Katz

The Big Truck that Went By explains with clarity and preciseness the precariousness of life on this planet, the miracle that is struggle and survival, and the nuances of power that complicate and muck up the whole damn process. One thing that Katz makes very plain throughout his narrative is the aspect of privilege. Although I am not sure this was his goal, he reveals time and again the subtle ways that his blan-ness, his press status, and his citizenship give him a leg up on the people he encounters in his work. What is interesting, though, (and I am sure this is the case for many of us) he often seems to feel just as powerless as everyone else who is on the ground in Haiti. I imagine that one does not calculate all the things social capital and status will ‘buy’ in that moment when nature forces the house to come crumbling down on top of you. But, that being said, his status did keep the concrete of his house from crumbling like a piece of pastry. And his status became evident after the quake and in the paths he was able to negotiate in the following year.

Even though Katz likely felt as vulnerable and powerless as everyone around him, he was continually forced to recognize his privilege in the eyes of those he encountered. Take the man at the polling site whose name was missing from the roster, for instance. He saw Jonathan’s privilege immediately and then helped him to recognize it himself by asking Jonathan to intervene on his behalf. Jonathan successfully helped the man vote. In another example, Jonathan was forced to confront his privilege and the ‘less than’ status of Evens the night they went to the U.S. Embassy for help. They were told to sleep in the guard shack, and later Jonathan was allowed to enter the embassy only because of his citizenship. Confronted with his privilege, he had to leave Evens outside like he was livestock. Simultaneously, though, he successfully procured some food and water for his sleeping friend. Finally, there was the point where Jonathan finally sold his car to Evens. It seemed clear that Jonathan suspected that through some creative coercion, Evens set it up that way. Was that the reality of the sale, or was Jonathan’s suspicion another example of the tendency of white people to assume corruption from Haitian people? It is hard to say. But again, through this interaction Evens was able to get Jonathan to recognize his own privilege. Unlike Evens he was able to leave Haiti, he had steady work coming his way, and he had the ability to sell the car he purchased with his company’s money, not his own.

I’m left conflicted about the relationship between Jonathan and Evens. They both looked out for one another, and there seemed to be a genuine affection between them from time to time. But then, when Evens was most concerned about recovering his family from the devastation of the earth quake, Jonathan had to remind himself to prioritize sympathy for Evens because his greater concern had been with getting the news out. In the end, Jonathan really had nothing to lose, whereas survival and the reality of life in Haiti meant that Evens had to grasp onto whatever opportunity he could. Thus, I’m left with the question: was the relationship symbiotic, convenient, or temporarily fabricated?