Turning hopeless into hopeful (a year later)
Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 8:18PM If you watch the news or pick up any newspaper, you would think Haiti is on the brink of extinction. You'd think we are still on the dawn of January 13, 2010 when all lenses were focused on the island and ink flowed to recount the disaster ad nauseum. You'd feel as if the billions of donated dollars were for naught. What you're actually witnessing is the entire world looking for something, anything indicating progress in the recovery efforts. As if there's a magic point in time when we will all say and agree that enough has been done.
It'll never be enough when billion after billion of dollars continue to be poured into a nation with 80% illiteracy, 56% unemployment, a history of government corruption and no real effort is made to reform its infrastructure. It's worse when that money never makes it into the hands of Haitians but is instead going towards administrative and living costs of international workers. It'll never be enough when thousands of pounds of food continue to be brought into in a country where agriculture is non-existent and deforestation is rampant. It amounts to nothing at all when Haitians are never asked what it is they need/want but are instead subjected to what is thought to be best for them. History from the last three decades has taught us that these approaches don't work. Is the world insane then, to be witnessing the exact same things and expecting different results?
No. We, as Haitians are. We still sit and wait for everyone else to tell us what to do. We're content with the overseas rice and consumer products that continue to flood our markets. We're more passionate about Brazil and Argentina than about our kids' education. We weren't bothered by the heaps of trash and waste on our block as long as it was not in front of our house and we're quickly becoming used to the pile of rubble across the street. We complain that it's never enough instead of saying "enough is enough!"
365 days later and the world is measuring success by what international organizations have done. Progress ought to be measured by how many of our Haitian brothers and sisters use pick axes, shovels, wheelbarrows and sometimes their bare hands to clear the rubble- and waste-strewn streets of their neighborhoods. It's progress when we don't wait for anyone to tell us what to do but come up with plans to rebuild our collapsed homes, hospitals and schools better. It's progress when we realize that for as long as we live, no one will care more about Haiti than us. It's progress when we put our differences aside and realize that when we unite we become stronger and achieve more than the rest of the world combined.
We, Haitians, are the silver lining Haiti needs right now. The earthquake may have broken our limbs, toppled our landmarks, destroyed our fledgling economy, compounded our needs for solid infrastructure, claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of our loved ones. But it hasn't crushed our resolve to see a renewed Haiti.
It's our duty. Now, more than ever.
