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7442: spring break trips to Haiti - dorsinville replies to jean (fwd)
From: ndorsinv <ndorsinv@hsph.harvard.edu>
hey shirley,
i admit a certain degree of bias as someone linked to the catholic group going
to haiti for spring break but i'll try to give my opinion here as a corbetter
i empathize with that feeling in the pit of your stomach, am weary of being a
white man's burden and try to be vigilant about fostering co-dependent
dynamics... donor vs. recipient syndrome... all as real and ultimately as
destructive/disempowering as the poverty they proffer to alleviate
however, i also agree with bob that the benefits to some participants are
invaluable and can be the beginning of a possibly long-standing interest in
haiti and perhaps an appreciation for the challenges to social justice in
general
for me, that gamble alone is worth the trip!
i can only speak for the catholic students' group and know that they have been
learning all they reasonably can before the trip... emilio has been teaching
them some rudimentary creole, chaplain landry and i discussed some of the key
issues they need to get a handle on haiti from a historical, socio-cultural
standpoint in order to contextualize what their modest but heartfelt
contribution has the potential to be
i should add that i was at notre dame on sunday and the haitian catholic
congregation here in cambridge is supportive and enthusiastic about their
going
in any such endeavour, there are participants who will only gain some
perfunctory benefit out of the exposure but i believe, for the most part, the
trip can serve as a palpable introduction to systemic issues that have
profound impact on people's awareness and response to the plight of others
it's important not to aggrandize the objective of these trips, nor go with a
sense of patriarchal righteousness... but this can be a symbiotic
experience...
the medical supplies notwithstanding, people at the orphanages can get a sense
of hope, of not being forgotten just by the students' presence... on the other
hand, the students can gain greater understanding of the theoretical stuff
they are learning either in law, development, policy, or even good old
christian altruism...
i guess i think of it as fundamental humanitarianism...
in the end, its better for them to go, see, smell,feel, touch/be touched than
to remain here floating in the surreal ambiance of harvard yard
think of our own experience with harvard's "revered" human rights scholar...
this can potentially be an anti-dote to some of the unidimensional stuff
taught here! kennedy school people can only benefit from some grounding
experience... at least we are now on their radar screen, when i came here and
tried to engage them they had no interest in haiti... we were a schizophrenic
case-study: the "poorest country in the hemisphere" AND a "diplomatic success"
to be relegated to the shelf!
yes, as a pedagogical approach, i endorse thoughtful attempts at applied
learning...
enjoy the break
see you at the hark... xo
nancy