People want easy answers, bite sized portions of all the complexities that make a country what it is, and so when they ask you about your trip to Haiti, most people are looking for something along the lines of:
It was great! We got all this work done and now the community is better off!
Or maybe…
You wouldn’t believe the challenges these people face everyday, it really makes you appreciate what you have.
These answers are expected, and fall right in line with what people already know of Haiti’s “single story”; so we nod and smile and feel like we get it.
Here’s the thing though, I still don’t “get it”. I don’t get how poverty, beauty, filth, music, beautiful beaches, garbage, art, injustice, lasting relationships, intolerance, ignorance
It was great! We got all this work done and now the community is better off!
Or maybe…
You wouldn’t believe the challenges these people face everyday, it really makes you appreciate what you have.
These answers are expected, and fall right in line with what people already know of Haiti’s “single story”; so we nod and smile and feel like we get it.
Here’s the thing though, I still don’t “get it”. I don’t get how poverty, beauty, filth, music, beautiful beaches, garbage, art, injustice, lasting relationships, intolerance, ignorance