Haiti, my personal experience

In Honor of The Haitians I’ve met

I spent a little over two years living on Haiti’s closest island neighbor, Salt Cay, in the Turks and Caicos Islands. We were just 90 miles away from the large island of Hispaniola which is shared by Haiti with the Dominican Republic. We visited the DR on three occasions but never once did we even consider going to Haiti. The Dr and Haiti are, most definitely, two dramatically different countries who just happen to share the same rock in the sea.

Steve and I rented a car and drove all over the DR but not to the Haitian border. I always wondered what it was like, if they had a wall and gates, or guards with guns and dogs. I was certain that it must have been heavily protected because the Dominican Republic was a beautiful land with a contented population of Spanish/native people who, although mostly lived simple lives, were secure in their economy, their population, and government. Haiti, as is known, has not had such good fortune.

I saw very few Haitians in the Dominican Republic. My experience with Haitians is limited to the few that I met while living on Salt Cay and some that I saw on Grand Turk where we did our grocery shopping. The Turks Islanders saw themselves as better than the Haitians and the Dominicans but they put the Dominicans above the Haitians. To them the Haitians were at the bottom of the social structure in the islands. There were quite a few Dominicans working for Turks Islanders and even fewer Haitians. They would trade with them however.

One of my most memorable experiences while living on Salt Cay were the times that I went down to the old dock at the White House to buy produce from the Haitians who came in their hand made boat to sell what they could to this small, isolated population that I had become a part of. They would anchor offshore and the goods were brought to the dock in a smaller row boat that they had pulled along with them behind their simple boat. Their sail boat’s mast was obviously nothing more than a stripped tree trunk, and hand sewn sail was made from bed sheets and old clothes or other cloth. It struck me to see them that they truly must be as poor and industrious as I had heard for, here they were, sailing over 90 miles to sell to these other poor islanders.

I never spoke to any of them. Only one or two of the men from salt Cay would do the business with the Haitians then handle the remainder of the sales for their neighbors. The Haitians, both men and women would simply sit quietly and wait for the large baskets to empty and to collect their money. I thought it a poignant sight to see the Turks Islanders buying clothing from the Haitians. Even though they believed themselves to be better off than the Haitians, they needed whatever goods they could get, however they came to the island. The Haitians probably obtained the clothing from missionaries.

The women of Salt Cay were known for their fresh home baked breads and most of them baked their bread in charcoal ovens heated by fresh charcoal they bought from the Haitians. It was some time after I had been on Salt Cay that I learned that the deforestation of Haiti for the making of charcoal had had a tremendous impact on the terrain of the island and its surrounding coral reefs due to erosion and run off. The charcoal was also the main source of fuel for the Haitians themselves, that and wood fires for cooking. They have altered the landscape to such a degree that their loss of soil has been no minor contributor to their pathetic economic plight. One would think that the island nation could feed its own and be a prosperous exporter of tropical foods otherwise.

Our employer on Salt Cay, an architect who built a historically accurate plantation style resort, had a furniture manufacturing plant in Haiti before we went to work for him. He had been hired by the Divi Resorts to build several resorts and his visions included building very much in the style and décor of the original inhabitants of the Caribbean. To fulfill his dream he needed to furnish his rooms with fine mahogany furniture so he found a cheap source of labor and lumber in Haiti and set up a factory there. He told us several stories of his trips to Haiti that we can never forget.

Mr. Lovelace, who has his own book, The Carnival Never Got started, told us that on his first trip to Haiti he became frustrated with the young man who was there, perhaps his bellman, or any boy who wanted to make some money. Lovelace said he became angry and with this the boy offered to let him beat him if he wanted to. It was another way he could earn a dollar, apparently. This was but a small example of the poor and pathetic that he experienced there. He also told of an idiotic trip that he and his wife took into the mountains to witness a voodoo ceremony. They had no idea where they were being taken and for all they knew they could have ended up as sacrifices or killed for the cash in their pockets but said they saw the show and it was strangely entertaining. They were safely returned to their hotel room.
He also told us of some encounters he had with the infamous ruler at that time, Baby Doc, Jean-Claude Duvalier, who, with his tonton macoute (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonton_Macoute) were known for their ruthlessness, dictatorial heavy handedness, and the fact that many people of Haiti had simply disappeared for the slightest suspicions or violations. Mr. Lovelace had actually been invited to attend a dinner or function of the government although he didn’t realize at the time who had invited him. He was given an escort back to Salt Cay on a government plane on one occasion, along with a load of his finished products. He said it all happened by chance and he had not sought the assistance but it had been handed to him, most likely, because he was a business man who had created jobs on Haiti. He was fearful and did not wish to become involved or embroiled in any disputes or dealings with them.

Mr Lovelace also told of a kind and seemingly very educated man with whom he shared a flight to Miami with once. He said he was most impressed with this islander and when he asked him where he was from he was shocked to learn the man had been educated in Haiti. He had never before or since met another like him but knew from meeting him that there is more than meets the eye regarding what we know about Haiti.

I was most impressed with, and made it home to Arkansas with, some beautiful artwork created by Haitians. My favorites where paintings that were nothing more than bed sheets stapled onto a hand made wood frame and painted steel sculptures that had been hammered out of the steel cut from old barrels. They used vibrant colors in most of the works I saw. I detected a recurring theme with much of the art; crowds of colorful food, clothing, bright sunshine, and the severe contrast of their dark colored people.

They are an industrious people, that much is true. Those who found their way to the Turks Islands were workers. They were given the lowest jobs but where known for their hardiness. Aids has been and continues to plague their people and they were blamed for much of it which also spread on the Turks but it is more of a widespread island cultural issue than can be attributed to one nation or people. All of the islands have promiscuity issues. The prevalence of drugs and aids, are issues on all the Caribbean islands.

The world is saddened by the knowledge that the Haitians have been so poorly governed. Saddened by their desperation after each hurricane and when they are in the news for taking the smallest of boats to Miami in hope of finding a place where they can live in peace and make a living. Now they find themselves in the worst condition ever with the attention of the entire world hearing more of how overpopulated, crowded, poor, and desperate they were, even before the earthquake.
Prayers and money are not enough. Haiti needs a system, a strong leader, and the support of her people to work together to rebuild. They need the money that is being given to them to be put to work to restructure the way they provide for their people. They need jobs, better education, and birth control. It is my hope for them that the powers who pull together to help them rebuilt can also institute this new plan and provide a vision for their future rather than simply solving the immediate crisis and moving on.

I can’t help but wonder if a wealthy coalition of celebrities, corporations, or governments pulled together if they couldn’t do this for this nation. Of course, anything that is done would have to be turned over to Haiti and her own people to operate for themselves and with that begins the problems that plague most of the small island nations, corruption. It’s what keeps them the way they are.