by Ted

Two tree nursery committee members planted a "small forest" project (behind)
using the traditional konbit

It starts with a drum and ends with rum, but it’s what happens in between that makes konbit the cultural institution that’s helped the Haitian peasantry survive for centuries against all odds. Konbit, the Haitian Kreyòl word used for just about any collective effort, usually refers to the equivalent of a Haitian barn-raising. It’s a work exchange, when a community member calls upon his or her neighbors to join a work party to help clear, plant, weed or harvest their fields. It’s all completed with the expectation that the work will be reciprocated when a member of the work party has a similar need.

We just returned from our first Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) konbit, a quarterly staff gathering. While there was no back-breaking labor involved, there are more similarities between a traditional konbit and MCC’s than you might think.

Almost all of the MCC Haiti team at our MCC konbit

Hard work. A konbit in the field usually starts as the sun is rising and lasts until mid-day or early afternoon. Our konbit is really a series of meetings where every member of our team is able to speak his or her mind. Two of the three days involved eight hours of meetings like this, all in Kreyòl. We agreed on an agenda together, reported on our activities, and posed questions to puzzle through difficult issues.

A coming-together. Beyond work in the fields, konbit has survived because it is a social scene: a chance to trade stories and gossip, complain and sing. Our konbit is a chance for MCC’s Port-au-Prince and Desarmes teams to reunite. Though we sometimes cross paths in the intervening months between konbit, this was a chance to really catch up: to meet new staff members; to see how a staff member’s baby has grown; and to deepen relationships.

Music. Drums, bamboo or conch-shell horns, flutes: the chef of the konbit in the fields often employs a band to play these instruments throughout the day. The music serves to set the work team’s tempo and keep up the party-like atmosphere. Our konbit started each morning with the sounding of the drum and Kreyòl worship songs that prepared our hearts and minds for the work ahead.

* Listen to our team singing "Mesi Jezu" at Konbit
(just press play)

Food. Any good konbit starts and ends with food. Maybe a cup of sweet coffee and bread to begin, and a stomach-bursting meal at its end. The Desarmes team’s cook Lucilla made hearty meal after hearty meal, providing the foundation for times that were fit to laugh and share and enjoy one another’s company.

Respect and Mutuality. Both types of konbit grow from the recognition that we need each other. There’s a common Kreyol proverb that’s translated as “Many hands make the burden light,” and as I reflect on our first konbit experience, I’m reminded of a command in Galatians 6:2, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” In sharing the load, we are able to see our hearts resonate with Christ’s own love and concern for others, and we’re further knit together as a community.

The rum. Just kidding. While many traditional konbits do see the bottle passed around throughout the day and end in a big rum-drenched party, ours did not. We instead closed out ours with fritay--fried goat, pressed plantains, and pikliz--a crowd-pleasing combination of foods meant to mark a special occasion, of which it most definitely was.

Little birds

Piti piti zwazo fe nich

It is a favorite Haitian proverb of ours, and it means "Little by little, the bird makes its nest." The meaning is pretty clear, and it applies to so many situations. My two friends and fellow graduate students at the time - Sarah and Gina - and I used this phrase a lot when we were here in late 2010. After reaching the point in an introductory conversation where our limited Kreyol ran out, we would smile and recite this phrase. It signified, for us, that our Kreyol was coming along, so to please be patient with us. People loved that we knew this phrase. It was a real crowd-pleaser. 

For us today, it provides a reminder of a broader perspective. That we are like "little birds," just coming along in our understanding of so many things here. But, each step is productive towards some larger goal. Nothing is lost! Even those days when we feel like we don't quite pass muster, we can rest assured that even the bad bits can be used for something greater - redeemed for His higher plan.

Haiti this week

It could be said that our blog posts up till now haven’t been very informative but have given you a glimpse of some fun pictures and stories from our near 11 weeks in Haiti.

Now that it’s Friday evening and I’m sitting in our living room while my poor husband lays sick in our bedroom (stomach bug perhaps?) I think I will take this opportunity to share about some of the important events from Haiti this week and our work. Within these updates, I think you will find some specific ways you can be praying for us and for Haiti.

'Baby Doc' Duvalier

Last Saturday, Haiti’s infamous dictator from 1971 – 1986, “Baby Doc” Duvalier died of a heart attack. He returned to Haiti in 2011 and almost immediately was charged with crimes against humanity, though he has been allowed by current President Michel Martelly to “roam free” even with serious charges pending. Public anger here and abroad mounted as word leaked from the National Palace that President Martelly was considering giving the ex-President a national funeral. Baby Doc Duvalier is charged with having stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from the State and having up to 30,000 of his opponents tortured and killed during his reign. How could the State consider spending more funds to “honor his memory” in such a public way? The Palace decided to not fund the funeral – which will take place tomorrow morning.

Ex-President Aristide

Meanwhile, ex-President Aristide – who was the first democratically elected President in Haiti in 1991 – has faced charges of corruption and embezzlement of government funds during his Presidency. A couple of months ago, a judge with a questionable record summoned Artistide to court. When he did not show up, the judge placed him under house arrest. Two weeks later, the armed guards protecting Aristide’s house were “secretly” ordered to move, thereby leaving Artiside’s home unguarded. Outcry came from Haiti and the U.S., from big names such as actor Danny Glover and Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Today, crowds gathered outside of Aristide’s home again as the judge ordered Aristide’s immediate arrest.

Many people saw this as President Martelly’s attempt to “get rid” of Aristide, and also to distract from the biggest political news in Haiti, which has been the government’s failure to hold important elections for the past 4 years. A bipartisan group from the U.S. Congress has urged President Martelly to ensure that elections are held before the end of this year, but this does not seem likely to happen. Six opposition senators in Haiti are refusing to vote for a new electoral law, which would allow elections to go forward. Many people here feel that President Martelly is corrupt and has a vested interest in not holding senatorial elections, which could allow him to consolidate power in early January 2015 as the senate would be rendered ineffective.

MINUSTAH troops in Haiti

In 2004, after President Aristide was ousted from power a second time, the UN’s peacekeeping force established a mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), and they have been here ever since. There is much public discontent over MINUSTAH’s presence. Their mission is costly (it is about to be renewed for $500 million for another year), and there has not been a recognized conflict in Haiti for the past 75 years. In addition, MINUSTAH’s troops, over the years, have faced hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation. There is no formal complaint mechanism established for victims to file claims. Most drastically, MINUSTAH’s Nepalese troops were responsible for introducing cholera to Haiti in 2010; the epidemic has killed over 8,500 Haitians since, and the UN will not claim responsibility. 

Photo credit: theguardian.com

MINUSTAH’s mandate is up for renewal again this coming October 15^th.

On top of this, October 19^th is the 4 year anniversary of Haiti’s cholera outbreak. The outbreak started when sewage leaked from the UN Nepalese soldier’s base camp into Haiti’s main river and water source – the Artibonite. Various scientific reports have concluded that MINUSTAH’s base camp was the source of the epidemic.

On October 23^rd, a court in NY will hear oral arguments concerning the UN's "immunity." This is one success in a long-standing effort by human rights groups to hold the UN accountable and seek reparations for families who lost loved ones due to the cholera outbreak.

Photo credit: theguardian.com

All this to say, people are sad and tensions are running high. It’s easy to feel the outrage in the public discourse, both here and in the U.S. Yesterday, the UN held a donor conference in Washington DC, to plead for funding for their 2.2 billion dollar Cholera Eradication and Sanitation plan for Haiti. The results of the conference were not promising. Only ten percent of their plan has been funded to date. Many people balk at the large sums being spent to keep MINUSTAH in Haiti, while funds are lacking to actually improve health and sanitation systems in the country. 

As you can see, there is a lot going on this week. And this doesn't touch even touch on other issues we are engaged in such as: mining in the north of Haiti, and Haiti's housing crisis, around which we are working on planning a conference in Washington DC. 

It would mean a lot to us if you took note, and took the time to pray over some of these areas, as well as our presence and work here.

(I am happy to report, that by the end of my writing this blog post, Ted is feeling much better.)

Joys of sponsorship

Ok folks. This is something great about sponsoring a child or investing in a child's life in one way or another. Here is my latest note from Purity, a child that my friend and I started sponsoring back in 2004, and who Ted and I now continue to support. Precious! She lives in Kenya. I highlighted the parts that especially jumped out and grabbed my heart. So thankful for the known and unknown impacts of this relationship over the years.

Hello! How is you, your family and your beloved husband, Ted? For me I am fine and my family as well. I am doing my very best at school now that I've got a few months to go. Very soon I'll be sitting for my Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education and I'll request you to pray for me.

When I finish my high school education I want to keep my self busy by enrolling in computer lessons and after that in God's will go to the University that I've been wanting to go. There I will study my future career as an accountant. I am always grateful for all you have been doing for me, even the communication we've been having has really encouraged me a lot.

As you know I am now turning seventeen years on 15th of this month which will be my birthday and this shows how far I am going and much bigger am getting. Thank you for the support that you've always given to me and my family and I promise to put a smile on your face and show you how great and thankful I am to you in my final examination in my high school education. May God bless you and your family abundantly. Greet Ted for me and always know that we love you all. Please let me know if there is anything you'll want me to pray about. I will always pray for you.

Favorite Kreyol phrases and misadventures

It’s time that we share some of our most amusing moments in Haiti and favorite Kreyòl phrases thus far:

He must really love you!

One night, during our home stay in Dezam, we sat on the front patio with our host parents and a 19-year old friend, Vernard, a flashlight faintly illuminating our faces from its position on the ground in the middle of our circle. We were having a ti koze (a small chat) in the cool nighttime breeze. In the conversation, Ted mentioned that he is 29 years old, and I asked the others to guess my age (not thinking that they would guess I am one year older than Ted.) I was right; Vernard started off by saying, “Well, you must be younger than Ted, so…” and I think they may have guessed 26 in the end. When I revealed my true age, Vernard’s jaw dropped; he let out a loud laugh and clapped his hands in surprise, exclaiming “Wow, he must really love you!”

Our friend Vernard, pictured on the right.

Fè Dezòd

"Fè dezòd" is an expression that means literally “to make” (fè) “disorder” (dezòd.) Children often do this: “Ti moun yo ap fè dezòd!” (Those children are making disorder!)

One friend, also in Dezam, was a 6-year-old boy named Migerson who was often engaging in the activity of “fè dezòd,” so much so that our Kreyol teacher and distant relation to little Migerson also gave him the nickname “Tet di” (hard head) – this also came about because Migerson continued to climb on the grape vine from which he had fallen one morning, bumping his head pretty badly on its roots.

Migerson

"Radyo 32"

This is one of my favorites. Over staff lunch one day, we came across a term for gossip called “teledjòl.” Ted had heard it before so inquired further about its meaning. It’s apparently not a very nice way of saying “hearsay” or to refer to unreliable news you simply “hear on the street.” A young co-worker of ours, Fania, had another great expression for it: Radyo (Radio) 32. The 32 refers to the number of teeth in our mouths, and so Radyo 32 is her way of referring to gossip - love it!

Our great Port-au-Prince ekip - team

There is a dead chicken in your yard

Last Monday morning, the woman who works at our house two times per week - Madam Amid - came to me in the kitchen and said, "You know, you have a dead chicken in your yard..." I did a double take, as I was attempting to track carefully with her Kreyol. "There's a what in our yard?" She took me out back to show me. Sure enough, along our back wall and in plain view is a chicken hanging from a string attached to its foot, dead as a door nail. I asked her, "Poukisa li la??" (Why is he there??) This made absolutely no sense to me. Madam Amid explained that it, surely being a neighbor's chicken, had attempted to fly away but its string got caught on the nails and glass bottles protruding from the dividing wall between our yards. Oops! She then commented, "I tried to take him down last week but the smell was so horrible I couldn't go near him." Again, I had to do a double take. "The chicken was here last week, and I didn't see him??" "Yes," she tells me, "he's been hanging there for about two weeks!"

In memory of the departed (note: this photo was taken by Ted this summer of a chicken
that still lives, happily settled in her home in Davis, California)

A taste of our work

I had a good friend share the other day that she wanted to know more of what we're doing here. Fair enough! I think we are still trying to get our feet wet and figure that out ourselves, though we certainly would like to be sharing more at the same time.

On Thursday we sent out our first monthly Media Alert, which includes links to recent articles on some of our core advocacy issues areas. Our roles as Advocacy Coordinator and Policy Analyst are to work with MCC's partners to better understand and advocate for just solutions to many of these pressing policy issue areas. This will give you a good taste of what we are working on.

Please click above for the full newsletter and article links. You can "like" our MCC Haiti Advocacy page and feel free to sign up for this monthly newsletter yourself. Also, do not forget to watch Baseball in the Time of Cholera, and let us know what you think.

This one's for you, Joy! :)

Adventures

Within some of the day-to-day here in Haiti - getting up, making breakfast, washing dishes- I can forget what an adventure we are on, and what a privilege it is to be here.

In coming to Haiti, we have the honor of trying to learn a new culture and language. Studying Kreyol is really fun for us. Our first set of lessons occupied our three week home stay in Dezam, and they have continued every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings through the end of next week. Ted and I would both like to become "Kreyol masters," I think. We see other foreigners who have worked here for years and we admire their language abilities. We want to be like them! But that mindset will discourage us more days than not while we're here. Some days we advance, and other days we can feel stuck in the mud.

We are still "kids" in a lot of ways. Learning a new language is not just about acquiring words, but about understanding innumerable nuances, gestures, and expressions. After three years here, we still won't understand most of these things! Learning language is about learning a new culture, really. And this is not an overnight process with some fast track option - not at all.

In the midst of our day-to-day, we need to remember that this is not our native context but appreciate the fact that we are here. It is a gift.

The two of us on our introductory tour of downtown, outside of the national museum