No Hope for the Youth

No Hope for the Youth

“Not having enough to eat paralyzes you and keeps you living hour by hour instead of thinking about what you would like to accomplish in a day, week, month, or year. Hunger and poverty steal your childhood and take away your innocence and sense of security.”
(From Lion, the movie, by Saroo Brierley).

It was apparent on this visit to Haiti that spending 6 years in Canada has changed my perspective. I’ve started thinking more long-term whereas I used to be in “survival mode” growing up in Haiti.  We have heard it said that “youth are the future” of any country, but in Haiti, that is a difficult concept because most youth, and adults, have one goal … to leave the country and to risk everything for the chance at a better life. They want to do more than just survive and get by one day at a time.

The biggest trend for youth in Haiti right now is to go to Chile.  Even if they don’t speak Spanish, the youth are willing to risk their lives because they believe that Chile will offer a better life than Haiti. And, most importantly, if you have the cash, you can get into the country.

During my trip, I had the opportunity to dialogue with some of the parents to get their perspective on their kids going to Chile for a better life. Most of them indicated that Haiti does not offer anything for their children; there are no jobs for students, even after many years of studies. Therefore, as parents, they want to send their kids to Chile. They believe that in Chile they can at least find food and jobs. In the book Miracle on Voodoo Mountain,  Megan Boudreaux writes, “Women long to be good parents and mothers to their children, but so often they have no way of providing for their children’s needs of food, medicine, and education. With so many problems and obstacles, their stories don’t always have happy endings.”

I asked some of the parents what their dreams were for their kids and where did they see them 10 or 20 years from now? It was heartbreaking when one of them said, “We live life in survival mode, one day at a time, and because of that we strive to feed them but not much more than that.” As a parent, my heart breaks for the kids and parents, but also for the future of Haiti.

A 19 year old girl, a neighbour, once said to my sisters, “Life would better if I was a cow or any other animal, my owner would have taken care of me.” What is there to stop young girls from prostituting themselves or to become a ‘Madan Papa’ when they are suffering that much? Absolutely nothing. ‘Madan Papa’ is a term used in Haiti for young girls who date an older man; someone who can ‘provide’ for them.

To look for food and shelter, kids in the community often frequent my family’s house just to find something to eat and also to enjoy some company where people will not yell or swear at them because they say they are hungry. It is a sad thing to observe the response of a mother to her kids when they tell her that they were hungry. The parents are hungry themselves which makes them angry when their kids tell them they are hungry.

My family’s house has become a shelter, but the worst part is that my family does not have enough to take of themselves properly. However, they still provide for others who come into their courtyard.  The needs are overwhelming, sad, and frustrating because it seems like the government does not care about the living situation in the country.

I believe a possible solution to this problem is helping Haitians start their own small businesses so they can support themselves. For example, my sister has a cake baking business/school. She has an electric mixer but electricity is so unreliable and infrequent that she often cannot meet her orders. She needs a solar panel and some batteries for her home so she can have consistent electricity. Another Haitian man I met makes beautiful, handmade sandals but has a hard time the necessary materials due to a lack of start up funds.

We are currently exploring micro-loans and co-op networks to sell Haitian goods. If you are interested in giving the Haitian people a “hand up” versus a “handout”, please contact me and we can discuss how you could help.

Bondye beniw (God bless you),

Samuel Bernard

Frenel, the Haitian sandal artisan I met

 Arielle with her mixer and baking business

A small local grocery boutique