Common Language Project: Multimedia that Matters

Day Fourteen: A Peek Outside the City

By Grant Fuller February 18, 2010

After two weeks in Port-au-Prince, I finally got a chance to see more of Haiti. I’d heard stories about places like Leogane and Jacmel. That they were completely flattened and had received an incredibly slow trickle of aid since the earthquake. I braced for the worst. But on the drive over the mountains and across the country, I couldn’t help but wonder where all the destruction was. Clearly, it was a relief to see whole areas still intact. Every standing structure is a welcome sight around here. But what I saw on the ground didn’t quite match what I’d heard.

So I obviously didn’t go to the right places. I have no doubt that these people are suffering, too. That their homes are gone, too. But it brings up a nagging question in my mind: Where do you draw the line? How can you really tell who’s been affected and who’s just looking for a free lunch? I know that sounds terribly insensitive and judgmental. But when you drive the streets and see no visible earthquake damage, and yet there’s a line around the block for a food distribution … you start to wonder. How do you make sure the Haitians who were affected are the ones who get help? It seems too easy for Joe Bleau Haitian to take advantage of the situation and get something for nothing.

But then again, you could argue that even Haitians whose homes didn’t fall could still use a little help simply because they’re so poor. At least they’re finally getting some attention, earthquake or no earthquake. But if all those aid dollars were given specifically for “earthquake relief,” they probably shouldn’t pay for a box of food that goes to a family whose home is still standing in a town that looks the same as before. You could go back and forth on this all day. The voices in my head have been debating it all week. But when it’s all said and done, I’m just a visitor here. I haven’t seen a vast majority of the country, and I honestly don’t know much about this place. Whether those people in aid lines are right or wrong isn’t for me to decide. I just have to ask the question.