Personal Narrative: My Trip To Haiti

To conclude I’ve been blessed to experience two different countries, although it wasn’t easy I’ve learned from both, while daily life in America/Miami is much different than in Haiti, there are many similarities as well. Underneath all of our cultural differences, the same heart still beats. Food must be eaten, clean water must be drank. Everyone must sleep at night, and wake up to a bright new day. Spending time with family and friends is at the center of the lives of both Americans and Haitians. With all of our differences, we are all simply human beings living a life on planet

Diverse individuals with distinctive stories apply for school each year. Some with stand-out encounters, others an ability that separate them from others. Be that as it may, for me my experience, culture and trials are what decide my uniqueness. Conceived from the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, Haiti where I lived with my persevering mother (after the death of my dad when I was 10 months) providing for us through her little business. Until the overwhelming quake that struck my nation in 2010. This disastrous occasion changed my viewpoint in life. I left my past life alongside my mom in Haiti. I packed material possessions alongside the adventures and memories that I experienced throughout the years and went to a foreign nation to close relatives. I went to

From the start life has always been a battlefield for me and my family. In Haiti my father had studied to become an engineer despite his poor upbringing and my mother had worked multiple jobs to help support the family. Life in Haiti had already been tough but after a coup d’état and an election there was finally hope that Haitians would have to live under a repressive government no longer. The new government created hope which was then solidified when Duvalier announced his candidacy, by this time he was already a well-known physician that took part in many public health campaigns. My father remembers when Duvalier was elected, with promises of rebuilding a broken country and the happiness that followed, but this did not last. Shortly after

Misrepresentation plagues this island nation overwhelmed with endless suffering. No one sees the beauty of Haiti through a television screen. All they see is misery – natural disaster, disease and poverty—writ large on the evening news. When most Americans think of Haiti, they see problems and a stressed people. However, there is a resilience and a beauty of spirit to Haitians. Even after years upon years of being dehumanized, my people have never broken. Our culture is constantly belittled, but we smile and gather strength from the sun that shines on our island and we persevere.

Haiti was once the first black independent republic in the world and the richest island in the Caribbean. Today Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest countries in the world. What could have happened to Haiti in almost two hundred years of history? The country experienced repeated civil war and foreign intervention. Haiti is not isolated from the international world. Thus, it was not out of concern for ordinary Haitians that the United States intervened in Haiti. It was out of concern for profit and stability within the United States' own backyard. The purpose of this paper is to show the negative aspect that the United States had played in the government of Haiti.

Growing up in Haiti has strengthen my survival instinct at an early age. With barely enough to eat, we was dying one by one. Medicine and treatment was very rare for us. Imagine dying from a simple cold due to the fact that aspirin and cough medicine was foreign to us. I recall walking around wishing for better days or looking for ways to help. And I remember being told I was coming to America. America, the place where even the most impossible dreams come true. America, where education is free and very beneficial. Regardless of how young I was, I knew with every fiber in my little body that I would try my hardest to be successful in America. Unable to speak english, school become a challenge. But to all my teachers surprise it took me less

Groggily stumbling into the kitchen, I was met with nine pairs of eyes reminding me I wasn’t in America anymore. Eleven days ago, my team and I had flown into Port-au-Prince and driven to Jacmel, directed by Angel Wings International, a local organization that worked to deliver healthcare in Haiti. I received the run-down for the day: we were heading West toward a rural clinic located in Baie d’Orange. Climbing into a musty truck bed, I noticed a crew of dentists, doctors, and pharmacists accompanying us, signifying the most important day in our three-week-long trip. The truck revved into action, racing in Jacmel’s dusty streets, past the swelling river, through winding mountain passes, stopping at a tattered USAID tent that covered a burgeoning crowd of hundreds. Scanning the crowd returned the gaze of scared men, women, and children whose lives could be drastically changed through proper checkups and treatment.

When I was ten years old I gave some families in Haiti some clothes. Yes, I know every family has a clothes, but when you live in an area with people who have less then what you have it is sad. In the summer of 2012 my family and I went Haiti. Before that my mother told me to procure any clothes or shoes that do not fit me to put it in the box. Family members in Haiti would come to be able get any kind of item for their family. Every year my family would consolidate money, clothes, shoes, or toys to bring to Haiti. It would be a 3” by 4” feet box to fit everything people needed.

In November 2015, I had the privilege of traveling to Haiti on a mission team. While in Haiti, I was awakened by how blessed I am as an American. There are numerous things that we all take for granted every day. The necessities like three meals a day, clean water, comfortable shelter, nice clothing, electricity, and plumbing are taken for granted. Americans who live in poverty receive benefits such as food stamps, government assisted housing, medical insurance provided by the government, and social security. On the other hand, Haitians are left with little to no support from their government.

Whenever you hear the word Haiti the first things that come to mind are poverty, corruption, earthquake, third world country, political instabilities or sometimes danger zone. Haiti is known for their hardships, their downfalls and their catastrophes but never for their beauty. Who would when all the media does is show the public the bad side of Haiti? We cannot deny that those aspects of Haiti aren’t true but we can open our minds and go deeper to see Haiti for what it really is, for it’s history, it’s people, it’s culture, it’s landmarks and many more (1). Our warm culture, our contagious smile, our country 's natural beauty, and our resilience are what set us apart from the rest.

Afterwards, people in Haiti had to move on, and stay positive, “Showing the world once again a stubborn insistence of living, despite all the cruelties of the earth.” Leonard Pitts

Before then I was only able to remember Haiti from my distant childhood memories but media coverage of the earthquake made the small country big news. For weeks I was bombarded by graphic images of people in Haiti hungry and in poverty that completely differed from my family’s stories. It would have been easy for me to accept the media’s view of Haiti as a country with nothing, but I was taught better. I knew that Haitians were powerful people and would be able to rebuild themselves and our country. I witnessed Haitian people resurface from the rubble and make a difference.

Haiti has long been known for its major export of Haitian migrants in search of a better way of life. It is an exodus that goes back several decades, however with recent times the numbers have increased dramatically. In fact, that numbers of Haitians fleeing Haiti in the early 1990's far exceeds the numbers recorded in earlier years. Between 1972- 1979, some 8,000- 10,000 Haitians arrived in the United States. Compare this number with the 14,443 Haitians interdicted between September 30, 1991 - January 1, 1992. By early 1994, this number totaled over 41,000 (Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Haiti, 1994). Economic deprivation has always been the predominant influence for the migrating of Haitians, yet in the

What makes this reading an imperative one; it’s the notion of bringing to light the issues and solution I look to achieve on my paper. As it is no shock Haiti is the poorest republic in the western hemisphere Because of that negative stereotype Haiti Perception to the world is one in dire need, but you guys may be asking yourself “What is the point?” There is no surprise that much of the world’s attention is no longer focused on the people of Haiti. The cameras are mostly gone; the fund raising efforts have died down. And while a number of relief organizations remain, their capabilities are a fraction of what they once were. And yet the suffering continues.

When I think about Haiti I think about beautiful oceans. When I was 10 years old I visited Haiti, when I was there me and my family took an island tour and we went down to the ocean. It was amazing view and experience I will always remember. All I remember about Haiti is how amazing the place was. I believe it is an island that is the most populated country in the Caribbean Community and third most popular country in the Caribbean as a whole.