Anger is a wasted emotion.

People who want alternative information have to try so hard to find it.

We try to keep the beautiful memories, but other things from the past creep up on us.

Language is such a powerful thing. After the earthquake, I went to Haiti and people were talking about how [they] described this feeling of going through an earthquake. People really didn't have the vocabulary - before we had hurricanes. I'd talk with people and they'd say, "We have to name it; it has to have a name."

For the majority of the people it is a difficult place to live. That's a reality that we can't ignore. But there is also great beauty to it.

AIDS was something that was put upon us [as haitians], and we were immediately identified with it. That is unfair. That is unjust. I always say, "We are all people living with AIDS." It's not like you can avoid it. It's part of our world.

You learned in school that you have pencils and paper only because the trees gave themselves in unconditional sacrifice.