Live from Okap...

We were invited to speak on the radio in Cape Haitian yesterday! This is how it happened: Ari, one of our "orienters" this month, is in a commercial promoting a Buy Local campaign that airs on national television in Haiti. We were in a little sandwich shop having lunch when Ari was recognized by several local radio personalities who happened to be there, and they invited him to appear on their show and talk about the campaign. As an added bonus, the Depps (fellow MCCers), Bryan and I were asked to give our impressions of Haiti as foreigners.

We were uncomfortable with the idea at first. Several times we've been asked to describe our preconceptions about Haiti (and most of the news we had heard was negative) and then talk about how those preconceptions changed after arriving here. We wondered if it was really constructive and beneficial for Haitians to hear that Americans sometimes think of Haiti as a dirty and dangerous place. And we wondered about the truthfulness of saying something like "We heard that Haiti was very dirty, but we arrived and the people are so nice!" The people have been very nice to us (incredibly, unbelievably, so, if you consider the history of U.S. involvement in this country), but that doesn't actually cancel out the fact that there is sometimes trash in the streets. How could we answer the question in an uplifting way but also speak truthfully about the situation?

We took these concerns to Ari, who assured us that it's helpful for Haitians to hear what Americans think of them because they don't often get the chance to see themselves in a mirror; our reflections could prompt them to change. We pressed him on whether many Haitians feel that way or if that is just his personal opinion, and he again assured us that it's a common attitude. This convinced us enough to go on the radio.

It was a lot more low-key than we were expecting. (One of the hosts got up to take a cell phone call in the middle of our conversation!) Five of us joined Ari in the studio: me, Bryan, Alexis (fellow MCCer), Jinia (one of our kreyol tutors), and Tikam (Ari's niece). We didn't have much of a dialog with the radio hosts, but basically we tried to say:

Yes, there are many negative things that we hear about Haiti in the U.S., but there are many positive things as well. I said that I'd heard a lot about Haiti's culture--music, art, storytelling--and in coming here I've found that Haitians are indeed creative and resourceful in many ways. Bryan also pointed out that most of the news we hear, about Haiti or otherwise, is often negative. (That's what makes it news, right?)

I also think that it's a really interesting time to be in Haiti. There's a groundswell of interest in local production, which could potentially move the economy forward in ways that are beneficial to many people. I'm also amazed at how hopeful many Haitians are, and at how much they love Haiti. I know it sounds cheesy, but the people here are really one of the country's greatest resources. They've got a lot going for them.