Day 4: TOGETHER IN THE STRUGGLE
“A long time ago, Haiti used to be a prosperous nation in the Caribbean. A few years ago, Haiti wasn’t facing what it currently is.
This year has been full of hardship. Gas shortages. Food shortages. Corruption in the government and private sector- all of this leading to what we call “Peyi-Lok” or a “Country Shut-down”.
Streets are barricaded and roads are blocked, forcing people to stay in their homes- unable to sell or go to work, and kids can’t go to school. For me personally, it’s been really hard. There have been many days when I can’t go to work, and a lot of times the streets are too dangerous to go out. Some days I tried to leave my house but I got threatened and had to turn around, or had things thrown at me while driving my motorcycle.
What’s sad is that when you are at home, you should feel comfortable and safe. But it has turned into something else, because now when you are home you don’t feel those things, instead you feel frustrated, scared, and sad. You aren’t home because you want to be, you are home because you are forced to be by protestors and gangs.
The Peyi-Lok has really affected my spirit, and I feel like I have been traumatized by the things that I have seen, and by the fear I have felt. One time I was on my way home from work and my brother and I accidentally drove into a violent riot- where tires were burning everywhere. We were terrified by being hit by bottles or rocks that were being thrown, we drove like crazy to get out of there. I have had friends that fell victim because of the lockdown. My friend’s father was run over by a car trying to escape from a manned roadblock, I had another friend who was shot after a gang robbed him while driving his motorcycle. They both died because of the lockdown.
More people are hungry. It’s harder to get food when businesses can’t get produce delivered. It’s hard to feel safe at all now, you used to feel like you could call the police if you got into trouble, but now the police are so preoccupied by the situation- it’s like there isn’t enough to go around. Honestly, they probably couldn’t even make it to you in time because of the road situations.
So it’s a hard time in Haiti, but I will say this- Haitians stand together. People are helping each other survive- they share food, they share resources because they know others are going hungry or don’t have money because they lost their job or can’t make it to work to get paid. Haitians are resilient, it’s not the first time that we have had to face such trials as a people, and it certainly won’t be the last. But I always find that we make it through together, we always help each other through it.”
As we continue in the week of #HDCFam, we reach a core value that is especially important to us during this difficult time, being together in the struggle. Today’s essay was written by Carl Mathiew. Carl is the head of sewing on our leather team. He is also a member of our advanced english class and wrote this feature based on his personal experience of peyi lock.
While this phase has been extremely difficult, it has been a great comfort being able to pull together as a team during this time. When we can make it to work- be with community, commiserate, and do our best to support one another and encourage one another, it reminds us that we really aren’t alone in it all.
And many thanks to each of you who make this opportunity possible for us through your orders! You keep us working and give us motivation for a new day.
To further support our team members in more impactful ways, please consider being a part of HDC Fam.
