30598: Corbett (reply) Spinelli (reply) Jacmel Film Festival (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

> From Bob Corbett

Mike, I must vehemently disagree with you.  I first got involved with 
Haiti in 1983 and for more than 20 years worked in various areas of
economic development along the lines you suggest.

However, there seems to me no good reason that any one person cannot do 
more than one area of work, and that collectively people just have 
different interests and different focuses.

I would accept the principle -- do no harm.  But, things like the arts and 
many other things not concerned with basic material needs, do not seem to 
me to do any harm, but do a different sort of good.

Over the years I took more than 500 people to Haiti to do some charity 
work and to experience Haiti.  These folks were quite diverse in their own 
interests and many got excited about Haiti, but very differently.  It was 
my experience that were some one on fire with something about Haiti 
(something that I could assess as not harmful), then were I to help enable 
them, their own MOTIVATION was such they would last longer at their 
activities.

If, on the other hand, one were to push them to do various works that 
dealt with the worst poverty I think one would find that often their 
motivation would flag.  On the other hand, if I could find anything about 
Haiti that excited the people, and I could aid them in THAT area, even if 
it wasn't something I wanted to do, their own inner motivation would 
carry them on much longer.

I think just from a practical aspect, to want to limit people to just the 
things that you find important is counter-productive to the long-term good 
of Haiti itself.

Even in my own case, I was highly motivated to go to Haiti to work with 
the economic projects my organization was funding.  However, in addition 
to that I love much more about Haiti, and given my personality and
life-style, I love sitting on the veranda of the Oloffson Hotel, visiting 
with people, having a nice meal and a few drinks.  That motivated me.  At 
at times when my energies to do some of the harder stuff, it would be the 
potential to visit the Oloffson and enjoy some time that pushed me a bit 
and said, in effect, come on Corbett, it may be hot up the hills and all 
that, but you will get a few delightful days at the Oloffson as well.

I don't advocate MY LIFE STYLE on others, but that motivated me, seems to 
me to have done no harm at all, and did provide some minimal economic 
support to a business institution in Haiti that to me seems very positive.
That's just one's person's example.  It could be multiplied thousands of 
times with others.

Respectively,

Bob Corbett
Former president and director of People to People, Inc.