Week 9

"To be a Caribbean country is a treasure because it is to live in the gratitude of nature."

- Saïthama Exume (One of my English Students)

One of my students and good friends, Saï, wrote this incredible passage about Haiti for English homework and I wanted to just share this sentence because I feel like it puts into words the feelings we experience every time we come to Haiti.

This week I got to spend some time with Seth Donnelly, my former LAHS teacher, which I will talk more about later. Additionally, my week included the usual: class and lots of time with the girls! I have been working more on our Rotary International proposal for solar panels and things are looking really positive. On Wednesday night I went to a salsa class with some friends, which I was super nervous about but had SO much fun in. We worked on some salsa, tango, kompa, and bachata moves. The whole group was pretty inexperienced so it was super non intimidating and just fun! Catch me with some sweet salsa moves when I get home.

One of the girls Seth worked with back in the Bay Area got the shoe sizes of each of the girls in the orphanage and painted these beautiful sneakers for each and every one of them. So between my mom and Seth, these girls have been getting spoiled! Over the weekend I went on a spontaneous Jackmel trip with Soulouque and our friend Ted. It was just a one night stay so we went to the beach, out dancing, to the French Quarter, and this incredible waterfall called the Bassin Bleu.

Seth was here this week until Wednesday with some reporters from Sojourner Truth Radio to report upon the La Saline political massacre that occurred just months ago. You can listen to the full story here. The mass killing of over 100 individuals included men, women, and children. This neighborhood within Port au Prince is known as a stronghold of support for LAVALAS, the popular party of Haiti, and has refused to support the current Moise government. In the weeks leading up to the massacre, the wife of Moise (Haiti's current president) met with the community and widely distributed money in attempts to appease the community and convince them not to participate in the upcoming protests (which amassed hundreds anyways). Weeks after the president's wife's visit, prominent families and leaders of the movement were slaughtered and burned in front of the town to set an example. Those perpetrating the violence: many well known police and government officials and individuals on their employees.

The most heart wrenching piece of their story: Soujouner Truth is the first news group to report upon what has happened to them. Imagine having experienced massive human rights violations, and not a single person has come to ask what has happened.

Though I did not go along with them to La Saline, hearing the affects these sights and stories have had on people I've known for years: Rea, Seth, Alberto was a truly moving experience. It remains a constant reminder to continue to ask for the complete story and pay attention to what is happening everywhere in the world. Living in the United States, where our country has financed elections and publicly supported and aided the current regime this massacre has taken place under, it is important that we realize where we live, who we vote for, who we support, who we speak out for, has repercussions across the globe.