Rick's Story: A Trip To Haiti

The flooded homes, scattered cars, and powerless streets drew the community together. I had never endured so much grief with a sense of togetherness as I did during this period. Somehow, the shattered world I was living in felt like more of a home than the one I know. While Mr. Moore distributed his collection of batteries to all in need, Mr. Quinn and Mr. Visnic cleared the road of tree branches so that Ms. Torello could move her car to safety. The Delises opened up their generator powered home, and provided a fresh deck of cards and beverages to all who came. The endless support of this community made a hard and unusual time pass with

One demographic group in South Florida that has always stood out to me was the Haitian population. Majority of the Haitians that reside in the United States of America came from Haiti. Originally Haiti was known as the “rocky mountains”. Then as the tribes came together, Haiti stood for “the body of land” which was developed through the philological of the Taino, Arawak, and the Caraibes Indian tribes who colonized the island before Christopher Columbus and the European migration back in late 1492. Around this time Christopher Columbus claimed the island for Spanish rulers, who would then call it “Hispaniola”. The Indians welcomed the settlers in, but it was not until the settles discovered there were gold in the riverbeds.

I had never thought that one day I could leave my native country, Haiti. In August 2000, my father decided to move to USA with me. I really felt happiness and sadness at the same time. I was happy because I will go to a country with a better quality of life but I felt sad for leaving friends and relatives. Before leaving Haiti, three important things came up in my idea. Go to church, organize a party with my friends and family, and get to the airport with my Dad.

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.

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

The community service that changed my outlook on life is my missions trip to Haiti. When I saw how the Haitians lived day by day, I realized that my life in America is extraordinary compared to theirs. My dream is to send musical instruments to anyone who wants to play in their church.

Karly Segrave was a fifteen year old girl when Hurricane Katrina Hit. Her mother worked at St. Tammany Parish Hospital, so when it was time to evacuate she stuffed everything she could into a backpack and went on her way. Most of the employees at the hospital brought their familys with them, so space was limited. Karly slept under her mothers cubical for three weeks. “At first it was fun,” she watched movies, played games, and had tons of people to talk to. Then days turned into weeks and the hospital begun to run low on food. She began to realize that it wasn’t all fun and games.

So this boy by the age of 14, named Tim, lived in the worst neighborhood. There were murders, kidnappings, and even robberies. Whenever Tim witnessed something so tragic as of these topics I have listed above, he started to bawl. He cried and cried and cried until his mother came in with some cookies and warm milk and fed it to him like he was still her little 1 year old. Tim was never allowed to go outside. For 1, there was this gang called, “Victorians”, and whenever someone tries to cross their path, they would rob them of their money and beat the victim up. Tim had once crossed their path, and they tried to rob Tim, but 1 of the members passed out because Tim had thrown a pipe at the member’s temple, which was located on the sides of his

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

once upon a time there was a little boy named Timmy, Timmy was scared, there was an epidemic Going around that could devastate whole cities in the matter of days, he was in one of which. The disease was spreading so rapidly, the speed it was going can make a car look like it's trekking. Timmy was in fear for his life with his family, momma Rose, and poppa Bobby. The news reports estimate about 1000 people die an hour world wide, and it had spread to their city. The disease evicted people from their homes. One day the news had a precise way on how the disease was spreading, they weren't being impartial about it, the shared it with all other nations and everyone and country. they thought it was irrelevant, not knowing how deadly this disease

Brief history… Haiti takes up about 1/3 of the land of the island Hispaniola, neighboring the Dominican Republic. The whole Island was once under the control of Spain in 1942 after Columbus made an appearance. In the 17th century, France colonized on part of the Island and renamed it Saint-Dominigue. It wasn’t until 1803…300 years, tens of thousands of African slaves, and one hierarchal social system later, did this chunk of land become the independent republic, Haiti. (1).

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.

Sarah is not your average girl. She lives with her mother, Mary, who works three jobs to support her two children. Sarah, nor her little brother Benny, has ever met their father. He went to prison when Sarah was just four years old for drugs. Sarah has always hung out with the rougher crowd. Sarah does not really apply herself to school. Her mother is very worried she will not pass with the grades she has, so Mary decides she is going to have Sarah go with her grandmother, Betty, on a mission trip to Haiti. Betty is an active member in her church and always goes on trips with her parish to help people in need.

Being a member of a hard-working class and visiting Haiti, I’ve witnessed the socio-economic conditions that plague my community such as health shortfalls that could’ve been eradicated with education and ingenuity. Born to a Haitian immigrant, in a single parent home, I’ve learned to appreciate the structure and close-knit community that has shaped my outlook on life and define the person I am. In Haiti, every immediate neighborhood, every adult became your parent and transferred into every aspect of my life. This ideology derives from Haiti’s national saying “L’Union Fait La Force”, which means “Unity Makes Strength”. You could not pass a village or neighborhood in Haiti without a woman -- no matter the age -- carrying out food and a bucket

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