Ask Amy Wilentz - January 28, 2013 discussion

Welcome to the group! Amy will be answering questions on Monday, January 28, 2013. In the meantime if you have a question for Amy or just want to introduce yourself feel free to do so in this thread.

Hi Amy, -- I meant to read the whole book before the end of 2012 and post a long-ish review on my reading blog, but Graduate school swallowed me whole this time. I've only read the beginning, which I liked much, and look forward to reading the rest. Then I'll post an informed full review. :) I enjoy your attention to detail and the down-to-earth tone.

Hi Amy. I just learned of your visit here so I haven't had an opportunity even to begin to read your book yet. Can you tell us about your background and connection with Haiti?

Hi Amy,
I don't have a question but just wanted to introduce myself. I received an advance copy of your book some time ago and read it on a plane during a business trip. I have visited Haiti twice now with mission groups and did the website for a long-time missionary there. I went to Haiti in 2003/2004 and spent most of my time around Hinche... before the coup that ousted Aristide but I related to a lot of what you said in your book and still learned a great deal from it. My heart breaks daily for the things the Haitian people go through, and I still have a few friends there. I just wanted to say thanks for writing the book

Kimberly wrote: "Hi Amy. I just learned of your visit here so I haven't had an opportunity even to begin to read your book yet. Can you tell us about your background and connection with Haiti?"


I'm from New Jersey and I lived in New York Cirty and was working for Time magazine as a writer. There were Haitian refugees living in my neighborhood and all their newspapers were available (in Frenc) and I read them avidly, having taken French since the age of 10! in a school in NJ. And I realized Baby Doc Duvalier was going to fall from power, and I asked for a vacation from Time and rushed down to cover it for The Village Voice, and he did fall. I watched him leave and from then on I belonged to Haiti. Haiti, by the way, has never returned the favor!!

Michael wrote: "Hi Amy,
I don't have a question but just wanted to introduce myself. I received an advance copy of your book some time ago and read it on a plane during a business trip. I have visited Haiti twice ..."

It's so important for Americans and other outsiders to try to understand what's going on in Haiti and to have a kind of solidarity with Haitians, a human solidarity, I guess you'd call it. More important than charity is to reach out a hand in brotherhood, and look on Haitians as our equal, and not some object to be pitied.

Annette wrote: "Hi Amy, -- I meant to read the whole book before the end of 2012 and post a long-ish review on my reading blog, but Graduate school swallowed me whole this time. I've only read the beginning, which..."

Hi, Annette: You should read the rest, because the opening is just an explanation of how the book came to exist! The rest goes pretty deeply into the whole Haitian situation and I think helps explain in anentertaining way the complexities of our outsider's relationship to Haiti.

All of you should also look at my blog at Tumblr: http://amywilentz.tumbr.com. There I address any weird ideas or recent stuff about Haiti that comes up. I've got a post on chubby Haitian chairs, sexy Haitian sculpture, voodoo and Vodou, millionaire kidnappings etc. It just shows, as does Farewell, Fred Voodoo, how broad the topic is.

What's life like in the streets of Port au Prince these days?

...and, just so you don't always and only have to focus on politics, etc., and you can give us a taste of your broad knowledge of Haitian culture...what's your favorite Haitian recipe?

It's hard, and harsh but of course it's three billion times better than it was when most people around the world saw it, just after the earthquake. The rubble had mostly been moved away; streets are passable (helps to know where the giant potholes are, however!). There's a lot of ife in the Haitian street; traffic is heavy because the streets are pretty narrow, but also lots of people don't have the money to pay for transportation, so foot traffic is heavy too. Women still carry stuff on their heads -- sometimes it's produce, sometimes it's... frozen chicken breasts for sale. The markets are fabulous and sprawling (I describe one of the biggest in my book), and you can get anything in them from the biggest wooden cooking spoons you have ever seen to hair bands and cabbage from the DOminican Republic. Sometimes you can hear people singing in their little Protestant churches as you pass by. And of course there are the tap-taps, brightly decorated collective jitneys stuffed to bursting with people, baskets, goats and chickens.

oh my favorite Haitian recipe! There are so many foods I love there, most of which I have not been able to duplicate. I love bean sauce and corn meal mash (mayi moule avek sos, in Creole) and I love pumpkin soup (soup joumou). To make the pumpkin soup you need to boil and mash the insides of one butternut squash, and then put it through a food mill or sieve to make it fine and unthready.

You add a lot of water and vegetables: carrots, parsnips, potatoes. You add small stew pieces of beef that you've marinated in sour orange juice or lemon-lime juice and spices (thyme, garlic, parsley), and that you've browned.

Haitians would add a Maguy chicken/tomato bouillon cube or two. You put two cloves in. I think I'm remembering everything. For a picture of the soup, go to my Tumblr blog at http://amywilentz.tumblr.com/.

Amy what is your opinion of the current Haitian government? What are they doing right, and what are they still doing wrong?

I don't have too high an opinion of Martelly's government. I think of course the problems they face are very tough; even without the earthquake! They lean too far to the Duvalierist right for me; Martelly's natural impulse is to go with the harshest kind of reaction, and he doesn't tolerate dissent. Huge problems too with the legislature -- Duvalier used to use the legislature as a rubber stamp; now it is a stumbling block to any and all change. So I'm waiting for the next government... Haiti needs to change, but change gradually. We can't expect a huge shift immediatl=ely, especially after the Aristide period was crushed so effectively. But ti pa pa ti pa... or little by little, Haiti will definitely move forward.

Amy wrote: "Hi, Annette: You should read the rest, because the opening is just an explanation of how the book came to exist! The rest goes pretty deeply into the whole Haitian situation and I think helps expla..."

:) I'll look forward to that.

I was thinking today about how people can really help from outside in Haiti, and about the limits of charity. Can $20 sent to a helping institution really work to change things in Haiti? When I track how funds are spent and what percentage of your $20 goes to feeding or housing Haitians or getting them jobs, I get depressed. So much money goes to in-country vehicles, housing for staff in-country, meals for staff, etc. It worries me that so much donated money doesn't get to people for proper use... and that's why we have to be smart and educate ourselves before giving, and not just do the easy thing.

I think some charities do better than others. I am impressed with this:

http://www.pih.org/mirebalais

Amy wrote: "All of you should also look at my blog at Tumblr: http://amywilentz.tumbr.com. There I address any weird ideas or recent stuff about Haiti that comes up. I've got a post on chubby Haitian chairs, s..."

It looks like Amy made a small typo - You can view her tumblr here - http://amywilentz.tumblr.com/

Michael wrote: "I think some charities do better than others. I am impressed with this:

http://www.pih.org/mirebalais"

yes, Michael: I like PIH very much. They have a real presence on the ground and had it before the earthquake, so they were, in a sense, ready for a disaster with human capacity. They have many clinics and a serious number of Haitian employees. I worry that they may have exceeded their capacity, now, with the beautiful new hospital in Mirebalais, but not enough means to get it up and working. But I trust the PIH organization to figure its way and fund-raise its way through this new stage in the organization's presence in Haiti.

Hi Amy,

I thank you very much for this book. I am Ulysse Toussaint, I have co-founded an Organization with my sister Junie Holod call PHEEL, Professionals for Higher Education Entrepreneurship & Leadership. We are all about providing education for girls and woman in Haiti. We are currently shooting a documentary which should be out in June 2013. I would love to interview you over Skype if possible for our documentary.
Here is our website: www.pheelhaiti.org you can reach me at info@pheelhaiti.org
I thank you so much once again for what you are doing.
PS I saw that you are friend with John Engle, he is good friend with my sister Junie. They used to serve on the board of Beyond Borders together.
Have a great day and keep up with what you are doing! I am proud of you!

Cheers,

Ulysse Toussaint