Burning Food

Sometimes, this place makes no sense.

Environment alone sometimes makes it nearly impossible to get anything done in this country. Power goes out, Internet and phones die, generators break down, tropical downpours force everyone inside, rivers rise, roads churn into mud, transportation is impossible.

So you’d think that, in a country where nothing is easy and even finding a mouthful of food can be an unbearable chore, at least the government would cut people a little slack. Especially the people who invest their entire lives in helping others – people like us.

But even sensibility can wash away during the rainy season. Which might explain why the Ministry of Health would force an NGO to burn roomfulls of medicines and food because they are “expired” or set to expire in a couple of weeks. Though in the States it is common knowledge that items like peanut butter are edible and even tasty well beyond their “freshness date,” the Haitian government believes that peanut butter in fact turns poisonous on that date, and thus it cannot be fed or given to anyone. Same goes for things like Tylenol, powdered milk, medical blood test strips, and yes – decaf coffee.

So their solution is for organizations like ours to burn mountains of food and medicine as gawking crowds of sick and hungry people look on.

To be sure, the mission is very aware of the government’s dislike of expired goods and we are vigilant to never have them in our warehouses or pharmacy. We do all we can to respect the authorities over us. That is why we regularly remind donors in the States that we cannot accept expired goods as donations.

But at the same time, if a malnourished boy is starving before your eyes and you have a box of powdered milk that is set to expire tomorrow, would you give it to him? Or would you pour it on the dirt at his feet?

The Ministry of Health, apparently, prefers the dirt over its own people.

Photos:

Hundreds of jars of peanut butter the government ordered burned.




A shot from the beach road in St. Louis du Nord.



A drummer in a voodoo parade honoring the “Demon Anniversary,” a voodoo holiday that falls somewhere around Halloween. His hat says “Jesus is my Boss.”



Some mission staff walking the dark streets of St. Louis du Nord, shopping for gasoline to power a backup generator.