Haiti part 2: my family set me free

I really had no idea why exactly we were going on this trip for sure.  I did know I wanted to experience the country and learn how to tell stories of the place.  I knew I wasn't going for "relief work" in the traditional sense, of Americans showing up to "help out" the work projects, not much focusing on everything else.  In order to tell a story, you need context.  Thankfully our trip has had much context, the bad, the good, and everything in between.

Our first fun cultural experience was Thursday night the 19th when we went to see the Haitian musical sensation RAM at the famous Hotel Oloffson.  We had a fantastic night of great food and dancing in the restaurant at an old, plantation style hotel that has collected much history in Port-Au-Prince.  A highlight of the night was when all of a sudden Win Butler and Regine Chassagne of Arcade Fire took the stage with RAM!  I learned Regine was of Haitian descent.

They of course, played this song:



"Haiti" by Arcade Fire"
Haiti, mon pays
Wounded mother I'll never see
Ma famille set me free
Throw my ashes into the sea

Mes cousins jamais nes
Hantent les nuits de Duvalier
Rien n'arrete nos espirits
Guns can't kill what soldiers can't see

In the forest we are hiding
Unmarked graves where flowers grow
Hear the soldiers angry yelling
In the river we will go

Tous les morts-nes forment une armee
Soon we will reclaim the earth
All the tears and all the bodies
Bring about our second birth

Haiti, never free
N'aie pas peur de sonner l'alarme
Tes enfants sont partis
In those days their blood was still warm
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We stayed in a hotel in town that night...supporting the tourism industry which is in great need!