The Haitian proverb “dèyè mòn, gen mòn” translates to “Beyond mountains, there are mountains,” meaning that as soon as one roadblock is resolved, another is already waiting to present a new problem. It’s not optimistic, per say, but sometimes the ideas hardest to accept hold the most important messages for us to hear.
Dr. Paul Farmer molded this proverb to the title of his biography, “Mountains Beyond Mountains.” Written by Tracy Kidder, the book tells the story of a selfless leader whose work indelibly impacted healthcare systems and communities worldwide, particularly in Haiti.
Farmer constructs a different interpretation of the notion of Mountains Beyond Mountains, framing the phrase to mean that when one problem is solved, true leaders do not rest to admire or be venerated for their work but focus their efforts on their next goal. To him, the value of leadership came from the self-sustaining progress that he constructed within each area he worked.
Dr. Farmer was first exposed to the dèyè mòn, gen mòn metaphor as a child when his family worked alongside Haitian migrant workers picking fruit in Florida. He studied Medical Anthropology at Duke University before leaving for Cange, Haiti, to volunteer in the hospital system. He eventually attended Harvard University, simultaneously earning his M.D. and Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology, while continuing to return to Cange as a medical student to advance his efforts at the primary hospital there. As a second year medical student, Farmer and several of his classmates at Harvard founded an organization called Partners in Health (PIH), which aided in building homes, schools, and communal sanitation facilities throughout central Haiti. As of 2022, PIH has spread to encompass 16 sites across Haiti with over 7,000 employees, and also works in Rwanda, Lesotho, Malawi, Mexico, Peru, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Russia, and the Navajo Nation.
After his graduation, Dr. Farmer's passion for medicine in underdeveloped nations soared. In 1999, he earned a nearly 45 million dollar grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation to facilitate treatment programs and drug-therapy initiatives for individuals across regions of Haiti, Peru, and Russia for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. His efforts in global treatment initiatives and equity in healthcare distinguished him as a leader in the field, and he spent the remainder of his life in roles including the Chair of Harvard Medical School’s Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, a University Professor at Harvard, a United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti under President Clinton’s administration, and a pioneer in COVID-19 contact tracing. He died in February 2022 while providing medical education in Rwanda.
Dr. Farmer’s story may appear like a textbook image of success, but the reality is that his greatest accomplishments came from anger.
Dr. Farmer said that, “The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.” He once was denied appropriate funding to continue a PIH effort and was heard murmuring, “How much could be done in Haiti if only he could get his hands on the money that the first world spent on pet grooming.” He believed that “the physicians are the natural attorneys of the poor, and the social problems should largely be solved by them.”
"Dr. Farmer said that, 'The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.'"
He was frustrated at the structure of developed society that, over time, created ingrained archetypes of money, elitism, and power entrenching the idea that we should accept that there will be deficits and inequity in basic human rights for some regions of the world.
In other words, the tallest and steepest of mountains beyond mountains.
When Olivia and I wanted to start this campaign two years ago, we, without even realizing it, were very much in our own cycle of Mountains Beyond Mountains. The reality was and remains that no matter how much awareness or funds this campaign raises, it will never be enough to be more than a drop in a bucket necessary to effectuate genuine change. In the last two years, the future of Haiti has only grown more grim, with the assassination of their president, escalation of violent protests, and many cities now completely usurped by gangs. So why continue it, and why care?
I care because I believe that some battles have to be fought more than once to be won. Change may not be rapid, but that does not constitute ignorance or neglect for an entire country in desperate need of people to support them. I also believe that the future of Haiti depends on the understanding of worlds beyond our own. I think of some of the most powerful societal movements that our world has seen in my lifetime, and how many of them were anchored in the importance of self-education and being open to other perspectives.
"I care because I believe that some battles have to be fought more than once to be won."
Nelson Mandela famously said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” I find this quote to be so applicable because it speaks not only to the importance of education that organizations like High Hopes for Haiti provide, but also to the necessity for us to educate ourselves to ignite change. The actions and beliefs that we enact and instill in others have the potential to spark the very movements that one day will allow for a more liberated and equitable world – one without countries labeled as developed or underdeveloped.
"The actions and beliefs that we enact and instill in others have the potential to spark the very movements that one day will allow for a more liberated and equitable world – one without countries labeled as developed or underdeveloped."
Dr. Farmer is one of many inspirational and influential figures who surmounted incredibly high obstacles to leave a better future for Haiti and countries around the world. His story serves as a reminder of the stark realities yet hopeful future that can exist for Haiti if we are willing to participate, even if it still feels mountains away.
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