IVP - Strangely Dim - The Haiti We Need to Know

The Haiti We Need to Know

by Lisa Rieck

Can too much be said about Haiti? She's like the quiet girl in school who nobody paid much attention to unless it served their own purposes, until suddenly, by some turn-of-events--say she found out she's dying of cancer--she's thrust into the limelight. People start making up for lost time, making up for all those years they went to school with her but never got to know her, never asked how she was, always forgot to invite her to their parties. But now, knowing her struggle, they can't turn away; they hold fundraisers and send flowers and balloons and make cards. Her name is all over town. And even if she tries to go back to being anonymous--because, perhaps, the attention makes her too uncomfortable after all those years in the background, or because she doesn't want all the pity--she can't. Her need and name are known.

We hope Haiti doesn't go back to being anonymous in three months or eight months or two years. Because the Haitians need our help--and we need their perspective.

Dave's been keeping us posted about Likewise author Kent Annan and his Haitian friends and about ways we can help Haiti through his organization, Haiti Partners. We can pray. We can give. Some of us can go, at some point. And we can learn--that we might understand more clearly and pray more specifically.

I've never been to Haiti, and I'm sad to say I don't know any Haitians, but I do feel a small connection with the country because of two books. The first is Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. In it, Kidder chronicles the life and work of Dr. Paul Farmer, who worked tirelessly to fight poverty, tuberculosis and AIDS in several Majority World countries, and particularly in Haiti. The book offers fascinating insights into Haiti's history, politics and structure. It also left me wondering how Dr. Farmer didn't kill himself in the process of his work. (It seems that trying to wipe out infectious diseases is no easy job. Go figure.)

Then, as part of my work (just one of many perks), last fall I had the chance to read Kent's Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle. I've been thinking about it ever since, even before the earthquake struck Haiti. Kent's book, in some ways, did for me what the 2004 Oscar-winning movie Crash did: it offers a clear-eyed look at a complex issue from a position of humility, one that admits we don't know all the answers.

Following Jesus is the story of seven months Kent and his wife, Shelly, spent living in Haiti. Kent's powerful, beautifully written narrative offers a firsthand account of individuals, the effects of Haiti's history on its present, the pace of life there, the customs. He learns the language. He forms relationships. He wonders why God led him there, and what, exactly, doing God's work in Haiti looks like. He has nightmares about Shelly being harmed and blames himself for taking her there. He is loved by Haitians. He is made fun of by Haitians. He misunderstands, and is misunderstood. Through it all, we get a rich, full-bodied picture of Haiti and God's work there as well as an honest look at the beauty, risk and hardship often involved in following Jesus and being obedient to his call on our lives. And, though Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle is not a how-to book, Kent and Shelly do demonstrate for us the necessary stance for any missions venture: humility, openness, honesty, authenticity.

Haiti's past and, now again, their present, is full of tragedy. They have much to learn. And so do we--about why the poor keep getting poorer. About the role our own country has played in their tragic history. About hope and resiliency and courage that seem to characterize Haitians as a whole.

Haiti Partners focuses a lot on education and on helping Haitians help each other. It's time we got some education too, so that the images on the television screen are not just faces to us, but people with names and families and histories--a people among whom God is at work. I know a little about Haiti so far, but I have much more to learn. We all can learn. While you watch, while you pray, while you give, do some reading. Meet Kent's friends through his stories. Pray specifically for them. And keep checking the Haiti Partners website for updates--today, tomorrow, next year. I suspect they'll still need our help then. And I suspect we'll still have more to learn from them.