Friday, December 31, 2004

Adventures in Haiti (3)

Adventures in Haiti III: A Christmas List from Haiti
31 desam 2004

Dear friends and family,

Jwaye Nowèl and Bon Ane. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Yes, we know . . . it’s been a while. Many of you have written to us sending your Christmas wishes and just to see what were up to. Thank you (!) and thanks for keeping us posted on life where you are. Truth is, we’ve sort of lost track of time, as we knew it. We’ve been working and traveling, and wherever we are on this island, it’s sun down and sun up that brings us to another day of living and learning.

Earlier this month, like every year we can remember, we received the dreaded request for “our lists.” You know, this is the list of stuff you need or want so your brother (or sister) can buy it for you for Christmas. In recent years in particular, this list has been hard to make (Although we always appreciate the gifts we receive - thank you everyone!) This year, we dutifully sent in “our lists” and are eagerly waiting to see what might come in the mail!

Then, while we were trying to come up with an idea for our letter, we thought, how about a Christmas list for Haiti? What could Haiti really use? We thought about this for a while and then realized that we could leave this task up to the thousands of international organizations working here in Haiti and, hey, why not the Haitian people. So what we’ll offer you here is a Christmas list from Haiti … a list of some of the things that Haiti is offering us, and can offer to you and the rest of the world.

Fruit in season – avocado, kinip, coconut, oranges, chadek, papaya, lamm, pineapple, watermelon and the ever-present bananas (at least 3 different varieties) which can be found at the roadside breakfast stands, along with fresh coffee, fresh bread and fresh peanut butter. Everything is FRESH (in case you missed that) and tastes like it. Our taste buds cheerfully follow the seasons and await the next bounty of juicy goodness that will appear in the local market. (The mango trees are in full bloom!)

Public transportation – donkey, mopeds, tap-taps, buses, lorries, the river canoe across the Artibonite River, have all gotten us where we want to go along with thousands of our neighbours. And, riding in Haiti is more than just the destination … it’s saying yes, there’s a place here when you’re positive there isn’t, taking a child on your lap, and helping the market woman lift her 50 pound bag of oranges, rice or used clothes. And we haven’t even mentioned the most popular form of transportation – feet. If everyone walked like a Haitian, we’d all be healthier and happier, and so would the earth. Then, maybe we could “save the environment and plant a Bush back in Texas”, out of Iraq etc.

Convenience – We are writing this letter while we travel from Dezam to Port au Prince. Matt just slowed down for a speed bump and a woman appeared at our window with a huge bowl of freshly made peanut brittle – infused with ginger. Delicious! Now that’s convenience … I didn’t even know I wanted it. From baskets to newspapers to aspirin to fresh roasted chicken - all can be purchased from your car window … no mega-stores here and we’re also getting to know our neighbours.

Faith – There is a common phrase in Haiti that can be tacked behind most any sentence: Si Bondye vle (if God grants it). Sometimes we feel like saying, “Well, will it happen or not?” but more often it reminds us that everything we do, we can do because God is with us and God’s divine presence is behind all that exists in the creation around us - from the rising of the sun to the drying of the rice fields so the beans can be planted. Being reminded of God’s will in daily conversation - whether planning a meeting, asking a pregnant neighbour when her baby is due, or preparing for the Haitian elections (scheduled for November 2005, si Bondye vle) - echos the promise of Christmas. The faith of our Haitian friends, expressed in deed and word is inspiring and faith-building.

Okay, we know what you’re thinking…these gifts from Haiti are great cultural ideals but what about something to sink our teeth into. How about some Christmas cookies? First introduced to Haiti from the south pacific by Christopher Columbus, sugar cane is the reason Haitian culture exists in the first place. Today, Canada still imports 90% of its raw sugar from the south while 10% is produced in the form of sugar beets on the prairies (www.equiterre.qc.ca).

What have we been up to the last few months, down here in the sun?
 We visited Gonaïves with some colleagues from MCC and CRWRC. On the west coast of Haiti 60 km north of Dezam, Gonaïves is the city hit by tropical storm Jeanne hit killing 2800 people and drowning much of Gonaïves in mud from the surrounding mountains. When we arrived 3 weeks after Jeanne hit, most of the water had drained away and the victims buried; we saw skeletons of mud/rock houses and long lines of women and children waiting for food aid. It’s amazing the power water has to give life and take it away in Haiti - and now around the Indian Ocean. The deeper damage in Gonaïves has been in the loss of life and the psychological effects. One of the ways that MCC has responded is through trauma-counseling training to pastors and community leaders so that they can help people in their communities recover from what they experienced.
 We spent two weeks in Ft.Myers, Florida with some of our MCC colleagues, participating in the annual conference of ECHO (www.echonet.org). ECHO is a Christian agricultural research farm that supports development workers and missionaries by providing a network and new agricultural ideas. On our way back to Haiti, we were happy to spend a few days with some Haitian/Canadian friends in Miami.
 We spent a week in early December in Bwadalorens, northeastern Haiti, where MCC has been present for over 20 years. It was a great time of learning, and walking – lots of walking. We hiked five hours to help cap a natural water spring. A highlight was walking an hour through pine (!) and palm forests to visit the garden of one of our home stay families. The oranges were ripe and we sat and ate 15 between the three of us- right off the tree. Oranges never tasted so good.

Peace to all for 2005,

Este e Matye

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

St.Catharines Standard Article - Gonaives Flooding

As news of the devastation of Tropical Storm Jeanne filtered north, the emails from friends and family quickly moved south. “Are you ok? Have you been affected the storm? We’re concerned.” Having just arrived in Haiti the day before the flooding in Gonaives - for a three-year term with the Mennonite Central Committee – we understood and appreciated people’s concern for our well being. At the same time, however, it raised some important questions for us. How will news of the Goniaves flooding impact the perspectives Canadians have about Haiti and the Haitian people? What do average Canadians living in Niagara and the region really know about this place? How are the stories being told? What role can we play in deepening global awareness of this beautiful island, our new home?

Much of the coverage of the storm that we have seen from Haiti has focused on the devastation that Jeanne has left in her wake. Mass graves, mounting death tolls, public health emergencies, looting and violence – these are the headlines that Canadians have been seeing. These are important stories to share, but is there more to the picture? Of course there is.

The picture can be rounded out, in part, by our experiences this past weekend in our new home town, Dezam. The town of Dezam has a population of about 10,000 people. Like most Haitians, the people of Dezam are agriculturalists and most houses are shaded by plantain, banana, papaya, avocado, lime and other wonderful trees. People harvest the fruit from their trees in season and sell them at the market so that they can buy the ingredients for the staple Haitian meal of rice and beans with a few spices. Education and healthcare costs more and are often not adequate, accessible or affordable. Life is not always easy in Dezam. However, when members of local churches heard of the suffering in Gonaives as a result of the flooding, it took them less than a day to collect water and food packages. Someone even donated their truck to carry the goods on the three hour drive to Gonaives. Haitians helping Haitians. People who struggle day to day helping people much worse off than themselves. The concern and generosity demonstrated by our new neighbours in Dezam is commendable and a lesson for us. We are honoured to be here and to start learning from our new community.

On a professional note, this storm and flooding has brought a definite legitimacy to our work here in Haiti. It’s clear that deforestation played a major role in the flooding in Gonaives. It’s also clear that this will not be the last time that Haitians will experience the devastating effects of storms and other natural disasters. So, we feel affirmed about our presence in Haiti and our role in working closely with Haitians – leaders, teachers, farmers and regular community people – to encourage and support each other as we seek ways to live sustainable lives. Enhancing environmental conditions and building up Haiti’s tree cover are key to this process and we’re excited to be a part of it.

Our presence here during Jeanne, while Haiti is front page news, is a good introduction for us. We do hope that as the days, weeks and months pass and Haiti slips from the front page of foreign newspapers, we can continue to share stories that paint a deeper and broader picture of Haiti and the dreams of its people. We will share some of our experiences and stories, and the stories of our Haitian neighbours, friends and people in the communities in which we will be working. And, aside from a few too many mosquito bites for September, we’re fine – but please do send your thoughts to the people of Gonaives.

Matt Van Geest is a long-time Niagara resident. He and his wife, Esther deGroot are working with the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in Dezam, Haiti, three hours north of the capital city, Port-au-Prince. Their work is focused on environmental education and reforestation in rural Haiti. This is the first in a series of periodic columns that will appear in the next three years. They will share about their lives and experiences in Haiti from a Niagara perspective. Matt and Esther can be contacted at greatspirit@gmail.com.

Monday, September 27, 2004

Adventures in Haiti (2)

Dear friends and family:

So many of you have been writing to us in the last few days about the
situation in Haiti that we thought we would give you a quick update on
how we are and what is happening here.

So . . .  as you likely know, the city of Gonaives and a few other
places in the northern part of the country were affected by Hurricane
Jeanne.  Haiti did not take a direct hit and what happened was not the
result of lots of wind and rain that hit the city with a big force.
Rather, a fair amount of rain fell in the area and much of that rain
was channeled down towards Gonaives.  The rain falling in the city,
combined with overflowing rivers and water rushing down the
surrounding hills created serious flooding.  The death toll stands at
over 1000 with many more still missing and presumed dead.  The
long-term implications are significant.  Many lost homes and all their
possessions.  Businesses, vehicles, roads and other already fragile
infrastructure have been severely damaged.  Bodies in the water and
mud, along with carcasses of dead animals will create a major public
health nightmare.  It will take years for people in Gonaives to
recover. And many will not because of lack of jobs, insurance and
adequate social services.

One of the best pieces I've read on the recent flooding is attached
below, from the Associated Press.  It accurately describes the impact
of environmental degradation here in Haiti.  Had there been sufficient
tree cover in the northern mountains, this disaster would most likely
have been averted.

And, that gives our work here much more legitimacy.  The role that we
hope to play in environmental education and reforestation will
hopefully be seen by Haitians, especially Haitian leaders, as a
legitimate and useful form of assistance.

Anyway, we'd encourage you to stay up to date through the news to see
what is happening in Gonaives and the rest of the country. We'd also
encourage you to search out stories about Haiti and Haitians that tell
a different story, one that doesn't present everything in this
beautiful place in such a negative light.  There are good stories too!
Hopeful stories. Stories of Haitians taking charge of their situations
and doing something positive with what they have.  We'll do our best
to share some of these stories with you as well.

Just a very quick update on the rest of our life here in Haiti.
-       we arrived safely last Saturday and were welcomed by our MCC team
here in Port-au-Prince
-       we've been spending each morning in Creole lessons. We're both
moving along just fine
-       we've been making visits to some of the other MCC partners based
here in Port-au-Prince to get  a broader sense of the work that MCC is
doing here in Haiti
-       Friday, we came up to Desarmes, the town where we will be living.
We're are really enjoying getting settled, getting to know our
neighbours and our way around town!

We hope and pray that you are all well.

Matt and Esther

Deforestation Exacerbates Haiti Floods

AMY BRACKEN

Associated Press

GONAIVES, Haiti - The torrents of water that raged down onto this
city, killing hundreds of people, are testimony to a man-made
ecological disaster. Poverty has transformed Haiti's once-verdant
hills into a moonscape of bedrock ravaged by ravines.
More than 98 percent of its forests are gone, leaving no topsoil to
hold rains. Even the mango and avocado trees have started to vanish,
destroying a vital food source in favor of another necessity for the
impoverished - charcoal for cooking.
"The situation will continue, and other catastrophes are foreseeable,"
Jean-Andre Victor, one of Haiti's top ecologists, said in the capital,
Port-au-Prince.
More than 800 are dead across Haiti from floods spawned by Tropical
Storm Jeanne over the weekend, with 1,000 more missing and presumed
dead. In May, light rains triggered floods that killed more than 3,000
people on Haiti's barren southern border with the Dominican Republic.
"When you remove vegetation, the topsoil washes away. The earth isn't
capable of absorbing rainfall," said Rick Perera of the international
humanitarian group CARE, which supports alternative energy programs in
Haiti to lessen dependence on charcoal.
Less tree cover also means less regular rain, since trees "breathe"
water vapor into the air. The result is a dropping water table, making
for even poorer farmers, the backbone of Haiti's economy.
A 90-minute flight from Miami, Haiti is one of the poorest countries
in the world. Most of its 8 million people don't have jobs, and
political instability discourages foreign investors.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged donors on Wednesday to help
Haiti recover from the "devastating natural disaster." But it's very
much a man-made one.
Most Haitians are descendants of African slaves brought over in the
late 1600s by French colonizers who destroyed tens of thousands of
acres of virgin forest to plant the cane that made Haiti the world's
largest sugar producer. More wood was cut to fuel the sugar mills.
Entire forests were shipped to Europe to make furniture of mahogany
and dyes from campeachy.
After rebellious slaves defeated Napoleon's army and Haiti became the
world's first black republic in 1804, great plantations were divided
among the slaves.
Under an inherited French law, land is shared among a man's heirs. One
of the fastest growing populations in the world - Haitian women
average five births each - has reduced the average holding to little
more than a half acre. That's not enough to support a family of seven
even in a good rainy season.
Pressed for income, farmers chopped trees to make and sell charcoal.
From the air, you can see the border with the Dominican Republic,
which shares Hispaniola island with Haiti. Lush forests stop suddenly
and give way to barrenness. Vast stretches of the Dominican Republic
remain in the hands of a wealthy few.
The difference in vegetation also is reflected in the death tolls. The
Dominican Republic lost just 19 people to Jeanne, including 12 people
who drowned in swollen rivers.
In 1950, about 25 percent of Haiti's 10,700 square miles was covered
with forest, said Victor, the agronomist. In 1987, it was 10 percent.
By 1994, 4 percent. Now, foreign and Haitian scientists find only
about 1.4 percent of the Maryland-sized nation is forested, he said.
Here in Gonaives, where rebels launched the rebellion that forced out
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide last February, Jeanne deluged the
region with rains for some 30 hours. Water-logged valleys behind the
mountains funneled torrents of water that bloated the four rivers
surrounding the gritty city of 250,000 people.
After the May floods, interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue, said,
"The root of the problem is that we have to go and reforest the hills
and until we do that, every two, three, four years after some heavy
rain, the same thing could happen again."
Over the past 20 years, the U.S. Agency for International Development
has planted 60 million trees in Haiti, but the poor chop down 10
million to 20 million trees each year, said David Adams, USAID
director in Haiti.
Perera, the CARE official, said small-scale replanting projects and
pilot programs using alternative cooking fuels such as solar energy
and propane are trying to change habits. Still, 71 percent of the
energy used in Haiti comes from charcoal, Victor said.
Though the deforestation is obvious, many steeped in superstition
believe the disasters are caused by a higher power, a belief that
officials say makes it hard to fix the problems.
"It was God who made this flood," said Eliphet Joseph, a 43-year-old salesman.
Other people blame decades of official corruption and mismanagement.
"The whole country's environment is messed up, that's why we had these
(floods)," said Cherly Etienne, 28, who lost her cousin and aunt.

Friday, August 27, 2004

Adventures in Haiti (1)

Dear Friends and Family,

A while back, we shared the news of our newest adventure with you -Haiti. Since then, we've been able to see some of you to share moreabout what this is all about, when we're going, etc – but we wanted toput something in writing for all of you – just briefly.

We have been hired by the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) to work inHaiti. You can find out more about MCC at http://www.mcc.org. Wewill leave September 18 and plan on being in Haiti for 3 years. Wewill live in a small town (10,000) called Desarmes, which is about 3hours north of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital.

Here's a bit more about our work - at least what we think we might do(sorta, kinda.)

Esther: I am going to be working with Haitian teachers and theirstudents, as well as other community members in the field ofenvironmental education. This program has grown out MCC'sagro-forestry program, but MCC has recently identified this as one oftheir key priorities, so part of my job will be to help expand theprogram.

Matt: I will be working primarily with an agro-forestry program thatMCC has been running for the last 10 years. Deforestation is one ofHaiti's biggest challenges. The country has gone from 98% forest coverto about 2% in the last 100 years! My role will be on the managementside, but I'm sure I'll also be learning a lot on the technical sideas well. I'll also be providing general consultation support andtraining to all of MCC's partners in Haiti. That's an open-ended partof my assignment that we have to bring some definition to.

We are excited about these opportunities for new learning and growthfor us, as well as the chance to get out and experience life in a newpart of the world!

Here is how you can contact us should you wish:

Esther deGroot and Matt Van Geest (MCC Haiti)

c/o Lynx Air

PO Box 407139

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33340-7139 USA

Email: greatspirit@gmail.com

Thanks, we hope to hear from you and hope that we can share some ofour stories and adventures with you over the next few years.

Peace and love!

Esther and Matt

Wednesday, May 19, 2004


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