posted by Sam Richards
This is a great video to show the complexity of economic life. When you think “economics,” consider consumption and production. People accumulate resources, manipulate them in some way, and then repackage or resell them at a higher price to someone else–produce and consume. Or they offer some service to fulfill some need of others. Economic exchange never stops–not even in an earthquake or when it appears as though an entire social structure has fallen apart.
When this in mind, check out this video about life in one of the refugee camps in which over a million Haitians now call home. (it might take a minute to load…)
I think it’s a very cool concept that these people have basically created their own new town. Today in class we saw pictures of completely destroyed capital buildings, schools, etc all with the people buried under them. I guess not all areas in Haiti are like that. It’s still bad, but my thinking is that because there was a golf course there, there is not real rubble that has to be moved. Sounds like a great spot for a tent community!
I always assumed that if there was a natural disaster, like Hurricane Katrina, in the United States, that our government would just fix it up, of course with the help of volunteers, community members and organizations. Then they would be back on their feet and that would be that. I just assumed that if there was a natural disaster in another country, one of less wealth, that it wouldn’t be that easy. As we talked about in class with Ian, there are people and organizations that go down there to help those who have lost their homes, similar to what happens here. I however, was pretty surprised by this video to see that the people of Haiti themselves, have taken the initiative to start up the economic sector in their tent communities on their own. I think it’s a wise move. It not only keeps the citizens busy, but it also allows them to somewhat return to a life that must at least somewhat resemble their life before the earthquake.
I was very surprised with the amount of business that the woman who does the hair and nail treatments get. If the people only have the amount of money on them before the earthquake, how are these 18 year old girls able to convince their parents to pay for pedicures every two weeks? That’s a crazy amount even if you have tons of money laying around. I’m a girly girl and like to be pampered myself, but I probably get a pedicure twice a year. Not twice a month. That’s crazy! But at the same time, I suppose it’s a different culture, and that’s just what they are used to. I just thought it was something interesting to think about.
Wow! A cell phone charging business? how creative! I think my favorite part of this whole tent community, is that the one guy uses his generator for showing comedies and movies. I could totally respect that. I feel like it would create a great little community, in a hard time. People use sources of media for escapism all the time. Why not in a time like this? Especially since there aren’t many sources for this kind of entertainment, I’m sure many people gather together in the tiny area and enjoy the entertainment together. Even though there is more competition than before, I’m sure they are closer with their neighbors now, compared to even before the earthquake.
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I really enjoyed the lecture today about Haiti. The first thing that really made me think was how every American knows the date of the terrorist attack that occurred on September 11th, 2001. However, many people in the class, including myself, didn’t know the exact date of when the earthquake in Haiti happened. I always knew that I was more aware of the United States’ history and own problems, but this really opened my eyes up more. This video on the tent cities is pretty cool, even though it is a shame that the Haitians now have to live this way. The new tent cities make for a complicated economy; however, it shows how hard-working and determined the Haitians are at still continuing on in life and not giving up.
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alive2livin Reply:
April 21st, 2010 at 1:44 am
I also enjoyed the lecture about Haiti that we had today. We really are very negligent of the caliber of the disaster and by comparing it to a September 11th in our country it really beings to hit home. We can see how devastating it really was for people to recover from something so terrible its almost unimaginable. I am grateful to see the resiliency and drive that these people have to continue their lives in spite of disaster. They just want things to go back to normal and even though that probably won't happen for years down the road there they are trying to make do with that they have. I am happy to see that they are continuing business and doing all that they can do to make things a little better for themselves, their families and their economy to gradually recover, slowly but surely.
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Throughout these lectures, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what patriotism meant, but my eyes did not truly open to this idea until our class today. Ian asked everyone how many people died in the World Trade Center attack and what year it occurred and of course everyone knew both of those answers, but then he switched subjects quickly and asked, “When did the earthquake occur?” In my head I asked myself, “What earthquake? Katrina?” Not only is Katrina not an earthquake, but all that ran through my head after that question were events that happened in American history, not one of the most significant natural disasters recorded yet. As soon as someone said something about Haiti I actually felt embarrassed by my thoughts, even though I was the only one to hear them.
One thing I was thinking about today was how fortunate (or perhaps unfortunate) we are to be able to go through our daily lives and not be affected by this one bit. I came to class today with an open mind about what was going on in Haiti in the hopes that I would be able to understand the situation better, but it was very hard. I feel like I can’t completely understand it because I have never been to Haiti and have never been in a situation anywhere close to this. What did bring the issue closer to me, however, was putting us into the hypothetical situation where an earthquake or other natural disaster hit Penn State.
One topic that emphasized the idea of constantly seeing through a lense was how we think and deal with natural disasters. For me it is easy to think hey, why isn’t anyone just getting all this rubble out of the way and rebuilding? The people in Haiti do not even have a stable government, let alone an organized infrastructure capable of dealing with the damage. If I were in that situation, I would probably be running around like a crazy person with a bunch of other crazy people who would have no idea what to do without the guidance of a government or other strong leader, I would definitely not be having practice, though.
This is not true in Haiti, however. While I know most Haitians are living in the worst conditions imaginable, they are still able to perform basic functions of business and entertainment. An image in class that really stuck with me was the picture of the women having choir practice outside of a church shattered to pieces in front of them. To me, that is so impressive that they do their best to make the most out of this dire situation and strive to overcome these incredible challenges. I greatly admire the hope and faith of the Haitian people.
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That truly is amazing. People are so resilient even in the toughest times of their lives and they continue to thrive and make do with what they have, even if they have lost everything or almost anything. The lecture in class today about Haiti really hit home for me. I guess I had become one of those people who had let the knowledge of yet another natural disaster effect me for a few days and then moved on with my life because forgetting about it is much easier to do than to actually get up and do something. Yeah I contributed money and prayed for the victims, but I didn't really think about all of the people who died and were injured and lost someone in that earthquake. I feel like the lecture today helped me to see how sad the situation there is. There are so many people who don't have anything but the knowledge that they survived the earthquake and some of their families, friends, relatives, coworkers all could have perished in that disaster and they were lucky enough to survive. All of the pictures of the people who were standing on piles of rubble, looking at their world now and how it once had been was truly eye opening. I cannot possibly imagine the pain and the hurt of the people who lived there who barely caught a break before their world was destroyed yet again. In that situation however I would be doing the same thing that all of these people have been doing and that is making the best of it. I can't say that I know what its like to go through that but I can say that I empathize with the people who are just doing whatever they can whether that be making a beauty salon or charging cell phones.
It depresses me to think about the things that we talked about in class about the fact that many of the NGO's are just making a big problem bigger by hurting the economy. I never thought of it that way. I just assumed that by handing out rice and water and other necessities to the people there was the best we could do. I never took the standpoint of it hurting their economic status. I understand now that what we need to do down there is more intensive than just funneling money to ourselves and organizations that send things. I know that being a poor college student I can't really afford to do much because just going down there and helping would be over my budget. All I can hope for is that other people who are pretty well set and have extra time on their hands would consider doing more for the people and at least maybe give a little time to help these people. It just is the right thing to do. People were talking in class today about why they should care about these people and what happening and Sam is right. The whole, do unto the least of these is what you would have done unto me thing comes right back in our faces. would we not want other countries to help us in our times of need? Of course we would, so why would we not care about something terrible that has happened to another country… especially one that is right outside of our boarders. Its amazing how ignorant people can be even if the problem is pushed right in their faces. Yes we have our own problems but what about these poor people living in tents… for possibly years? Who is going to stand up for them?
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It’s incredible what Haitians are doing in devastation only months after the Earthquake. They’ve made somewhat of an economy out of a tent city, something that resembles the ghettos during the Holocaust. I think we underestimate the power of human beings even in times of desperation. Today when Ian came in to talk to us about the real problem in Haiti things really made sense. The United States can’t be the “world’s policemen” forever. We can’t save an entire country by mere handouts. We need to help them jump start their economy by providing projects and businesses they can work with so one day they can be self sustaining.
It is pretty ironic that the first clip in the newscast was a beauty salon. However, don’t we all have the same basic needs and desires? Women all want to feel beautiful even in times of struggle. I remember hearing stories just like that about the Holocaust when growing up. These things that we obviously now take for granted were mere wishes for people like the Haitian survivors and now they can make those wishes of beauty come true. The man who sells movies and comedy skits to other Haitians for a mere 30 cents seems remarkable. Remarkable because he has the frame of mind to think of something so unique and so creative to pick the Haitian children up psychologically even if it is for a minute or two. The economics of Haiti’s tent run economy are truly interesting as it delves into a world of suffering but survival by any means necessary. I’m talking about economic survival of course and not immediate life threatening survival.
Sometimes the resilience that other people have around the world makes life that much more special and a lot of people don’t realize that. Americans ignorantly and blissfully a lot of times think that we are helping countries like Haiti but no were aren’t really helping them. Yes politically we are helping ourselves and Haitians in the very short term. Actually, we are really hurting them in the long run. We are giving them the tools to survive but not the tools to sustain. Sustaining a nation and surviving are obviously two different things. The worst part about this whole process is the money goes back to the United States. Who would have thought? If we truly want to help third world countries we need to stop making them third world countries! We need to help them pick themselves back up by giving them the “opportunity” to succeed instead of just the mere tools for survival. When you look outside the box it makes us look better in the eyes of the world too. This is because very few people know that the money funnels right back to us and we are framed to think we are helping countries that can’t help themselves. This isn’t true and only seems apparent because we don’t provide them with the tools to succeed.
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This video was pretty interesting. It is amazing to see that the Haitians, after such a devastating event, look so calm and collected. I am sure that they are very much upset about the destruction of their country, but they are still trying their hardest to make the best out of the situation. People were developing these strategic techniques for making money. One of the strategies that really caught my attention was the women who cleared up a small space in her tent to give manicures and pedicures. It was interesting to hear that women would go and get these services done because of their lack of shoes there feet would be in really bad condition. Although at first this might seem like a luxury these people have so much time with absolutely nothing to do. They need some form of entertainment whether it be actually working or watching comedy videos or getting their nails done its something to keep their minds off the tragic reality around them. I think that it is a great idea that these small entrepreneurs are doing a great thing, not only for their economy but also for the children. As the man in the video said, these children need something to do there is no need for these children to think more about what is going on and what better way to do that then to make these children laugh.
Today's lecture had a lot to do with this video, in fact it allowed me to visualize Ian's opinion on the importance of entrepreneurship. His speech made me realize that although it is very important that we, we as a very rich country, should try and give as much food, money, and clothing as we can however we should also help them develop a new strong economy. After all how can people learn or understand the importance of working for the things you want or need if it is always given to them. Sometimes in life when you continue giving some one a hand they are going to want your arm.Of course this situation is a little different they cant start off anything if they do not have some kind of ground to stand on.
I am glad to see that , although Haiti is at an all time low, they still have their heads up. I think that if such a tragedy with the massive amount of deaths that occurred, were to happen in the US it would be complete chaos here. However in Haiti, merely days later people were trying to make money by going through garbage and finding anything they could sell in order to feed their families. This is very sad to hear and watch but at the same time it makes me realize how easy I have it and how much I need to start appreciating the things I have and the opportunities available to me. Of the many inspiring lectures this one was probably one of the most inspiring and motivating lectures all year.
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I was amazed to see how well the tent city was running. Obviously it could be improved and people are still not doing well, but for the magnitude of the earthquake and how much it destroyed, I was very happy to see that some things could be salvaged enough to start new little businesses. I think more of this needs to happen to get the town running again (which won’t be any time soon), like Ian and Sam said in class yesterday. Instead of people and nonprofits just going and handing out water and rice and goods, the Haitians need to use whatever resources they have and sell things themselves.
I knew that whatever electricity Haiti still had was gone after the earthquake, at least I assumed it was so in most parts of the country, but I hadn’t even thought of the fact that Haitians had cell phones they couldn’t charge anymore. I think that’s a great idea for a business – to use a generator to charge people’s phones for a small fee. The nail salon was very endearing to me. The two teenage girls getting pedicures kind of hit a soft spot for me, since I can obviously relate age-wise. The fact that they were still wearing cute clothes and were laughing and giggling like normal teen girls, in the midst of a complete disaster, amazed me. And, they were getting pedicures only to step down and walk right back out onto the dirt and dust.
It breaks my heart to know that Haitians will mostly likely live in tents like this for years to come, but it is heartening to see that they really are doing their best to fend for themselves and grow economically. It’s going to be a snail-paced growth, but it’s something. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, I remember thousands of people took shelter in the Superdome stadium. Although obviously there are many, many more homeless victims in Haiti, I just feel that in America, or any very developed country, we’d provide the quick fix – just giving everyone shelter. But then what? I don’t know much about Katrina (partly because no one talks about it anymore), but I’m pretty sure there’s still a LOT to be fixed and rebuilt, and a lot of people are still homeless. I think it’s really valiant that the people in Haiti are fending for themselves and not waiting for someone to swoop in and try to make everything better.
As we talked about in class, though, certain nonprofits have the wrong idea, and could possibly be halting development. You can’t just go hand out goods to people, because then the little “Uni-Mart” type grocery stores are out of business. Not to mention that eventually resources will run out if people are just taking as much as they can get. A very simple solution is for a nonprofit to go and help start a new business, hiring a bunch of Haitians. The resources should come from Haiti as much as possible, and more Haitians would have jobs and stimulate the economy that much more. It’s going to be a slow process no matter what. As much as seeing that video hit hard and was sad, I still can’t believe the morale these people have. They just lost EVERYTHING (or at least 98% of everything they had) and they probably lost a lot of people close to them. Seeing them smile really says something about them…I just can’t imagine the same situation in America.
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This video starts extremely interest with the chants and singing. This shows the culture of Haiti to be one in which people are extremely high spirited. I am not sure if there would be chants here if an earthquake struck New York City. I like to compare Haiti and the population to New York City. Both are roughly the same in size with about 8-9 million residents. If this earthquake was in New York City the coverage would be dramatic. The United States would cease all operation for weeks. Classes would not be in session for at least a week. The news to this day over 3 month later would be only covering this earthquake. The story reported is extremely interesting about the economic culture in Haiti. I always assume the 6000 organizations were doing a great deed towards the Haitian community by giving them free food and bringing them water. I would have never thought this is promoting a society full of beggars. It is great that people need to start becoming entrepreneurs such as the lady who do cosmetics for half the price she originally started with. The only way to make a living is to sell their service now, which is great. Before the earthquake most people lived without electricity. Many people bought generators to help charge cell phones. They also started movie businesses with a TV. The abundance of time is what all children have so the key is the business. This was interesting because the people were so optimistic even though many Haitians will be living in tents for years. This is when it hit me I really need to go to Haiti.
Overall Ian really inspired me to go to Haiti to help out with the entrepreneurs. I am generally a philanthropic person and help when I can. I am a hard worker and focus on school with hopes of working on Wall Street. I also like to have a great time on the weekend. Since Ian has spoke to our class yesterday I can’t stop thinking how much I want to go to Haiti. I am so excited to go. I haven’t even confirmed to go. I just messaged Sam but I already can’t wait to go. I so excited already it is going to be great. Words can’t explain how excited to go. Yesterday after class I had a professional development with Price Waterhouse Coopers a large accounting firm. They speakers were discuss the new program initiatives which allow workers to work in other parts of the world for the company. All I was thinking about this whole time was to be able to think about was how much I suddenly wanted to go to Haiti.
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What the citizens of Haiti have been able to accomplish thus far is remarkable. Already they are starting up small businesses in the midst of tent villages. And this is only 10 weeks after an extremely devastating natural disaster. Whats really incredible is that not only are these businesses selling the necessities (food, clothes, water, etc.) but they are also providing what some would consider to be luxuries. These include nail salons and television entertainment. Not only this, but these entrepreneurial endeavors are taking place in a competitive environment. Which means that many other people are also providing goods and services to the surrounding population. This situation is simply a testament to the resilience of Haitian citizens in the midst of disparity. If a natural disaster of the scale with which they experienced occurred in the United States, people would not be able to recover as quickly. It would be one thing for a disaster to just hit a major U.S. city. People would be able to simply evacuate to surrounding areas, or go stay with family members or friends who live elsewhere in the U.S. With Haiti however, it was basically their entire country that was devastated. If a disaster were to destroy all the U.S. infrastructure nation wide, it would be almost inconceivable to think what people would do. The citizens of Haiti have some experience with debilitating natural disasters and political unrest from their past. The vast majority of Americans have not had to deal with severe natural disasters at any point in their lives. Certainly nothing which affected every single American directly. A case in which almost every American loses their home and almost all their possessions. Our government is woefully under prepared for such an event. Granted it would take an extreme act of man or nature to cause this scenario, even a state wide disaster can show our inability to adjust. In a disaster such as hurricane Katrina, the system our government had in place for evacuating and maintaining the safety of the regions' citizens was poor at best and criminal at worst. The United States just does not have the man power or leadership in its emergency response programs to deal with large scale disasters. For the population of Haiti the situation is even worse. There is basically no government based plan in place to deal with major natural disasters. The people are basically on their own until a system can be reestablished with which to rebuild the nation. However, reconstruction will take place in the years to come. This system begins with small steps, and the Haitian people are already taking those initial actions towards recovery. By setting up small businesses, a stable economy can eventually take root and spread to larger industries. This process is absolutely essential for the long term welfare of the citizens of Haiti.
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I really enjoyed the lecture on Haiti. It really informed me more on what was going on there. I thought it was really surprising when everyone knows the exact date of September 11th, and no one knew very much about this devastating earthquake that happened in Haiti. It’s like they said, you hear about it on the news and then the next week you hear about something else. But everything in Haiti is still in shambles, even though the news has moved on. I think these tent cities are fascinating. It’s great that they are building their own little business and helping other Haitians out in these hard times. It is sad that they have to live like this, but it is good to see they are trying to make something out of it.
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I think that the tragedy in Haiti is extremely saddening. Every time I think of this I wonder how in the hell that whole country will ever be able to be a stable country. It is sad that the whole nation came into shambles like that and rebuilding will probably take years. It’s interesting how people are still trying to have a business and outdo others when they basically have nothing. I guess people are just trying to survive and move on with life as much as they can. Life has to go on, they have to continue living, and making a business out of anything with any means necessary.
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Yesterday’s lecture really opened my eyes to the reality in Haiti. When I first heard about the earthquake I remember thinking to myself that a natural disaster like this was the last thing that Haiti needed. I was aware of the extreme poverty left after colonization and slavery and could not imagine how Haiti would cope with such an event. I desperately wondered what could even be done to help the situation. Like someone in class mentioned, I too thought that without some skill set it would be impossible to make a difference in Haiti. I was very surprised upon returning from Christmas break to start the spring semester, that in all of my classes not one teacher even mentioned the earthquake in Haiti but Sam. I remember that in grade school after September 11 happened, we talked about it for weeks and weeks and even had assemblies in our gymnasium that honored America. A hundred times more people died in the earthquake in Haiti and it seems that, as a whole, we have already forgotten about it. Coverage on Haiti is no longer on the news and then once the earthquake happened in Chile, the tragedy in Haiti seemed to disappear altogether. We can’t expect any alleviation of disaster by ignoring the fact that it happened.
I think this video goes hand in hand with the story Ian told about the man burning wood to make coal for his family. Everything he has ever known has just been destroyed but he is content to have a piece of wood. The people living in the tent city have started to take care of themselves and one another even though they are living under tarps surrounded by rubble. Even more amazing was the picture that Ian showed of the choir practice happening in a completely destroyed church. The Haitians have showed that they are not going to let go of what is important to them, even living among sickness, destruction, and death.
I’m glad that NGOs are helping to sustain the people in Haiti, but what Ian talked about really gave me a new perspective on the economical side of the issue. I thought that giving them necessities was the best possible solution, but really it is undermining their ability to rebuild the economy. I’m happy that people like Ian and Sam have figured out ways that can really give Haiti a fighting chance to rebuild their country because it seems like if we (as the United States) deal with Haiti as we have tried to aid global disasters in the past, then the people of Haiti will live in these tent cities for a very long time. So many global problems could be helped if we could just get to their root.
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I think that this is pretty awesome. I was really thinking to myself especially with the last thing I posted on the 300,000 people dying how, everything starts back up. It is cool even though everyone is in tents they are still starting their own business in selling clothes and what not, it is even cooler then that the people that used to have businesses like salons and stuff are getting as much as they can together and getting it started again. I guess this is the first step to get the economy rolling. The funny thing is everyone seems content and happy, i guess they are over the fact there is nothing else they can do.
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I am thoroughly impressed with the Haitians living in tent cities. For some reason, it never occurred to me that, even if you live in a tent city, you adapt to establish and incorporate some form of economy. I guess that because of what Ian said about the Hand-out mentality perpetuated by non-profit organizations in Haiti right now, I just didn't think that people were thinking about, none the less implementing, businesses. And, yet, here are Haitians, setting up small businesses, not only for essential things like food, water, and clothing, but for things like electronics and beauty salons! I'm very happy to see the resilient spirits of the Haitian people rising from the devastation- especially after seeing the pictures of Haiti that Ian took on his trip there. I'm glad to see them taking steps to rebound after such a tragedy.
I think, though, that I'm most impressed by the initiative that the Haitian people living in the tent communities have shown. For example, in America, after Hurricane Katrina hit, it seemed that most people expected the government to take the initiative toward healing the community, and, most of all, the area's economy. They were expected to set up or designate areas for people to live and somehow rejuvenate the local economy in the process. Maybe it's because the Haitian government is seemingly non-existent right now, but the people in Haiti don't seem to be waiting around for the government to come to their aid at all. They're setting up their own businesses to make money, and even implementing business practices to make themselves more competitive in the market.
Like many of the other posters, I was veeeerrrry surprised with the amount of business that the non-essential businesses are getting.
I guess that even a natural disaster can't stop people from desiring luxuries. For example, the woman who does the hair and nail treatments? Wow! Personally, I wouldn't have thought to open a salon simply because I'd assume that after such a devastating disaster like the Haitian earthquake, people wouldn't be willing to set aside money in order to pay for such services. Instead, people are desiring things such as pedicures more than ever. I was especially surprised that the 18 year old girls were getting pedicures every two weeks. I just can't see myself paying for non-essential things like that while I was living in a tent.
Second, I was impressed with the innovative ideas that people in Haiti are coming up with as concepts for small businesses. The man with the phone charging business is a genius! I guess it never occurred to me that people would still be fretting about their cell phones after a natural disaster, but they do! I thought it was very creative, and a very practical way to make money.
Bottom line? Very impressed. Very, very impressed.
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I really enjoyed the lecture on Haiti and I found this video clip really eye opening. I feel so blinded and oblivious to everything going on in the world because of course I am busy with myself. The pictures that were shown in class and the rows and rows of tents seen in the video really blew me away. The fact that these people can just create something completely new, a new town, a new way of life, is truly resilient. I mean these people have a new “tent town” on an old golf course. Everything in their life was taken from them, everything. They though are still able to create a small nail salon and an entertainment business. I mean after everything these people have been through they really have nothing left to lose. They are just trying to make a living. These children have no school, these people have no businesses, rubble is everywhere, and your government is destroyed. What really hurt me was in the video when they said that these people would probably live in these tent towns for years to come. Years. Years of these people’s lives were destroyed because of one thing. Imagining hoping for the day when things could be as they were. These Haitian people did not fret. They know what has happened and have decided to deal with it and continue to live as normal as they can. My sister is traveling to Haiti next week and I am nervous and excited for her. I feel as if it will be a trip that will forever change your life. I feel like it is one place where you can never see as much pain, hurt, devastation, resilience, hope, and worship in one place. There is so much I want to do to help, but as said in class, there is only so much one can do. There economy is in dire need of reconstruction and I only wish these companies helping out, would contribute to that in order to get these people on their feet rather than other things. I just wish more people in America would take a look into what is really happening in Haiti. Everyone just sees it as a disaster and moves on, but no one every just even takes time to realize what these people are going through. I feel like just trying to understand it is something no one here does. I just keep imaging something like this happening in my home, or here in state college, and I cry because I would feel so lost. I cannot imagine what these people are going through. I pray for them and hope that I can do something to contribute.
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It's really crazy to see how Haitians are now living life after the devastating quake, 3 months later. From my little understanding of how economically depressed Haiti was before the quake, it doesn't seem that their people are living in conditions that are much different. I feel as if the main difference between Haiti pre-quake and the Haiti post-quake is now, there is a greater lack of direction, of any sort. With almost all infrastructure collapsing, any structure surrounding routines and organization within the nation collapsed at the same time. From this video, what I find most shocking of all, is the fact that the people of Haiti are coming to terms about how their life has changed, and actually are coping with it. The tent cities are becoming locations where economic development has started to spur. I was in disbelief to see how the one woman recovered some of her spa equipment and is now running her old business right out of her tent- and has real customers that are supporting her! In the midst of all the disaster, devastation, and destruction, to see Haitian women getting pedicures is really telling that these people are truly resilient. If the earthquake in Haiti instead happened in America, people would be spending the little money they had to rebuild their home s and reconstruct their lives to regain a sense of normality and probably not spending it on spa treatments. People are trying to earn a living my offering basic services, that might have been taken for granted before the quake struck. For example, the video showed the one man charging a small fee for a cell phone for charging, or to watch a movie. People spend their days to dig up valuables that are buried in the earthquake ruins, try to salvage whatever they can in order to find a way to profit off of it in the tent camp. Because people are living without so many of the staple necessities they had before, it seems like the tent cities are communities in which everyone is willing to help and share with each other, while simultaneously trying to conduct business.
I do give a lot of credit to these people, and admire them for trying to make the best out of the absolute worst that has happened to them. I really do think this is the beginning of a promising future for Haiti. Although there is much work to be done there, building a sense of community and economic stability is the start of a bright future. It’s enlightening to think that while their buildings and homes collapsed and hundreds of thousands of lives were lost, the Haitian entrepreneurial spirit never died.
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Haiti is trying to recover from a horrible earthquake. I think this cool, that Haiti people are not down and still rejoicing. That tells you a lot. A huge disaster hit and life is tough, but they still have a good time. I think the best way we could Haiti is to start small projects and then move to larger ones. For small projects we would help clean shops and help people to get back on their feet. We would try to start to have shops open to get people jobs. Once that is done we would move to government. Help clean and rebuild buildings. Sam is right where would they move the waste, they is no space for that stuff. That's why I think we should start with small shops to move the trash to a place to dump it at. Once that place is found, we should just move all the stuff there to get Nations attention to help Haiti will waste and help rebuild their buildings. Yes, it would be tough to move stuff around, because they is no dozier to move the waste or trash. So I think everyone would need to help in and pinch in will all the stuff. If everyone would help, the job would get done a lot faster and Haiti would start to regain hope back. Think if one large group of helpers would come to help Haiti would be great, but image a construction crew comes down and starts to rebuild the buildings. That would be crazy and awesome. That would be the best thing for Haiti. Once the society comes together and jobs start to open, life would be easier for them. Giving them food is good, but not good enough, because then they will just rely on you for the food. They wouldn't work cause they know they are getting food. Once we stop giving them food, they will have tons of problems. So rebuilding buildings is the best bet to help them, while that's going on. Countries should say if you want food you need to help rebuild. The work would get done faster and Haiti would recover faster. The society is huge for any country. Cause people need to get jobs and money in order for food, water, and supplies. A healthy community is huge for people to live a good life. Everyone wouldn't be scared of not having enough food and money wouldn't be an issue for them. People can start to live their whole lives over again and become successful. I think that's the best bet for Haiti. Food and water is important but getting the society back on it's feet and having people get jobs is huge for Haiti.
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After watching this video, I really admire the Haiti people’s optimistic spirits. The earthquake that happened in Haiti was considered one of the most disastrous natural disasters in history. With that being said, it is surprising how fast the Haiti people were able to rebuild their society only a while after this disaster. Although this new society might not be like before because it’s now tent-cities, I still admire their spirit of not being defeated by something outside of their control. I admire that they were able to get back on their feet only a few months after the earthquake. In some more developed countries whenever a natural disaster occurs, usually the government and charitable organizations will immediately send help over to the area. They help out by sending economic aids and emotional supports to the victims to help them go through the difficult times. After watching this video, I think in this country, some of us take these aids from the government and charitable organizations for granted, like in Haiti, the victims did not seem to expect anything from the government. I think we are fortunate to live in this country where we know if anything were to happen there will be the government and charities supporting us and helping us through. In this video, these Haiti citizens built their own society with tents and rely on each other for support both economically and emotionally. In the lecture today, I learned that after the earthquake, a lot of buildings including churches and schools collapsed, and a lot of people were killed or buried in those collapsed buildings. I can’t imagine being in a situation where everything have or close to you like your house, your business and even your family members and friends have been destroyed or buried and now there’s nothing left but a pile of rocks and you have to start over from scratch with whatever you have left. The pictures from today’s lecture give me an image that like something came and wiped the entire part of Haiti and now everyone has to start over. I can’t imagine continuing to live on after what happened. I think it takes a lot of courage to start over again when you are so used to having what you used to have. From the video I see that the Haiti people thye interviewed are all optimistic about the future, they show no signs of feeling defeated. They are still trying really hard to continue to live on normally in their tent-cities. Instead of feeling defeated and just give up on life, they decided to become entrepreneurs and start their own business. I especially like the man who used the generator as a cell phone charger and TV entertainment for the kids. I would’ve never thought to do that! The optimistic spirits of the Haiti people in this video helped me see that there’s always a bright side to everything. It makes me sad to hear at the end of the video that they might have to go on living in these tents for the next few years!
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The first thought I get from the topic of Haiti is suffering people. I automatically think of building rumble, dead bodies, and donating money. From the videos of what Haiti was like when it first happen, had a lasting effect on what I thought Haiti was going through. Honestly, I feel like people are slowly starting to forget about what happen to Haiti and donating to this cause. People aren’t as enthusiastic to donate their own money, but that’s what I have been seeing. I’m sure many people are still donating, but not as much anything. It is kind of like how Katrina victims were helped in the beginning but left to help themselves in the end.
Now that I see how Haiti is evolving into tent cities, I find it amazing how these people cope with what they have. I found it interesting that some people went without electricity before the earthquake, yet found ways to obtain it now after the earthquake. I also found it interesting that many people have services like beauty shops, cell phone charging, and movie businesses. It seems like it is beginning to thrive.
You would think if you didn’t have much, you wouldn’t waste your money to get a pedicure. These women get a pedicure more than I do in America. I can understand that the roads are dusty, but really? I’m sure everyone is looking for things to sell and make some money. I guess they have the idea correct about how to restart their economy in tents. The sad part is that they will continue to live in tents for years upon years since things are moving slow.
I also like the idea of the recharging cell phones. I find it hilarious. I wonder where they can find a place that involves them getting cell phone service. I mean, they can’t just go to an AT&T and ask to get phone service. I know it is very expensive to get cell phones in foreign countries, I can’t imagine this at all.
I am happy that the Haitians are finding ways to make money and still live. These people have suffered a great amount, yet they still sing and pray together. It brings hope to other countries or cities that face disaster. I hope Haiti will one day become as economically stable as they were before, even more so. What touched me the most was how these business people weren’t all about profiting, they were about helping each other too. They didn’t make it impossible to buy services and products and they worried about each other more so than Americans would do. I feel like sometimes people from the US forget how to show compassion towards one another. We forget that its not all about money in the end when there is great suffering. People didn’t become united until 9/11, for example. People bought American flags and propaganda after that event. Its sad that sometimes we need a great disaster to bring us together.
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This video was very interesting to me because it was not what I expected to see. The Haitians created an innovative town in their time of despair. It’s amazing that they appear to be content with their situation and they seem to be making the best of what they have. After only three months, they are holding each other together with their limited resources. I never would have thought about the businesses they set up. They had businesses that you would see in the United States such as a salon and a place to view movies, but a cell phone charging station was a new concept to me. Charging my cell phone is something that I take for granted because it is easy, convenient, and free for me to do. I never have to worry about having power to charge it.
I was very surprised that the salon was actually getting business. Even in the United States some people think of getting their nails done as a luxury and prefer to do it themselves for free. It’s interesting that people who were left with only the money they had in their pockets at the time of the earthquake will still pay for a pedicure. It seems like it is a way to escape, just like the purpose of the movie “theaters” set up there. The women can still take time for themselves and feel beautiful even though they were left with almost nothing.
I especially thought that showing movies was a great idea. Each movie provides about two hours of time to escape for them, especially the children who really need an outlet in their current situation. They can be preoccupied with the stories instead of what is happening in their tent city. In turn, it is also a good business for the people who are running it.
Also, I enjoyed the lecture in class today about Haiti. I have not heard as much about it lately, either in the media or just in general and it is important to be reminded about it. It was good to see pictures directly from someone who has actually been there and seen the devastation first-hand. The answer given to the question “why should I care” especially made me think. I can’t imagine what I would feel like while driving by the ashes of 300,000 people. I also thought that the fact that 100 times more people died in the earthquake in Haiti compared to September 11th was incredible. Since September 11th was one of the greatest tragedies in the United State’s history, many people that live here have most likely never compared the extent of the two tragedies in that way. It is a very eye-opening fact.
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This video just goes to show that even in the devastation and poverty that these people are facing, they can come together. It's crazy to think that people in Haiti are just living in those tents, and will probably be living in them for years and years to come. Building Haiti back up is going to be a very long process, but even in the horrific conditions, at least in the video they seem to be in pretty good spirits (given their circumstance of course.) After the lecture on Tuesday, I was trying to think about how Americans would be acting if something like this (300,000 people dying) happened in our country. It's so scary to think about. The lecture on Tuesday and this video has really opened my eyes. I also just want to add that I thought it was nice to hear that we, as students, CAN help in some way. I know after the earthquake, the word was that only doctors etc could help. But the lecture gave some really good insight on what would help their economy and the country and what would not.
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I think this video ties greatly to the lecture that we had Tuesday. The majority of Ian’s points revolved around that fact that all the non-profit organizations are only delaying the economic revival that Haiti desperately needs. All of the handouts are just causing the people to become beggars.
This video really just the shows how resilient the human race is. Here these people have lost everything, and are living in tents for who knows how long? The human spirit is still something that amazes me every time I see a video or read on story about people pulling themselves out of tragedy. Seeing what these people have made for themselves out of absolutely nothing is nothing short of an inspiration. It also represents how eager they are to make the best of the situation that they are living in. The people in the tent cities have created a mini metropolis. This if anything shows that they are independent people that are doing everything they can to make do. Granted these small businesses can only go so far. Haiti has a long road ahead before they even get back to where they were before the earthquake. This country will need help with simply removing the ruble because they do not have the means/tools necessary to get it out of the way to make room for re-growth.
After watching this video I was thinking about the time it has taken the US to rebuild New Orleans and to try to get it back to where it was before Katrina. That has taken years so I cannot even imagine just how long this is going to take Haiti. Thinking about it even further New Orleans was only one city in the United States. The entire nation of Haiti is devastated. The infrastructure that runs that country is demolished. I honestly cannot even imagine if the entire US was hit with a natural disaster. Granted our nation is significantly larger, so for something like that to happen would be nearly impossible. But still I could not even imagine.
In the nation we live in we have the mentality that we can fix anything and can pull our selves up out of any disaster. However, most of us have never and never will have to come close to the situation that these people are living day in an out for many more years. I also think that the way we live in this country and what we expect out of daily life, we as people would not be able to endure what the Haitians are dealing with. The simple pleasure of electricity and a small TV would not come close to satisfying our needs as individuals because of the way we have lives our lives for so long. Americans, we say that we are tough but I think that when put in the same situation that Haitians and other people around that world would thrive over us. This goes back to that old saying until you walk/live in someone else’s shoes you cannot judge him or her. The Haitians deserve all the help that they need in rebuilding their country, but with that help individuals and nations need to remain humble with the constant reminder that we will never understand what exactly they are all going through. The world is here to aide Haiti, and not here for personal gratification.
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I think this video really goes back to what I was saying in my other blog response that life moves on despite what sort of devastation happens. It is even better to see that the people who were affected by the devastation and found a way to move on from what happened and to try to rebuild their lives.
You cannot help but feel bad for the fact that their economy is worse than ours, but they seem to be making do with what they can. Of course, as we learned in class, that is fine up until foreign aid puts them out of business in other areas. I think when Haiti finally gets back on their two feet that they will be able to get back into the business they once flourished in.
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Wow! What an interesting story! I had no idea this type of market was going on in Haiti after the earthquake. It is amazing that these individuals who have been through so much, are taking advantage and using their economic smarts to try to move forward with their lives and make money. It was interesting to see the different types of businesses that are going on, and interesting to see that the individuals who used to be doctors or teachers, are now compensating and doing something completely different in order to survive after the destruction. I would love to see more coverage on this!
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This just goes to show us how strong a country can be if they come together. Its amazing how they created these little cities and legitimate businesses out of tents. Still Haiti is far from an economic rehabilitation and transformation. Like this video says the only way for these people to make a living is by selling things, most if not all of them do not have legitimate jobs. Like the guest speaker said in class we cant just be giving away things thats not going to help Haiti in the long run. We need to help create jobs to secure the economic stability in this country.
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That is really awesome how resilient these people are and how they have pulled together and made a community that they can survive and thrive in. Its so cool that many of the people can be optimistic even though at the end of the video the man said that these people may be living in tents for years to come. It also shows strong work ethic and family values because of the families pulling together, like in the salons. Even in these situations people want to go on with the lives that they lived before and the simple pleasures that they used to have. I think it is important for them to do this because it shows that they will not give up and even in disaster they can make the best out of the situations they are in.
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This was a really cool video to watch… I had no idea what was going on in the day to day lives of Haitians today so it was good to see a glimpse of that through this videos. It's incredible how resilient these people are. If a similar situation happened in America, I don't think you would see the same resilience. It's incredible that just a couple months after a life shattering earthquake they seem hopeful, have established makeshift cities and businesses, and are carrying on with life using what little they have. It's surprising that businesses like salons can still have any customers there! You'd think that people would not want to be spending their money on luxury services like manicures and pedicures, but it is great that they are because that at least gives some boost to the economy. If everyone was being stingy with their money, there 'd be no way up. But as well as they seem to be holding things together for now given the circumstances, I wonder how long that can last? The video said these people may be living in their tents for years?! At some point, everyone is going to be running their own business out of their tents, the competition will be even worse, and all the money is just going to be circulating within each tent "neighborhood"… I'm not really sure how long that kind of system can go on, but hopefully schools will be re-established soon enough and government jobs can be up and running again.
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I never met anyone from Haiti but they seem like some dope people. Every time someone cracked a smile in this video I felt the power of it. Also in Tuesday’s lecture the story about the man who was happy because god gave him a tree. I wish I lived in a society that thought like this. To be honest, I’m not completely like that but I feel like I could conform very quickly. The fact that they can find happiness in whatever small things they can, is amazing. I really wish I could spend a month over my summer helping people get back on their feet because they seem like they totally deserve some help.
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marg33 Reply:
April 22nd, 2010 at 11:31 pm
I completely agree with this response. I feel that people in Haiti have been hit the hardest. I never knew how many people died or any of that. I agree that when anyone smiled or looked hopeful it really made me inspired that even though they have been through the worst times ever and going through this disaster. I also wish I could see someone in the US that would be happy to receive a tree I don’t think I would ever be able to witness that here. I wish that people would be able to be happy here with having the small things in life matter over the huge things like money being the most important powerful resource.
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My heart goes out to any one who is living or visiting Haiti at this moment because I can not imagine how life would be when it has been taken away in an instance. The Haitian people show true courage and are doing whatever it takes to live a fulfilling life and that is very admirable. i hope to visit Haiti in the future and contribute to as much as I possibly can (of course with a lot of research done about the country before I do)
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It is not that I forgot about Haiti but because I have been consumed with so many other obligations I put Haiti on the end of my priority. I say this because when the earthquake happened in Haiti I was very adamant about giving to them but now that has very much dwindled down. After this class I realized that I have been slacking and that because I cannot be there physical in any way I can help I need to continue to do so. I know my friends and I have put this situation on the backburner and this class was an unfortunate but yet much needed reminder.
It is nice to see that the Haitians have found a way to make do with what is available to them. Although their accomplishments may not seem as a great deal, they have achieved a way to gain their basic necessities to stay alive. They have also been able to bring back some type of life back to their community. They are keeping themselves busy and although there is more competition with their small businesses the need for these businesses are very different than before. With so much idle time on their hands they need something to do so that they will not go insane. Also now that there are no schools available for the children the people have to find ways for them to keep them occupied. Keeping the children occupied helps them stay out of trouble; better yet it helps them stray from doing “bad” things. That is why when the one man changed his business to the television shop for the children to be able to pay to watch television was very good. To him it was not just about making money but also helping the young in his country. The tent cities give them some sense of sanity because at one point after the earthquake this was not even plausible. After only two months they have been able to do so much that they do not even realize. By doing this they have helped their spirits and in believing that things will get better. I understand that having beauty shops seems a little extreme at this point but I also understand why they have them. Once again their spirits need to be lifted and if this is a way to help them by simply getting their hair or nails done than by any means they should do it. Its helping them emotionally, at one point they had nothing so since the opportunity has arise than I see no need why they should not take advantage of it.
Although these tent cities do not do very much to help flourish Haiti’s economy, they have helped build faith. As long as the people in Haiti continue to have faith they will be able to build a much better country than previous. With our help monetarily and physically we can increase the timing of making progress in re-developing their country.
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This story shows the earthquake in Haiti in an entirely different light. It blows my mind to see an entirely new economy being built, literally from the ground up. When thinking about the mass devastation, I have often wondered where you could even start to get back all that was lost. There is no way to bring back all of the lives and loved ones but you still have to start somewhere. Most of these people will never regain the quality of life that they had before the earthquake, but they are still managing to make the most of what they have. An economy is so complicated, with services being offered in all aspects of our life. I can't imagine living in a world with no established businesses. This video clip showed how the Haitians are starting small, and growing. One business that stood out to me was the man who they showed you bought a generator. In a city comprised of makeshift tents, he bought the ability to offer electricity. From there he recognized that he needed to offer something to be competitive with other men who bought generators; so what did he do? He offered free television to his customers. Not only was he able to make a higher profit, but he was also able to increase customer satisfaction and make local children happy. That to me is an example of entrepreneurialship at its finest. He started small, and built up. He was creative and ingenious yet practical and worked with what he had.
Often times in class we are told that it is impossible to even imagine what it is like in Haiti unless you see it yourself. I agree with this statement, because every time I see different pictures or read a news article, I am enlightened on a new aspect of the devastation. That being said, I feel as this article brought to light what is going on in Haiti in a whole new way to me. It helped me to understand the rebuilding process. There is obviously much more going on in Haiti, millions of people were affected by the earthquake, but I learned something new nonetheless. It only added to the respect I have for the Haitians who are working so hard to build their cities and towns back up and piecing their lives back together. I hope to be able to watch more articles such as this which can keep me as somewhat knowledgeable on how Haiti is recovering. This story is motivational and makes me want to help Haiti that much more. Like we learned in class, it is not by giving hand outs that we help Haiti; it is by promoting entrepreneuralship. This video highlights Haitians that we able to start businesses on their own, however many other people may not have had the opportunity to do so. By supporting the right causes, we can help Haiti to rebuild itself faster.
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I think this whole tent cities thing is amazing. People are so resilient to instead of being upset about all they have been through and having to live in a tent they are making the most of it to do what they can to get by and support their families. Instead of just crime increasing and people stealing things from others they are helping out each other by buying things from each other. It is important that they are still doing things to add relaxation or enjoyment to their lives by watching movies or getting their nails done. I could not imagine living in a tent with the only money being the money they had on them on the day of the earthquake. That is an extremely scary thought, but it is amazing that they are doing the best they can to support their families and enjoy their lives.
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I really enjoyed Tuesday’s lecture with Sam’s friend (I think it’s Ian?). It was interesting to hear from someone who has spent time in Haiti after the earthquake hit. The media produces tainted pictures of the true devastation and extent to which the events in Haiti are affecting the natives. Many cities in Haiti were completely leveled as a result of the earthquake, forcing many if not all of the people of this nation to live in “tent cities”. They have little to no possessions and yet amidst the destruction and heartbreak, these people are surviving. And even better is the fact that they are attempting to rebuild their economy without the help of outside sources. It is clear that the people of Haiti are in desperate need of assistance, but as Ian presented in class, they need the right kind of help to rebuild not only their country, but economy as well. Like Ian said, much of the money we are giving to relief efforts in Haiti are in actuality ending up back in the pockets of American industries. As much as selling water filters to the natives is providing clean water for them to drink, it is also undermining the Haitian economy. If this nation ever wants to completely recover from this natural disaster, they are going to have to start putting money into their own economy and not that of the United States. To do this, the Haitians are going to have to start selling the relief products that they are paying the United States for. It is clear from the NPR video that many Haitians are attempting to do this. This is a great start, but we as Americans wishing to get these people out of tent city need to realize that we need to help them reestablish their economy, creating new jobs and industries run by Haitians, thereby producing relief products that will in turn stimulate their own economy.
It’s like Ian said, relief efforts by foreign nations are most definitely a necessity, but if we simply give them everything they need, we are not really helping these people rebuild their country. Doing this is only making these people dependent on foreign help. In reality we can’t be there forever, so we need to help Haiti become independent, not by doing nothing, but by providing them with the tools and resources to undo the damage caused by the earthquake. The individuals in the video are great examples of what the people of Haiti need to do. After watching the video, it is my personal belief that the real problem is the relief efforts of other nations. We need to realize that we cannot fix their country for them. All we can do is be there to provide support and direction. The small businesses that are emerging in tent cities are going to be the catalysts that end up creating new jobs and consumers within Haiti, and more importantly keeping the money in Haiti and out of the pockets of US industries.
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I think it’s amazing how the Haitian community can rise economically with these small entrepreneur businesses. In such a short amount of time after the terrible earthquake I think the people of Haiti have done a remarkable job by re-establishing themselves financially. Today in class the guest speaker put their state in an interesting perspective by explaining that Haiti needs to grow economically in order for them to reach prosperity. The numerous amount of non- profit organizations and contributions from nations around the world helped the people of Haiti survive the severe aftereffects of the natural disaster. I think eventually there will be a drop in donations. Due to that, the natives who solely rely on the goods that other countries are shipping them, might eventually fall back a few steps because they may become dependent on them. I don’t know about anyone else but I’m not too familiar with what is going on over there at the moment. Just like anything else in the media, Haiti was on the news for a few weeks when the earthquake first occurred. Since then, this is the first I’m hearing that people are starting to make a living for themselves again by selling small goods or returning to the services they provided before the quake. Even though the living conditions are extremely poor and it is very unfortunate that the only thing these people have for shelter are small tarps, these people are survivors and their making it by day by day. As I was watching this video I was in complete shock. The thought of the many small businesses which expanded beyond basic human necessities such as a nail salon, the movies, or cell phone charging business never even crossed my mind. What I enjoyed most about this video is that even though these people are extremely poor, they are still content with the small things they have. I try to imagine myself in their shoes, what if the situation was reversed? I think Americans take many things in life for granted and personally, I don’t think I would be able to survive the post dramatic stress, or living conditions. If I were Haitian, I wouldn’t be able to imagine the feeling of not being able to call a family member in America just to tell them I’m okay, or even going days without having a decent meal and comfy bed. I think the guest speaker has an amazing idea of helping small business owners in Haiti. In order for the country to become stable Haitians cannot rely on the goods we are sending them, but cultivate their own farms. This small tent community definitely is on the right track by getting their businesses back on track so the Haitian economy can flourish
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The footage in this video is pretty amazing. It’s ridiculous how the economy still lives and markets are being formed. While watching all of this, I wondered how locals afforded all these resources. From watching the news and hearing things, we would expect these Haitians who have absolutely nothing to get resources like food, water, clothes and other basic necessities for free. However, we see from this video the same local Haitians who have nothing sell something. One thing that stuck out was the man who had a boom-box stereo with speakers, laptops and other electronics. You could imagine how things like that can be sold at a time like this and question what kind of condition these electronics are really in, despite their outer appearances.
As Sam said, though, people accumulate resources and manipulate them in some way to repackage and resell them at a higher price. What strikes me is that it never stops; how do people still have the minds and even the resources to continue this sort of economic exchange in a devastated place where resources are so limited and with a group of people who just want to survive?
I really liked the one man who used his generator for a movie business. It was cool to see how he was willing to create this type of business for the sake of helping people more than making money. I still don’t know how these Haitians have money, but I remember hearing the same man having a phone charging business to enter into the theatre that is the tent with a small TV.
Like the news reporter said, Haitians have an abundance of time and it’s going to be interesting to see how these people who have been displaced will use their time in the coming weeks, months and, maybe even, years. I also wonder if refugee camps are the same as those 30 years ago. My parents fled Vietnam to the Philippines and were taken into refugee camps in Manila. Did refugee camps back at that time and in other places have economies similar to the refugee camp in Haiti?
It’s hard to imagine how devastating this earthquake has been for this nation until we ourselves witness the destruction. Seeing things while not in Haiti is one thing. Being there is another. I was encouraged to see Sam’s friend speak and share his experiences from Haiti. I wish I could take up the opportunity to go down to help but I’m graduating and starting to work soon. I hope others who have time this summer can go down to witness and help. It’s a broken nation with physical, mental, emotional and spiritual brokenness, despite this revival of spirituality news reporters have been talking about.
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Wow, this is not what I expected to see from life inside the Haitian tent cities. It is amazing to see people conduct anything close to what their lives were before. It is not entirely surprising to see people start up businesses to make money right away. What else are they really to do with themselves? What is surprising is that there is still enough money to be spent on things like manicures and pedicures. With the banks being destroyed and people only having so much cash on them, it’s amazing they aren’t just saving it for the essentials. While this may seem somewhat like a shallow thing to do in a time of crisis, I suppose it is one of the few ways they can find pleasure in their day and feel better about themselves. They have all day and nothing to do with the time and it is interesting to see how they manage.
From the video it appeared that the tent communities were pretty safe as well and that people seemed to come together and help each other out. The man that ran the “theater” even said it was about helping out and keeping the children occupied during the day. For a country that is so displaced and in devastation’ it is amazing how much they have been able to organize and pull together. They even find the energy and spirit to sing and dance and celebrate for what they do have. I can’t imagine the same type of attitudes could be found in this country after such a natural disaster, but it is hard to tell how people would react in such situations.
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Wow, this is not what I expected to see from life inside the Haitian tent cities. It is amazing to see people conduct anything close to what their lives were before. It is not entirely surprising to see people start up businesses to make money right away. What else are they really to do with themselves? What is surprising is that there is still enough money to be spent on things like manicures and pedicures. With the banks being destroyed and people only having so much cash on them, it’s amazing they aren’t just saving it for the essentials. While this may seem somewhat like a shallow thing to do in a time of crisis, I suppose it is one of the few ways they can find pleasure in their day and feel better about themselves. They have all day and nothing to do with the time and it is interesting to see how they manage.
From the video it appeared that the tent communities were pretty safe as well and that people seemed to come together and help each other out. The man that ran the “theater” even said it was about helping out and keeping the children occupied during the day. For a country that is so displaced and in devastation’ it is amazing how much they have been able to organize and pull together. They even find the energy and spirit to sing and dance and celebrate for what they do have. I can’t imagine the same type of attitudes could be found in this country after such a natural disaster, but it is hard to tell how people would react in such situations.
This video just reinforces the points made in class. As Americans, we are seeing this tragedy from afar. We view these people as helpless and assume they need taken care of. Of course they need our help, but the video shows that if we spent more money on helping them develop and less time giving handouts than these people are completely capable of providing for themselves. I’m sure it was vital for us to be handing out water and food when the devastation initially happened, but now it is time to start rebuilding.
I think class was the first of the semester that truly did open my eyes because I had no idea what donating our goods would do to Haiti and never expected that they would actually be detrimental to rebuilding the country. While the class was enlightening, it was also disheartening. I can’t help but want to defend those supplying basic needs of food, water, and textiles to the people. It also made me feel more helpless in this massive catastrophe.
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The lecture in class today on Haiti was very eye-opening for me. The line that most affected me was when he said, "an hour flight from Florida, 300,000 people died. Why wouldn't I do something." I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to travel all over the world. I have spent time doing humanitarian work in Sub-Saharan Africa and I thought before this that I had seen some extreme poverty, but nothing I have seen compares with the kind of destruction and poverty that is currently in Haiti. I still cannot imagine what these people must be thinking and feeling. But it was encouraging to see that people are trying to put their lives back together in some way and begin to live again.
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Even with the horrid conditions in Haiti, a society still exists amongst ruins. With important buildings and homes torn to the ground, tent cities have spawned in large open areas, and with that, a new hope that although things are bad now, one day they will get better again. But for now, as aide continues to flow from different countries and organizations, the lengthy process of rebuilding has only begun, and tent cities have indeed begun to imitate the structure present within a real city. Whenever reverting back to a less-developed stage in the past, an economics system is one of the first signs of progress; it means each person has their respective supply and demand, and in order to buy more of one good for your family, more of another good must be sold (but first labor must be put into obtaining the good to sell). Although some complexities exist as to valuing normal goods in a simple newly initiated economic system, these tent cities seem to be making the best of a bad situation.
With time, the tent city economy began to develop further, and what started with a need for basic goods such as food, clothes, and water, evolved into new desires, given available resources such as the salvaged goods of a hair salon. With some time a new business was formed, in which individuals (mostly teens) came for pedicures because they could persuade their parents to pay for one at least once every two weeks. To me, this is an amazing concept considering the dirty conditions they’re living in; you would think these teens would be more worried about where they’re living and how they can help to provide additional income for their families, rather than how to spend the little amount of disposable income they have available.
But then looking at it from their perspective, I guess it’s all a matter of what you were accustomed to before the earthquake. It is true that many families living in these tent cities are actually influential people (doctors, lawyers, teachers) and had quite an impressive salary to compensate for their importance. Many teens believe that because they were accustomed to staying beautiful before the earthquake, they should continue in the same trends of spending money, although the money is not as readily available. Then other entrepreneurs are more concerned not with making money, but just attempting to help individuals in whatever way possible, while making some money so they can live comfortably. But they realize that the supply of money is scarce, and so what’s really important is passing the time for everyone, especially kids, who no longer have a school to go to and simply need to be entertained. It’s great to know that as a society, in a way they can unite and understand their tragic circumstances, and try to make things as best as they can, while helping each other to pass the time.
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This video was very riveting! After Tuesday’s class on the state of the Haitian community, I became a lot more interested in learning more about Haiti, its past and its predicted future. This video was extremely interesting to me because although these people had just suffered an enormous tragedy, they were tapping into their basic survival skills and coming up with ways to provide for themselves and their families. It made me wonder if we in America would do that same thing. The Haitians are a people who have never been economically stable and thus know how to survive in downtrodden conditions. Us, as Americans, more often than not, take for granted the resources and opportunities that we have. I found it incredibly encouraging and uplifting to see that people are still surviving and not just sitting around hanging their heads, wondering why they were afflicted.
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Watching this video, I was amazed to see what a life the Haitians had created for themselves so quickly after they suffered through such horrible destruction. I had never realized how much business could occur within the confounds of a tent community. It's great to see that they are able to come together, while still doing what they had to do to support their families. Although sad to hear, like the video said, that they could be living in these tents for years possibly, it's at least encouraging that they are able to not only set up businesses to take care of the essentials, but also to have some entertainment in their lives. After the experience they lived through, the fact that they can build this type of a community so quickly is miraculous.
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I think that it is great that the Haitians are still optimistic and living day by day even though they were hit with an earthquake. It shows that these people are closely tied and work together as a community to help each other survive. The people show a lot of courage by making something out of nothing. It is interesting to see how these communities have formed each with entrepreneurs selling almost everything. Even if after seeing their country go through an earthquake, people carry on with their lives. It is very impressive response to a natural disaster. Instead of depending on help from the government, they take the initiative to rebuild their own communities. In the video, I found it really cool that the tent cities were actually full of commerce with trade in anything from food to electricity. The people are extremely innovative and know how to make a living. If Haiti were better developed with schools and education, these people could contribute greatly to world comers. This video has really opened my eyes to what Haiti is really like and how any help would benefit the country. The earthquake may have set back the country, but the people have become closer. This is important when you deal with natural disasters and other unfortunate events. Having your country destroyed to rubble is one of the worst things that could happen. Not alone, the country was already extremely poor before the Earthquake. This makes me think about inequality and how Haiti has been exploited for so many years. A country with such rich resources should be well off. Instead, they have been put at the “bottom of the hill,” with tough obstacles to surpass. This has happened with multiple countries across the world and I feel that is unfair. I sometimes questioned Sam in class whether our help would make a difference. I finally understand that any donation helps especially if it is used toward rebuilding communities. It depresses me when I see the children in the video clip sit around and have nothing to do. Those children live harder lives than any of us. I feel really spoiled when I saw the children be content being crowded in a tent watching a fifteen inch screen and still enjoying the moment. I am confident that with help Haiti can get back on its feet and eventually have an environment for their people to live in. It is great that Sam is putting in so much time and effort into this cause. With help, the tent cities will be reduced and small communities and cities will be able to thrive. Although there is a lot of work needed, it can all be done.
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It is a way to stay connected to their old lives and keep their lives somewhat normal and like it was before. It is hard to believe, however, when the gentleman was talking about his business with the charging cell and TV that he was not only doing it for the money. If he was doing it for the people than why charge? I think by saying that it made himself feel better about what he is doing, which I do not judge him for at all. I believe if anyone else was placed in that situation they would turn to the same reasoning. It is an interesting point that the economic market has become more competitive now than it was before. I never looked at it in that way and I also found it really interesting when the guest speaker told us about giving we are actually taking away from them. I would like to say I was surprised when he spoke about the helpers fighting about which idea is the best, but I am not. It is a sad day when people fight over how to help people just so they can be the good guys in the end.
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in pieces.After watching this video on the tent cities, it made me feel two ways: hopeful and sad. It was really amazing to see how people could work together and put these tent cities together so quickly and so efficiently just days after such an awful occurrence. I thought that alone was amazing, but what I thought was even more cool was when they showed all the individual businesses going on within these little tent cities. These people are coming up with great ideas on top of selling the basic necessities that everyone in their community is looking for to buy in order to survive. I thought that it was really inspirational to see the woman with the nail salon go back to where her business once was and retrieve everything possible in order to keep moving on and set up her business in another location to try and make money and help people.
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It amazes me that people can still afford the luxuries of a pedicure or manicure at a time like this, but it is also very cool because like the woman said in the video, if people were always used to having nice things, then the earthquake didn’t change that. I also thought it was very cool and smart to charge people a small amount of money to use the generator and charge their cell phones. Any little bit of production and consumption possible is what will start rebuilding these communities and take them a step forward in the right direction.
The reason that this video clip made me feel a little bit sad is because this is just the beginning for this country and these people. Yes, they’ve started off on the right foot and everything is falling into place the best that it can, but like the video said, a lot of these people will be stuck in these houses for many years to come. So not only did they lose everything they had in just one day, they can’t just get it all back and start over.. this is going to be a long process that will take many many years to overcome for this country.
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It was also a little bit sad and strange im sure to adjust to everyone living together. There are people that were once doctors selling ice and food who are on the same exact level as these people who were already poor before the earthquake. Now these poor people who were already living on the streets have a place where everyone is on the same playing field as them. And as unfair as that is, maybe now everyone will have a better chance at succeeding in the future when everything is redeveloped.
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The human will to survive is powerful. The Haitian people are living through a horrific experience and their ability to create a business and social structure in the midst of their devastating losses is incredible. The statement that there is more business competition now than there was before the earthquake is truly remarkable. It is interesting that society finds a way to develop, even in the worst of times. People are resourceful. I would not think that people without clothing, food or other necessities of life would line up for a pedicure or a hair treatment, but maybe it is these luxury items that make their hardships more endurable. I am impressed with the salon owners that were smart enough to envision the need and competent enough to deliver it.
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Like everybody else is saying, it is amazing that the people of Haiti are able to stay in the spirits that they are in despite the disaster that occurred. It also amazing about how the economics have changed since then. There is much more competition among others because of the lack of other services people can provide now. Eventually all of this economic gain that many of these people currently have will run out when the country is able to rebuild. I never would have thought that there could be competition like that in such a devastated area, and it's great that the people are able to come through on their own.
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Ok I got stuck on the pedicure thing. I understand that there's not much else to do because everything's been destroyed, but really, a pedicure? I'm SURE there are better ways that money could be used. It has to be hard to give up some of the luxuries you used to be able to indulge in, but couldn't that money be used for food and other necessary supplies? I guess I expect that when people are trying to recover from a natural disaster they're using every penny they have to survive, but maybe that's just the ideals of someone who's never gone through anything even close to this magnitude. I was just kind of surprised by this. Can anyone offer any insight or do you have a theory as far as why they're spending money on things like this?
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This is so cool! I mean, these people are living in conditions that I have never seen in this country and they’re coming up with such creative solutions! Around here, we think that people who can get an A on a test is smart, but it takes some real intelligence and craftiness to be able to do something so great with so few resources. I have so much respect for people who can get by in any situation. I’m pretty inspired by this! A cell phone charging station? I think that’s brilliant. And he’s making kids happy. Way to go dude!
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fmh109 Reply:
April 24th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
The resourcefulness of these people really is amazing. I do believe that people just choose to go on despite what happens to them. They could have either lain down and died or worked with the few resources they had to turn this disaster around. It says so much for the strength of the human spirit and the innate will to live that it is unimaginable to me to go through a situation like that. What is the most shocking is something Sam said, that most likely these tent cities will be around for years before they can turn the country around.
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