Calling It For What It Is (by: Alyssa)

That big thing hurdling toward you, in some wacked out game of chicken, is called a cameo. That little truck looking thing with eighty people on it is called a tap-tap. The boys in the road, the one that this picture is of, they are called restivecs. Whats that? A child slave. Oh me! I am called blanc or give me a dollar. I hear it so many times a day that I am considering changing my name to Blanc Givemea Dollar. All of the things mentioned have a name that suits them but, what do you call a country that has a eighty percent unemployment rate, a illiteracy rate that is just as high or higher and has so much trash that it flows in the street like water and it is one of the most beautiful place that you have ever seen...I guess that you would call it Haiti.

No I am not sure of all of Haiti's history but, I know that throughout its entire existence there have been revolts, dictators, coups, dictators, coups, dicta....you get the point. There have also been many promises made by by good men that have changed and the promises of others that say things will change and they will get better, they never did, as you can see. So the money that is promised by the government for this road here and that city there never made it to this road here and that city there. The people are really the ones that suffer when the politicians start to line their pants with money instead of fabric, because they can, and they put the money for this road here and that city there in those money lined pants. Why am I here?I guess it is because there is a new generation coming that can change all of this. Those restivec boys up there? Yes they are apart of it. I believe that if they are given a chance to start over and they are no longer forced to work in the streets of Delmas for money that they will only see twice, once when it is handed to them and twice when they take it out of their pocket to give it to the person that is forcing them to do this, no they don't do it just to bug you. Anyway, yes they are the ones that can change the corruption and the political system because they live it, someone bigger and more powerful taking the money that you earn. The children are the ones that will change Haiti. They are why I am here.