Haiti One Year Later: Reflections of a Native Son
The earthquake in Haiti leaves a nation of millions in ruins.
As yesterday marked the one year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti, many reflected on the devastation it left behind and the rebuilding that remains to be done. While the damage and human casualty estimated was overwhelming, the excruciating anguish and misery it caused is immeasurable.
Haiti, by all means, has been destroyed by this disaster and is now left hanging in the balance.
But you don’t need to be reminded of the country’s emblematic standing in history to fully grasp the scope of the tragedy. The manner in which Haitians have met the harsh days following the catastrophe says enough about their resilience and buoyancy as a nation. It’s what makes Haiti so continuously relevant in the global political discourse; because its identity has lingered between two epic extremes: freedom and poverty.
It is a country of vastly unique spiritual and cultural beauties. Yet one filled with an abundance of residual pain left-over from centuries of bondage.
However, there’s a proverb that says,”love is processed in pain,” and this might be truer for Haiti today than it’s ever been before.
If the earthquake has left anything to be optimistic about, it’s that it has rejuvenated the devotion and pride of the Haitian Diaspora for their homeland. It has revived the national motto: “L’union fait la force” and galvanized an international concern that hasn’t existed for the island in many decades.
But it this enough?
Is Haiti better off today because of the attention it has received over the past year?
That remains to be answered. Because as many of us reflect on the events of January 12, 2010 and see the affliction that still exists for the great majority, I hope there is a moment in our minds when we start to become honest about Haiti’s reality. I hope that at some point, in the recesses of our hearts, we realize that Haiti’s dubious present is directly correlated to its luminous past. And that those of us who are interested in permanent change, can come to grips with the irreconcilable differences and international politics keeping this island from being truly repaired.
It is a homeless nation after all, perhaps still incarcerated for its boldness in history more than as a result of the natural disaster.
But it’s also a resilient land – one that will not live on its knees forever.
At some point, soon or later, there will be healing from the ghosts of the past. And like any great destiny worth living or dying for, Haiti’s restoration will require action over dialogue and faith over pessimism. It will demand that courage and love overcome whatever is repressing its economic and political liberation.
But most of all, it will require Haitians to do something they haven’t done in more than two centuries: doing the work themselves rather than depending on those who profited from their poverty to begin with.
