The Power of the Human

In economies and societies as mechanized as those of North America, we often forget what the power of the human can achieve.  Juice comes squeezed, pasteurized and pre-packaged in the refrigerator-section of the supermarket.  French fries come peeled, precut and frozen in large bags in the freezer aisle.  Car washes churn out clean cars with a mechanical hum every minute.  But in Haiti, with its high cost of materials and low cost of labor, the "power of human" holds sway.  You need french fries?  Hire a guy like this one above to peel and cut your potatoes by hand.  When I saw this man's labor, I was reminded that we Americans, with our reliance on machines and our short attention-spans, could never summon the energy and perseverance to peel an entire box of potatoes like this one.  The power of the human is one of the things we will miss when we leave Haiti.