Day 1 (Part 2)
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
...so Dodo picked me up and we went to Matthew 25 in Delmas 33 where Sasha and the rest of the crew are working out of for the time being. It was great seeing everyone, especially Ti Paul who I haven't seen in two years. He's always fun. Sasha also has Ron in from Mexico to help her as she starts to build toilets for Oxfam. This is by far the biggest project SOIL has undertaken.
Toilet seats double as picture frames:
We began by touring the adjacent tent camp (Parc Izmery). The toilets weren't too bad, but definitely not sufficient. People must be going to the bathroom elsewhere.
We then drove around PAP and up to Petionville, where I lived this past summer. It's crazy to see Place Boyer and Place (I forget) filled with shelters. The main park smells like sewage and something needs to be done immediately. Doctors Without Borders and a private Haitian company have set up some basic public toilets, but more needs to be done.
Pancaked building on Delmas:
We stopped by EpiMac for some quick fast food. As we were waiting for the food I saw a man I thought I recognized so I went up to him:
Me: "Excuse me, I think I know you"
Him: "Maybe"
At that point I knew it was him by his voice, but he looked a bit ragged in street clothes vs. the last time I saw him. I had to remind him that we met at the embassy last summer. It's always good to see people alive. His house collapsed, but family is fine and has been living in his car. This man isn't just a random guy, but works for the Prime Minister and with the UNDP. Haitians of all backgrounds have been affected, but obviously some have the resources to recover more quickly than others.
The day closed with a committee meeting from the camp behind Matthew 25, which I only partially listened to. I called my friend Andy who said he wanted to hang out, but (as I could hear) his wife was crying in the background with a bad toothache. He said he needed drugs, but couldn't find any and had to go. He was a bit frantic, but since there was a medical team and set up at Matthew 25 I was able to get him a bunch of stuff to help her out. Andy drove me around a bit last summer and I invited me to a ceremony so I'm glad I could repay him a bit.
We headed up to the Jet Set (I think that was the name), where last summer I was able to witness a bunch of huge MINUSTAH dudes picking up prostitutes. While I know this happens, and not just in Haiti, it's a bit more disturbing when you get to witness this yourself. This dinner rehabilitated the restaurant in my eyes to some extent. We had dinner with some higher ups in bigger NGO's and the Haitian govt., discussing toilets most of the night. It's the kind of nerd fun I'm into.
I'll leave this post here and continue on another.
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