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Haiti
Jan 13, 2010
I'll say straight away the Haiti earthquake struck me more than expected and may have flavored this post more than even I would anticipate.
First off, an explanation of why I think it hit me. In the spring of 1998 or 1999 (it bleeds together by now) I spent my spring break in the Dominican Republic. Far from the all-included resort experience most people have when they visit the tropical country I spent a good amount of my trip among those much less fortunate than I. It's an experience I have struggled with since; to the point that for many years it paralyzed aspects of my life because I felt as though I could never do enough to help or live a life with some sense of solidarity with the conditions I saw.
Most directly affecting my mind last night and today was a trip to a Haitian refugee camp in the DR. Haitians are treated like shit in the DR. Think back to the days where a white would not sit next to a black on a bus in the United States and that was exactly where it was (is?) in the DR with Haitians. I sat on a bus where the only person that would set next to a Haitian was an American. Please don't get me wrong, none of this gives me any authority on the situation and that isn't my intent, it's simply to relate my very personal feelings.
The Haitian refugee camp was the worst living conditions I had ever seen. No running water or electricity and the only 'fresh' water they had access to was in a ravine behind the camp that was so heavily polluted and littered that in my upbringing I wouldn't set foot in it, much less drink from it. I absolutely cannot do the experience justice and can only say that if that life was better than the life they had in Haiti I can't fathom what life in Haiti held.
All those thoughts which had fallen largely to my subconscious came rushing back last night and moreso today. I woke up a bit crabby. On the way to work I felt unduly frustrated at those who wasted an extra styrofoam cup to insulate their iced coffee in sub-freezing weather. At work I felt unreasonable anger towards the woman next to me for griping for 10 minutes about the extensive streak of cold weather. After work I felt an escalated amount of frustration for a coworker who searched for and downloaded music on his iPhone while in my exclusive company. I searched for ways to aid those in Haiti and felt strong disapproval at those who were raising awareness without any clear sign of how they would provide assistance...more on that to come.
So the earthquake evoked a lot of emotion from me. That was most apparent to me when I opened this photo gallery at work and found myself tearing up at some points. (Most notably #31, a relatively tame picture by the standards of this gallery which simply showed a father carrying his dusty daughter by the light of car headlamps.) This is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and they have been struck by a tragedy that by some accounts may wipe out 6% of their population.
For what it's worth I've decided to donate to Partners in Health. It's a nice coincidence that they are local to Boston but beyond that I have known of their work in Haiti prior to my time in Boston and they were listed as a preferred recipient of funds by the group I initially decided to donate to, charity: water (whom I initially chose because 100% of public donations go to those they serve.
Renae, sorry for such a delayed response. Obviously my posts are a _bit_ more frequent now and while I checked back for comments after the last posts I didn't catch yours. I'll continue to improve again.
I really LOVED your point about teachers being more important. Not just in thinking of you as 'a teacher' but in all of us being called to teach as we can. It was actually a bit uncomfortable at the Super Bowl party I was at last night because when Pierre Garcon and his ties to Haiti came up I felt compelled to share a bit of what I had seen in the DR. It wasn't a moment I necessarily wanted to have but when people were talking somewhat disparagingly of their situation and saying they could finally clean up the place I couldn't let the moment slip without sharing my perspective and trying to bring a greater understanding.
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I certainly did not make it through those pictures being able to contain emotion. It is just terrible. Just this Christmas our gift as Grandchildren to my grandmother was a donation to Haiti to feed those in need. It is hard to believe that something so horrible could happen to people in such need already. I agree with you partially in both this post and the last on your opinions about posting to try to gain awareness, but possibly not going about it the right way. I do think a lot of the Haiti posts on my facebook were asking for prayer. I think prayer offers peace and I don't think you can tell if someone donated on the side and just didn't want to tell others where to go with their money. Though I see your point on offering suggestions. I believe moments like this make the role of a teacher even more important. I firmly believe my kids need to know what happened and be a part of helping. We will be planning something through our Student Council and leading our kids in answer the call to help others in need. I think one of the things that has bothered me that most is that this has become a political thing for so many. Can't this just be about people who need help and others like us who are lucky doing our part.
On a completely different note: it is good to have you back blogging. I missed it!