‘We Bend, but We Don’t Break’: Fighting for a Just Reconstruction in Haiti

A popular haitian saying goes, “we are bamboo. We bend, but we don’t break.” This expression of resolve in the face of adversity has been in wide circulation since the January 12 earthquake, taking on even greater meaning. The number of Haitians killed by one of the most destructive disasters in world history is unknown; estimates range from 250,000 to 350,000. Just under 2 million people were rendered homeless, displaced, or dispossessed, according to the United Nations. For those already exiled to the absolute margin of survival, the socioeconomic impacts of the disaster are incalculable. In earthquake-hit areas, the vulnerable almost invariably lost some combination of family members, homes, personal belongings, merchandise, or whatever else might have given them a little protection from hunger, suffering, and death. Even before the earthquake, Haiti’s destitution was a marvel on the planet. The poet Jean-Claude Martineau often says in his public presentations, “Haiti is the only country to have a last name. It’s ‘the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.’ ” But as tenacious as oppression and deprivation have been throughout Haitian history, the country’s highly organized grassroots movement has never given up the battle its enslaved ancestors began. The movement is composed of women, peasants, street Beverly Bell has worked with movements for democracy, women’s rights, and economic justice in Haiti and elsewhere for 30 years. She runs Other Worlds, a group promoting alternative socioeconomic models, and is Associate Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. The grassroots Haitian women’s organization Brave Ayibobo meets in Port-au-Prince in February to discuss its members’ needs. The group is one of hundreds of others advocating a just reconstruction for the country.