O lespri Sen, desann sou nou; nou gen yon misyon pou Ayiti.
These words spoken in Creole, a blessing for Haiti, have rung out loud and clear in my home parish of St. Thomas Aquinas in Indianapolis for as long as I can remember. These words were ingrained in my memory long before I knew what they meant, long before I had ever set foot on Haitian soil and long before I realized that the little white wafers that the "big people" lined up to eat where supposed to be a man's body, not cardboard.
St. Thomas has a partnership with the rural Haitian town Belle Riviere, known as a "sister parish." We pray for one another and send aid whenever possible. I was fascinated by the Haitians that came to stay with STA parishioners, with their dark features, exotic accents and tales of rustic living in the mountains - I knew nothing of their suffering and resilience in the face of dire poverty.
Then my senior year of high school came, and I had the opportunity to travel with a group of women to meet the people of Belle Riviere and do some work in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
From the moment the plane touched down in Port-au-Prince, my eyes were opened to what might as well have been life on another planet. How to describe the living conditions in the capital city - you know those 1-800-infomercials that have pictures of starving children living in filth and rags? You know how you always tell yourself that things could never actually be that bad?
Well, they are. Raw sewage flows down the street, people are hungry, unemployment is the norm, and security is nonexistent.
But it would simply not do Haiti justice to only focus on the negative. The people I encountered were utterly amazing. They were fighting, really fighting, to survive and make life better for themselves and their families.
The townspeople of Belle Riviere worked hard to grow crops, build homes and form a supportive community. I saw them walk for miles to the closest river, in the ungodly heat, only to carry heavy buckets of water back, balanced on their heads no less. Mother Theresa's religious sisters work day in and day out to care for abandoned, sick and dying children in an orphanage in Port-au-Prince. Children sit patiently in tiny, sweaty school/shacks scattered across Haiti to receive a rudimentary education. Haiti has a history riddled with violent coups and unstable political leaders. As of the beginning of this month, Haiti is once again not only threatened by extreme poverty, but political chaos. Rebels, who promised in the beginning of February to use force if President Aristide did not step down, have kept their promise and now have control over "virtually all of the northern region of the country" according to the Associated Press. The number of people who have died thus far in this takeover is unknown.
The United States has sent reinforcements to aid President Aristide in keeping his position secure and is working on a plan of action. Meanwhile, people continue to die in the crossfire between government officials and the rebels.
According to the Associated Press, both Rebel commander Guy Philippe and President Aristide have pledged to "die for Haiti."
In a country full of people who are striving to live for Haiti, is it impossible to find a leader who is ready to do the same?
Write to Carla at caalderman@bsu.edu
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