A Personal Letter and Article from the Director:

Haiti: The Tarnished Pearl of the Caribbean*
A History Lesson, A Social Criticism, and A Call to Action
By Jesse O’Shea


“Piti piti zwazo fè nich."
Little by little the bird makes his nest.
– Haitian Proverb

Intro:

As soon as I took my first step in Haiti, I knew I had fallen in love with this country. The white sand, fresh coconut and mangos on the beautiful beaches with its bright blue waters—I thought to myself, what isn’t to love about this country? With my recent trips, the negative stereotypes of Haiti were destroyed, new stereotypes were formed, but not of Haiti. Of my own nation and its people, and humanity. I learned more in these trips to Haiti than I could have in years of coursework, and more about life than I could have in centuries.
(If you are not interested in the journey and only interested about the social criticism, skip to end.)

Right when I got off the plane, I told everyone I wanted to see the worst slums of Haiti. That began my journey—a crash course into poverty; just the way I prefer it. I get out of my car to walk the streets of Cite Soliel, or if you could even call them streets, more like dirt and trash compiled into a pathway. My entourage consists of the Haitian Olympics Boxing Chair (Boxer Eddy), A random boxer, and our driver (Driver Eddy, you’ll see the significance of this nickname later), and another American who I wanted to bring to document and capture the trip. Immediately I am surrounded by more than 10 naked, or half clothed children yelling “Blan! Blan!, Ey You!.” “Blan” is the Creole term for a white person, which they do not see many of. I continue to walk deeper into the slums, just trying to soak everything I see in. It is difficult to describe this town, not because of the violence or the complexity, but simply because the town consists of nothing. The people have nothing here, absolutely nothing. I look down to see just dirt and trash, you’d be amazed with the amount of trash they have here. I can hardly see the ground; I’m just stepping on trash. The popular Haitian proverb “Beyond mountains there are mountains” should be applied to just the trash there. There are rubber tires everywhere, impossible to dispose of, it almost looks like there are intentional barricades of tires, but it isn’t intentional. When you think of trash, you usually think of smell, which is the next topic. The smell is so rancid and pungent there, many people spray perfume in a handkerchief and cover their nose and mouth with it and breathe through it. As I struggle to walk and breathe, I try to take pictures of the little children; I show them their picture on my digital camera after I am done and they all giggle and are amazed. Amazed because they have never seen such technology before. I give out candy while looking around, trying to survey where all these people live in. I guess I was used to my American suburbs and was looking for homes, or something that somewhat resembled a home, but I could find none of that. The only thing I could find, were a plethora of tin shacks, rusted, and haphazardly built--- kind of like a shanty-town but much worse. I saw two or three dogs walking parallel to me, scurrying around for food, looking just as skinny as the children. It seemed as though even the wolves and dogs were starving to death with these people as well—this place could hardly sustain life. I talk to locals and finally am taken to the Hospital, which is why I came to Haiti to see their public health system. The hospital was run by two Cuban doctors, and which could hold about 40 beds and even had an x-ray machine. As I was given a tour of the hospital, I see dying women laying on the beds, which from a lack of medicine, and a wooden rod next to them which I assumed was to hold up the IV’s. I was surprised with the quality of this hospital, it was a decent size and seemed adequate considering the conditions surrounding it, until I was told that this was the only hospital for  many miles. This hospital, these 2 doctors, were responsible for the health of over 200,000 people in this densely populated town. I asked the hospital administrator what he wanted if I could help this place out, and the only answer he could give me was “Ambulances.” Which got me thinking… If someone had some sort of emergency, they would die because the closest hospital is maybe 25-30 miles away and they have no cars or transportation to get there. Disturbing. …

This town is notorious for its violence, even against Blans like me, but since I was there with a well known Haitian Boxer, and the Owner of a Haitian boxing federation, we went unharmed. Many people are not given the luxury of a detailed tour as we did, so I am thankful to Boxer Eddy. Boxer Eddy was a very light skinned mulatto that is on the board of the Olympic Boxing Committee in Haiti. He has his own boxing federation and league set up in Haiti, where his goal is to recruit boxers from the slums, like Cite Soleil and rehabilitate them through boxing and sports, and give them a chance at life and a psychological way to cope with their lifestyle. He is doing a great thing, he really is. And I am helping him expand this league. Next, we go to a small field were many Haitian children are playing soccer. They are dancing and running around as if the world is fine. ..This is the unique thing about Haiti. Although through all of the political turmoil, through all of the corruption, the killings, the murders, the starvation, they still hold their head up and manage to smile. A resilience seen here like none other. Despite it all, they still have hope. This country and its people… Slowly tugging at my heart strings with their entire might. In America, I used to say People are dying, simply because they cannot afford life. Well here, people are dying…simply because they have no other choice.

Child in Cite Soleil

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History and Culture:

After seeing that town, I became obsessed to understand Haitian Culture, its history on how it got this way. The other Americans on the trip seemed a lack of interest, simply just observing everything. Haiti was once known as the “Pearl of the Antilles” as it was one of France’s wealthiest colonies. Revolution finally hit Haiti in 1791, as slaves staged a revolt. Under the leadership of Toussaint Louverture, Haitians united for freedom. Napoleon Bonaparte, with his cruel tactics of war and dictatorship, sent massive armies to Haiti to control the situation. They committed brutality beyond belief--Killing innocent women and children, burning people alive, and even using the first forms of a gas chamber. Toussaint Louverture was tricked at one point into meeting, and was seized and exiled in France and eventually died in prison. News of this united the people in the revolution and fueled their rage and will power to win the war. The betrayal of Toussaint undermined the collaboration of leaders such as Dessalines, Christophe, and Pétion. On January 1, 1804 Dessalines then declared independence, reclaiming the indigenous Taíno name of Haiti ("Land of Mountains") for the new nation. Finally, Haiti was a free nation, but this began the tumultuous politics of Haiti that last even today. From leader to coups to over throw the leader, the cycle began. From 1911 to 1915, there were six different Presidents, each of whom was killed or forced into exile. The United States backed France in ordering Haiti to pay 150 million francs in gold to compensate for the costs of the war it won. In return, Haiti would supposedly be granted international recognition. Repayment locked Haiti into the role of a debtor nation –where it remains today. Unfortunately, The United State has not had the most morally pure intervention in Haiti, but I will not go to into that right now. Fast forwarding a few years, in 1957, Francois Duvalier, also known for his nickname "Papa Doc", emerged as Head of State and quickly gained nearly absolute power. In 1961 "Papa Doc" rewrote the National Constitution. After, he became the first "President for Eternity of Haiti". The Duvalier dictatorship instituted rig press censorship. International agencies accuse government of grave human rights abuses. His regime of terror resulted in the deaths of least 30,000 Haitians. During his first four –and bloodiest—years in power, Papa Doc received $40 million from Washington, much of it in the form of outright gifts. The U.S. even went so far as to send Marines to protect this regime from any popular movement that might threaten its rule. His regime is regarded as one of the most repressive and corrupt of modern times, combining violence against political opponents with exploitation of Voodoo to instill fear in the majority of the population. On Duvalier's death in April 1971, power passed to his 19-year-old son Jean-Claude Duvalier (known as "Baby Doc").

Under Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haiti's economic and political condition continued to decline. He maintained a reign of terror over Haiti's workers and poor through the infamous armed thugs, the Tontons Macoutes. The United States feared that the African Swine Fever (ASF) disease that plagued pigs in the Dominican Republic in mid 1978 would reach northern America. For the peasants, the pigs represented some type of savings account and required less care than those supplied by the US. By giving up to US pressures thus, Jean Claude destroyed the peasants’ economy and already the events that would culminate in his overthrow in 1986 were in place. Widespread discontent in Haiti began in 1983, when Pope John Paul II condemned the regime during a visit, finally provoking a rebellion, and in February 1986, after months of disorder, the army forced Duvalier to resign and go into exile. In 1990, Haiti held a national democratic election, and Priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide won the presidency with 70 percent of the votes. Aristide created literacy programs and began to make democratic reforms. In 1991 to counter the reforms, the military stormed Aristide’s residence. The military set up the Frappe death squads that murdered over 1,500 people. With thousands of Haitian refugees fleeing the island, President George H.W. Bush enacted a trade embargo against Haiti. In 1994, Clinton ordered American forces to intervene to “protect American interests and stop the brutal atrocities that threaten tens of thousands of Haitians”. The Administration drew up a plan creating a new Haitian police force and restoring Aristide to power. “Perhaps because he threatened U.S. interests, Aristide’s return to power was limited to finishing the last year of his term of office. Nevertheless, he dissolved the armed forces that for generations had backed the tiny Haitian elite.”Aristide’s presidency ended on Feb. 29 when U.S. uniformed personnel removed him from the presidential residence at gunpoint and flew him to the Central African Republic. The mainstream U.S. media presented U.S. military presence as a mission to prevent bloodshed. Préval took office in May 2006 and is the current president of Haiti.
The United States, in a peculiar method, activates an embargo when some rulers or presidents come to power. Many of these embargos, even the ones today, cripple Haiti’s economy and hurt their people much more. The real reason we have an embargo against Haiti, which is very subjective and is that every time the Haitians are allowed to elect who they want they make the mistake of not electing the kind of people the U.S. government wants.

Another side of Haiti, is its unique culture, which I have fallen in love with. During my visit, I got to see voodoo ceremonies, parades, RaRas, concerts, and made many close friends. Haitian Vodou is a religion originating from the Caribbean country of Haiti, located on the island of Hispañola. It is based upon a merging of the beliefs and practices of West African peoples, with Roman Catholic Christianity, which was brought about as African slaves were brought to Haiti in the 16th century and forced to convert to the religion of their owners, whilst they largely still followed their traditional African beliefs. Voodoo often interferes with healthcare as people think someone cursed them, versus actually being sick, or use strange remedies to try to cure their illness. I cannot really describe what I saw there in Haiti, You will have to go see it for yourself.


Parts of Haiti are so outrageously beautiful. On the last day I was there, we went to Jacksonville Beach, which was gorgeous (not Jacksonville Beach, Florida!). Other parts of Haiti are just so upsetting. For example, the town of Destra. It is so secluded that it seems as though modern civilization has not reached there yet. It is like opening a National Geographic and reading about a lost tribe deep in the Congo. A town from the Stone age… I think the people in the show Lost live better than they do. But like I said before, they are resilient, as I swam on the beach with them and enjoyed their sugar cane.

The beatiful beaches of Destra, children playing on a recently built sailboat.

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Remarks, Guidance and Critisms:



So that gives you a very brief summary of Haiti’s tumultuous history. Which brings me to now. In 2008, several Hurricanes pounded Haiti. They say that the storms destroyed 15 percent of the country`s GDP or the equivalent of 8 to 10 Hurricane Katrina’s hitting the U.S. in one month. These hurricanes created flooding everywhere, a food shortage, and a breeding ground for diseases and illness. The UN and the United States brought in millions of dollars to the Haitian government for aid, but much of this disappeared. Many fled to other countries, including the United States. Which brings me to another issue, Haitian deportation. Congress in 1990 established protection status for granted 260,000 Salvadorans, 82,000 Hondurans, and 5000 Nicaraguans protection. The Attorney General may grant temporary immigration status to undocumented residents unable to return home due to armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other "extraordinary and temporary conditions." Haitians never got it, yet granting it is the simplest, least expensive form of aid so Port-au-Prince can concentrate on redevelopment while Haitians in America help through remittances back to families. Ending deportations of Haitians would also be consistent. Tens of thousands of Nicaraguans, Hondurans, Salvadorans and others whose countries have been hit by war, earthquakes and hurricanes have routinely been granted protected status in 18-month increments. The strongest argument against doing so is the fear that boatloads of Haitians will take to sea in a deadly gamble to win sanctuary for themselves. That is a legitimate concern. But the best way to address it is by helping to lessen Haiti’s misery with aid, trade and investment. Haitians living in this country can help — but not if they are deported home to a country that is in no condition to accept them. In 2008, Obama campaigned vigorously for South Florida's Haitian vote. Now he's betrayed them, the way he's abandoning millions of distressed households by providing little in real relief compared to trillions in handouts to Wall Street and the rich. I mean, come on... Giving billions to AIG, so they can give their executives bonuses… Come on.

My visit, through talking to all of the Haitian locals, American and Haitian physicians, and Haitian politicians, developed somewhat of a strategy to help Haiti. Although you cannot fix everything, and if you try to it will just overwhelm you since there are so many things to fix you must start small, and work from the ground up. Firstly, there is absolutely no point in giving the Haitian government billions and billions of dollars if you are looking to be effective. The UN and United States have both given billions of dollars in aid to the government. This money disappears very quickly into the hands and pockets of the politicians at all levels of the government. Haiti is in a complex situation. How can you help a country that has absolutely no infrastructure, no real abiding government to help the people?

Well, through a series of interviews, the solution of some of the problems lies in external help. There are thousands of NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) and non-profits in Haiti, or at least work for Haiti. Many of these non-profits in the United States are unfortunately scams, so you have to be careful which you actually support. Many just raise money and do not really spend it on aid or actually physically help and spend their money on their own salaries or things that benefit themselves. Capitalism exists in the non-profit world, which is a disappointment. So if you are going to support a non-profit, make sure it is a legitimate one.

I was given a tour of a massive billion dollar sugar cane factory that is, unfortantely no longer in use. If they were to burn the output of the sugar cane factory, it would create enough energy to power a city of 200,000 people. It could provide up to 3,000 jobs and would create a large boom in sugar cane export. This factory is simply not in use because of politics, and lack of will from the government. Things like this must not exist, there must be change.

The next step, towards making aid to Haiti more efficient is a need for a larger umbrella organization for the NGO’s. In some areas, you have 5 NGO’s all working to solve and help the same problem, all doing little projects to shunt the issue. If there was a larger umbrella organization, to connect these NGO’s and make them collaborate and work together, perhaps even doing a more massive project, the issue may be able to not only be shunted, but be obliterated. The Haitian proverb “Men anpil, chay pa lou” means “Many hands [make] the load lighter.” Which is exactly what the situation with NGO’s need. With many hands helping with one load, the load is lighter.

Today, Haiti has absolutely no infrastructure, no government to help them with the two most important things in terms of human rights: the access to education and healthcare. The only education and healthcare is supplied by external factions, like Partners in Health. Even their police force is provided by an external mean, like the UN. Education is the key to getting any country out of a third world or even as I call Haiti, a fourth world status. Thankfully, unlike before, there are thousands of small private schools in Haiti built up by NGO’s to provide some education. This new generation of privately schooled children, will be the ones to build these country up. Once they are educated properly, they will be able to see their conditions they are living in are not acceptable and will find means to fix it. It is comforting to walk around Haiti and see many children, walking in unison in their school uniforms, promising a hopeful future.

NEGES Foundation School

Another problem that must be overcome is to eradicate the negative stereotypes of Haiti, and of even traveling there. In an interview with Doctor Eddy, he said in order for tourism to grow and get external income, in order for there to be more aid, the negative stereotypes must be abolished. Even when I traveled to Haiti, my family was very upset with me, afraid I was going to get kidnapped or murdered. I told them to worry about my brother Joe, because he is the one going to the Gaza Strip. The United States Department of State says that Americans should travel to Haiti if only it is absolutely necessary. Warning that it is unsafe, warning of safety procedures, stating that nowhere is safe in Haiti. Describing what can happen, like getting kidnapped and raped, or worse. This is a huge problem, considering that if you look up the statistics… other places like Israeli, Europe, and Mexico, there are much more kidnappings or violence against foreigners. There are probably more kidnappings in a month in the United States than there are in Haiti in a year. This negativitiy needs to diminish.

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A Call to Action:



In conclusion, the most important factor in helping Haiti’s situation is for everyone in the United States, and in the world is to stop thinking about stereotypes, stop separating each other by nation, by religion, by color, or by social status. Haiti made me realize that there is only one nation--- and that is the human nation. The only real nation is humanity. Moreover, I believe that we must never be complacent with the status quo; tomorrow can always be a better and brighter day than today. I live by a simple ideal—that the richer, the wiser, the more powerful one is, the more it is their duty to help lessen the sum of human misery. Especially as college students, we automatically are privileged. Now is the time to help. The trend has already started in universities to first-hand help problems not only in the United States, but everywhere. Others are suffering beyond belief and you have the power to help aid them, either financially by donating a small amount which could sponsor a child in school, or physically helping. So make a toast America, with your McDonalds Big-Macs in one hand, and your Starbucks coffee in the other hand, to stop this selfish lifestyle and help lessen the sum of human misery.
Little by little, we can help Haiti rebuild its nest.

If you are interested in joining the cause, donating, or just helping me out in general, or perhaps even creating your own cause-- feel free to message me or call me. But I hope you find a place in your heart to simply help, without even talking to me.


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Special Thanks--
Thank you to Yoleine and James for providing me a safe stay and opening my eyes to this wonderful place and creating lasting memories, to Michael for creating interesting debates, and egging me on to helping Haiti, to Doctor Eddy for letting me pick at your brain and getting close with you, to Doctor Harris for letting me assist in a surgery. Thank you everyone from Duke University and Family Health Ministries that provided me entertainment and life lessons. Thank you to all the other people, you know who you are— and to all the other Americans and Haitians that I have befriended.

-Jesse O'Shea