More tragic news coming out of Haiti all the time, post-earthquake. Aid is trying to get there.
Haiti is portrayed in the news, sometimes by people who have never been there, as poor, dangerous, dirty, bad beyond belief. And some of it is. I think the most appalling part of Haiti is something I noticed when we took some orphanage kids to swim in the ocean at an elegant resort. I picked up a brochure for the resort and saw that the cover featured a fifty-ish white man, chubby, balding, swimming in the pool with a very young black woman and a big smile. Then I caught on--this resort catered to white guys looking for a good time with black teenagers in a country with virtually no law. Ick.
Anyway, here's what I meant to post--I loved Haiti. I was only there a few times, for a few days each time, but I really did love it. I liked waking up in the morning to that clear, luminous Haitian light and the sound of roosters. I liked the guys selling stuff on the streets, and the way they act like they've known you forever and you really NEED this doll or this statue (even though, of course, they just want the money, I know that). I liked the activity on the streets. I liked riding in tap-taps. I just liked Haiti, I don't know why. I wish we could go back.
The way my husband puts it, if you live in Haiti, your chances of encountering a Black Swan (a random, unpredictable event) are much greater than in the U.S., and I think that's true. That's why I don't feel like I could pack up my kids and move there, like some people have (and I admire them very much). I'm too cautious--I don't know that I could move my kids to a country where they might be fine, but statistically, their chances of dying are greater than they are here--dying of things that they would be unlikely to die of, here.
In ten years, my youngest child will be a senior in high school. If we make it that far, we could go back to Haiti--or anywhere--and do whatever--help with clinics, or orphanages, or something. I just feel like I can't go back until we have only ourselves to risk.
If you are thinking, "The earthquake was a natural disaster, not something that can be blamed on Haiti," that's true. But if you are buried in rubble, your chances of being dug out quickly and treated medically are way lower in Haiti than here. That's where the Black Swan risk comes in.
About Me
- Thurbersmom
- Bedrock, Missouri
- Six kids, bio and adopted. Dogs, cats, birds, rabbits. Husband Fred (as in Flintstone). And me. Why blog? Well, some people are compelled to write things down, and some people aren't. It's like that tree that falls in the forest with no one there to hear it--if you don't write it down, did it really happen?
