We were able to visit the 2010 Earthquake Memorial while we were in Haiti. It was about a mile from where we were working in Canaan. When we arrived, everyone was very quiet and taking in the experience. In the memorial is a rock that marks the middle of the area, of the bouquets placed there was one that was fresh and it really stood out to me because it showed someone had come to pay their respect recently. The earthquake may have happened seven years ago but it is still very real for the Haitian people. It made we reflect on how we look at disasters that happen outside the US, we’re very quick to post a #prayingforyou status and maybe donate some money but once the initial shock of the event is gone it is also gone from our minds. We move on with our lives, but those effected are still dealing with the loss.

Here are three of the poems translated into English:

 

But the land remains

But life remains

But remain the blood and faith of the living

Haiti will not die! We tend to

Hands full of ancestors-brothers

And we cry because we must cry,

But we write on all the fallen walls,

In the name of this resuscitated child

Of his nightmare:

Haiti will not die

Haiti must not die

 

I pledge allegiance to the rich countries and countries of the West. Today, one of the most disembodied calls me to honor him. I feel obliged to answer this call. Today, at the same time that I cry Haiti, I am deeply obsessed by its reconstruction. After the end of the spotlight and the end of international aid, what direction will Haiti take? We must begin by burying bad governance in the earthquake debris and adopting new measures to ensure development.

 

They are in the midst of a hecatomb,

their house has become their grave

no word can describe the horror of this terror show

Some of them survived more than 10 days under the rubble.

They reappeared dark;

Death, sometimes, they defeated him.