Haiti One Year Later

Last night I received an e-mail from a member of COG asking me to give an update to the Pagan community on the progress in Haiti one year later and my personal insights as someone who responded to the disaster.

Sitting hear shaking my head with tears welling in my eyes may not be the best frame of mind to write an informative narration on the state of Haiti. Each day I follow the lack of progress in Haiti. My computer is filled with maps of cholera treatment centers across the country. My thoughts turn to the suffering I witnessed often. There are days when my heart beats for Haiti and Haiti alone.

It is true that the Goddess blessed me with the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of hundreds who were suffering; few will ever be so blessed and troubled at the same time.

Those who have not been there cannot understand the nature of life in Haiti. As an example, put your self in the position of a resident of Port-au-Prince who has to choose between spending what little he has on cab fare to take his mother to a doctor OR feeding his four children for the next week. Choose one, your mother dies or your children starve. For those of us living in the US such choices are unimaginable.

For the last few hundred years Haiti has been ruled by a governing class known as the eleven families. In Haiti nothing happens without their approval and cut of “the action”. All of us have seen the reports of the Billions pledged that have not reached the people of Haiti. It is these eleven families that are the problem. Even the President of Haiti would be without influence lacking their support.

As an example of this dynamic, consider a small non-profit that has had an ambulance at the port in Haiti for months “in customs”. Officials at the port are demanding more than $15,000.00 in import fees. The ambulance was purchased used for less than $5,000.00. This small organization contacted the government to complain and received a letter from the president’s office declaring the ambulance exempt from import fees. Upon presentation of the letter officials stated “we do not care what the president says”. Corruption is endemic in Haiti.

Figuring out how to be effective in Haiti is beyond complex. Large NGO’s are holding the funds that were donated as they have an ethical obligation to use them wisely and not contribute to corruption. Yet, the path of profiteering is the only effective way of accomplishing anything of scale in Haiti.

All this is not to say there is no hope. I continue to assist small NGO’s that are making a real difference in Haiti. These organizations are so small and under the radar that they are able to provide real assistance to small communities. One of these organizations is 100% for Haiti, we have built a school, purchased chairs, desks, and books and provided a salary for a teacher. These accomplishments have been made possible by our efforts to stabilize the community with health care and food assistance. In Haiti one must start with the basic needs first.

The complexity of acting in Haiti has become even more perplexing with the arrival of dozens of faith-based organizations. These so-called humanitarian organizations are proselytizing and building anger and resentment towards those who exclusively practice Voodoo. It is important to understand that in Haiti those who profess to be Christians do not deny the power of Voodoo. In fact they have been lead to believe that Voodoo rituals are the cause of much of the suffering in Haiti. This dynamic with 70% of the population Christian and 100% believing in Voodoo makes for a very dangerous situation.

Add to this cauldron of religious intolerance a destroyed infrastructure, politics, cholera, huge sums of money, hundreds of NGO’s, a long-standing foreign army (U.N.) and stir. What you end up is a brew that is beyond volatile.

Will I return to Haiti? If I could figure out a way to do so without my home being foreclosed on I would be there now. My heart remains in Haiti, it is my hope that my efforts to relieve the suffering will one day enable me to retrieve it.

Lead by the Goddess in service to the children of the Earth,

Peter