This reflection is by Newman's pastor, Father Tom Lindner.
In many ways the Haiti I visited in 2006 was quite like the Haiti I visited in 2000.
The roads were still horrible paths of giant potholes, sudden drop-offs and abandoned vehicles. An accident with even the slightest of injuries is probably a far greater matter of life or death than shootings and abductions.
The stench was still often overpowering. The image of pigs rustling
through piles of garbage
along
the streets is still revolting. The image of children with lifeless eyes,
orange hair and bloated stomachs always shocks one’s sensibilities. The
crowing of roosters throughout the night remains an annoyance. The cries of
children begging for money are still painful to ignore and impossible to
acknowledge.
This Haiti was much like the Haiti of six years earlier, but also markedly different.
It was still dangerous to be out after dark, but in 2000 we could walk in groups through the neighborhood in Port au Prince where we stayed. Now it was thought best to travel only by LandCruiser, debarking a few steps from our destination.
In 2000 we walked carefully but relatively freely through the teeming masses and squalor of the capital’s slum, Cite Soleil. Now the slum is like a ghost town, controlled by rival, armed factions and ostensibly protected by a U.N. security force. The vast majority of Cite Soleil inhabitants, already living in misery, have sought safety elsewhere and no one knows if or when it will be safe enough for them to return.
In 2000 our home away from home had electricity nearly every day and night. Aside from generator-produced power, there was electricity one night out of seven, and no one really knows why.
There were a few positive contrasts. One village we visited in 2000 was basically brown. Water was in terribly short supply and survival was dependent upon food handouts. That same village is now lush and green thanks to well-drilling equipment shipped in since our last visit, and the well and cistern that provide water for crops, for cooking, drinking, cleaning and even a little splashing on a hot afternoon.
A final similarity: As in 2000, Haiti’s government is most positively described as "chaotic." Presidential elections were finally held this past week, after three delays. As with elections held just following our 2000 visit, the outcome is of questionable consequence.
One young man I spoke with preferred not to divulge the name of the candidates he was supporting, but he wasn’t hopeful that this man or woman — there was one running — would really make much of a difference. "It will take more than one man," he said. "But you still have hope."
Which is maybe the most significant similarity — that at least some Haitians still somehow find it possible to hope.
