Chip’s Blog

Even as I hear reports from friends and others that “Haiti overload” has begun to set in and people are “tired of hearing about it”, I felt that I wanted to make one final post (at least on this particular forum) on my first trip to Haiti.  It would be easy for me to fall into such cliched descriptions of my trip as “life-changing” or “world-rocking” — which it may, in fact, have been, but are near-impossible to express to others in such a way that they would be able to fully understand the depth and weight of those words.  In the past 5 weeks words like “tragedy” and “disaster” and “catastrophe” have all been used and used again to describe Haiti, and the popular sentiment echoes these views.  But I disagree.  What *happened* in Haiti was a disaster and a tragedy and a catastrophe, but Haiti herself is none of these things.  And after meeting some of the people of the once-dubbed “Pearl of the Antilles”, it’s easy to understand how these descriptions are far from true.  And the strength and the determination and the hope in the eyes of the people of Haiti leaves little doubt that, if She is given the proper shoulder to lean on while She regains her feet, Haiti can and will once again be a beautiful, vibrant place.

But getting there will be no easy task.  The road ahead for Haiti is broken and winding, and largely uphill.  “Aid” has become a buzzword these last several weeks without a clear definition.  Some see it as a constant and perpetual “spoon-feeding” from wealthier nations whose effect has no definitive measure and will create an eternal welfare state, and have a very negative view of it.  Others hear the word “aid” and think ‘well, I texted and donated $10 to the American Red Cross — isn’t that enough?’ .  Honestly, I don’t know what the “right” or “proper” or “accurate” definition should be, but I know this :: if my neighbor’s house burned to the ground and the fire took from them all that they owned and I had an extra clean mattress lying in storage, I would give it to them.  Or if I could buy or cook for them a hot meal or offer to let them do laundry in my home or simply provide a listening ear, I would do those things.  I would do those things because I can, because I care, and because at any moment fate could deal me a hand similar to theirs and I could be left with nothing.  And so for me “aid” has nothing to do with being a “rich American” helping out “poor Haitians”.  It has nothing to do with the “haves” versus the “have-not”s.  But has everything in the world to do with the fact that I am a human being.  And the truest, greatest, most significant thing I will ever do is help another.

And so, in this moment, while governments will have meeting after meeting and press conference after press conference to try and “fix” a broken Haiti, I will do what I can, with what I have.  And it may not seem like much, but it is something.  And perhaps my giving is just as restorative to my broken soul as it is to theirs.

I’ll end with this.  When Thomas Edison was sixty-seven years old, his factory was destroyed in a fire.  All his tens-of-thousands of drawings and blueprints and models were destroyed.  The next morning, as he surveyed the damage with his son, his response was this ::

“There’s value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God, we can start anew.”

Haiti’s past is behind her, and her future is being written today.

peace.