A Disorienting Week

We resolutely stand with those who are excluded.  -from the mission statement of the Marianites of Holy Cross

Last Monday, after I updated this blog, I went for a ride with several sisters through the city.  Here is just one picture to give you a sense of the flooding experienced in the area.  

This has been quite a week! The events of the week have been frustrating and disappointing, even disorienting.  Nothing looked the same under all of the rain.  The US election results shocked me.  

 Schools were closed for an entire week due to the flooding.  Water entering the play therapy room as well as the deep puddle outside of it prevented me from holding regular therapy groups for a week.  Conditions gradually improved; I think we even had one full day where there was almost no rain.  A few sunny days have helped the water levels to decrease significantly; such days have sometimes been followed by rainy nights; although heavy at times it has not caused the severe flooding we had early last week, fortunately.  Schools opened again yesterday and I have resumed my appointments with the children.    

One recent morning while walking to work, I was tempted to complain to myself because my rain boots are no longer waterproof.  I looked up to see two men pushing a large rickety wooden cart loaded with long bamboo poles, as they made their way down the unpaved wet road.  The only thing on their feet was mud. 

It is a gift to live with an American who has similar political views this year.  Late Tuesday night she sat with me for a little while as we stared at the US election map on the NPR website; listening to the commentary and watching sometimes in utter disbelief as states changed colors.    

   

Recently a Haitian child spoke with me of having heard that the new President of the United States does not really like black people and therefore Haitians.  In that moment I felt a deep sadness as I attempted to respond in a way that was both honest while fully affirming of the child’s dignity.  The following day, an employee asked me why the United States is sending people including children back to Haiti.  I had read that the moratorium against deporting Haitians that had been put into place immediately following the earthquake had been lifted and that the US government would resume deportation of Haitians.  I honestly do not know that the people this woman spoke of were actually officially deported by the US government.  She is concerned about these neighbors who apparently are struggling since their recent (possibly forced) return to Haiti.  Whether her friends were deported or not there is the reality that people seeking opportunities for themselves and their families without the means to obtain the legal paperwork are being deported from the US.  I fear that deportations  will increase during the newly elected administration.  This morning, I reflected on how to respond to such situations.  To the children and the employees at the orphanage, I am likely the only American that they are currently encountering on a daily basis.  While the president-elect may not convincingly express love for Haitians or other people of color, or Muslims or many other groups for that matter; I certainly can.  While the US government may reject people to the point of actually ejecting them from the country, I can do my best to be accepting and inclusive of all of the people I encounter each day. Let us do our best to be loving, accepting, inclusive, compassionate and just in all of our interactions wherever we are and whoever we are and sincerely say that we are sorry when we or our governments, churches, communities, elected officials, and organizations fall short.

There may be many opportunities in the coming months and years to live out the concluding phrase of the Mission Statement of my congregation, something we are all called to do.  

Peace!