This morning we decided to get into the heart of the people and go to the marketplace. It sounds simple but it was quite dangerous. There were hundreds and hundreds of vendors lined up and working to sell their products. There were people just out and about and vehicles driving around in the midst of the people. Walking around, we had to make sure that we stayed together because you could easily get lost in the crowd. As we were filming, I noticed the reactions of the people. The moment we got out of the car with the cameras, a lot of them were not happy. They shouted obscenities, wanted to be paid for their pictures, yelled that we shouldn’t be filming, and pushed past us. Initially, in my mind, I was wondering why they were so hostile to us. We know we want to help and this is a part of the process. As I continued to observe and listen, I finally was able to understand why they felt that way. They feel exploited by the crews and people that come to the country. They feel that people want to take pictures, film them, and make money off of them, but they will never see the progress or get the help that they’re longing for. We stopped and spoke to a lady and she expressed this very thing. She said that ever since the earthquake, people come, film and take photos saying they’re going to help and yet she is still hungry. It was so sad, but I can see why she feels that way. To us, who are not living there, and to the rest of the world, it may seem like the earthquake just happened a couple of months ago and it’s going to take a long time to rebuild, but to them it’s different. It appears that nothing is happening. To live in the conditions that they’re living day in and day out, it wouldn’t feel like just a couple of months to you….it would feel like an eternity. Not to mention that a lot of the aid groups are leaving and they’re not much better off at all. I was hoping to see tons of bulldozers moving the massive debris, but I didn’t see any. I saw people sweeping the streets with a broom, tossing dust from one end to another. I saw kids running after people for food, and I even saw a fully naked lady just roaming the streets and I’m pretty sure she has completely lost her mind. Some of the other parts of the country that has been affected that they don’t show you on television seem to have been forgotten. They are wondering when someone is going to come help them.
The psychological trauma is also playing a major role in the rehabilitation of these people. In the midst of our travels, we ran into a lot of people who still have homes, but sleep in a tent outside. When we asked why, they all responded the same way stating that they are scared of sleeping on the inside just in case another earthquake happens. This way they will already be outside and can have a better chance at running and not dying underneath the rubble of their home. Wow! At this point, they couldn’t even entertain the possibility of obtaining some coping mechanisms through therapy, so what is one to do? What would you do? Go ahead….I’ll let you think about it……When I allowed these thoughts to fill my mind, I no longer blamed that lady or anyone else for feeling the way they did. They have every right.
The second part of our day, blatantly illustrated the extreme dichotomy of the wealthy and the poor. We were given the opportunity to visit some of Haiti’s most elite neighborhoods. We wanted to make a point to show the good as well. The media has a tendency to report and focus on the negative and this is not only in Haiti, but in other parts of the world as well. If this is your only source of information, you become ignorant and less apt to think independently. Therefore, all you know is what you’re told. We wanted to shed light and show how beautiful other parts are and how some of these people are probably living better than you and I. In celebrating the beautiful homes, land, and neighborhoods, it made something very obvious to me. There is no middle class. You’re either extremely poor or extremely rich and the two do not intermingle at all. Most of the wealthy neighborhoods are blocked off and are guarded with men and machine guns. The rich homes have electricity and most of the poorer ones do not. I feel like electricity is a basic necessity, not something that should be given only to the rich. It made me wonder what could be done in order to give the poor some sort a chance to advance and enhance the quality of their lives. Whatever it is, it won’t come over night, and it won’t come if people are comfortable with the obvious separation.
Stay tuned for the wrap-up!
Until next time...keep the forward movement...
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment