Piece describing Dr. Joia Mukherjee's experiences in Port-au-Prince. Mukherjee is PIH's medical director.

From the article:

"After her first day—a day during which she, along with PIH physician David Walton and a team from Medicines Sans Frontiers Belgium, treated over 800 people—Joia asked the Zanmi Lasante driver 'Kote Neg Mawon?' (Where is Neg Mawon?) He brought her to the destroyed National Palace, and there in front of it was the statue of Neg Mawon. The symbol of Haiti, Neg Mawon means at once marooned man, the runaway man and the free man.

In 1804 the Haitian slaves defeated the army of Napoleon making Haiti the first and only nation founded by a slave revolution. At the time of the revolution, 70 percent of the slaves had been born free men and women in Africa. This victory resulted in Haiti being feared by the world’s powerful countries and thus politically marginalized or dominated for the next 200 years. Symbolizing this epic struggle, Neg Mawon stands, shackles broken, machete in hand, defiant and unafraid. He blows a conch to call others to freedom.

Joia found herself weeping in front of the statue when a Haitian woman—a survivor who until that moment was a stranger—approached her. She too was crying and as she put her arms around Joia, she said 'Neg mawon pap jamn kraze.' The free man will never be broken.

Back in the United States, Joia is frequently asked about how Haiti can rebuild in the face of this tragedy. Her response is an optimistic one. 'Haiti’s strength is her people,' she says with confidence. Insisting that if foreign aid can invest in the public sector--particularly health and education-- and communities are actively engaged in the process, Haiti can be built back better."