Pictures from our rooftop

 

10pm last night: This fire was lit in a dumpster less than an hour after the election results were announced. 

11am this morning: Freelance photographers that live in our building prepare to get on their mototaxis to get closer to the action. We saw other media wearing vests and helmuts. They looked completely in their element - and high on adrenaline. They must live for this stuff.

1pm this afternoon: The crowds started getting more organized. This group was mainly interested in making noise, but others were more focused on throwing rocks at UN Peacekeepers that were stationed a couple of blocks away.

3pm this afternoon: By now, there was an ongoing game of cat-and-mouse between the UN Peacekeepers and the protesters. Here you see people looking up the street where rocks and tear gas are being exchanged.

The results are in, but many don't agree

Just want to let everybody know that we're safe amid the elections violence. The vote results that came out last night were viewed with great skepticism, to say the least. Martelly (alias "Sweet Mickey" with the support of Wyclef Jean) came in third place by less than 1% and will miss the second round. His supporters (mostly the youth) are furious, since they believe the current president's chosen successor bought his way into second place. First place has gone to Manigat, the former first lady front-runner.

We happen to live only a couple of blocks away from the Electoral Committee's headquarters, so quite a few protests have been in our area. For the last 24 hours there have been tires burning, rocks thrown and tear gas cans fired. As I write this however, things appear much quieter. We were told to stay indoors all day today, but we're hoping the restrictions will be lifted for tomorrow. I have several photos and videos to upload, but unfortunately the internet service is extremely week. Look for more soon.

Obviously everybody's hoping the violence will end as soon as possible. Haiti cannot afford the clean up, the economic disturbance, or the threats from the international community to halt aid.

This Globe and Mail article (click here) does a good job of telling the story. It quotes a University of Montreal expert commenting on the election results: "This is probably the worst-case scenario".

Dancing the dance – the Elections in Haiti

Election signs next to a camp just around the corner from our appartment

The elections dance is a complicated one with many steps and many partners. Like a good ol’ square dance, it requires a “caller” on the microphone giving specific instructions to make sure people don’t smash into each other or trip over their own feet. In Haiti, there has never been a caller which has created jousting on the dance floor and then a run for the microphone itself. If you can’t dance you might as well yell to try and make the others dance to your steps.

Counting ballots

Haiti’s elections “happened” last Sunday – and there has been debate ever since over how well they went. The candidates, international observers and the elections board have been issuing statements left, right and center to try to control public opinion.

For the candidates, the most important objective is to create a perception that they will make the final round (the top two will advance). In a country where everyone is skeptical of the vote counting, it is crucial to make the population believe you won  – that way, if the “official vote” comes out against you, you can rely on your followers to take to the streets and demand an annulment of the vote.

Manigat and Sweet Micky sneaking out on  the other candidates (LeNouvelliste.com)

This tactic was wonderfully demonstrated by a circus act on the afternoon of the vote. One of the nineteen contenders, Michael Martelly (see my blog on “Sweet Micky” from a couple of months ago), managed to gather fourteen main candidates together to call for the cancellation of the elections due to fraud by the current President’s hand-picked follower, Jude Celestin. All of these dissidents gathered at a fancy hotel for a nice photo-op where they all denounced the ballot stuffing, premeditated violence and voter list rigging that had been reported at several stations. Together they could have perhaps stood strong. The problem, however, is that it often pays to defect. Of all people, this defection was precipitated by Wyclef Jean (the famous singer who had been banned to stand for president), who put his weight behind “Sweet Micky”, but added that the voting process should continue. Martelly conveniently agreed and quickly left the meeting to head downtown with a handful of supporters claiming that he was leading the polls. Realizing she had been duped, another top candidate (Mirlande Manigat) quickly distanced herself from the group of fourteen (now twelve) saying that she also thought the ballots should be counted. Basically, the three candidates who believe they are at the top are all out on their own, having left the pack of bitter discontents to dig up technical laws to try and overturn the counting.

 So that was exciting – but what about the international community who is supposed to certify the elections? Well, the international observers from the OAS have admitted that although there were substantial irregularities, the process was “good enough” to go ahead. But then the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon got even tougher, saying yesterday that the election irregularities “seem more serious than previously thought.”  Finally, the UN peacekeeping chief Edmond Mulet appeared to threaten an international withdrawal if “popular will isn’t respected by the electoral council” (Haitian columnists have been perplexed ever since about what he means by “popular will”). But all in all, the UN is calling for the elections to continue in the most peaceful manner possible.

March 2010 photo Mulet, Preval and Ban (zimbio.com)

Add more fun to the mix: It is now coming out that the UN might have pressured Martelly and Manigat to accept the election. The UN lecture undoubtedly was based on two points. First, that the elections were “good enough” without widespread violence. Second, the international community has no appetite to shell out another $30 million to finance a second try.

And so the microphone gets passed around and the partners dance to their own tune on the dance floor. The preliminary results of the first round should be announced mid week. Look for a fresh round of positioning from all the candidates. After all, democracy is only the best form of government if you win the vote.

The problem with dreaming

Haitians may suffer from a lack of basic services like clean water, food and shelter, but one thing they do not suffer from is a lack of ideas flooding into from foreign countries. In fact, the conference business here is booming, with all hotels (even large restaurants) constantly packed with NGO-backed seminars and symposiums to disseminate the future seeds of development. Yet the seeds are often ill-fitted to their environment and the sowing ceremonies in the form of lavish catered ceremonies become no more than excuses for fancy speeches claiming to have the key for improved development in Haiti.

NGOs bring prosthetic technology and expertise to
help many get back to a normal life

A recent (pre-cholera) conference focused on the rights of the disabled in Haiti. Those present included members of the special secretariat for the disabled, specialized NGOs and members of various embassies. The presenters took care to educate the audience on the extent of problems for the disabled in Haiti, and gave examples of work in progress to try to accommodate them. Photos of prosthetic limbs, ramp access, sign language classes all were proof of the good work going on around the country.

The conference was also designed to raise awareness for the rights of the disabled. The UN charter on the subject was referred to as proof of the responsibility of states to care for everyone, not just those considered mentally and physically fit. Everyone should be guaranteed access to education. Everyone should be able to get on a bus. Everyone should have the medical care they need. Who could disagree? The more the speakers painted pictures of special needs teachers and wheelchair access apartments, the more the expectations – and emotions – in the room were raised.

In development, the idea of implanting new ideas or technology is known as “leaping”. The theory is that you can speed up development by providing advanced ideas to developing countries rather than let them evolve towards them by themselves. For instance, by providing modern sewing machines to a Haitian garment factory, you will make them more competitive and successful. No need to force them go through the same trial and error methods that Western Europe went through during the industrial revolution. If this works for factories, there seems to be no reason why you cannot also provide enlightened ideas on human rights and achieve the same leaping effect. For instance, by promoting the rights of women, countries stand to gain quickly and widely. Empowered women are more likely to have smaller families, earn incomes and educate their children. But to what extent can you push the rights of other groups like the disabled?

According to the conference speakers, disabled rights should be extended as far as possible. After all, Haiti is a signatory to the UN convention on the rights of the disabled. To ratify this, a bill is before the Haitian senate to guarantee accessibility to all vulnerable peoples. After some research, I discovered that this bill contained the following sections:

II-2-10: The state guarantees all handicapped people access to health care, housing and all levels of education.

IV-2-24: All rented housing must be handicap accessible

IV-4-29: All national transport is to be handicap accessible. Those accompanying handicapped people are to travel free of charge.

Inter-city "Tap-Tap" Transport

Consider for a moment the context in which this law is being tabled. Haiti’s education system is mostly private with few curriculum standards. Over 1M people are homeless after the earthquake and many houses are weak structures of brittle bricks, corrugated iron and plastic tarps. There is no such thing as “national transport”, and private transport is mostly made up of “tap-taps”.

Yet the speakers went on and on. A government official dreamed about future designs of buildings to have ramps so that all Haitians can also enjoy theatres and cinemas. But there was no mention of the fact that the capital has no real sidewalks, let alone a working theatre or cinema. A member of a Latin American delegation spoke of the need of financial assistance for those who care for the disabled. This in a country with no social security system of any kind. Another mentioned the need to have quotas for businesses to employ mentally handicapped people. Hardly an option when unemployment is greater than 60%. The conference was closed with thunderous applause and flurries of colourful brochures.

Now, I’m hardly the person to condemn discourse on human rights. But I think this is a clear case of lack of consideration for the overall context. Haiti’s public sector is buckling from demands on it to change laws, approve projects and adjust resources. Additional expectations can put the government in a tough position where they have to appeal for more funds to spread over an increasingly wider, and less coherent, set of goals. A better approach would be to encourage the government to create a solid set of manageable objectives which can be prioritized and delivered upon.

Needless to say, identifying and implementing the proper objectives is full of difficulties. But understanding that there are trade-offs is a good start. We all recognize ethics and we all recognize justice. But we also recognize the reality of capacity and the need for compromise. Challenges need to be defined honestly and objectives made realistically.

So let’s start with the basics. Children need to get schools. Schools need to get teachers. Health clinics need doctors. Investors need to create jobs. In a country with the highest maternal mortality, illiteracy and unemployment in the hemisphere, these are already formidable challenges. No need to complicate things with kneeling buses for the moment.

Happy Haiti

Since all you're seeing in the media are pictures of cholera patients, hurricane flood damage and election protests, we thought it would be nice to share with you a different face of Haiti. Happy Haiti.

A few weeks ago we had the chance to visit a remote island off the south west coast. After a beautiful car ride through the lush countryside we arrived in the port city of Les Cayes. It was the first place we had been to outside of the earthquake zone which meant no rubble, no pancaked houses and no tents. From there, we hopped on a small motor boat with an outboard engine that used all of its might to push us slowly towards Ile la Vache.

We passed fishermen in dug-out canoes and crabtrabs bouyed by plastic bottles. We also passed young boys free diving for lobster far from shore. And then we arrived. The beautiful beaches and pristine water welcomed us to our weekend home. The pictures speak for themselves!

A glancing blow still stings

A man waits with his belongings in his flooded home during the passing of
Hurricane Tomas in Leogane, Haiti. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

All in all, Haiti was spared the worst of hurricane Tomas over the last 48 hours. The storm took its time in arriving and constantly flip-flopped from being considered a tropical storm or hurricane (though it finally settled on the latter). While the south-west and north were struck with heavy winds and rain, Port-au-Prince was just got rain - and less than expected. Even so, many areas have flooded and six people are reported dead. The country is now trying to coordinate a response to reach those who have been cut off. The UN and government estimate an initial response cost of $14M.

For Tania and I, it was an eerie feeling to experience the anticipation of a hurricane. We both stayed at a house where all of her colleagues live, which is adjacent to a large camp that the NGO serves. Not being able to sleep on Friday night, I spent an hour on the balcony looking up at a thick blanket of shadowy clouds sliding over the city. The rain was light. If my mind hadn't been picturing the internet satellite views that I'd been glued to all day, I would have thought the sky to be a familiar comfort of a Vancouver winter evening. But knowing this was likely just a teasing first view of the storm, I focused on every tree rustle, every rain burst, to try to detect "the real beginning" of the terrible Tomas.

But it didn't come, and I soon went to bed convinced I would hear any significant activity before the worst arrived. When we all got up again at 6am, the rain continued - a bit stronger now - but the wind was silent. By late morning, the sattelite showed that the storm was as close as it would get, about 200km away. Morning turned to afternoon, and still the winds remained calm. By evening the rains picked up again, strengthening to a downpour at about 3am. This was the trailing blow of Tomas, who has since made a slow decline as it heads into open ocean tracking North East.

In the end, the camps in the capital area were spared the tent-shredding winds that were feared. But all that rain amounted to significant flooding in certain coastal areas. Many camps are now filled with mud which will takes days, if not weeks to dry out. And the stagnant water may prove to be an added boost to an already tenacious cholera outbreak that has killed more than 400 people.


It is now Sunday afternoon. The sun is out and music is blaring on the streets of our neighbourhood.
Life goes on. Thanks for all the concerned messages over the last few days!

(Photos from TheJournal.ie)

Red Alert for Tomas

Haiti has just notched up it's alert system to the highest level - red - for the oncoming hurricane which is expected to hit the south-west coast of the island on Friday. The earthquake affected area is closer to the capital, which may yet escape the worst of the winds, but it will certainly receive a lot of rain (min 50cm). Historically, this has caused mass flooding in the Port-au-Prince area. Of course, the area is particularly sensitive because of the cholera outbreak and the 1.3M people living in camps. For most camps there is no real damage prevention strategy (beyond extra tie-downs for tents, clean up of dangerous objects, etc) since the set-up is so vulnerable to begin with. Instead, NGOs and the government are already planning the response which will include food/water distribution, medical care and clean up. We'll post more information here as we get it.

Rumours and Cholera

A man holds his own IV bag outside of an overcrowded clinic
-Photo from CBC.ca

For a two days now, the death toll has been relatively stable at around 300 with well over 4,000 infections. It seems that Haiti has been given a little bit of time (or breathing space) to prepare for what the experts are predicting will be a large second wave. Actions on the ground have been frantic - NGOs have leapt into action setting up medical sites, the government has been pushing public messages out to radio, and the UN agencies have attempted to consolidate needs lists to appeal to international donors.

All the while Haitians are legitimately wondering where the cholera came from - after all, this is an island that hasn't had a case in over 200 years (or maybe ever). So eyes are turning to the foreigners. And who is easier to blame than those who are resented by many Haitians? The Peacekeepers. The current rumour spreading is that Nepalese troops must have brought the bacteria, based on the logic that they are stationed near the outbreak area.... and the fact that their country occasionally has cases of cholera. One of my drivers, who a few days ago surely had never heard of the country of Nepal, is now an expert on the country's previous cholera epidemics.

The worst part about the rumour is it can't be completely ruled out since there isn't a better (or more popular) theory right now. If it proves to be true, it will be another paragraph in multichapter tomb on foreign-caused problems in Haiti.

For now the country is coping with the outbreak. Though the cholera will almost certainly breach Port au Prince in the coming days, the health and sanitation (government and non-government) agencies are preparing quickly to lessen the effects. With a quick mobilization, the epidemic will hopefully end after a couple of months. But long after the NGO emergency tents are taken down, the bacteria will remain lurking on the island for generations.

Silence explained

Over the last few weeks, I finished my internship, interviewed with more organizations, and finally accepted a job offer. Then we went on R&R to NY and DC for a few days. Our flight back was delayed a day so on the morning we got back we pulled two clean shirts out of our suitcase at the airport, were picked up by our organizations and went straight to work. I started a new job, Graham went back to juggling three different projects, and then out of nowhere we received news of a cholera outbreak. Yes, Cholera, as in the Gabriel Garcia Marquez book. According to the last Ministry of Heath update, 200 people have died and more than 2600 cases have been reported.

You can read more here

at the New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/world/americas/24haiti.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

at Al Jazeera

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/10/201010238172616899.html

and at BBC News

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11614639

Thank you all for your messages. We are both fine. Our organizations have taken extra precautions as we try to help contain the outbreak so that it doesn't reach the 1.5 million IDPs living in tents since the earthquake. We are scared by how fast it is spreading but truly impressed by the NGOs response. Let's hope it can be contained.

Pink is for girls...

Conversations with my male co-workers

Stuck in traffic- talking to the driver

-In Colombia do girls wear pants?

Me: Yes, why?

-Because under the good governments in Haiti women had to dress well

Me: You mean they had to wear skirts? By law?

-Yes, there was a type of police that would make sure women didn’t wear pants

Me: That’s crazy. What’s wrong with wearing pants?

-Well, it must get really hot when they wear such clothes ~as he points to a girl on the street wearing tight jeans-

At the bakery buying birthday sweets for a male co-worker

Me: Let’s get chocolate cake!

-Tania, chocolate cakes are for girls

Me: Really? What do men like?

-They like square cakes, and they have to be simple

On cooking

Me: Is it true that Haitians eat cats?

-Yes, some people do.

Me: Have you eaten cats?

-Yes, sometimes when I drink with my friends. It’s really good

Me: How do you cook them?

-Cooking them? I don’t know. I don’t know how to cook anything. But once last year I made coffee.

Fragility tested

A girl ties her hair next to her tent after it fell down due to heavy rain at a camp
for earthquake survivors in Port-au-Prince, Haiti - AP

The hurricane season has been an active one this year and yet Haiti continues to be spared. NGOs have assisted the government in setting up 48 hour warning systems by SMS and radio. Plans have been drawn up to attempt to evacuate certain areas if necessary.

Unfortunately, the unusual storm that hit Port au Prince Friday night was not a hurricane and came with no warning. At about 4pm, dark clouds descended on the city and within a matter of minutes tornado-like winds and heavy rains were lashing the fragile city. Trees toppled, streets flooded and the several camps were shredded.

The residual shock from the earthquake was evident: people panicked. Reports said people started running through the streets. Traffic came to a gridlock. The Haitian staff members of Tania’s organization were visibly frightened – for themselves in the warehouse and for friends and family that might be outside. In my building, we had to secure all the shutters except for one where we helplessly looked up on the flapping tarps of one of the precarious mountainside camps above Petionville.

International estimates say that over 5,000 tents were either damaged or destroyed. Power lines went down all over the city, forcing the utility to shut off electricity. Many of those most affected by the winds and the rain were forced to spend the night in the dark. In the end, five people are said to have lost their lives.

All this was created with winds of up to 100km/h – definitely a violent storm, but far less than a hurricane would generate. This is our first glimpse of what another natural disaster could do to this structurally and psychologically fragile area. Despite the construction of temporary shelters, early warning systems, and better storm drainage it is difficult to imagine how the over 1M still living in tents would be sufficiently protected.

Erase una vez...

Once upon a time in a land full of mangoes, SUVs, potholes and enchanted waterfalls, there lived a boy and a girl lost in the kingdom of NGOs and development aid...

He wore Italian jackets and fancy shoes to work. He spent his days having meetings with Ministers and deputies, high representatives, Commissioners, NGO directors and one or two famous people. His week included business lunches, and conferences at sophisticated conference rooms where diplomats and international aid decision makers used fancy translation devices much like the ones we see in movies that show the United Nations- whether the actual UN headquarters actually have them, he did not know...

She did her paperwork at a dusty office. Her work involved visiting sites and thus entailed spending countless hours under the sweltering sun of the Caribbean trying to convey logistics procedures to the locals in tongues she could not speak. Alas she did not have fancy translations booths that could rescue her (but she is not bitter). She often resorted to drawings and hand gestures instead. She wore logo-ed t-shirts and baseball hats that every day collected almost as much dust as her old Bologna apartment....almost. Her lunch came in styrofoam and was purchased on the side of the road.

Will they get tired of eating mangos and avocados? Will she finally find gainful employment? Will he get another haircut from the local barber? Will she lose some pounds
on her gelato-less dietary regime or gain some because of her repeated consumption of du riz avec poids?

Stay tuned for the next episode....

Haitian Barbers: It’s all in the edging

Some barber shops fare better than others

It seems colourful barber shops pop out at you from every street in Port-au-Prince. With a low start up cost, constant demand and little training involved, it’s a very popular business to run. But as in any business, many simply don't cut it (excuse the pun) and fall into disrepair. The question is how to make your barber shop stand out amongst the rest? After all, virtually all Haitian men get the same buzz cut from an electric clipper. No price wars either – it seems to be a standard 70 gds (about $1.80). The skill, it turns out, is not in the scissors (or the clipper), but in the razor. Neat and crisp lines are paramount –it’s really all in the edging.

No need to look elsewhere for a haircut
and t-shirt printing combination

A few weeks ago I decided to try my local barber (which, like every “local” barber is no less than 50 meters away from any given house). This is an adventure rarely braved by foreigners who chose to get haircuts while on vacation in Santo Domingo or Miami (“at least they’re used to straight hair”, says a colleague). But as a reckless risk-taker in matters of appearance and grooming, I decided I would try my luck anyway. I entered the hot little cement room and expectedly got a surprised stare from the man sitting inside. I politely said I would like a haircut in my best Creole (backed up by a gesture of my index and middle fingers chopping away at my head).  He then shouted something and a few moments later “Carli” came in towards me with the look of a rarely used pinch hitter sizing up an unknown pitcher. It seemed I was a special case after all. Skipping the small-talk, we went straight to the strategy. I gestured to him a shortish length on the side, and a little longer up top. Other than that, I said he could do what he liked – after all, he’s the pro. Carli nodded and got to work.

Carli and the shop

He started by running the clipper over the back of my head. His strokes quickly gained speed and he began to furiously whittle down my hair. He moved from the back, to the sides, and back again – misting tiny bits of hair down onto my stylish nylon bib (I couldn’t help but notice the odd tinge of grey that seems to be in the mix these days).  And so the clipping went on – for 10, 20, 30 minutes –buzzing around and around my scalp with the air of an unsatisfied artist. As sweat beaded on my forehead, I began to wonder if the unbelievably cheap price painted on the wall behind me was in fact being charged per minute. I attempted to read it, but the faded mirror failed my straining eyes.  

Finally, the machine stopped. My scalp, and the hairs that had been spared, were relieved. Carli then reached for a new razor blade to put on the final touches. I briefly considered stopping the man, but I thought it unwise to opt-out of the raison-d’être of the whole experience. So Carli then spent another quarter of an hour cutting a crisp line as the border of my hair and dabbing me with cotton soaked alcohol.

My razor edges - with the tan
lines to prove it

Almost an hour after he started, Carli flashed a huge smile to show that his masterpiece was complete. I thanked him and paid the 70 gourds (it turned out it was a flat fee). I then happily emerged into the sunlight of the street drenched in sweat, but with an immaculately even, expertly edged marine buzz cut. Close enough to what I wanted, I suppose. And well worth the experience!

You're in our thoughts...

Today we learned that four of Graham's Bologna classmates were involved in a car accident in DC. An intoxicated driver crashed her car into the two girls as they were waiting to cross the street at an intersection. Both of them sustained very serious injuries, and one is still in critical condition. Luckily the two guys were not injured.

Our thoughts are with Melissa, Julia, Teddy and Moran in this difficult moment. May family and friends bring you strength, comfort, and support to fully recover and get well soon.

With much love, all the way from the Caribbean,

G&T

Nou Jacmel...

Last month we visited Jacmel, one of the most tourist visited cities in Haiti. Since I work on Saturdays we were only able to leave in the afternoon, and knowing Port-au-Prince traffic, especially on the weekends, it was anybody's guess how long the drive was going to take. 

Our friend Ian had looked it up on google maps: 1 hour and 26 minutes! he said. Having had a couple of misleading driving times in Colombia, Graham and I calculated it would be 2-3 times as long. Boy were we wrong. The traffic was so much worse than expected. It took 6 hours but it felt like much longer. The good thing is that it provided us with the opportunity to see parts of the city we hadn't visited before.

As we sat in traffic, we passed endless markets that brought a relief of colour to the otherwise bleak environment of garbage and rubble. 

Once we neared the edge of the city, we also saw  UN presence. We expect to see more of this as we near the elections in November.

   

Once out in the countryside, the drive to Jacmel is absolutely beautiful. You have to go over the mountains that separate the north coast from the Caribbean, and it makes for wonderful views on both sides. The road is not in such a bad shape compared to the streets we take everyday to go to work. And a very good driver made it very comfortable.

Graham had made a reservation online at what he thought was a nice hotel. It ended up being a classic Jacmel house, truly representative of the architecture and details that made this city famous in the Caribbean. It was built towards the end of the 19th century, and although it suffered some damage after the earthquake, it was repaired and reopened a few months ago.

The style resembles that of the French quarter in New Orleans, with adorned balconies in every room, rooms that open onto another room, courtyards, more balconies and beautifully decorated bathrooms. There was Haitian art in every wall, and 19th century furniture carefully restored and well-kept. We slept in four post beds with giant mosquito nets, and our balcony looked over a quiet street from where we could see the neighbours gardens and shaded patios.

The restaurant of Hotel La Florita where we enjoyed some of the best coffee we have had in the country

The next morning we learned that Jacmel has been a famous destination dating back to the early 1800s. Their most famous visitor of that era was none other than Simon Bolivar. Even though it was hot and we were looking forward to enjoying the beach, we walked around the historic quarter looking for the house where he stayed at. It turns out there isn't much to see at the site except for a plaque that indicates Bolivar's place of residence during his visit. There, in 1818, the leaders of Haiti allowed him to stay and plan the triumphant revolution against the Spaniards, provided that upon winning he would abolish slavery throughout the Americas.

Though it bears the scars of decades of neglect and the recent earthquake,
the town still retains a certain vibrancy of its past.

We walked around a bit more, and visited the main plaza, and a few of the sites. Soon it was too hot to not be at the beach so we packed up and drove for 10 minutes.... and then cut to one of those scenes you see in postcards and travel brochures. A nice, clean, quiet and almost empty beach....bliss! 

Thanks to our travel companions, Stacey and Ian, for waiting until I finished work, providing snacks for the trip, bringing Ipods full of worldly music and one or two Spanish lessons, buying and wearing ridiculous sombreros and being fantastic Simon Bolivar house hunters.  We miss you guys!

 For an interesting stories on Jacmel and post-earthquake projects going on, check out the Project Jacmel blog with the Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/project-jacmel/

You smile, he smiles, they smile, and I ….don’t sleep

It all started on Monday night. I wanted to get at least 7 hours of sleep so I went to bed at 10.30pm. The music outside our window was a bit louder than usual. You see, we live close to what looks like a shack with a small stereo and some really really big speakers. We are not really sure if there is space for dancing, and it’s possible they don’t even sell alcohol. They just play music, mostly loud music. Though it can get a bit noisy on the weekends, it’s never kept me awake. My 50 or so roommates over the past 10 years can attest to the fact that I sleep through anything: music, lights, dancing all around me…when I’m tired I sleep whenever, wherever. On Monday night that was not the case.

Ti Sourit on the dark streets of Petion-ville

An hour after we went to bed, whistles and loud cheering woke me up. The music had gotten louder, and it was now coming from more than one source. To make things even worse our nice and quiet fan had stopped working and there was no AC. So there we were... 1am, it was extremely hot, I had to get up in 4 hours, and the music just wouldn’t stop. Finally we decided to bring in a really old and loud fan into our room to cool us down, but mostly to drawn out the music. It kind of worked and we were able to get some sleep.

The next morning Graham asked the house staff about the noise. Was it a party? Or a soccer game perhaps? "Championat" -a championship! They said. We figured they were having a soccer tournament and the previous night had been the final game.

Alas, when we got back from dinner last night a big crowd had once again transformed the street into a soccer field. Obviously the car could not get through so we got off and walked. Graham’s bodyguard was unimpressed. However, instead of having to avoid being hit by a soccer ball we found ourselves surrounded by a happy crowd that was just hanging out and dancing. Apparently much more than a football championship has been keeping awake us this week. We now know this kind of street party is called "Ti Sourit" translated as "little smile" or "you smile" or "everybody smiles" according to my co-workers. It is an end of summer celebration, an invitation to do whatever you want on the street. There’s drinking and partying but mostly dancing and playing soccer all in the same space (!)

I have been told it will last all week. If only we could remember where we packed the earplugs….

(by Tania)

Sweet Mickey – the other Haitian singer who wants to become President

Late last Friday, the electoral commission finally the delivered the news that everybody was expecting: Wyclef Jean, the presidential front-runner, would not be participating in the November election because he had not fulfilled the constitutional requirement of living in Haiti for the last five years. Wyclef’s supporters have behaved rather well since the disappointing announcement, but they are not expected to give up the fight to get their candidate back on the list.

In fact, it turns out that Haitians seem to be particularly fond of supporting politicians who are barred from running for office.

Graffiti reads "Have a good trip home Jean-Claude Duvalier"

“The old support the Duvalier regimes and the young support Aristide” said my driver yesterday in a matter-of-fact voice.  Though this is a bit of a simplification, it is true that these figures still loom large over politics today. But of course nobody can cast a ballot in their favour.

The result seems to be that the vast majority simply don’t vote. Time and time again Tania and I have asked our Haitian friends and colleagues whether they are planning to vote. It’s as if we’re challenging them to walk to the other side of the island – they give you a perplexed and painful look. Jean-Pierre, a supervisor for the Cash-for-Work program at Tania's NGO said, “I’ve never voted because it may be dangerous to vote. Also, why would I stay outside in long lines under the sun?” Others we talked to just conclude that their vote makes no difference, whether it be because the election could be rigged, or because all presidents do the same thing: push the country further back in time.

Though Haitians will continue to pine for past dictators and disqualified hip-hop artists, they are now also beginning to look through 19 candidates who they will actually have the chance to elect. The most entertaining figure of this bunch is undoubtedly the other singer-turned-politician, Michael Martely, better known as “Sweet Mickey”.

Martely is considered a pioneer of Haitian kompa music, which began as a fusion of Afrolatin Jazz and African folklore rhythms. Apparently, his performances were full of obscenities and social political satire which used to cause quite a stir. His career began with the hit single “Pa Manyen” (Don’t Touch) in 1989 (see video) and he went on to churn out a new album almost every year during the 90s. Running out of steam, he settled to Florida in 2006 with his wife and their four children. It’s still not very clear why he wasn't restricted by the residency requirement that ousted Wyclef. It seems like the Hip Hop Fugee-Gangster was outmaouvered by the self proclaimed “Bad Boy President of Kompas.”

Nobody really thinks he has a chance at the presidency, but for the millions of Haitians who have nothing good to say about politics, at least “President Sweet Mickey” might give them something to smile about.... temporarily.

The Enchanted Waterfalls

Last Sunday we visited Sodo (Saut d'Eau in French), one of the most important spiritual sites in Haiti. As explained by Wikipedia, "the area holds cultural significance to both Catholic and Voodoo practitioners. In the 19th century, it is believed that the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (or the closely associated Vodou Lwa, Erzulie Dantor) appeared on a palm tree there. A French priest, afraid of the superstition this would inspire, cut the tree down, but it nonetheless became an important religious destination for Haitians, akin to the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico. Annually, the falls are the site of a large, important religious pilgrimage, during the festival of Our Lady of Carmel, from July 14–16. A Eucharistic rite is held during the festival, as well as various voodoo rituals, but the penultimate devotional activity is bathing in the waters of the falls, and asking favors of the Virgin or Erzulie"

And bathing we did. Under the falls themselves, the pressure was so strong that we could only bear it for a few seconds at a time. Most people are content to simply sit in the little nooks found on the rocks to enjoy the cool water going by (see photo on the left).

We really enjoyed the visit and were more than happy to talk to our co-workers about it the next day. To Tania's surprise some of her colleagues said they would never go because people there might curse you for life. Though we did see a few lit candles and other remnants of the July festivities, nothing looked too intimidating! Indeed, for us and for a few of the locals that were there, it seemed mostly like a nice place to relax and cool down on a Sunday afternoon .

We were joined on our trip by a few friends, including my fellow Bologna SAIS classmate, Ian. Together we decided this would be a great place to stage our summer dance. What, you ask? Well, our Masters class has decided to encourage everyone to submit a dance video from whatever part of the world they find themselves in. With our class spread over five continents, the full montage should be quite a spectacle once it gets put together.

Below is Ian and my contribution.

Profile: Charles the bodyguard

Tania and I hope to begin profiling some of the very different people we are meeting. We hope to bring you a glimpse of their unique stories through these posts.

Charles and his DVD player

We'll start with Charles the bodyguard, one of the favourites of my NGO. He joined us last weekend on a hike up into the mountains. Not knowing that he was getting himself into a 3 hour adventure, he brought his backpack full of heavy items, including a small DVD player. At our lunch stop, he proudly took it out (determined to justify its trip) and played us some choice Dominican salsa hits from the 90s. He can be full of surprises. He can also be very serious when talking about the problems of his country. But rarely much time goes by without his trademark smile.

 

Name: Charles

Age: 39

Immediate Family: Father, Mother, Wife and Daughter (7 months). All have lived in New York off and on since 1986. Charles has stayed mostly in Port-au-Prince to watch over the family’s three clothing stores.

Languages: Creole, French, some English and Spanish

Job: Bodyguard with a major foreign-owned security company. Finding few job options after graduation from law and agronomy school, Charles went to the Dominican Republic in 2003 to attend a escort training program. He came back to Port-au-Price and has worked ever since as a bodyguard during the week (earning ~$25/day), and helping the family business on the weekend.

Worst part about job: 1) The stress of escorting a client during protests and demonstrations 2) Waiting around at gas stations.

Best part about job: Chatting to clients during drives.

Dream in life: Become a doctor. Charles already studied one year of medicine before switching into a law program to appease his mother. But despite having the degree, Charles has never practiced law. In fact, he then took another program in Agronomy which eventually led to a job with the Ministry of Environment for two years. Unhappy with the salary and the few career opportunities, he decided to become a bodyguard to save money to re-enroll in medicine. Now 39 years old with a new baby, he’s not sure it will ever happen.

Earthquake story: His wife and daughter were visiting in Port-au-Prince. Eleven family members were on the 3^rd floor in their house when the earthquake struck. Only minor damage occurred, and all of them were left uninjured.

The job search

Apologies to our frequent readers for the lack of posting over the last couple of weeks. The good news is that I have started volunteering!

I started sending resumes to organizations in Haiti the moment Graham accepted his job offer back when we were still living in Bologna. As a quick search on the major job listings will show you, there were and still are plenty of vacancies with all sorts of agencies and organizations. This is because every major NGO and quite a few of the small ones have post-earthquake projects going on in Haiti at the moment. Another reason is that living conditions are difficult, and starting salaries are not very high so Human Resources departments are struggling to fill their positions.

Given the number of vacancies and the fact that I am already here you would think that it would be easy to find a job! What I have found is that when it comes to jobs the development world is very very small. The people with experience jump from continent to continent, meeting in all corners of the world, accumulating foreign language upon foreign language, sometimes living in tents, often without internet or contact with the rest of the world. Their shared struggles and most of the time successful “in-country” experiences make them a very solidary, tight group. Like in any other clique that is great news when you are already part of it, but quite challenging if you find yourself outside of it.

Most people think that my education and my professional experience should be valuable to a lot of these organizations, plus I’m already here! But if you do not have professional full time experience within the development world, or in this case, previous experience in Haiti, it is very hard to get through the recruitment stage.

I have sent many resumes to international headquarters but those files do not ever seem to make it to their offices down here. During the past few weeks I have met several HR staff from quite a few of the organizations I have applied to. They repeatedly tell me that they are looking for people with my profile and ask me to apply again through their website. This all means that I spend countless hours on NGOs websites re-submitting seemingly endless applications.

On the positive side, some of the people that we have met have been extremely helpful. They have helped me tailor my CV, and then personally taken my resume to their HR departments. That resulted in three interviews so far, and one internship!!

I am still looking for a job but for now I have accepted to work as a volunteer for a European NGO. I am currently a Logistics Officer for their Cash for Work program. The work has been very challenging but extremely rewarding. The program aims to inject cash into the most vulnerable areas of the city by paying community members to remove rubble from their own streets and schools. We provide most of the equipment needed, and collect the rubble once it has been piled up. This has allowed me to visit some of the hardest hit areas, meet community leaders, and see some progress in the local economy.

As for the practical details… I get picked at 6.30am,I have been issued with a cell phone, a laptop and a GPS tracker, I have to follow their very strict security restrictions Monday to Saturday, 6.00- 6.00 (that’s right I also work on Saturdays!). I work with about 20 other expats, and approximately 150 national staff. I get a small stipend that buys me lunch every day, and I have been told that there might be job openings in the near future that I might be eligible for.

So far the best part about it has been working with some very smart and incredibly kind young Haitians that work as monitors for the program. Most of them had been attending university up until the earthquake, and they hope to go back to classes and graduate once the universities reopen. I will write more about them in my next entries. Thanks for taking the time to read all this!!!