Haiti has been (mostly) out of the headlines for the last few months - thank god.
That doesn't mean nothing is happening there, but as we only hear about this small country when things are going terribly wrong, the lack of screaming headlines are a good sign that perhaps a calm (resignation?) has caught hold, and perhaps some real work can move forward.
This is a diary in three chapters:
I. Sak pase? What's up, what's going on these days? A round up of events and concerns from the past several months.
II. Mwen garde - What I saw there in January. A 3 week jaunt between Port au Prince and Jacmel
III. Grangou - Hunger and other ways to help. Lots of aid organizations are at work in Haiti, some that I am familiar with. I make a shameless plea for helping out my favorite projects, and one in particular.
I am not an expert on this country, just a visitor and a volunteer. I have written other diaries on Haiti here, here, here, and here.
Sak Pase?
The last time I discussed Haiti was in December of last year - oh what a year. Hurricanes, food riots, and a collapsed government. The bad news was unending. Since that time, the biggest news was no news: there was an election held and no one came. The election was to fill 12 senatorial seats, but the party of former President Aristide, Fanmi Lavalas was excluded on a technicality. Leading up to the polling in April, many of us were holding our breath, but the 'only' violence reported was a demonstration at the palace in Port au Prince and rioting in Mirebalais.
In the meantime, the UN Security Council reported that security in this all-too-often volatile nation is improving, and judicial and constitutional reform, although slow, is underway. The blue helmets of the UN forces (MINUSTAH) are not welcome by the majority of Haitians (lots of reasons I could go on at length about...), but their presence seems to be helping to stabilize some areas of basic services. They have trained a local police force of over 14,000, something missing for a long time. In addition, MINUSTAH was instrumental with rapid assistance and relief distribution when the four hurricanes hit last year.
On other fronts, there are still serious problems, as continued stories attest. Aid has been trickling in, but not all that was promised has been received. Global economic woes don't help, of course. Lack of employment options continues to plague Haiti, people do somehow manage to live on 1-2$ per day (the minimum wage is 1.60), but I still can't figure out how. The HOPE (Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement) Act, passed by Congress in 2006, promises to be a 'dream' trade deal - but these are sweatshop jobs, more likely to freeze this nation in abject poverty than to really forward any improvements.
The heightened awareness of Haiti's existence has offered some leverage: just before the Summit of the Americas, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Port au Prince, and even dropped by Cite Soleil (where I have been working) where she looked in on the operations of the USNS Comfort. Former President Bill Clinton was just appointed UN special envoy to Haiti, and even Rush Limbaugh had to add his opinion (I know he can speak for the prostitutes in the Dominican Republic, but who knew he had any experience with the women in Haiti?).
So, currently it is a mixed bag - continued economic struggles, coupled with environmental degradation and a couple of centuries of political corruption. The election of Obama was greeted with enthusiasm, but my friends are still wondering (as am I) when Minnesota will have two Senators. They are also wondering when the blue helmets will finally leave, and when Haiti will make the headlines for something other than a disaster.... Oh. And did I mention that hurricane season officially begins June 1? Yeah - already the heavy rains have killed at least 11 people. Good thing the Haitian people have a sense of humor.
Mwen Garde
I got the chance to visit for three weeks over the New Year. This was my 3rd time down to Haiti, and I was delighted to have more time to just relax and enjoy the people and the place. As always, I tried to spend some time at the Sisters of Charity nutrition center (the photo is from their facility in Jacmel), where I change diapers, feed, and just hang out with the kids who are dealing with typhoid, TB, HIV, malnutrition, etc. With no reliable electricity, or hot water, it's quite a task to keep up with the sanitation of a place like this.
I am in awe of the women who do the wash.
Jacmel is a small city on the southern coast, especially known for Carnaval and the resulting arts community. Galleries are full of paintings, sculpture, and metalwork. I enjoyed watching Marc Arthur create his Mardi Gras masks:
I also enjoyed the simple joys of a child playing with a handmade toy:
I returned to Jacmel to visit friends, but also to give prints to the children I photographed last year. This woman, Naomi, helped me find their families in a small village across the river. The young girl is Gigi, a neighbor. Next year I'll be back to hand off their copies. So many people have told me that Haitians hate having their photos taken - I think that's just when tourists come through to shoot the 'poor' - obviously disrespectful. I was entirely delighted by the chance to get some portraits, although I really need to remember my glasses for focus.
I also spent time in Port au Prince, helping a bit to distribute supplies (600,000 meals, clothing, and medical supplies) we had shipped down in the fall.
Beside fixing trucks and distributing supplies, I was able to connect with a group of young women at L'Athletique D'Haiti, an organization that gives poor kids a chance to play soccer with high level coaching and get a hot meal. They work all over Haiti, but headquarter in Cite Soleil. Boby Duval, the founder of L'Athletique, has loaned us space to store our trucks (water trucks and a dump truck) and materials containers. These girls are some of the soccer players at Boby's field. We are working on connecting them with American kids. I can't tell you what a blast they were!
At all times I felt comfortable and safe - at ease in a country that most of us hear nothing but problems about. I was able to travel solo on buses (tap-taps or trucks) between Jacmel and Port au Prince with only the mild discomforts of another passenger vomiting over my shoulder and a woman sitting on my lap for an hour. I had the distinct impression that something has shifted in Haiti; if only temporarily a calm can be felt, in spite of the continued difficulties. This does not mean I did not see desperation and want. Food prices have not fallen, opportunities remain limited, and hopes can be crushed in a sudden rain storm.
Grangou
Hunger is ever-present in Haiti. If you have read my other diaries, or followed the news, you may know of the 'clay cookies' (ajile) women make and sell, that are now eaten just to stave off hunger pains. When we distribute food, great pains are taken to avoid riots - seriously. There is never enough. We get our food for free from a charity in the States that packages a balanced meal, and we pay the costs of shipping. We are trying to do this again...before the hurricanes strike, if possible. Before more kids end up at the Sister's nutrition center, before...well it is just a small stop-gap measure, but it's something.
Here is my pitch - check out my other diaries, I have lots of links there for aid groups that are doing good work, but if you are so inclined, please consider tossing some support to this effort to get more food there. We are trying to address the long-term issues, as best a small group of folks can, but in the short term people have to eat. Healing Haiti is the 501.c3 we work with, and Buya.org is the umbrella group. The info on the website is dated (sorry - I can't control that part) but any support will go where it's needed. And thanks. It's hard to ask for support for this work - there are so many things that we all care about and we can only do so much. All I can do is put it out there...
peace.