Haiti … Living Through and

Beyond the Crisis

By Lawrence L. Reddick III

Presiding Bishop, Fifth Episcopal District,

Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

There is no mistaking my love for Haiti; I could not deny that love if I wanted to, and no one who has been around me when I have spoken of Haiti could deny it, either. I love Haiti as a land, but moreso I love and respect and admire the Haitian people.

There are many things Americans do not know about Haitians (and I am an American, so there are many things I do not know about Haitians, either). However, one of the things I have come to know about the Haitian people I have seen in Haiti is that they are a people who are industrious and determined. To travel the streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, or to travel through the country of Haiti is to see people of great industry selling wares, building edifices, almost constantly in movement doing something.

To worship and work with the Haitians who were affiliated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church during my time as presiding bishop of the Tenth Episcopal District was to hear music that was inspiring and to witness preaching with zeal and commitment to duty. Each of the nine churches we shared with were affiliated with schools, one of which served as many as 300 children. Hundreds of children in brown and yellow or blue on blue uniforms attended those schools and were glad to be in school.

My heart grieves at the devastation I hear about in the Port-au-Prince and Petion-Ville areas. The pictures on the news are difficult to see without envisioning the many people I have known there. As former President Clinton said in the news conference that he and former President George W. Bush and President Obama held, I also have dined with many of these people, which means they are dear to me and their plight is heartfelt.

Nevertheless, I believe we must realize that we owe Haiti much more than a quick response of emergency aid. Our adrenalin for emergency assistance will fade. What will we do then? For now and then, let me make four suggestions:

First, let us give our money. It is possible at this time that the dearest and most important thing we can give is our money. I am perplexed by the numbers of people who are gathering items to “send” to Haiti because I know first hand the difficulty of transporting “things” into countries (especially bulky things). On one hand, it is simple to take clothing and toiletries to the Salvation Army down the street, or to Goodwill, or to some other shelter set up in our nation. On the other hand, for any agency to transport those items to another country may cost more in transporting them than they can purchase them and have them transported through some other means. Your money is what the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Church World Service, CROP, CARE, or the CME Commission on Emergency Relief need. Let us give sacrificially from our pockets so that true missioners on the ground helping can be supported.

Second, let us plan and project for frequent mission trips long into the future. In the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, the Reverend Mary Campbell McKinney of Jacksonville, Florida (afuah@juno.com) has been leading mission trips to Haiti (as well as to other countries) for awhile. The people of Carter Tabernacle Christian Methodist Episcopal Church of Orlando, Florida, led by the Rev. Dr. Vanessee Burns, were channels through a local Florida service group (CAM) for sending food after the hurricanes of recent years. Now is the time for carpenters, masonry teams, plumbers, teachers, retirees, students, preachers, architects – people of all ways of life – to prepare to go and spend 5 days, 10 days, or a time you can spare, with a team of people going to encourage life in Haiti. This requires a “prepare and wait” plan, for this cannot be done right now (the week of the earthquake). But this is important to build the Haiti of the future. So plan your mission trips for March or April, for October or September, and for months before or in-between. In other words, plan a time for the adrenalin you now have to be awakened and used by God to bless a people continually.

Third, let us respect the Haitians living among us in the United States. We must also be sure that Americans respect and build relationships with the Haitians who live in the United States. Brothers and Sisters of African America, we of all people should know the importance of not underestimating people and of not prejudging people. We should lead in building bridges with oppressed peoples from all over the globe, including those Haitians who have immigrated to the United States. How can we have so much pity for the Haitians in Port-au-Prince during a time of earthquake and not speak to our Haitian neighbors in the airports where they work or in the hotels where they serve or even in the neighborhoods where we sometimes live together? What is wrong that we have become as racist as the racism we encountered? If you are truly moved with affection for Haiti, then show it by building bridges with Haitians in America.

Finally, let us learn more about Haiti and let us call upon the American news media to give a more balanced picture of Haiti. Are you aware that the only time we hear about Haiti is when there is something bad? In August 1998, having been elected bishop and having been sent to serve the CME congregations in the Caribbean as well as West Africa, I made an initial trip to Jamaica, and had a ticket to fly from Montego Bay, back to Miami, and then on to Port-au-Prince. Two evenings before I was to leave Montego Bay, my father called me to say, “You cannot go to Haiti; there is a hurricane headed to Haiti.” I watched CNN and listened intently during the weather forecast to see what was going on. There was no mention of a hurricane headed to Haiti. My father knew because he was a Weather Channel buff (because he was, at heart, a farmer, who always wanted to know the weather). I was amazed that there was no word of a hurricane coming to Haiti on the other channels. That was when I began to watch and listen for any word in the news – printed or broadcast – about Haiti; and that is when I discovered that the only time we hear about Haiti is when there is a political coup or some riots or a weather devastation. And so our picture about Haiti is skewed. We need to monitor the news about Haiti, and ask the reporters and networks in 3 months, in 5 months – what can you tell us about progress in Haiti?

From 1805, when Haitians overthrew their white oppressors, those in power in America did not want enslaved Africans in this country to hear about Haiti, and that is, I believe, one reason we have inherited a systemic ignorance of this beautiful place and these industrious people. We would do well to learn more about them … as we learn more about life and living from them.