Labadee, Haiti

Well Labadee isn’t an island owned by Royal Caribbean. It is owned by RC but it’s actually on Haiti itself. It is stunningly beautiful. Like some kind of resort. I was a little nervous about going there because of the latest civil unrest but I’m so glad I did. Our Historical Tour guide, Lamy, is a native of Labadee. He said that when RC bought the land, they had used it for gardens and they were very angry about it. But now they are delighted and it’s the best thing that ever happened to them. I asked what about their gardens. He said they moved them to the mountain.

This one place is the major income for the country. That’s why the government protects the RC land and keeps it safe so that Haiti will benefit by the income (they get a cut of all the excursions RC offers on Labadee. Each family in Labadee has one person in their family working for RC. They pay in US dollars which is great because the gourd (currency) is devalued. When someone dies then someone else in that family has that job passed on to them. In the past the only occupations in Labadee were fishing or farming and you did whatever your father did as an occupation.

He also said that before RC came in 1985 only 25 percent of the young went to school. Now almost 95 percent go through secondary school because in secondary school you learn English and that’s the only way to get the opportunity to work for them. He said that before RC they lived in huts. Now they all have concrete block houses and a higher standard of living. However, the rest of Haiti is not so lucky. The poorest country in the western hemisphere, it was the 2nd country (right after the US) to become a free country, in fact they refer to the country as Mother Freedom. He said that it takes $400 per child to go to school. The government does not provide schooling and that’s why most in Haiti are uneducated.

Lamy believes that most of the problems in Haiti would be solved if everyone were educated. He said, “the young of Haiti (meaning his age) will be the salvation of Haiti”. He said too they need a stable government. As most people earn on average of $7 (US dollars) a day. And the reason there is fighting is that if someone doesn’t have an education and job, all they can do to earn money is wait for someone to offer them money for “doing something bad”. He said that with jobs and education the guns will go away. I pray he is right. God bless him, he thinks English is so important that he gives free English language classes in his village.

On Labadee you can do a ton of different things. We only did the tour and spent time under a palm tree in the breeze watching the ocean. RC gave us a huge lunch (free) there too. There was music. And then Glenn and I went to the Market. Where there were lots of local merchants selling locally made products. I bought another head for my collection, some soap stone carving, a painting for a friend’s birthday, some carved wood, etc. It was funny every one wanted $20 for everything and you bargained with them. But I felt so darn bad that I could hardly bargain. Glenn wasn’t happy. I’d just say, give me $20 please. I spent more $ than I should have I’m sure.

Another group of people that I need to pray for….you know we are so darn lucky to have been born in the country that we were born in at the time we were born. We have a free education (they have to pay or not go). We eat 3 meals a day (they eat 2 times a day). We can go buy clothes and food anytime we want them (they have to go to Dominican Republic 2 days a week only to shop or grow or catch it themselves). We have electricity and running water (most of them don’t). We have huge houses (their houses are maybe the size of one of my floors). We have air conditioning (they don’t). We have medical services (they still use local plants and make their own drugs or wait for Doctors Without Borders to come 2 times a year).

As you, my friends and family, are reading this I ask you three favors. 1) Pray for Lamy, Labadee & Haiti. 2) Support an organization like World Vision who helps Haiti 3) Remember to thank God everyday for your blessings, never take them for granted.