Haiti people are the most amazing and resilient people I have ever known and had the honor of being in the presence of. One will not see them driving down the street in BMWs, nor will you see nice dresses and stiletto's on the women and the latest fashion on the men. There are no red, yellow, or green lights at the intersections, and you most certainly won't find a Macy's or a Nordstrom's here. What you will find is a street full of heavy traffic, old beat up trucks, small and large. You will see all kinds of vehicles carrying several Haitians at one time to get from here to there. The intersections are crazy at best as each driver nudges his way in and around, eventually making it to the other side. The horn is greatly relied on to let those crossing the street or other drivers that they are coming up behind them. The sidewalks are filled with these wonderful resourceful people bartering foods, clothing, and a variety of items. The side streets are so thick with people there is not room to drive a car, let alone barely walk.
When I look past the main busy streets, I see the homes of these people. They are made of tarps, corrugated tin, maybe a cement wall, and maybe a door. They wash their laundry in buckets and hang them on walls to dry.
It is a very humbling experience to be here in Port au Prince. People are people no matter where we go. We all need to give and receive love. We all need our basic needs met. We all need to feel visible, vital, and important. Whether we drive a BMW down a nice suburban street or a beat up truck down a bumpy road here in Port au Prince, our inner most needs as human beings does not change.
Lessons in humility and humanity are here to be learned and taught.
Tracy Oliver
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