Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist Win Butler has opened up about his experience in the devastated island nation of Haiti. In a recent blog post, Butler said the suffering endured by Haitians since the earthquake was like nothing he'd ever seen.
"Port-au-Prince is, well, it is hard to take in. In parts of the city the suffering and chaos are beyond my comprehension - people living, not in tents, but under tarps stretched across walls made of junk and rope," he writes in a blog post.
"People living in these structures all the way up to the edge of the road - all the way down into the slopes of the drainage ditches. And the drainage ditches aren't draining. Garbage and garbage fires are everywhere."
Butler adds that, though he was shocked by the conditions that remain in Haiti, his lasting impression was one of hope for the future.
"I did not leave the country despairing, overcome by tales of poverty and woe. There is massive suffering, yes, and poverty. But we spent the whole trip in the company of people who were active - people who were either helping to rebuild Haiti, or healing the sick, or creating art and music, or educating themselves. It was exciting. I feel hopeful."
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