I have been without Internet here in Haiti for over a week. It was good to get back on and find out what is happening in the world outside of Haiti. Truth be told, I needed to distract myself from this world for a bit because it is so depressing. Whatever problems you are worried about tonight, count your blessings that your world is not even close to what the daily struggle is here in Haiti.
Two days ago I traveled through a part of Port au Prince called City Sole. It is a war zone. I was told it was the third worse city in the world as far as crime and poverty was concerned. Many Tap Tap (taxis) drivers will not go there during the day and none will travel through there at night. Rumor has it that the United Nations fails to patrol there at night.
As you travel through the streets you see poverty on a scale without comparison. Garbage is piled everywhere and the stench is overpowering. The streets are crowded with people and vendors selling anything imaginable. Clothing is strung on fences, sidewalks and wires with people sorting through looking for something that they can afford. People sell fruits and vegetables that look like they are many days old and not edible.
There were times that I felt a bit apprehensive about being there. With my ponytail and tattoos I stick out like a sore thumb. I felt relieved to get out of there and back to a part of the city that was not as bad. I could not help thinking that it was crazy for us to drive through there but our Haitian friends felt it was important that we saw how desperate a place City Sole is.
It is hard to do anything in Haiti. Getting through the streets is the first hurdle. Infrastructure here is very limited. Electrical power is hit or miss. There are days when city power comes on for three hours and times where you may see only one hour per day. Our compound has a generator that runs on a constant basis, which presents another problem; finding gas. That is hit or miss also. The gas stations open every day and stay open until they run out of gas. Sometimes that is mid-afternoon.
I fly home next Friday and will be glad to get back to the comforts of home. One thing though, I will never forget the struggles that are daily life here. How can a country so close to the US be so poor? Why has the world let the elected officials of this country fail their people so miserably? Count your blessings one and all. We are a blessed nation.
From Haiti, Tim Pickel
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1 comment:
Thanks for this post, Tim. As Thanksgiving approaches, we should definitely be counting our blessings here. We'll will be glad to have you back in the West Ward!
I attended an environmental literacy workshop at Lafayette this week that Majora Carter's group was presenting. Much of it was focused on clean water, and since that's an issue you work with in third world countries, I was wishing that you could be there. Hopefully they will be coming back for further workshops though, so that you'll have the opportunity to meet with them and discuss clean water issues here in Easton.
Take good care, and I look forward to your posts after you get back : )
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