For me, this trip to Haiti was not only a wonderful chance to serve and learn more about nursing and healthcare in a different country. It was a chance to explore a new culture and see for myself “What is Haiti like?” Throughout my childhood years I have heard much about the Haiti from missionaries in my home church who worked on drilling wells and founding Christian missions in the countryside. I heard about Haiti from the earthquake and my father who played a part in the ensuing recovery work. Now there was a chance to put all thoughts, generalizations, and questions to rest in having my own taste of Haitian life.
One of the books on the reading list for the trip is titles Haiti: The Aftershocks of History by Laurent Dubois which covers Haitian history from its beginning to the late 1960’s. It has been a real eye opener for me on this trip. As I continued reading in The Aftershocks of History, it became very clear that the Haitian people have been scarred culturally and politically by U.S. intervention and occupation. The injustices and grievances are many and were repeatedly without consequence, both from the U.S. and other foreign powers. The U.S. stood by while many were massacred, as racism and a contorted, coercive picture of Haitian life were planted in the national mind, and as the Vodou religion, a big part of Haitian culture, was degraded and persecuted from within the country and without. Reading this account of history has led me to examine my own prejudices and thoughts concerning the Haitian people that I had before experiencing a small part of Haitian life firsthand. Despite all of the stories I had heard and what I thought the trip would be, I still had little to no idea of what to expect when I personally went.
A first generalization that I had before coming and asking the Haitian staff in Hinche and Cabestor had to do with whether or not Haitians ate cat. I had often heard in the past that cat was somewhat a delicacy in Haiti and that they were mostly raised to be eaten. On the trip I have seen many cats that have been pets in the peoples homes and learned that not everyone eats cat, but there are many who will and do. A second generalization that I connected with from the book was that Haiti was like an exotic island country and painted for most of history as a land inhabited my native savages with little intelligence. While I never thought of it to that extreme, I had questions of what to expect as far as education and standards of living in Haiti. Despite the lack of infrastructure, there is a strong community presence everywhere we have been and there is widespread use of cell phones and technology in most places. There is still a large portion of the population without electricity and running water though and the roads and countryside are littered with trash. Although there are many who are poor and have meager homes and poor living conditions, these people are nowhere near as poor and helpless as I and many other Americans probably have had them painted in their minds.
I find myself awed and never on this trip has the thought “I am superior” crossed my mind. If anything the Haitians I have seen, met, talked to, and interacted with are superior to me in their love, pride and self confidence, and willingness to lend a helping hand. I have watched as they toiled in the field under the blazing sun and as they carried their produce or dragged their animals for miles to be sold at market and I admire their endurance and work ethic. This people is not lazy or ignorant. They are beautifully and wonderfully made and I have had the privilege to have this small look into their culture, life, and being.
~Lamar Kiser
emuinhaiti 