Ha!

I was complaining to Emerson when I first arrived back that someone had stolen something from my bags during my trip. The last thing I had packed was three bags of crackers, and when I opened my bags there was only one. I didn't notice anything else missing so I just shrugged my shoulders and figured that someone at baggage in Montreal had gotten hungry. Se konsa.

Today when I unpacked my duffle, I found them at the very bottom - smashed to crumbs. My bags must have really gotten thrown around for them to migrate like that. Usually they are packed so tight that nothing moves. Anyway, they still taste good.

All you need is love...

While I don't necessarily agree with the simplistic statement "all you need is love" I did enjoy this video.

Champs Mars

I arrived back in Haiti on Tuesday after an uneventful trip with Air Canada.  I think I'm going to have to fly AC from now on.  It's more expensive, but so much easier and the service is better.  I left Fredericton, my hometown, at 6 am in a snowstorm and arrived in Port au Prince 8 hours later to heat and clear blue skies.

Emerson picked me up at the airport with a friend of his, Petit.  We squeezed into the cab of a small pickup truck, and kept our eyes on the two unsecured suitcases in the back.  They could have been grabbed if anyone saw them there and wanted to take the chance of running with a heavy duffel bag.

I decided to spend a little extra money and stay at the Plaza on Champs Mars.  Emerson isn't in town for long and it was easier for me to see him there than staying in another part of the city.  I'd wanted to check out the Plaza so I finally got my chance.  I didn't have time to enjoy the pool though :(

Emerson took me out to Champs Mars the night I arrived.  He wanted to look for gifts to take back to the US with him. During the holiday week there's a lot going on there.  We went to several artisan tables, and had fun walking around and people watching.  We sampled some kremas and ginger, guava, and coffee liquers.  I bought a small bottle of the ginger.  There were a lot of food and drink vendors around, so we had a beer and watched a couple of dance troupes perform.  It was fun to be out and people watching.

Yesterday I came to Hospice St. Joseph to stay and wait for my drive back to Fond des Blancs today.  I had a nice evening talking to Pharra, Rose and Max.  I'm the only visitor here right now and the staff is getting into the holiday mood.  Lots of music.

I'm not sure what I will do tonight or tomorrow, but New Year's Day (Haiti's Independence Day) is a BIG holiday.  Even in Fond des Blancs I'm sure there will be some excitement.

Merry Christmas Everyone

Sorry that this is a day or two late!  It's been a hectic trip home.  I got delayed last weekend and had to stay in Port au Prince for three days to catch a flight on Tuesday, and then missed my connection in New York to Maine.  I arrived home in Fredericton on Christmas Eve.  I was happy to finally arrive.  I almost didn't make it out through immigration in Port au Prince, but that's a story for another day.

I haven't written much lately for a few reasons, but am hoping that I can get back into a regular routine once I return to Haiti.  There have been a lot of changes and some stressful situations, and much of it I can't write about here, but I will try to be more regular AND brush the dust off my camera.

I have some good news that I hope to write about sometime soon, too.

Anyway, I want to wish those who read my blog a very blessed Christmas season.  It is my wish for everyone that they feel the real joy and meaning of the season.

Way to go, Dr. Meade! 

Bizarre

Sitting here on the galeri at Hospice St. Joseph in Port au Prince watching ASN (maritime Canadian television) and a Rita MacNeil special.  Amazing the things you can find on satellite television.  Bizarre that I'm actually watching a Rita MacNeil special...

A tragic reality: Haiti struggles to deal with allegations of abuse

Montreal Gazette


Haiti struggles to deal with allegations of abuse
Visiting aid workers accused of exploiting impoverished youth


By DON LAJOIE, Canwest News Service
December 14, 2009 5:06 AM


He was 16 and, like most Haitian teens, surviving on street smarts.

One day, he accepted a job helping a humanitarian aid worker carry supplies to his home.

"After I finished, he asked me to come back for a talk," recalled the man, now 23, speaking Creole through an interpreter.

The aid worker offered him money for sex, the man alleges, and a relationship began.

"It was to pay for school for me. That was the main reason. 'If you do it for me, I pay for school.' "

Continue reading here

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Suspicion

I can’t remember if I have written about this before or not and I’m too lazy to check my archive.

I have talked about this with other foreigners who have come to Haiti to live and work, so it’s not just me – sometimes it’s difficult to be here because you find yourself untrusting and suspicious of almost everyone.  And when you are normally a pretty trusting person, it’s an ugly thing to see in yourself.

It comes to the forefront for me once in a while, usually when I have a nagging unease in my stomach and I stop to think about what’s causing it.  I hate being suspicious of people, especially those that I know and like.

Lately I’ve had more reasons to question whether people are being honest with me.  There is an underlying belief that the blan (foreigners) have a lot of money and that the supply is endless. That it’s okay to ask for more money than the fair price just because the person is a blan and (supposedly) can afford to pay more.

I have recently taken over the responsibility for our food depots and so have been filled in on all the tricky ways that people can profit from those programs – food can be siphoned from the sacks during transport, people can try to use their food tickets twice, or people on our staff can make arrangements with the food recipients to buy it from them at a cheap price after the food has been given out.

Last week I gave some food to an old man who had shown up saying that his house had fallen down.  His story was verified by one of our staff who lives near him.  This week he showed up with a moto taxi driver who claimed that he drove the man to the hospital for free and wanted to know what we were going to do for the old man.  I had a strong suspicion that whatever I gave to the man would end up in the hands of the taxi driver, so I didn’t give him anything.  It didn’t rest well with me to not help him, but I don’t have the capacity to help everyone either.

I knew before I came to Haiti that corruption is a huge problem. I have found it to be present in even the smallest things.  I know there is a lot of corruption in Canada and the United States, but it is much more well hidden and there are legal and social consequences.  People here don’t like it but it seems to be expected and, therefore, accepted.