progress.
l
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Buyng my Boat
if you follow along the time line of my blog you will see that i was working first with the Haitians up in LT who had kwashikoor last summer.. then with Interpol on the narcotrafficantes from August til Dec... so I really had had no time to check on Haiti . I just assumed what with all that talent and brains and money combined, some sort of progress was being made.
But I can never underestimate the stupidity of men sitting inside of rectangles. Instead of progress, we have moved backwards.
Now we have the sole figure of the remants of the Haitian state tottering.
Cholera.
About 15000 armed, uniformed, unidentified mercenary reportable to no known person roaming the streets and the entries to public buildings
and the Haitian government is launching a logo campaign for tourism
The radical leftest priest is rumbling revolution again
the drug dealer trained in Ecuador is right beside him
MINUSTAH having brought Cholera to the Island, continues to deny any responsiblity and continues to occupy at great international expense, importing its food from the Dominican Republic, occupying the best hotels in Ft Liberte, flirting on the internet,
Relief net posts ALL the cholera treatment centers from all aid workers who are set up in place to deal with the victims who will surely come
the red cross used its 10 million dollar donation to buy prime land downtown where it plans to build a hotel to ensure its income stream
the top missionary is selling recycled garbage clothing on vogue
the best plan so far is for a korean sweat shop with workers housing with pit toilets
damn!!
sure is lucky that none of that aid money fell into the hands of WYCLEF
he might have misued it
But I can never underestimate the stupidity of men sitting inside of rectangles. Instead of progress, we have moved backwards.
Now we have the sole figure of the remants of the Haitian state tottering.
Cholera.
About 15000 armed, uniformed, unidentified mercenary reportable to no known person roaming the streets and the entries to public buildings
and the Haitian government is launching a logo campaign for tourism
The radical leftest priest is rumbling revolution again
the drug dealer trained in Ecuador is right beside him
MINUSTAH having brought Cholera to the Island, continues to deny any responsiblity and continues to occupy at great international expense, importing its food from the Dominican Republic, occupying the best hotels in Ft Liberte, flirting on the internet,
Relief net posts ALL the cholera treatment centers from all aid workers who are set up in place to deal with the victims who will surely come
the red cross used its 10 million dollar donation to buy prime land downtown where it plans to build a hotel to ensure its income stream
the top missionary is selling recycled garbage clothing on vogue
the best plan so far is for a korean sweat shop with workers housing with pit toilets
damn!!
sure is lucky that none of that aid money fell into the hands of WYCLEF
he might have misued it
Friday, February 24, 2012
disheartening
So there will be little help for small Dominican businesses or for the Haitians who are here.. since there appear to be so many Americans who are intent on making money themselves.
Of course, if the Haitians here were sent home with tools.. and perhaps even a small group -- actually-- I had only hoped for 30 or so at first... then they could STAY in Haiti and work rather than just come over the border again.
I hopefully have a meeting with some folks of International Office of Migration next week to see about the possibilities. They have already relocated a few thousand Haitians back to Haiti.
Not all the aid that was pledged to Haiti comes from the United States and some other nation may be interested in helping the Dominican Republic as well as Haiti.
The DR is not a wealthy nation and cannot continue to absorb and care for the number of undocumented Haitians that are now living in the country,
Nor should they be expected to continue to care for mothers and children.
But without some serious international assistance project to relocate the Haitian here back to the Haiti, they will remain here in the Dominican Republic. And they will continue to arrive.
A pilot project that started to take back workers, with their tools.. that is, with the possibility that they will be able to make their living over there, might start a return migration.
Of course, if the Haitians here were sent home with tools.. and perhaps even a small group -- actually-- I had only hoped for 30 or so at first... then they could STAY in Haiti and work rather than just come over the border again.
I hopefully have a meeting with some folks of International Office of Migration next week to see about the possibilities. They have already relocated a few thousand Haitians back to Haiti.
Not all the aid that was pledged to Haiti comes from the United States and some other nation may be interested in helping the Dominican Republic as well as Haiti.
The DR is not a wealthy nation and cannot continue to absorb and care for the number of undocumented Haitians that are now living in the country,
Nor should they be expected to continue to care for mothers and children.
But without some serious international assistance project to relocate the Haitian here back to the Haiti, they will remain here in the Dominican Republic. And they will continue to arrive.
A pilot project that started to take back workers, with their tools.. that is, with the possibility that they will be able to make their living over there, might start a return migration.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The Island Lesson, again
From the ongoing postings on the Corbett List
RE Housing contracts in Haiti and reconstruction
I applaud you. Stuart, for being able to slog through those documents and specs and come up with a judgement on whether the development is going to be adequate or not. I certainly could not. But the fact that they are going to be packed in by the hundreds near a factory does not make the project bad in my book. Jobs... now that is a good thing.
As a bit of a meander.. we do have in the DR the ONLY factory in the world which is certified by the Workers Rights Consortium, at Altagracia http://www.agenceglobal.com/Article.asp?Id=2667 .
I am not a huge defender of USAID -.
But here is a video of what they HAVE done
What I LOVE about the project is it was done (ostensibly) with community participation.
Ok it was small - but with all the issues involved - the clearance of rubble, the issues of lost land records.. then the construction and organizing a community which no longer actually exists, deciding who will get the houses-- what a struggle.
Another issue in this project is that CHF was actually a HOUSING NGO,, there seems to be a lot of mission creep inside the NGOs - everyone wants to do everything. Now the Red Cross - wants to get into the business of building permanent housing?
I do wish that USAID would ease up on designing everything down to the last nut and bolt and just give some flexibilty and trust to the people who are on the ground. They know who the honest players are on the ground. But I suspect that the ultimate decision on who gets the contract is made in DC - not PauP.
No let me underline that a bit. THE ONE thing that would really help save money and get the ball rolling would be if USAID would STOP micromanging done to the last jot and tittle. Can someone do a guesstamate on how much it cost the US taxpayer to get those specs done by an American? in America? Hey, I can get you a Dominican who will do it for a THIRD -- AFTER he has seen the land, AFTER he has located the materials here on the Island, and he will IMPORT a CREW of Haitians who are TRAINED here in the DR and speak KREYOLE and Spanish
(Check out how many of the NGOs are getting money for training MASONS????? YE GODS... MASONS are living ALL over Santo Domingo....)
Now saving the biggest rant for last
WHY are they even THINKING about single family houses?
We have Millions of people to house. Never heard of an apartment? University dorms?
Never been to the Dominican Republic?
I would just want them to give a blanket grant to a group like the Lambi Fund which has a long history of working with grass roots groups in Haiti so that THEY could go out and survey their people. A huge percentage of the population from PauP fled to the countryside and are still living with relatives. So wouldn't it be smart to start building some really dense construction in modern architecture
And I want DOMINICANS who have been spending ONE THIRD of their public health budget on free medical care for Haitians here -- to get the CONTRACTS. ALL OF THEM.
back to my initital rant
it is an island
these people here are infinitely qualified
haitians are very experienced builders
ever heard of punta cana?
haitian built
Casa de Campo?
haitians built it
Santo Domingo?
haitians are building it to this very day......
Your foreign money seems to come with so ooooooo many strings... like as in
let us come into your country and build it the way we think it ought to look.....
wanna see what Haitians might want?
anyone ask them?
...end
and here is the orginal post from Stuart Leiderman (I have his blanket permission to repost)
leiderman@mindspring.com
"I remember going back to the States to visit, and observing that everyone there had hot water in BOTH their showers and their kitchen sinks and could actually FLUSH the toilet paper ... and I could not figure out why they were not dancing...." Elizabeth Roebling
- - -
Dear Readers:
Thanks to Elizabeth and Lance for continuing the colloquy. The remarks about hot water and toilet paper are apropos because there are very large foreign aid construction projects such as the two below that are undecided about what level of civilization to offer Haiti's earthquake refugees after two years of living in tents, sleeping on the ground, washing on their knees, defecating who-knows-where...
In the first case, USAID's project, announced November 3, 2011 - 750 at first, expandable to 1500, then to 5000 - offers a kind of masonry version of a tent, i.e. a predictable solar oven with pit toilet, water barrel and no bedrooms. These are to be packed high-density style by the hundreds next to a future Korean textile factory in the north of Haiti. The distinguishing aspect of this bid process is that the obviously poor design is a done deal; builders have to take it or leave it.
In the second case, the American Red Cross, announced January 5, 2012, seeks consultants to frame bids for "owner-driven reconstruction." It is written in relatively plain-English and the concept seems to be echoed by other humanitarian organizations such as CordAid and CARE that believe the homeless should be involved in rebuilding. In contrast to USAID's tight but flawed technical requirements, these are relatively loose, without reference to minimum amenities:
"Must follow the MTPTC [Ministere des Travaux Publics Transports et Communications] guide for confined masonry [ http://www.scribd.com/doc/47431164/GUIDE-PRATIQUE-DE-PREPARATION-DE-PETITS-BATIMENTS-EN-HAITI-MTPTC-18JAN11 ]; Must develop other standards for other building types (wood structure, concrete frame, etc). Choice will ensure beneficiary satisfaction; It should designate a minimum floor area (18sm or other as agreed) and minimum footprint (10sm or other as agreed) [note: sm = square meters, but I'll have to check how a footprint can be smaller than floor area]; The standards should allow for upwards expansion in high density areas; Housing models should be available to guide homeowners. (single and multistory); The standards must include a sanitation component, and allow for safe cooking facilities..."
These two are worth reading both for their strengths, weaknesses and startling differences in language, process and probable outcome. A question is, should all foreign-assisted and -funded replacement housing in Haiti share minimum features, facilities, stress resistance, durability, performance and habitation criteria? And should this extend beyond the walls to the neighborhood and village context? These are hundred-million dollar questions waiting for answers.
Thank you,
Stuart Leiderman
leiderman@mindspring.com
Reference: "A Pattern Language" by Christopher Alexander et al.
http://www.patternlanguage.com/
http://www.patternlanguage.com/leveltwo/ca.htm
- - -
Construction of permanent shelters Solicitation Number: SOL-521-12-000003
Agency: Agency for International Development Office: Overseas Missions
Location: Haiti USAID-Port Au Prince
https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=42c409a1c8943f4753b5cd000165f7d1&tab=core&_cview=1
Haiti Assistance Program ? Integrated Neighborhood Approach Program ? Neighborhood Upgrading
http://www.redcross.org/Haiti/
http://www.redcross.org/www-files/Documents/International%20Services/Haiti/HaitiHousingRFP.zip
http://www.redcross.org/www-files/Documents/pdf/international/ARCAnswersRFP.pdf
- - -
leiderman@mindspring.com
RE Housing contracts in Haiti and reconstruction
I applaud you. Stuart, for being able to slog through those documents and specs and come up with a judgement on whether the development is going to be adequate or not. I certainly could not. But the fact that they are going to be packed in by the hundreds near a factory does not make the project bad in my book. Jobs... now that is a good thing.
As a bit of a meander.. we do have in the DR the ONLY factory in the world which is certified by the Workers Rights Consortium, at Altagracia http://www.agenceglobal.com/Article.asp?Id=2667 .
I am not a huge defender of USAID -.
But here is a video of what they HAVE done
What I LOVE about the project is it was done (ostensibly) with community participation.
Ok it was small - but with all the issues involved - the clearance of rubble, the issues of lost land records.. then the construction and organizing a community which no longer actually exists, deciding who will get the houses-- what a struggle.
Another issue in this project is that CHF was actually a HOUSING NGO,, there seems to be a lot of mission creep inside the NGOs - everyone wants to do everything. Now the Red Cross - wants to get into the business of building permanent housing?
I do wish that USAID would ease up on designing everything down to the last nut and bolt and just give some flexibilty and trust to the people who are on the ground. They know who the honest players are on the ground. But I suspect that the ultimate decision on who gets the contract is made in DC - not PauP.
No let me underline that a bit. THE ONE thing that would really help save money and get the ball rolling would be if USAID would STOP micromanging done to the last jot and tittle. Can someone do a guesstamate on how much it cost the US taxpayer to get those specs done by an American? in America? Hey, I can get you a Dominican who will do it for a THIRD -- AFTER he has seen the land, AFTER he has located the materials here on the Island, and he will IMPORT a CREW of Haitians who are TRAINED here in the DR and speak KREYOLE and Spanish
(Check out how many of the NGOs are getting money for training MASONS????? YE GODS... MASONS are living ALL over Santo Domingo....)
Now saving the biggest rant for last
WHY are they even THINKING about single family houses?
We have Millions of people to house. Never heard of an apartment? University dorms?
Never been to the Dominican Republic?
I would just want them to give a blanket grant to a group like the Lambi Fund which has a long history of working with grass roots groups in Haiti so that THEY could go out and survey their people. A huge percentage of the population from PauP fled to the countryside and are still living with relatives. So wouldn't it be smart to start building some really dense construction in modern architecture
And I want DOMINICANS who have been spending ONE THIRD of their public health budget on free medical care for Haitians here -- to get the CONTRACTS. ALL OF THEM.
back to my initital rant
it is an island
these people here are infinitely qualified
haitians are very experienced builders
ever heard of punta cana?
haitian built
Casa de Campo?
haitians built it
Santo Domingo?
haitians are building it to this very day......
Your foreign money seems to come with so ooooooo many strings... like as in
let us come into your country and build it the way we think it ought to look.....
wanna see what Haitians might want?
anyone ask them?
...end
and here is the orginal post from Stuart Leiderman (I have his blanket permission to repost)
leiderman@mindspring.com
"I remember going back to the States to visit, and observing that everyone there had hot water in BOTH their showers and their kitchen sinks and could actually FLUSH the toilet paper ... and I could not figure out why they were not dancing...." Elizabeth Roebling
- - -
Dear Readers:
Thanks to Elizabeth and Lance for continuing the colloquy. The remarks about hot water and toilet paper are apropos because there are very large foreign aid construction projects such as the two below that are undecided about what level of civilization to offer Haiti's earthquake refugees after two years of living in tents, sleeping on the ground, washing on their knees, defecating who-knows-where...
In the first case, USAID's project, announced November 3, 2011 - 750 at first, expandable to 1500, then to 5000 - offers a kind of masonry version of a tent, i.e. a predictable solar oven with pit toilet, water barrel and no bedrooms. These are to be packed high-density style by the hundreds next to a future Korean textile factory in the north of Haiti. The distinguishing aspect of this bid process is that the obviously poor design is a done deal; builders have to take it or leave it.
In the second case, the American Red Cross, announced January 5, 2012, seeks consultants to frame bids for "owner-driven reconstruction." It is written in relatively plain-English and the concept seems to be echoed by other humanitarian organizations such as CordAid and CARE that believe the homeless should be involved in rebuilding. In contrast to USAID's tight but flawed technical requirements, these are relatively loose, without reference to minimum amenities:
"Must follow the MTPTC [Ministere des Travaux Publics Transports et Communications] guide for confined masonry [ http://www.scribd.com/doc/47431164/GUIDE-PRATIQUE-DE-PREPARATION-DE-PETITS-BATIMENTS-EN-HAITI-MTPTC-18JAN11 ]; Must develop other standards for other building types (wood structure, concrete frame, etc). Choice will ensure beneficiary satisfaction; It should designate a minimum floor area (18sm or other as agreed) and minimum footprint (10sm or other as agreed) [note: sm = square meters, but I'll have to check how a footprint can be smaller than floor area]; The standards should allow for upwards expansion in high density areas; Housing models should be available to guide homeowners. (single and multistory); The standards must include a sanitation component, and allow for safe cooking facilities..."
These two are worth reading both for their strengths, weaknesses and startling differences in language, process and probable outcome. A question is, should all foreign-assisted and -funded replacement housing in Haiti share minimum features, facilities, stress resistance, durability, performance and habitation criteria? And should this extend beyond the walls to the neighborhood and village context? These are hundred-million dollar questions waiting for answers.
Thank you,
Stuart Leiderman
leiderman@mindspring.com
Reference: "A Pattern Language" by Christopher Alexander et al.
http://www.patternlanguage.com/
http://www.patternlanguage.com/leveltwo/ca.htm
- - -
Construction of permanent shelters Solicitation Number: SOL-521-12-000003
Agency: Agency for International Development Office: Overseas Missions
Location: Haiti USAID-Port Au Prince
https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=42c409a1c8943f4753b5cd000165f7d1&tab=core&_cview=1
Haiti Assistance Program ? Integrated Neighborhood Approach Program ? Neighborhood Upgrading
http://www.redcross.org/Haiti/
http://www.redcross.org/www-files/Documents/International%20Services/Haiti/HaitiHousingRFP.zip
http://www.redcross.org/www-files/Documents/pdf/international/ARCAnswersRFP.pdf
- - -
leiderman@mindspring.com
Monday, February 6, 2012
Pity
I had the honor of getting a personal note from Bob Corbett this morning. Now of ALL the foreigners who have intervened in Haiti over the years, I think that Bob Corbett has performed the greatest service. That may just be my prejudice as a writer since he has made such an effort throughout his life to keep up a peaceful forum for communication on Haiti.
Through his efforts, he has created a virtual community of people - mostly us blans, us gringos.. but with the GREAT aid of some very advanced Haitians who pop in to whop us upside the head when we get it wrong-- who struggle to find the way to best be of service to Haiti .. to restore her to the jewel that we all know she is and was.
And for 20 years he did service projects in Haiti on the ground as well. I doubt there is anyone who does not hold him in the highest regard.
So it was an honor that he took the time to write me.
About my latest rantings
about.. so "what is wrong with pity"
and here is what I answered.
Dear Bob,
Thanks for the query and I certainly have the same bag of motivations. But there is some thing about the "pity" thing - and it may be just semantics but I think it is deeper. Pity is not just "sharing sorrow".
I am still working on this one as I transit from one world to the this one.
For a while, I worked with a small African American newspaper in North Carolina. I was the only white person.I was also the top ad sales person and top writer (a small business) .. I was always trying to help out by buying lunch,,,etc. My friend Beverly, a very tough bright Chicago black who had NEVER been to school or work with any whites before said to me
"You make us ashamed to be poor". I stopped buying lunch.
I keep a print on my wall from the Dalai Lama which reads
" Compassion-
Usually our concept of compassion or love refers to the closeness we have with our friends and loved ones, sometimes compassion also carries a sense of pity. This is wrong. Any love or compassion which entails looking down on the other is not genuine compassion. To be genuine, compassion must be based on respect for the other, and on the realization that others have the right to to be happy and overcome suffering just as much as you. On this basism since you can see that others are suffering, you develop a genuine sense of concern for them."
Here in the DR we have a pretty advanced industry of "volunteers" who pay about $1000 a week to come down here and live in the rural areas and help build schools and churchs and what not. How odd to watch the Episcopalians with the gold crosses in their ears, painting the walls in the church hall -- a job that Dominicans would definitely have HIRED Haitians- to do.
I am sure that all the lives of these people who come here are transformed.. perhaps if only that they have experienced a taste of poverty and feel relieved not to be living in it. But does it help the locals? Well, sure, perhaps it gets a school built. But that is the responsibility of the State and locals, no? Here in the DR, they really do have the money to build the schools, it is a political decision whether or not to educate the people.
The volunteers are not working in their fields - they are working construction.Haven volunteers have to raise 5000 Euros in order to come. And the first project that they built, they gave the houses to the very poorest- and bypassed the ones in town who had struggled up to some sort of comfort. This is sort of an inverse reward system, no?
They had not, at first, even gotten enough cooperation with the local authorities to have a road built to the project.
But money does not buy happiness - you and I know that. Haitians know that as well, At times, I think that there is an inverse relationship!
The mere fact that I get triggered by this stuff means that I have it in me - because I have found that I really do not get so triggered if it is not in my shadow.I got blasted in comments on my blog, which I published, even though they were posted anonymously, since they kept underlying my own arrogance.
But I also know that we do not have it right yet. I do not know what "right" is. But whatever is required of those of us who genuinely wish to help Haiti, we seem to still be lacking it. I get these backlash comments on my blog and postings over on DR1.com calling me a hero.... so I am pretty sure that I have not got it right.
But we make assumptions about people who are poor, people who are uneducated. I think that we hold them in contempt - or at least Americans do.We do not approach them as if they had any wisdom or knowledge to impart to us. We assume they live in misery. See, it trips off the tounge doesn't it, misery, squalor, poverty... OMG they cannot READ,,,,
\
But I have found that Haitians I know are telepathic, like the Masai.
That might be something that we could learn.
Anyway.. I am really struggling on how to be effective. What do they need that I have to give? What do I need that they have to give? And mostly I have found that I have some technical skills -- marketing, promotion, language.. and they seem to have wisdom. I love meeting with them because all I have to do is send out a spark - like putting the ball into play.. and watch them bat it around. They are MASTERS of the consensus process,
But most of the WORK in Haiti, by that I mean full top salary work, is with the FOREIGN NGOS,, which are .. for the most part.. heirarchical, patriarchal... non cooperative... and materially oriented.
So perhaps this is just the cowboys and the indians again.
I somehow always wanted to be with the indians..
betcha you did too!
Thanks so much for the chat.
I get very lonely here.
hugs
e
Through his efforts, he has created a virtual community of people - mostly us blans, us gringos.. but with the GREAT aid of some very advanced Haitians who pop in to whop us upside the head when we get it wrong-- who struggle to find the way to best be of service to Haiti .. to restore her to the jewel that we all know she is and was.
And for 20 years he did service projects in Haiti on the ground as well. I doubt there is anyone who does not hold him in the highest regard.
So it was an honor that he took the time to write me.
About my latest rantings
about.. so "what is wrong with pity"
and here is what I answered.
Dear Bob,
Thanks for the query and I certainly have the same bag of motivations. But there is some thing about the "pity" thing - and it may be just semantics but I think it is deeper. Pity is not just "sharing sorrow".
I am still working on this one as I transit from one world to the this one.
For a while, I worked with a small African American newspaper in North Carolina. I was the only white person.I was also the top ad sales person and top writer (a small business) .. I was always trying to help out by buying lunch,,,etc. My friend Beverly, a very tough bright Chicago black who had NEVER been to school or work with any whites before said to me
"You make us ashamed to be poor". I stopped buying lunch.
I keep a print on my wall from the Dalai Lama which reads
" Compassion-
Usually our concept of compassion or love refers to the closeness we have with our friends and loved ones, sometimes compassion also carries a sense of pity. This is wrong. Any love or compassion which entails looking down on the other is not genuine compassion. To be genuine, compassion must be based on respect for the other, and on the realization that others have the right to to be happy and overcome suffering just as much as you. On this basism since you can see that others are suffering, you develop a genuine sense of concern for them."
Here in the DR we have a pretty advanced industry of "volunteers" who pay about $1000 a week to come down here and live in the rural areas and help build schools and churchs and what not. How odd to watch the Episcopalians with the gold crosses in their ears, painting the walls in the church hall -- a job that Dominicans would definitely have HIRED Haitians- to do.
I am sure that all the lives of these people who come here are transformed.. perhaps if only that they have experienced a taste of poverty and feel relieved not to be living in it. But does it help the locals? Well, sure, perhaps it gets a school built. But that is the responsibility of the State and locals, no? Here in the DR, they really do have the money to build the schools, it is a political decision whether or not to educate the people.
The volunteers are not working in their fields - they are working construction.Haven volunteers have to raise 5000 Euros in order to come. And the first project that they built, they gave the houses to the very poorest- and bypassed the ones in town who had struggled up to some sort of comfort. This is sort of an inverse reward system, no?
They had not, at first, even gotten enough cooperation with the local authorities to have a road built to the project.
But money does not buy happiness - you and I know that. Haitians know that as well, At times, I think that there is an inverse relationship!
The mere fact that I get triggered by this stuff means that I have it in me - because I have found that I really do not get so triggered if it is not in my shadow.I got blasted in comments on my blog, which I published, even though they were posted anonymously, since they kept underlying my own arrogance.
But I also know that we do not have it right yet. I do not know what "right" is. But whatever is required of those of us who genuinely wish to help Haiti, we seem to still be lacking it. I get these backlash comments on my blog and postings over on DR1.com calling me a hero.... so I am pretty sure that I have not got it right.
But we make assumptions about people who are poor, people who are uneducated. I think that we hold them in contempt - or at least Americans do.We do not approach them as if they had any wisdom or knowledge to impart to us. We assume they live in misery. See, it trips off the tounge doesn't it, misery, squalor, poverty... OMG they cannot READ,,,,
\
But I have found that Haitians I know are telepathic, like the Masai.
That might be something that we could learn.
Anyway.. I am really struggling on how to be effective. What do they need that I have to give? What do I need that they have to give? And mostly I have found that I have some technical skills -- marketing, promotion, language.. and they seem to have wisdom. I love meeting with them because all I have to do is send out a spark - like putting the ball into play.. and watch them bat it around. They are MASTERS of the consensus process,
But most of the WORK in Haiti, by that I mean full top salary work, is with the FOREIGN NGOS,, which are .. for the most part.. heirarchical, patriarchal... non cooperative... and materially oriented.
So perhaps this is just the cowboys and the indians again.
I somehow always wanted to be with the indians..
betcha you did too!
Thanks so much for the chat.
I get very lonely here.
hugs
e
Friday, November 5, 2010
Tears, please
I myself am out of tears
I would appreciate the tears of others
As I believe that they cleanse the wounds
see here
I would appreciate the tears of others
As I believe that they cleanse the wounds
see here
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Cholera in Haiti
- 200 people have died so far
- Almost 2,500 people have been affected by the epidemic
- The areas most affected are: Marchand Dessalines, Douin, areas
surrounding Saint Marc, Archahaie, and the Bas Plateau Central
- The Antibonite river is the source of the epidemic
- The Ministry of Heath and the Direction of Potable Water (DINEPA)
assure that the response is being coordinated
- They need water, chlorine, hygienic kits, and portable beds for the
health centers and clinics which have exceeded their capacity
- It seems the contamination originated in three turbines at the Peligre
hydroelectric station.
- It appears as if the equivalent of seven drums of contaminated liquid
per day have poured into the Antibonite River between Mirebalais and
Thomonde.
- To request assistance, please see:
http://3w.unocha.org/WhoWhatWhere/co...quake&repId=10
- For information about cholera, click here:
Cholera - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the reaction from the US Department of State, click here:
Video
- For Haitian OAS Ambassador Dully Brutus’ and PAHO’s press conference,
click here: YouTube - Press Conference, Cholera situation in Haiti
- For the latest reporting on the situation, click here:
YouTube - Haiti struggles to contain cholera!
- Almost 2,500 people have been affected by the epidemic
- The areas most affected are: Marchand Dessalines, Douin, areas
surrounding Saint Marc, Archahaie, and the Bas Plateau Central
- The Antibonite river is the source of the epidemic
- The Ministry of Heath and the Direction of Potable Water (DINEPA)
assure that the response is being coordinated
- They need water, chlorine, hygienic kits, and portable beds for the
health centers and clinics which have exceeded their capacity
- It seems the contamination originated in three turbines at the Peligre
hydroelectric station.
- It appears as if the equivalent of seven drums of contaminated liquid
per day have poured into the Antibonite River between Mirebalais and
Thomonde.
- To request assistance, please see:
http://3w.unocha.org/WhoWhatWhere/co...quake&repId=10
- For information about cholera, click here:
Cholera - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the reaction from the US Department of State, click here:
Video
- For Haitian OAS Ambassador Dully Brutus’ and PAHO’s press conference,
click here: YouTube - Press Conference, Cholera situation in Haiti
- For the latest reporting on the situation, click here:
YouTube - Haiti struggles to contain cholera!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Advice for missionaries
This was recently posted to the Corbett Haiti list by a missionary in Haiti, Corrigan Clay, who works with this interesting project / The Apparent Project
I repost it with his permission.
In my experience, the "short term missions team" is no homogenous
species, but a wide variety of people from various demographics with
very unique objectives and strategies for accomplishing those
objectives. In my limited time in Haiti (I've lived here since 2008
with previous visits in 2007), I have seen short term projects that
have destroyed years of labor that had been done by faithful, long
term, in-country missionaries & NGOs, and I have seen projects that
quickly and successfully overcame socio-economic barriers that seem to
have been around for years. There have been teams that come with
minds full of preconceptions about the Haitian people that leave with
the same opinions and self-congratulatory expertise about a culture
whose language they haven't even learned. There have been teams that
have left with more friends than they came with, that have learned
Creole before coming, and have gone home humbled and challenged by the
joy, faith, and hope of their new found Haitian friends. Service
groups are a mixed bag... like a trail mix... their contents are
sometimes sweet, sometimes salty, and occasionally a little rotten.
Our mission (www.apparentproject.org) has shifted over the years,
beginning with the intention to start an orphanage to address the
needs of a special handful of Haiti's "500,000 orphans". After living
in an orphanage for a year we learned the grim truth that the vast
majority of Haiti's so-called "orphans" were actually children with
living parents that loved them but just struggled to provide for their
basic needs. We saw that the cost of one adoption could have provided
enough seed money to start sustainable businesses for ALL of the
parents of the 24 children in the orphanage we worked at.
This gave us pause about the ethics of the adoption/creche industry in
Haiti, and as we sought to obey the Biblical mandate to care for
orphans and widows, we shuddered at the thought that the system of
orphan care so advocated by most Christians was not only not
stewarding resources well to address the orphan crisis, but was likely
causing the abandonment of countless children by creating an orphan
market.
This is why we made a drastic shift towards job creation, home
building and empowerment of Haitian families. Instead of a colonial
paradigm (seize, commodify, consume, and justify) we took on Jesus'
way of doing business: living amongst those we hoped to help, knowing
their stories, affirming their worth, tending to their felt needs,
depending on them as much as they depend on us, and giving out our
power and resources so that they could begin to find some equality.
The effect is a congenial plundering of the colonizers. We play
polite Robin Hood... By selling recycled paper jewelry to North
Americans we are effectively selling Haiti's "fatra" to Americans who
have a "disposable" income. It's working quite well. We continue to
have less supply than demand, and we will likely be situated to
employ many more people very soon.
Long story short, it was a short term team that really kick-started
our artisan program. A few college students from the States came to
teach 3 or 4 women how to make jewelry according to an internationally
marketable standard. This short term initiative has blossomed into a
program that provides employment, education, and housing for more than
50 families who were previously at risk for relinquishing their
children.
We have had other short term projects that have also provided long
term benefits, like the team that built a chicken roost for us that
now provides our artisans and hungry people in our neighborhood with
eggs and some young men with the opportunity to learn sustainable
urban agro-business. Other teams have taught other marketable skills
such as sewing, carpentry, teacher-training, and computer literacy.
These short intensive trainings have provided long term employment in
some cases.
The teams that we have hosted that have been more of a burden are
those that come with more interest in being served than serving, or
who have come with an attitude of superiority. The latter is
especially evident in groups bent on delivering "the Gospel" to a
people "bound in spiritual darkness". These are often groups that have
no Haitian friends, speak no Creole, and have likely never been to
Haiti for an extended period of time. They don't know that many of
our Haitian friends own only one book (Bib La) and they read it quite
often. They don't know that many Haitians worship in their churches
twice a day every day of the week. They often don't know what it is
like to give up food so that their neighbor can eat, or to pray for
somebody's healing long BEFORE calling a doctor. They have never
lived in a country where the president calls for 3 days of prayer,
fasting, and public repentance. They haven't experienced a spiritual
life that is enriched by vivid visions or powerful encounters with
spiritual forces. They haven't stopped to think that when Jesus said
he came to "announce Good News to the Poor" that that may have meant
that the poor might have a better grip of His message than the
over-resourced. They weren't here to hear the echoes of "adore'"
resounding in the hills as Haitians who had just lost homes and family
members thanked Bon Dye for his mercy and confessed their enduing love
for Him.
Haitians, no matter their faith, have lived in an environment and
context much closer to that of the first audience of the Biblical
text. That alone should cause Christian mission groups to come with
an objective of mutual exchange and dialogue or sharing , rather than
an attitude of conquest. Don't get me wrong, If I were a Haitian
citizen, I'd be voting Jesus for president, he's the only worthy
candidate. But he's not American, and his Kingdom comes through the
meek, not through the gregarious flash of 35 Neon T-shirts proclaiming
that Haiti's messianic service team has just arrived to save the day.
A friend of mine saw a group in the airport that had shirts that
said, "Jesus came to earth to save me, We're coming to Haiti to save
you." I can't even write that without a little bit of puke coming up
into my throat. it's that kind of service group that makes me... a
long term Christian missionary and somebody who is eternally thankful
for Jesus coming to save me... embarrassed and nervous. And to those
of you who are Haitians who don't share my faith, it also makes me
apologetic.
As somebody who regularly hosts short term missions teams in our guest
house in Port Au Prince, I hope that more people respond to Mr.
Durban's question. We encourage visiting teams to focus on training
and equipping, providing Haitians lasting employment, and building
intercultural relationships. I share the concern with a previous
poster who noted that many teams are taking away potential jobs from
Haitians (esp.. the thousands of Boss Masons), but I also see a steady
stream of resources into the nation which might not otherwise come.
For example, the house building teams are far more likely to pay for a
home that they are coming to build than to send an equivalent
donation... and they are much more likely to advocate for Haiti after
visiting in person than if they just sent a check to an organization.
The other unfortunate hang up I see is that because of the culture of
corruption (which I observe not only in the elite ruling class, but
amongst the poor as well) there are many people who will not donate
money to an organization without the kind of accountability that only
comes through a personal visit or a hands on project. That is
ultimately why we have such disunity and slowness to act in the
reconstruction effort, with everybody making strong arguments about
who should be in control of reconstruction resources, etc. Until there
is a much higher threshold of trust, I don't think the inefficiency of
outsiders coming with their own projects and agendas will yield to a
more efficient, straight donation of resources.
I repost it with his permission.
In my experience, the "short term missions team" is no homogenous
species, but a wide variety of people from various demographics with
very unique objectives and strategies for accomplishing those
objectives. In my limited time in Haiti (I've lived here since 2008
with previous visits in 2007), I have seen short term projects that
have destroyed years of labor that had been done by faithful, long
term, in-country missionaries & NGOs, and I have seen projects that
quickly and successfully overcame socio-economic barriers that seem to
have been around for years. There have been teams that come with
minds full of preconceptions about the Haitian people that leave with
the same opinions and self-congratulatory expertise about a culture
whose language they haven't even learned. There have been teams that
have left with more friends than they came with, that have learned
Creole before coming, and have gone home humbled and challenged by the
joy, faith, and hope of their new found Haitian friends. Service
groups are a mixed bag... like a trail mix... their contents are
sometimes sweet, sometimes salty, and occasionally a little rotten.
Our mission (www.apparentproject.org) has shifted over the years,
beginning with the intention to start an orphanage to address the
needs of a special handful of Haiti's "500,000 orphans". After living
in an orphanage for a year we learned the grim truth that the vast
majority of Haiti's so-called "orphans" were actually children with
living parents that loved them but just struggled to provide for their
basic needs. We saw that the cost of one adoption could have provided
enough seed money to start sustainable businesses for ALL of the
parents of the 24 children in the orphanage we worked at.
This gave us pause about the ethics of the adoption/creche industry in
Haiti, and as we sought to obey the Biblical mandate to care for
orphans and widows, we shuddered at the thought that the system of
orphan care so advocated by most Christians was not only not
stewarding resources well to address the orphan crisis, but was likely
causing the abandonment of countless children by creating an orphan
market.
This is why we made a drastic shift towards job creation, home
building and empowerment of Haitian families. Instead of a colonial
paradigm (seize, commodify, consume, and justify) we took on Jesus'
way of doing business: living amongst those we hoped to help, knowing
their stories, affirming their worth, tending to their felt needs,
depending on them as much as they depend on us, and giving out our
power and resources so that they could begin to find some equality.
The effect is a congenial plundering of the colonizers. We play
polite Robin Hood... By selling recycled paper jewelry to North
Americans we are effectively selling Haiti's "fatra" to Americans who
have a "disposable" income. It's working quite well. We continue to
have less supply than demand, and we will likely be situated to
employ many more people very soon.
Long story short, it was a short term team that really kick-started
our artisan program. A few college students from the States came to
teach 3 or 4 women how to make jewelry according to an internationally
marketable standard. This short term initiative has blossomed into a
program that provides employment, education, and housing for more than
50 families who were previously at risk for relinquishing their
children.
We have had other short term projects that have also provided long
term benefits, like the team that built a chicken roost for us that
now provides our artisans and hungry people in our neighborhood with
eggs and some young men with the opportunity to learn sustainable
urban agro-business. Other teams have taught other marketable skills
such as sewing, carpentry, teacher-training, and computer literacy.
These short intensive trainings have provided long term employment in
some cases.
The teams that we have hosted that have been more of a burden are
those that come with more interest in being served than serving, or
who have come with an attitude of superiority. The latter is
especially evident in groups bent on delivering "the Gospel" to a
people "bound in spiritual darkness". These are often groups that have
no Haitian friends, speak no Creole, and have likely never been to
Haiti for an extended period of time. They don't know that many of
our Haitian friends own only one book (Bib La) and they read it quite
often. They don't know that many Haitians worship in their churches
twice a day every day of the week. They often don't know what it is
like to give up food so that their neighbor can eat, or to pray for
somebody's healing long BEFORE calling a doctor. They have never
lived in a country where the president calls for 3 days of prayer,
fasting, and public repentance. They haven't experienced a spiritual
life that is enriched by vivid visions or powerful encounters with
spiritual forces. They haven't stopped to think that when Jesus said
he came to "announce Good News to the Poor" that that may have meant
that the poor might have a better grip of His message than the
over-resourced. They weren't here to hear the echoes of "adore'"
resounding in the hills as Haitians who had just lost homes and family
members thanked Bon Dye for his mercy and confessed their enduing love
for Him.
Haitians, no matter their faith, have lived in an environment and
context much closer to that of the first audience of the Biblical
text. That alone should cause Christian mission groups to come with
an objective of mutual exchange and dialogue or sharing , rather than
an attitude of conquest. Don't get me wrong, If I were a Haitian
citizen, I'd be voting Jesus for president, he's the only worthy
candidate. But he's not American, and his Kingdom comes through the
meek, not through the gregarious flash of 35 Neon T-shirts proclaiming
that Haiti's messianic service team has just arrived to save the day.
A friend of mine saw a group in the airport that had shirts that
said, "Jesus came to earth to save me, We're coming to Haiti to save
you." I can't even write that without a little bit of puke coming up
into my throat. it's that kind of service group that makes me... a
long term Christian missionary and somebody who is eternally thankful
for Jesus coming to save me... embarrassed and nervous. And to those
of you who are Haitians who don't share my faith, it also makes me
apologetic.
As somebody who regularly hosts short term missions teams in our guest
house in Port Au Prince, I hope that more people respond to Mr.
Durban's question. We encourage visiting teams to focus on training
and equipping, providing Haitians lasting employment, and building
intercultural relationships. I share the concern with a previous
poster who noted that many teams are taking away potential jobs from
Haitians (esp.. the thousands of Boss Masons), but I also see a steady
stream of resources into the nation which might not otherwise come.
For example, the house building teams are far more likely to pay for a
home that they are coming to build than to send an equivalent
donation... and they are much more likely to advocate for Haiti after
visiting in person than if they just sent a check to an organization.
The other unfortunate hang up I see is that because of the culture of
corruption (which I observe not only in the elite ruling class, but
amongst the poor as well) there are many people who will not donate
money to an organization without the kind of accountability that only
comes through a personal visit or a hands on project. That is
ultimately why we have such disunity and slowness to act in the
reconstruction effort, with everybody making strong arguments about
who should be in control of reconstruction resources, etc. Until there
is a much higher threshold of trust, I don't think the inefficiency of
outsiders coming with their own projects and agendas will yield to a
more efficient, straight donation of resources.
Friday, October 8, 2010
The Sad News
Report: 1 million Haitians in 1,300 squalid camps
(AP) October 7, 2010
UNITED NATIONS ‹ A report says more than one million people are still living
in 1,300 mostly unmanaged camps nine months after Haiti's devastating
earthquake. Sexual violence is rampant and gangs often roam freely, it says.
Refugees International, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that
advocates to end refugee crises, says its investigators found during a
recent visit to Haiti that less than 30 percent of the camps have managers.
That means more than 70 percent of the camps are unable to communicate or
coordinate with the international humanitarian community.
The report, released Thursday, said the humanitarian response "appears
paralyzed" and called for urgent action to protect the basic human rights of
quake victims living in the squalid overcrowded camps.
(AP) October 7, 2010
UNITED NATIONS ‹ A report says more than one million people are still living
in 1,300 mostly unmanaged camps nine months after Haiti's devastating
earthquake. Sexual violence is rampant and gangs often roam freely, it says.
Refugees International, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that
advocates to end refugee crises, says its investigators found during a
recent visit to Haiti that less than 30 percent of the camps have managers.
That means more than 70 percent of the camps are unable to communicate or
coordinate with the international humanitarian community.
The report, released Thursday, said the humanitarian response "appears
paralyzed" and called for urgent action to protect the basic human rights of
quake victims living in the squalid overcrowded camps.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Kreyole only
There is a growing debate on making Kreyol the official language of instruction in Haiti.
One of the things that has made so many Haitians in the DR so successful is that they have a fluency in three or four or five languages and so find work in the tourist industry here. Most Haitians here do not work in the sugar cane industry but in tourism or construction - where the ones who speak Spanish quickly rise to crew boss.
I suspect that this ease of learning languages is indeed from having had to learn two languages at an early age. I know that because I started studying French at age 5, learning a new language has always been easier for me than for most Americans.
Puerto Rico went through a similar debate in the late 50's - when Spanish was declared the "official " language of instruction and education - in part in reaction to the US trying to impose English. So all the public schools in Puerto Rico teach only in Spanish. The wealthy who can afford to send their children to private schools, send them to schools which teach in English.
This is also the case here in Santo Domingo where the best private schools teach completely or premoninanty in English - the language of global business.
I am sure the the elites of Haiti will support Kreyol only instruction as it will keep the peasant class marginalized and isolated. This difference of language has always been used to divide the classes in Haiti and will continue to be used as a weapon as long as the masses are not educated in French. And those of the Left will support it as a sign of standing in solidarity with the poor. And the vast majority of Haitians will suffer from this decision.
When I met with journalists from Haiti and they questioned why I would not speak to the them in Kreyol, I explained that I would not learn Kreyol as I wanted the offer the Haitians who knew it an opportunity to practice their French.(or Spanish, or English) I hoped that they understood that this did not indicate any disrepect or lack of solidarity with the struggle of the poor.
Declaring Kreyol as the official language will keep the Haitian people isolated and ill informed on world affairs as they will never be able to read the news; let alone the great thinkers of the history of the world in their own language. They will need interpreters to speak for them at international gatherings. And those interpreters will be the ones whose voices will be heard by the international community.
I believe that there is ample evidence that children are able to learn two, three and even four languages simultaneously at an early age.
The educated people here in the DR speak at least two, if not four languages so limiting Haiti to one language will only be another step backwards.
One of the things that has made so many Haitians in the DR so successful is that they have a fluency in three or four or five languages and so find work in the tourist industry here. Most Haitians here do not work in the sugar cane industry but in tourism or construction - where the ones who speak Spanish quickly rise to crew boss.
I suspect that this ease of learning languages is indeed from having had to learn two languages at an early age. I know that because I started studying French at age 5, learning a new language has always been easier for me than for most Americans.
Puerto Rico went through a similar debate in the late 50's - when Spanish was declared the "official " language of instruction and education - in part in reaction to the US trying to impose English. So all the public schools in Puerto Rico teach only in Spanish. The wealthy who can afford to send their children to private schools, send them to schools which teach in English.
This is also the case here in Santo Domingo where the best private schools teach completely or premoninanty in English - the language of global business.
I am sure the the elites of Haiti will support Kreyol only instruction as it will keep the peasant class marginalized and isolated. This difference of language has always been used to divide the classes in Haiti and will continue to be used as a weapon as long as the masses are not educated in French. And those of the Left will support it as a sign of standing in solidarity with the poor. And the vast majority of Haitians will suffer from this decision.
When I met with journalists from Haiti and they questioned why I would not speak to the them in Kreyol, I explained that I would not learn Kreyol as I wanted the offer the Haitians who knew it an opportunity to practice their French.(or Spanish, or English) I hoped that they understood that this did not indicate any disrepect or lack of solidarity with the struggle of the poor.
Declaring Kreyol as the official language will keep the Haitian people isolated and ill informed on world affairs as they will never be able to read the news; let alone the great thinkers of the history of the world in their own language. They will need interpreters to speak for them at international gatherings. And those interpreters will be the ones whose voices will be heard by the international community.
I believe that there is ample evidence that children are able to learn two, three and even four languages simultaneously at an early age.
The educated people here in the DR speak at least two, if not four languages so limiting Haiti to one language will only be another step backwards.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
SEAN PENN ON hAITI
Fot the absolute BEST, most insightful look at what is going on (and has been going on for years) in Haiti - spend an hour with Sean Penn on Charlie Rose
Friday, June 18, 2010
Haitians in Las Terrenas Cathedral Project
Since it would be unseemly to raise even the first stone of a Cathedral while there are hungry people, and since we have probably 15 million hungry people here..... we have some work ahead of us....
\I went up to the Samana Penisula, in the northeast, which is the only predominantly Protestant area in the country and where the local population is of very dark complextion, as it was first populated by freed US slaves, then by slum dwellers from the Capital who were sent there to "go and fish". As the French developed Las Terrenas, Haitians found it easy to find work there and were welcomed.
Since the earthquake, the northern border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti is essentially open... in that any Haitians who have a passport can cross during market days twice a week, pay the bus divers 3000 pesos, and the drivers will pay the guards, and the Haitians ride to Santiago. After Santiago, there are no more passport checks. This is opposed to the 6000 pesos that they would normally pay for a one year multiple entry visa. The most industrious of the Haitians do indeed have their visas, even their Business Visas, and have opened up the trade routes from the border market to the streets of Las Terrenas, trading the shoes and perfume and clothes that come in there for the cash that they get in the DR.
The Dominicans are making room for them. I watched a group of men, 200 strong. motor bikes parked on the side of the new highway, machetes in hand, cutting through the virgin forest on the side of the road. When I stopped to ask what they were doing... and they said .. well.. nothing.. and I said "Vamos hacer un lakou?" which is the word for a Haitian community,,, and they all smiled and gave me thumbs up... So I gave them $100 for juice and the Obama fist bump to the head guy.
But the Haitian artists who are already there are really struggling. Tourism is down as more apartments and villas have been constructed. I spoke with my friend Charlie Simon who said it was becoming hard to just eat. So I recommended that he move to Samana and start employing other artists to produce more art for the cruise ship passengers who .. when they arrive arrive in a horde.... with SMALL paintings.. wrapped, with the wood for the stretcher all cut and the nails in a little plastic pouch all ready for the home... like Ikea... to sell for .. say $20... so that at LEAST they can eat.
But for seed money, we need to bring them FRESH Canvas and more PAINT ... to get the paintings that they already have off the side of the walls where they are just decaying in the sun and rain.... although they do so try to protect them..
After the orginal seed money.. they could go on on their own,,''
But should the Church.. or Churches.. or Covens... or Meetings... or Beings .. wish to be involved... they could by simply buying some of the paintings and reselling them,,,,..
I already shipped twenty to my nephew in St Croix.
One of the first things that is needed is an orphanage for all the Haitian chidren who are finding their way over to this side of the border.... They are being trafficked. There is no where for them to go. There is no international refugee center. There is no capacity in Haiti to care for them. There is nothing for them to do in the Dominican Republic except be exploited.
They are an increasing presence on the streets of the Dominican cities and the beach towns.
\
\
\I went up to the Samana Penisula, in the northeast, which is the only predominantly Protestant area in the country and where the local population is of very dark complextion, as it was first populated by freed US slaves, then by slum dwellers from the Capital who were sent there to "go and fish". As the French developed Las Terrenas, Haitians found it easy to find work there and were welcomed.
Since the earthquake, the northern border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti is essentially open... in that any Haitians who have a passport can cross during market days twice a week, pay the bus divers 3000 pesos, and the drivers will pay the guards, and the Haitians ride to Santiago. After Santiago, there are no more passport checks. This is opposed to the 6000 pesos that they would normally pay for a one year multiple entry visa. The most industrious of the Haitians do indeed have their visas, even their Business Visas, and have opened up the trade routes from the border market to the streets of Las Terrenas, trading the shoes and perfume and clothes that come in there for the cash that they get in the DR.
The Dominicans are making room for them. I watched a group of men, 200 strong. motor bikes parked on the side of the new highway, machetes in hand, cutting through the virgin forest on the side of the road. When I stopped to ask what they were doing... and they said .. well.. nothing.. and I said "Vamos hacer un lakou?" which is the word for a Haitian community,,, and they all smiled and gave me thumbs up... So I gave them $100 for juice and the Obama fist bump to the head guy.
But the Haitian artists who are already there are really struggling. Tourism is down as more apartments and villas have been constructed. I spoke with my friend Charlie Simon who said it was becoming hard to just eat. So I recommended that he move to Samana and start employing other artists to produce more art for the cruise ship passengers who .. when they arrive arrive in a horde.... with SMALL paintings.. wrapped, with the wood for the stretcher all cut and the nails in a little plastic pouch all ready for the home... like Ikea... to sell for .. say $20... so that at LEAST they can eat.
But for seed money, we need to bring them FRESH Canvas and more PAINT ... to get the paintings that they already have off the side of the walls where they are just decaying in the sun and rain.... although they do so try to protect them..
After the orginal seed money.. they could go on on their own,,''
But should the Church.. or Churches.. or Covens... or Meetings... or Beings .. wish to be involved... they could by simply buying some of the paintings and reselling them,,,,..
I already shipped twenty to my nephew in St Croix.
One of the first things that is needed is an orphanage for all the Haitian chidren who are finding their way over to this side of the border.... They are being trafficked. There is no where for them to go. There is no international refugee center. There is no capacity in Haiti to care for them. There is nothing for them to do in the Dominican Republic except be exploited.
They are an increasing presence on the streets of the Dominican cities and the beach towns.
\
\
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Cumbre Santo Domingo
I have been dragged back to work since we are to have a huge Haiti hoe down here on the east coast .. out in Punta Cana of course.. so that the giant NGOS can start depleting their budgets...
A poster on DR1.com... where I post under Mountainannie... and where we are holding a lively discussion on the Haiti Earthquake discussion board asked me about Chavannes Jean Baptiste...
Who is leading the fight against accepting the sterile Monsanto round up ready corn seeds which the company so generously gave one NGO
All I can say that everyone that I respect in Haiti circles respects him as a man of great integrity
His words speak my mind
It has been the misfortune of both these nations to be in the proxy war between the rising left of latin american and the repressing right of multinations based in the united states
food sufficiency for Haiti is the number one national priorty
any efforts to build more factories before food sufficiency is achieved should be seen as an attempt to occupy the island as a slave labor camp
A poster on DR1.com... where I post under Mountainannie... and where we are holding a lively discussion on the Haiti Earthquake discussion board asked me about Chavannes Jean Baptiste...
Who is leading the fight against accepting the sterile Monsanto round up ready corn seeds which the company so generously gave one NGO
All I can say that everyone that I respect in Haiti circles respects him as a man of great integrity
His words speak my mind
It has been the misfortune of both these nations to be in the proxy war between the rising left of latin american and the repressing right of multinations based in the united states
food sufficiency for Haiti is the number one national priorty
any efforts to build more factories before food sufficiency is achieved should be seen as an attempt to occupy the island as a slave labor camp
Friday, October 9, 2009
A new view of Haiti
Why We Shouldn't Stigmatize Haiti
By Jeff Antebi
In April, as part of a series of photo essays I'm doing, I made my way to Haiti for the recent Haitian Senatorial elections.
When I mentioned Haiti to friends, colleagues and travel agents, the universal response was "what?!?!?!" But I completely understood this reaction. I was worried myself. Haiti is thought to be a place where kidnappings are de rigueur. It's widely believed if your ride from the airport didn't show up on time, you might just be 'disappeared'. Given all of the talk of danger, I started to have nightmares of having my throat slit by the flight attendant as I deplaned.
So I made out a will. I took out all sorts of exotic insurance policies that I cannot discuss without risking them being voided. I signed up for a medical evacuation service and got prescriptions for Malarone and Azithromycin.
First, let me get this out of the way. Haiti is sad, yes. Desperate, yes. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and it shows. If you are Haitian and under five years old, you are more likely to die than if you were born anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere. If you are a woman, you are more likely to die giving birth here than anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere. If you are Haitian, there's a 50/50 chance you can't read or write. If you are Haitian and you die, there's a 50/50 chance what killed you was a water-borne illness. One of the leading causes of death in Haiti is diarrhea. The nation's children have it the worst: 98 percent of Haiti's children don't finish secondary school; thousands of Haitian children become victims of human trafficking every year; and 19,000 children in Haiti currently live with HIV/AIDS.
But that is only one part of the story. The other is that the country is stunning and Haitians are incredible people. It's nowhere near as apocalyptic as people make it out to be. In fact, for experienced travelers who understand the risks, caveats and cautions - it's a great place to see.
Haiti's proximity to the U.S. (only an hour-and-a-half from Miami) provides a compelling case for engaging programs and policies that can make life-saving differences to the men, women and children I met. They are, literally, our neighbors. There are nations everywhere that need help, but compared to a nation across the ocean, the cost of supporting our close neighbors is minimal. Haitians who are lucky enough to have a job earn the equivalent of $600 a year. As you can imagine, it doesn't take much to make a significant impact on the wider community.
Not that there aren't obstacles. Government corruption can prevent real, beneficial change from happening (things such as education, electricity and basic health care). The wrong kinds of "charity" render people apathetic and don't galvanize the population to help themselves. And a lack of long-term stability means a lack of foreign investors.
That's why it's important to at least start neutralizing the stigma and fear. While it's not going to be the most attractive choice for Caribbean tourism, Haiti is also not the abyss. Far from it.
My photos from the Haitian elections can be seen at www.jeffantebi.com
I'm currently in Afghanistan photographing the elections here.
By Jeff Antebi
In April, as part of a series of photo essays I'm doing, I made my way to Haiti for the recent Haitian Senatorial elections.
When I mentioned Haiti to friends, colleagues and travel agents, the universal response was "what?!?!?!" But I completely understood this reaction. I was worried myself. Haiti is thought to be a place where kidnappings are de rigueur. It's widely believed if your ride from the airport didn't show up on time, you might just be 'disappeared'. Given all of the talk of danger, I started to have nightmares of having my throat slit by the flight attendant as I deplaned.
So I made out a will. I took out all sorts of exotic insurance policies that I cannot discuss without risking them being voided. I signed up for a medical evacuation service and got prescriptions for Malarone and Azithromycin.
First, let me get this out of the way. Haiti is sad, yes. Desperate, yes. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and it shows. If you are Haitian and under five years old, you are more likely to die than if you were born anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere. If you are a woman, you are more likely to die giving birth here than anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere. If you are Haitian, there's a 50/50 chance you can't read or write. If you are Haitian and you die, there's a 50/50 chance what killed you was a water-borne illness. One of the leading causes of death in Haiti is diarrhea. The nation's children have it the worst: 98 percent of Haiti's children don't finish secondary school; thousands of Haitian children become victims of human trafficking every year; and 19,000 children in Haiti currently live with HIV/AIDS.
But that is only one part of the story. The other is that the country is stunning and Haitians are incredible people. It's nowhere near as apocalyptic as people make it out to be. In fact, for experienced travelers who understand the risks, caveats and cautions - it's a great place to see.
Haiti's proximity to the U.S. (only an hour-and-a-half from Miami) provides a compelling case for engaging programs and policies that can make life-saving differences to the men, women and children I met. They are, literally, our neighbors. There are nations everywhere that need help, but compared to a nation across the ocean, the cost of supporting our close neighbors is minimal. Haitians who are lucky enough to have a job earn the equivalent of $600 a year. As you can imagine, it doesn't take much to make a significant impact on the wider community.
Not that there aren't obstacles. Government corruption can prevent real, beneficial change from happening (things such as education, electricity and basic health care). The wrong kinds of "charity" render people apathetic and don't galvanize the population to help themselves. And a lack of long-term stability means a lack of foreign investors.
That's why it's important to at least start neutralizing the stigma and fear. While it's not going to be the most attractive choice for Caribbean tourism, Haiti is also not the abyss. Far from it.
My photos from the Haitian elections can be seen at www.jeffantebi.com
I'm currently in Afghanistan photographing the elections here.
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