Relief Tourists

I wonder how many tourists Haiti has attracted after the earthquake. Jacmel is a tourist town. I think zero close to none. I read on a blog about tourists being in a hotel during the earthquake. So perhaps some have still existed in the recent past. I wonder if their sole purpose was tourism. I’m told the concept of tourists now for last many years in Haiti has become relief working tourists. I see American college students eating buffet dinner on the patio after their stay at the beach. They make a prayer before dinner. They talk about random things. I feel they are tourists, but I know better. We are also relief workers making a stop at the hotel to visit friends, for a nice night out.

I wonder if in life we ever imagined the idea of combining our relief work with the luxury to move away from the suffering around us. I wonder if this is fair. Rather, I wonder if this is possible. I wonder if I would want that life. There are many moments here where I feel like the UN or military, helpers by day, relaxers by night. Perhaps the limits of sanity have been expanded.