An interesting cultural event has been taking place in Haiti in the last few weeks. Since  January 1, men and women have been working together for the sake of  “unity.” Someone was inspired to call upon people across the nation to demonstrate that Haitians have the spirit to carry out a very difficult challenge. They decided to carry a tree across the country from the south to the north, calling upon people along the route to help.

 

The custom of “working together” is called a “kombit” in Creole, and it was a way of life for the people. There is a kombit for grating cassava, a kombit for building a house, a kombit for planting a field, and more. It was a community event that brought together people to accomplish a difficult, mundane task. A kombit made the task not so difficult because “many hands make light work” and brought with it, singing, dancing, and often a bit of humor and “moonshine” to lighten the load. No one got paid for the work although a meal was offered at the end of the task. It was taken for granted as part of life to help your neighbor with something that needed to be done. It’s not unlike the American practice in the Amish or farm communities of a “barn raising.”

 

Kombits are still practiced today but people expect to get paid for their work, and some in Haiti lament that one doesn’t see the spirit of the kombit as it was in days gone by. When we first came to Haiti in the 70’s and 80’s we would often hear the haunting chant of the kombit, but we rarely hear it anymore.

 

The effort to carry the tree from the most southern and western town of Leziwa to the most northern and eastern town of Wanamet, called “Kombit Pote Kole” or “Yon Pa Kita Yon Pa Nago,” was incredibly difficult. All along the way people were invited to help carry the carved and polished tree, weighing 500 lbs, from one town to the next, neighborhood to neighborhood. Sometimes only women carried the log. A car with speakers and music accompanied the tree as well as a police car to insure things didn’t get out of hand. Throngs of enthusiastic people helped carry the tree to the next town, and some even walked alongside the entire route.

 

At the end of January, after traveling for 24 days, the log came by the crossroads of the university and the National Highway. A friend and I went to see it as it passed by. Although carried by twenty or so people I could hardly see the tree for all the people running alongside, in front of, and behind the tree.

 

Hundreds of people came to participate in cheering the tree and its carriers along. “We can do it!” “Keep on keeping on!” I witnessed the tremendous energy and sweat it took to carry this heavy, cumbersome log day in and day out and marveled at the perseverance and determination to make it all the way to the goal, some 700 kilometers from south west to north east. Participants believe that by achieving their goal the Haitian people will show themselves and others that they can be unified in overcoming their problems. This feat was carried out with no money being paid to carry the log.

 

We pray that the people of Haiti will continue in the spirit of this great accomplishment to show themselves and the world that they can work together for the good of their country.

 

“With man this is impossible but with God all things are possible!” Matthew 19:26

 

An int