Alright so I’ve been informed that I should be updating a blog everyday or two days, so I will try and be better at this and then at least I can avoid writing such long entries.
Phew! A lot has happened in the last week! After the election results came out, there was total chaos in the streets. I was woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of protesters shouting and marching. We heard gunshots and helicopters and there was smoke everywhere from all the barricades that were set up on every street.
On Wednesday there were zero cars out, anyone driving in a car got rocks thrown at them and there was no point in driving because of all the blockages. We were even told not to go on the balcony of our guesthouse for fear of people shooting at us as there is a lot of anti white sentiment (which I can understand). Thursday was a little better, still no cars but Remi, Adelle and I were feeling so cooped up that we went for a walk. It wasn’t long until we encountered a crowd of people protesting and then all-of-the-sudden they came running towards us so we stopped in our tracks. Then we heard gunshots and the three of us panicked. We all ducked into a side street. This amused a group of near by Haitian men who laughed at us, I laughed awkwardly and made signs of my heart beating way out of my chest which made us all laugh and they made motions of the gunfire just being the police shooting into the air. Sheeesh! It served to be a bit of a bonding moment between us and the Haitian men and we talked to them a bit about the election in a mix mash of languages but soon after we retreated back to our guesthouse.
Not to be defeated however, the next day we went out again (despite the city STILL being shut down) we walked around our area again and met some more Haitians in an IDP camp near by. We told them that we did workshops on techniques to deal with stress and trauma and met with the director of the camp who was extremely organized and set up a tent and benches for us to do our presentation. The presentation went alright, but it’s hard for people to understand how doing relaxing techniques can help them improve their life when they haven’t eaten for a day. I can understand where their coming from… we learnt that we have to frame it in a way that is tangible to them. Common symptoms of trauma are; not being able to sleep, lack of motivation, and increased anger, all of which inhibit their day-to-day survival. However, we are trying to work on a plan that can address their many physical needs as well as mental. That is the complexity of Haiti.
By Friday the roads had opened up again (although not the airport or my consulate) and so we went back to the camp we had worked with before on Monday. It was chaos there, with the pastor being in worse condition. We agreed to pay for him to go to the hospital and then tried to get more information on the reason for the camp division. We met with the other side and of course got a totally different story and our plans for conflict mediation began to fade as a religious theme began to emerge. I think there are going to be lots of religious fights in this country as Haitians are a very spiritual people, but neither Remi, Adelle or I felt comfortable being plopped right in the middle of one quite so soon. We’ve decided to back away from trying to mediate and instead will work in more indirect ways to build community cohesion and facilitated healing. I then lead my first whole healing group which was incredible, people were really open and although we still got lots of requests for food and medicine (and houses, and a medical clinic, and a school, and an ophanage) people really felt the difference from before we started the group compared to after, and they are excited to work with me throughout the year… so it was encouraging. Although I still think they think I have a school hidden up my sleeve, after all I am white.
The most heartbreaking thing for me though is the orphans, we did a whole bunch of interviews and it sounds like there are about 50+ orphans that live in this camp and no one looks after them. They “survive” by begging on the street or doing chores for people in exchange for food. I met some of them and many of them look only 3 or 4 years old! Ohhhh my heart just breaks! I want to just buy a big tent and live with them all so that at least they have a home and are a little safe! So that is something that needs to be solved.
The difficult thing about this place is that it has so many problems with so many layers and so many road blocks in trying to solve the problems, but it just requires one to be more creative right! The good news is that people were thinking that there were going to be lots of manifestations all this week and there haven’t been any thus far. Perhaps the UN trucks that constantly patrol the streets with their soldiers out and their rifles poised, are actually intimidating the public not to protest. But somehow I think all hell is going to break loose as soon as they declare the recount results. Which is December 20th. The people are so outraged at the seemingly blatant corruption (I’m not being political) that I can understand why there is so much pent up rage. People are saying that the reason “Sweet Mickey” is so popular is because he is “not a politician”, which is seen as the most redeeming quality of all of the 19 candidates. But I digress…
So far, I am very happy, scared at times, as well as nervous and overwhelmed often, but really very happy. The people are incredible! and so friendly (despite disliking us whites in heated moments) and they are so strong! I have such an admiration for these people and I feel so honoured to be in this country! Not to mention the wonderful weather.
I guess it’s Christmas soon so I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday!
p.s. for those interested I’m linking you to some sites of the photo journalists I met. I can’t upload pictures yet and theirs are great!!
bbhaiti.wordpress.com
goatpath.wordpress.com
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