Mouvman Peyizan Papay (MPP)

Pull out yer maps 'cuz we went somewhere new! Last week Ben and I ventured way up into the Central Plateau with MCC's environmental education team to visit the Papay Peasant Movement outside of Hinche. They were scouting it out for their annual teacher's excursion (a learning tour of sorts for the teachers that are in the environmental ed program). I tagged along (a) as MCC's advocacy coordinator because MPP is a grassroots organization that is addressing Haiti's food security issue in a practical way (in addition to a number of grassroots coalitions, MPP is connected to the La Via Campesina movement and the International Movement for Catholic Agricutural and Rural Youth) and (b) because I love to garden and to see cool appropriate tech projects in action.

We got a whirlwind tour of MPP's experimental gardens, visited a community irrigation system and bought red worms for our compost pile at home. Since B&S have already blogged about the cool things we saw, I'll refer you over to their blog for more.

How To Candy Grapefruit Peel in Haiti

Needed:
1 grapefruit tree
1 friend to spend hours slicing and scraping grapefruit peel with you
3 large aluminum pots made from recycled cans
300 gourdes worth of sugar (or one large Digicel bag full)
8 steel cups and plates to keep ants away while the candy dries overnight
Enough electricity to watch two movies while you:

Pick, Slice, Boil, and Dry

What we have and what we don't

1. Electricity: We don't have it. Or at least not enough to keep our inverter charged and the food in our refrigerator from rotting. We're told - and last year's experience confirms, that EDH (Électricité d’Haiti) starts withholding electricity at about this time of year so that they can provide the city with lights full-time for the week of Christmas and Haitian Independence Day (January 1st).

2. Luna: I never thought that I would own a cat, but our new 5-week old kitten (and future mouser) is just too cute. We have rats. Thankfully they have stayed in our compost pile and out of the house so far, but they're there nonetheless. So, when one of MCC's cats had kittens, only one survived and then happened to be looking for a home - did I mention how darn cute she is? - we gave in and bought a bag of kitty litter. I will post pictures soon so that you check out her insane-looking white eyelashes!

p.s. I am NOT going to become a crazy cat lady like my sister.

3.Work: Work has been a little slow for Ben lately, but that changed when the CLM program got funding for 84 new participants. Remember this? This week I’m in the countryside with him. We’re staying in Desarmes, I’m working from the MCC reforestation program office (where the internet is faster and more reliable than our internet in Port-Au-Prince) and Ben is commuting back and forth to Boukan Kare. A cat-loving friend in Port (and owner of Luna’s mother, Noche) is keeping little Luna for us. Incidentally, today is a holiday but Ben still had to work. It is Fèt Batay Vètyè, in which we honor the final battle of the Haitian Revolution - the Battle of Vertiers. I’m celebrating Fèt Batay Vètyè by making candied grapefruit peel with Sharon (see #6). Do we get extra credit for picking the grapefruit ourselves?

4. Sunshine: Although this may seem like a ridiculous problem to have in sunny Haiti, our new house has too much shade. Our nasturiums won't bloom, our radishes are getting leggy, and our parsley just straight-up rotted in the ground. Also, our laundry is taking two days too long to dry, leaving our towels and jeans with that stinky, took-to-long-to-dry smell. Our landlord will be cutting down one of our trees (whose roots are growing into our water cistern) and hopefully that will help.

5. Intestinal Trouble, which is a nice euphamism for diarrhea. I recently mentioned having spent a week + with dengue fever (read the bit about the rash - I've never itched so much in my life!). Well, no sooner had I recovered from the dengue, the "intestinal trouble" started and has persisted for almost two weeks. I'm open to advice for cures from you medical types (Tim? Caleb?).

6: Festive Spirits: Christmas lights and Santa Claus have already started making an appearance here. The funny thing about these lights and Santas is that most Haitians only celebrate Christmas for what it is: a church holiday that commemorates Jesus’ birth. We don’t have malls and greeting card companies, so Christmas ornamentation is pretty much limited to grocery stores and gas stations. Last year, the Texaco station near where we live now outdid the rest with a G-I-A-N-T inflatable Santa on the roof, not to mention a (fake) tree, lights, greenery and a snowman (also fake. Obviously.)

Last year was our first Christmas in Haiti. On Christmas Eve we put some candles on a cactus and on Christmas Day had a nice, low-key time with other friends that weren’t able to be with their families. But this year - and please keep in mind that it’s only November 18th - I am already sorting through Christmas cookie recipes and trying to figure out where to score a pine tree branch (I couldn’t possibly justify using an entire pine tree in Haiti, could I?). The reason? MY PARENTS ARE COMING TO VISIT! Ben and I have only spent two of the last five or six Christmases with family.* But, as Christmas in the Erkert tradition (along with birthdays, Easter, Mother’s Day and any other excuse to eat a lot and give and receive gifts**) is a really big deal, just knowing that we’ll be with my folks on Christmas makes me want to do it up right. CHRISTMAS 2009, WOOOT!

* It caused great alarm among Erkerts that Ben does not appreciate Christmas music.

** So as not to offend any family, I should add that the Erkerts have many meaningful family traditions surrounding these and other holidays. (We sure do love holidays).

National Immigration Call, November 18th

U.S. immigration policy often has an untoward affect on Haiti, so I would encourage you to participate in this event. It's an issue relevant to my work (I just finished writing a briefing paper for MCC's Washington advocacy office on the destabilizing affect that the deportation of Haitians living in the States has here, especially as Haiti attempts to recover from last year's hurricanes) and relevant to our belief that as Christians, we should be welcoming of strangers. If you're interested, click here to view MCC's Immigration Policy Principles and here for MCC's immigration reform guide (view the "detention and deportation" part which refers specifically to Haiti).

On Wednesday, November 18th, at 8 PM Eastern for English speakers (and 9 PM Eastern for Spanish speakers), the Reform Immigration FOR America Campaign will host a national call for thousands of community leaders across the nation to build the base and strength necessary to press forward in the struggle for just and humane immigration reform. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force, and the Reform Immigration FOR America Campaign will share information about next steps for reform as we build toward the critical early months of 2010. Click here to register for the call.

Background: Reform Immigration For America works towards policy changes that acknowledge the wide scope of benefits that are to be derived from comprehensive immigration reform. This means a common sense approach to healing our broken immigration system, restoring equality under the Rule of Law, and providing dignity and respect for hardworking immigrants; this means moving all Americans forward, together. This reform works towards whole, united families, fairer and better wages, less exploitation in the workplace, greater economic and workplace stability, and safer borders.

Action: On Wednesday, November 18th, at 8 PM Eastern for English speakers and 9 PM Eastern for Spanish speakers, the Reform Immigration FOR America Campaign will host a national call for thousands of community leaders across the nation to build the base and strength necessary to press forward in the struggle for just and humane immigration reform. Click here to register for the call. Click here to register a house party in your community.

The following related excerpt from a Third Way Cafe article titled "Welcoming the Stranger" challenges and encourages me when I think about immigration policy:

"When Jesus was asked about the commandment to ‘love your neighbor as yourself’, he chose to illustrate his point with a parable about a Samaritan - a despised and feared foreigner. This story probably shocked Jesus’ listeners, but it evoked the scriptural call to welcome strangers and treat them with respect. The theme of hospitality and tolerance is central to the biblical vision of justice, and is reflected in God’s command for authorities to “treat [resident foreigners] as well as you treat citizens” (Leviticus 19:34).

As we consider how our country will deal with immigration issues, we must keep this biblical perspective in mind. Are we mistreating migrant workers when we label them as criminals and deny them the means to a legal livelihood? Is it just to separate families through deportations and bureaucratic barriers?

Using dehumanizing language, walling off border communities, and separating families will create division and fear, not security. Instead, we need creative policies that support family unity, create pathways for citizenship, address the root causes of immigration, strengthen local communities, and protect workers’ rights. We need solutions built upon hope and mutual respect."

Playing Fall

We may miss fall, but this month we've had the pleasure of spending TWO weekends in Kenscoff where, complete with cold weather and pumpkin pie, we got to pretend that we weren't missing out on our favorite season.

Our friends M and E rent this great house in the mountains above the city (at almost 5,000 ft), and have generously invited us to stay there when we want to:

Two weekends ago, Ben and I went up for a night:
And met up with friends for one of the best Haitian meals we've ever had (more sauteed swiss chard and watercress, please!)
This weekend MCC gave us Friday off, so Ben, Bryan, Sharon and I headed back into the mountains for a perfect long weekend. Ben and Bryan went biking and Sharon and I went to the market and worked on a craft project. We explored Janey Wynn's magical garden. We wore jeans and long sleeves and baked bread, made pie, drank hot chocolate and watched movies and I (mostly) recovered from a week at home with dengue fever. Ah, fall.
:

Le House

p.s. We have a bed in our guestroom now...

Pending Political & Parliamentary Pandemonium?

Yesterday the Miami Herald ran the following headline: "Haiti's Prime Minister Targeted for Ouster by Lawmakers". It's ironic that it was via my google news alerts that I learned that the Haitian government may disintegrate this week (although to my credit - or discredit- I've been attending a Tear Fund seminar on advocacy and haven't bothered to turn the car radio on on the way). There is apparently a small group of senators calling for Prime Minister Michelle Pierre-Louis to resign because she "has moved too slowly to solve Haiti's problems." She has been summoned to appear before parliament this week, which is usually indicative of a no-confidence vote. that It's a tricky (or maybe calculated) time for this kind of political maneuvering with hundreds of foreign investors set to invest in the country's burgeoning textile industry and Bill Clinton touting the wonders of Haiti's tourist attractions. See Matt's note here.

p.s. Parallel to Haiti's political system, my digestive system is experiencing upheaval after I ordered lambi (conch) at the Hotel Oloffson for dinner last night. After thoroughly emptying my stomach in the middle of the night, I burned my thigh on a kerosene lamp and fell asleep on the bathroom floor. I'll leave the political analogy at that.

in the car

I spent most of the last week driving the width and breadth of Haiti and I came back with a few blurry photos, four pineapples, a huge pumpkin, tangerines, avocados, and a bag of oranges.

Martha's blog

My sister Martha has ovarian cancer and has just started a blog about what she is dealing with.

Oppression

you prey on us when we sleep
you chase after the tired, the poor, the weak
you know you mean only harm
you reach out with your long arm
but oppression
I won't let you near me...

oppression
you may have the dollar on your side
from the gospel truth you cannot hide
and oppression
I won't let you near me, oh no no
you shall learn to fear me, yes you will -Ben Harper

When we were home in August a number of people asked us about the spiritual oppression in Haiti, about vodou. Before we moved here we heard Christians say you can cross the border from the Dominican Republic into Haiti and literally feel the spiritual oppressiveness of this place. Not too long ago, I overheard a missionary telling a group of highschool students on a mission trip that the country of Haiti has actually been consecrated to Satan. This perception of Haiti, especially by people who live here, makes me really uncomfortable. I grew up in Africa and very much believe in the presence of spirits (or whatever you want to call the forces of good and evil). And while I believe that Haiti IS oppressed, I think that we too easily confuse spiritual and economic oppression. To say that the situation in Haiti is a result of some relationship that the country has with Satan (when by the way, virtually every Haitian I know considers themselves to be a Christian) lets us ignore the role that we play in keeping Haitians economically oppressed.

In the context of this discussion it’s also interesting to look a little bit at Haiti’s history. The Haitian revolution took place in 1804, a time when the development and wealth of the United States and Europe was very much dependent on slave labor. The Haitian revolution provided hope for slaves throughout the Americas, which in turn scared the poo out of plantation owners and slave masters. Because it was (and is still) rumored that the revolution was sparked by a vodou ceremony, many argue that those trying to suppress slave uprisings in the States intentionally used the word “voodoo” as a pejorative word associated with worshiping the devil and other derogatory images. In his essay, “Haiti’s Impact on the United States,” Greg Dunkel writes: “The historical context of [the word voodoo’s] introduction into US society was the uprising that began in the French colony of St. Domingue… The US, which was in large part a slavocracy, was completely shocked that the enslaved Africans of Haiti could organize themselves, rise up, smash the old order, kill their masters, and set up a new state that was able to maintain its independence. This rebellion was such a threat to the existence of the slavocracy if its example spread, and so inconceivable in a politccal framework totally saturated with racism and the denigration of people whose ancestors came from Africa, that the only explanation that they could see for enslaved people participating in it was that they were ‘deluded.’”

A Haitian activist friend of ours (a Christian) believes that vodou is a cultural tradition that stems from exclusion. Because slaves and after them, the poor majority, were excluded from church because they didn’t speak French and from access to social services because they didn’t have money, the combination of their traditional understanding of herbal medicine and African cultural backgrounds became vodou. He argues that vodou was above all a way for the majority to valorize themselves as people.

Regardless of whether or not there’s any truth to his theory, it’s actually amazing to me that so many Haitians have been able to embrace the God of their ancestor’s colonial masters. My experience here is that Haitians believe more openly and more fully than we do. We wake up every morning (or did before we moved) to the sound of hundreds of people participating in a 4 AM prayer service (whereas my own faith is admittedly not activated until about 7 AM); and knowledge that God is in control seems to underlie almost everything about Haitian culture.

I am not making the claim that vodou is never used as an oppressive force or used to exploit people. I do, however, believe that it’s no more spiritually oppressive than the worship of materialism. Before we judge the syncretism in other cultures, I think we need to look hard at the syncretism in our own. To be honest, I feel more spiritually uncomfortable in a shopping mall in North Carolina than I do when I hear vodou drums beating in the night or see a clay pot tied to a tree. I know that I’m not exempt from any kind of idolatry and I believe it’s important for me to think about the ways in which my lifestyle, built on centuries-old systems of colonialism and neocolonialism, might be an agent of oppression in other parts of the globe (and in the United States, too).