We stayed home for two days. That means we didn't go out or, for me, I didn't go out too far. When I did go out in the afternoon under the pretext that I had to buy soft drinks (and yes, Haiti does actually make a wonderful soft drink with real ginger called Ragamon), here is what I saw:
market women selling (bread and cookies and candles)
nice cars whizzing by
young men playing street soccer
black Haitian men and women of all ages standing around talking
women sweeping up glass
I admit that I was a little scared; my body was acting scared. It didn't help that all I saw were black people everywhere and I spent a long time wondering if there usually are this many black people on the streets I walk and if my Haitian friends are black.
The next day, Matt went to the grocery store . It's only 3 minutes away but he came back almost an hour later and said the store shelves were as empty of food as the aisles were full with people. When he got home, we heard this important announcement on his UN radio: “Now it is safe to go to the grocery store.”! Later, on the way to the MCC office, what looked like a road block was actually cars overflowing on to the street, lining up to get gas.
and here is what i was thinking:
market women selling
-these women are good business people - they are risking their lives for the benefit of less competition
-these women live close by
-these women are bored or overworked at home
-these people have to sell their stuff b/c they need the profits to buy their next meal
the store shelves were as empty as the aisles were full of people buying
-in times of crises, buy stuff
-if you’re bored, go out and buy stuff
-rich Haitians and foreigners don't have enough food at our houses aka if you have a car, you don't have enough food at your house
-if we’re stuck at home we want to be self-sufficient
-are we (foreigners) and well-off Haitians at greater risk? what’s the risk? losing our life or losing our lifestyle?
-my family shouldn’t go hungry
-why are we stocking up?
-”Do average Haitians stock up?” I asked Martha, Gabriela’s nanny. Or, do they know that cooked food has no keeper (manje kwit pa gen mèt) and that mice and rats will eat their leftovers? Do they offer food without limited because they have nowhere to store it or is it because they know sharing food as good for one’s health as eating local or not eating transfats if not better?
-Did they really believe Matthew 6 (vs. 25-27): Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them...
-Do average Haitians laugh when they see us worrying and buying or do they weep?
-Do they know that living simply increases their capacity for generosity like nothing else does?
nice cars whizzing by AND was actually cars lining up to get gas and overflowing onto the street
-cars can protect you
-if you are in a car, you have something to be scared of that other people on the street do not have to be scared of
-if you drive your car fast enough you might forget that this country's healing depends on your behaviour as much as the behaviour of the people throwing rocks (this goes for car drivers everywhere even if the rocks flying in your neighbourhoods are not literally rocks).
-when more than half the world is not getting enough to eat due, if only in a superficial way, to the price of gas, you should go out and buy gas— Since when does less gas equal more hunger?
-if you have a car, you should fill your tank, that way if there’s trouble, you can drive away like to Miami, Canada, or Iraq (I heard it’s hard to run out of gas there!)
young men playing street soccer
-it feels good to be active
-being active is a natural remedy for stress
-not all Haitians do violent things
-someday soon Haiti's going to qualify for the world cup
black Haitian men and women of all ages standing around talking
-being with others is a good remedy for stress
-we depend on each other in times of crisis, just like we do in good times
-not all Haitians do violent things
women sweeping up broken glass from smashed windows
-Haitians love to sweep! (no doubt about this one!)
-life goes on!
-the world is everyone’s backyard- we’re all responsible for what happens here and cleaning it up even if we make our moms do the latter
-we can go ahead and clean up messes that we didn't make because WE did make them
BEFORE we went out to the grocery store, we had more food in our house than an average Haitian has at their house at any time in their lifetime.
EdG, Haiti
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