Submitted by Bryan (not verified) on Wed, 05/02/2007 - 18:01.
Vicki, Thank you for your extensive and very passionate comments. One of our primary purposes in creating Haiti Innovation was to have a forum for dialogue on all manners of issue pertaining to Haiti. While it is obvious we disagree on certain issues, there are some things that we have in common. First, we both care about the Haitian people. Second, we both would like to see a Healthier Haiti - and realize that HIV/AIDS must be addresed in order to bring this about. There are so many interesting issues which we have raised that we could discuss further. Ill put some points which caught my attention and we can continue the dialogue. 1) Medicines - I am sorry that your medicines were taken in customs. As you said, it is a possibility that were taken to be sold. Do keep in mind though, that mission trips often bring down expired medications. This upsets the Ministry of Health very much. As it would upset us. 2) Medical Missions - I have participated in many, probably around twenty five. I feel medical missions are good for identifying emergency cases and for cultural exchange. Not much else. If we are not linked up with local organizations, the worms come back, the fevers return, etc. Medical missions should have a capacity building component, or truthfully, we benefit more than the Haitian patients. Health Education is important but we have to recognize that we ourselves need to be educated on the cultural, circumntances, etc. 3)Racism - With missionaries, I often detect an under-current of racism. Haitians are all to used to foreigners telling them how to be, how to act, how they should think of their own history, etc. A Haitian once said to me "you are the only white person who every treated me like a human being". I feel that the projects I was involved in when living in Haiti for two and a half years had an impact - but all of them put together didnt matter as much to me as that one sentence. 4)Religion - An exercise: Look at the blog that you wrote and substitute the word "Allah" for "God" and "Mohammed" for "Jesus Christ". Would what you wrote still resonate with you or would you feel like someone was trying to force something on you? I am not trying to be combatative here, I am just trying to understand. 5)Vodoun - I wonder how people can judge a religion without having seen it, experienced it, or even talked to someone who practiced it. This religion has been demonized by the media but above all, I think that it has the stigma that it has because of racism. Like any religion, it has its good and its bad. And every religion has good and bad. Do you agree? Those are the immediate points I wanted to touch on. I think that it is good to be having a dialogue on this subject. I thank you for your blog and welcome your responses. Bryan
Vicki, Thank you for your
Vicki, Thank you for your extensive and very passionate comments. One of our primary purposes in creating Haiti Innovation was to have a forum for dialogue on all manners of issue pertaining to Haiti. While it is obvious we disagree on certain issues, there are some things that we have in common. First, we both care about the Haitian people. Second, we both would like to see a Healthier Haiti - and realize that HIV/AIDS must be addresed in order to bring this about. There are so many interesting issues which we have raised that we could discuss further. Ill put some points which caught my attention and we can continue the dialogue. 1) Medicines - I am sorry that your medicines were taken in customs. As you said, it is a possibility that were taken to be sold. Do keep in mind though, that mission trips often bring down expired medications. This upsets the Ministry of Health very much. As it would upset us. 2) Medical Missions - I have participated in many, probably around twenty five. I feel medical missions are good for identifying emergency cases and for cultural exchange. Not much else. If we are not linked up with local organizations, the worms come back, the fevers return, etc. Medical missions should have a capacity building component, or truthfully, we benefit more than the Haitian patients. Health Education is important but we have to recognize that we ourselves need to be educated on the cultural, circumntances, etc. 3)Racism - With missionaries, I often detect an under-current of racism. Haitians are all to used to foreigners telling them how to be, how to act, how they should think of their own history, etc. A Haitian once said to me "you are the only white person who every treated me like a human being". I feel that the projects I was involved in when living in Haiti for two and a half years had an impact - but all of them put together didnt matter as much to me as that one sentence. 4)Religion - An exercise: Look at the blog that you wrote and substitute the word "Allah" for "God" and "Mohammed" for "Jesus Christ". Would what you wrote still resonate with you or would you feel like someone was trying to force something on you? I am not trying to be combatative here, I am just trying to understand. 5)Vodoun - I wonder how people can judge a religion without having seen it, experienced it, or even talked to someone who practiced it. This religion has been demonized by the media but above all, I think that it has the stigma that it has because of racism. Like any religion, it has its good and its bad. And every religion has good and bad. Do you agree? Those are the immediate points I wanted to touch on. I think that it is good to be having a dialogue on this subject. I thank you for your blog and welcome your responses. Bryan