Geoff Cooper
Haiti
- World’s poorest western country
- 9,000 UN troops
- 10 kidnappings everyday
- Life expectancy at birth = 49 years
It was a full on trip to a country that few of my family wanted me to visit! The current political situation is “highly unstable” - to put it nicely. A two-week trip to a town called Petit-trou, a mere 7 hours (90km) from the capital city of Port-au-Prince, on roads that few of us would recognize as such.
The first question that I was asked on my arrival back in NZ was “were you surprised at the level of poverty?”
Now for those who are not aware, the poverty in Haiti is among the worst in the world (it is, in fact, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere). The poverty is BAD, of that there is no doubt. But having worked in the area of poverty reduction and education, this was one of the few areas that surprised me very little. In short I knew what to expect. And I was so glad that I did not get caught up in the poverty of Haiti, because it would have been easy to miss what is so very rich about Haiti . . . Community!
I have always believed that is more than a word . . . it is a concept, a way of life, a process of connectedness between the people whom you live beside.
The way the Haitians made each one of us feel like family was the heart of Haiti. Connecting with people in spite of the barrier of language and culture. Connecting because you see hope in one another, connecting because you understand that this is what humanity is about! This is what Haiti is so very rich in. If anything, it should make us question the word ‘poverty’ and why we associate it with a financial situation, rather than a communal one (who would be the third world if community was our measurement of development?)
My one fear from my trip to Haiti is that I got more out of it than the very people who I was suppose to be there to help. It is sad to see such vibrant people melting away in the face of our global world. Effectively being lost among our headlines of celebrity. The truth is they have so much to teach us about fulfillment, about what life is all about. This country makes me question the values that I hold so highly in my life, yet unconsciously refuse to extend to other parts of the world. The country and these people ask heavy questions of my convictions.
There is one last point I wish to make, surrounding the currently sexy topic of International Development. Haiti has taught me the important lesson of what international development is actually about. Let me first say what it is not.
International development is not about turning Lusaka into New York and Petit-trou will never be Taranaki . . . nor should it be! Our goal cannot be to reform these countries into our cultures so that they become bustling centers of economic activity. Our goal is to give these people options! Where they can make choices that agree with their values and their culture; and I imagine that would be one hell of a place to live in. They have the community, and the hope and the stamina . . . all we need to give them is a fair system in which to work. Jefferson called it justice.
The following poem was written by my good friend Leah Millis, an up and coming photographer (as you can tell) who was part of the medical team to Haiti- her words are much more real than anything I could convey about this situation.
Hi All
I guess I should tell you all about my travels. I went alone, mainly because everyone left Lima before I could get to them. Email is not reliable for that. I went to Huancayo, a very beautiful place. I got free accommodation from friends in return for ‘teaching English.’ I really enjoyed staying with my friends, such nice people. As its in the highlands, I got a bit of altitude sickness but after drinking mate de coca, I was fine. The rio manon valle is just stunning as are the inca ruins at chupaca. It was wonderful.