The destruction and suffering in Port au Prince has been immense, but it is in difficult times that the beauty of the spirit of the Haitian people most shines. They are not strangers to hunger, sudden loss of loved ones, or dashed hopes. They have suffered hurricanes that destroyed homes and food crops and buried entire cities in mud, political crises that sent everyone fleeing for the hills in fear and set development back for years, and centuries of the quiet personal tragedies of poverty.

Survivors were pulled from the rubble weeks after the earthquake because of this spiritual and physical resiliency which comes from knowing tragedy. Haitians have an ability to endure with a calm kindness. They comfort one another with the way they lightly lay a hand upon you to show friendship or a deep understanding of your personal suffering. Many times they have comforted me. They treat one another’s suffering with both compassion and actual support…taking in strangers, nursing the ill, sharing food with neighbors, guiding one another’s children.

Even though they seldom smile for posed photographs, their smiles do flow large and heartfelt on a regular basis. They are smiles that come from working together, maintaining strong relationships, love for their brothers and sisters, and keeping hope for a better future alive.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in aid has been sent to Haiti out of love and compassion, much of it by the regular people of the world who must sacrifice something to give it. People everywhere are collecting medical supplies , soap, shoes, tents, and clothing to send, or are travelling to provide emergency assistance— rescue workers searching for survivors, doctors treating the sick, engineers checking buildings for safety. The response from the world to Haiti’s current suffering has been glorious and beautiful, giving me hope that we can become one global world working for the good of humanity. It is a refreshing break to hear what is being done to help rather than reports on war,
bombings and scandals.

The most heart-wrenching part of what is happening on the ground in Haiti is that all this aid is slowed from getting to the people in need by fear. Critically injured patients being airlifted to Miami hospitals were put on hold for fear of how their care would be paid for. Military personnel, who were
sent to Haiti to help, spend their time jogging around the base, with no orders of what to do. Aid sits on the tarmac at the airport. In the initial days, planes full of aid were turned away to make space for more troops to land. Organizations trying to help had to send aid through the Dominican Republic and transport it by boat or truck.

For the US government who controlled the airport and for many of the large aid organizations, maintaining security has been the primary concern, above giving aid to the people. Haiti is considered by these large organizations to be similar to Iraq. From years before the earthquake, they had divided Port-au-Prince into red, orange, and yellow zones…areas where international staff are not allowed to walk or drive with their windows down, or go at all. Sometimes aid is air-dropped on areas that are considered dangerous (which Haitians consider disrespectful), but in some neighborhoods no aid arrived at all.

At the same time, countless heroes walked the streets unarmed, digging with their hands through rubble. I have visited these areas, which, although considered slums, are full of community life, neighborhood organizations, small churches, and many natural leaders who have been begging to be allowed to help distribute aid. Unless a person is wearing a uniform and carrying a weapon, the Haitian
people are very receptive to international visitors offering help, especially if the help is given with respect and an open ear. The distrust of the UN comes because UN soldiers fired indiscriminately into cardboard and tin houses while trying to root out gang leaders after the coup in 2004.

Many innocent people were killed. Also, there is a strong feeling against foreign occupation. Haitians are proud of their history. In 1804 Haiti became the second free independent country in the Western Hemisphere. The Haitian Revolution was also the only successful slave revolt. Even 200 years later, many popular songs still sing the praises of the Fathers of the Revolution and call Haiti to live up to their vision. Being occupied by foreign troops attacks their sense of sovereignty. Working hand in hand with people of other nations does not.

Haitians throughout the country are singing out together on hillsides, calling out to God for help, digging through rubble with their neighbors, bringing food to the hospitals, and sitting at stranger’s bedsides. The Boy and Girl Scouts in Bornge set up a camp at the hospital and are helping to nurse the sick. Rea and Dodo Dol, who run a school in Port au Prince (now destroyed) have located many of their students and are bringing food to their families. Local leaders (government and not) are trying to keep people calm, get students back in schools, construct temporary shelters, provide food, and comfort the millions suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the aftershocks. Thousands of unsung heroes are doing their miracles as you read this.

Haiti has been destined to poverty because of the way it has been treated by the rest of the world. From exploitation as a colony, to racism that led to lack of trade, to reparations paid to France for lost slavery revenues, to political interference in Haitian affairs, to unfair loans, Haiti has been used and neglected. Dear God, please let this tragedy be an opportunity for the world to repay our debts to Haiti and to humanity for spending so much on war and so little on people.

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