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Photos: The People Of Haiti In Pictures

By R.Gregg, The Raleigh Telegram

Thursday, February 4, 2010

PORT AU PRINCE, HAITI - The people of Haiti are very friendly and despite the death and destruction caused by the earthquake, soldiers in the 82nd Airborne say that the people here have been remarkably patient.

“Talking with the Haitian people has been the best part of my trip,” said one soldier.

Although there is a language barrier, as most people here speak Creole French and most soldiers do not, many Haitians also speak English especially the younger people.

The Haitians are very religious and it is not uncommon to see murals on walls depicting Jesus or paintings of Christ on brightly colored buses and taxis.

When out walking with the members of the 82nd Airborne on foot patrols, we would commonly see people conducting worship services in the streets at night, often with only a few lights or even a single lightbulb setting the scene as a preacher would be leading the service with a megaphone.

In some ways, their religious faith has helped them get through the quake’s aftermath, but in other ways it may hinder them as well.

Many Haitians thought that the earthquake was the end of the earth as depicted in Revelations. As one example of this belief, we saw written in French in dust on the windshield of a crushed car, “Jesus is returning.”

According to soldiers who talked to some of them on the streets, they are understandably afraid to go back into their homes, even if the homes are not damaged.

They are afraid of aftershocks or not sure if their homes may collapse, so even people who still have a house may be sleeping on the streets or in tent camps.

Many Haitians seem to have a love for all things American. You will see buses named after New York City or other cities in the United States. Frequently, people wear sports jerseys or ball caps depicting American football or basketball teams.

One soldier from Boston who is an ardent Boston Red Sox fan said he was a little put off when he saw a Haitian come up to his vehicle wearing a New York Yankees baseball hat.

We also saw several Haitians wearing North Carolina t-shirts representing UNC basketball and even one for High Point University.

However, some of the soldiers noticed that some of the local t-shirt vendors didn’t quite get all of the team names correct and they saw shirts that said Phoenix Knicks or other misquotes.

Given their current situation, the Haitians can be very serious in their conversations with the soldiers as they center around their very survival in dealing with hunger, armed gangs, and lack of shelter, but many are also quick to laugh and have a sense of humor.

When we accompanied soldiers to the tent camps, despite the language barrier, they had no problems finding common ground and shared a laugh or a smile easily.

The Haitians have seen plenty of problems with hurricanes, political unrest, poverty, and now an earthquake ravaging their nation.

However, they seem to take it in stride and move on with their day. Only a few days after the earthquake, people were back out on the sidewalks selling food, opening stores, doing laundry, and other tasks necessary in their daily lives.

The Haitian motto is L'Union Fait La Force, which is French for "Union Makes Strength."

A very poor nation, the Haitians may not have all of the trappings of wealth seen in other countries, but they do have each other.

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