What does Port au Prince look like nearly a year later? Alas, Haiti still garners some headline news stories. Certainly these stories are no longer earn front page status as the first few days following the earthquake - there are always bigger and better stories from around the world to rate front page. But when a story does make the pages, every story begins the same way...Haiti, the most impoverished, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, continues to struggle since the earthquake of January 12...nearly 1 year later, Haiti still struggles.... Does this make the story more compelling?
There was a freak storm in September, Cholera came charging in a rampant rage in October, Hurricane Thomas threatened to blow away the tent communities and camps throughout the country in November and now the after-effects of the presidential election have nearly been the final straw. People are demonstrating their outrage as they should. They feel the election for a new President was a chance for hope. a chance for survival. But what they got was more of the same Haiti electoral process as every other electoral process.
President Obama campaigned for change. The candidates for President of Haiti offered change for a vote. But there is no change here.
The city still sits in rubble. People still need permanent housing options. People still struggle to find work, to provide enough food for their family, to provide medical care, education for their children....they don’t expect a lot- just the basics would be helpful really.
The land of plenty has yet to give plenty...the aid money has yet to be released. It is understandable under the circumstances. Governments around the world have sent aid in many forms, but still hold tight to millions of dollars that could lift the burden. That is not to say that there hasn’t been aid of course. The numbers of people that have come to give aid are in evidence every time I go to the airport. They ‘rain love’ on Haiti as one groups t-shirts proclaimed. Many ‘official’ people come on behalf of someone...of some government...to see for themselves the misery. What do they take back with them? What difference will they make?
Most of my Haitian friends and colleagues are fortunate to have jobs, to have homes- not all of them. Some still live in tents, still struggle to make ends meet before the end of the month. For me, it makes it more understandable to see why people live day to day. They can’t plan for next week or next month if they are struggling to feed their family at the end of the day.
I get to go home for Christmas (providing the airport reopens before then). I have the assurance that my kids have enough to eat. That they can get medical care should they need it. There are days I struggle with guilt. In fact, everytime someone asks for a few dollars. I can’t help everyone, how do I choose who to help and who to say I’m sorry to because I can’t help everyone. I will deal with this struggle because I do have the freedom of choice, of options, a job, a secure and safe place to live. Guilt is a small price to pay. Someone posted on Facebook that most people have a thousand wishes for Christmas, cancer patients just have one - to get well. I think that it is the same for Haiti. Its a country struggling to get well. To get away from the labels of poorest country, most impoverished. My wish for them is to have the burden of poverty lifted, to have the daily struggles lifted so they can have the same options, the same choices I have. We can rain all the love we have but until they have the perfect storm- a truely democratic government for the people, freedom from poverty and food for life they can’t get well.
My very best Christmas wishes to my Haitian friends and family, collegues and those friends I’ve yet to make on this 11month anniversary of the earthquake that the opportunity and actuallity that wellness will come soon.
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