The photographer that I met, Daniel Morel, no longer has pictures on twitter. I've seen them all over the news, so I'm guessing he moved them for copyright purposes.
He has photos at http://www.corbisimages.com.
Search: Daniel Morel.
Also, an issue I'm couching for later: my complete anger/disgust/disappointment at Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson. I used to consider myself a journalist. The media will run/play what sells. Please please please. Start IGNORING these people so that they stop getting air time. Look them up on youtube or something, fine. But don't watch them on TV or else they'll continue to get advertisers/ continue to get paid. Haiti needs our money. I can think of a few things that Pat Robinson deserves...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ti-MzHRgDE
(In response, my dad said "Well, Pat Robertson says he talks to God pretty regularly. I asked her and she said she didn't know who the f#$% he was... apparently, he talks to the devil too.")
Thursday, January 14, 2010
A new commitment
Today’s been hard.
I drove my Dad to the airport early in the morning, and upon my return found the newspaper at my front door.
“Helpless”- the headline reads. The pictures are worse.
“Useless” is the headline I feel like is hanging over my head.
We still haven’t heard from our interpreter, Daniel, from Mario, or any one else that we interviewed on our trip. The little we have heard has been cryptic and pessimistic.
A friend, Willy, who lives in Jacmel on the coast, finally updated his facebook page. He writes that he is alive, but that Jacmel is dead.
From our driver and friend, Vladimir:
Thanks my friends Haiti is down. Completely down, It's very difficult to walk in Port au Prince without seeing a dead. I am using Internet at olofson hotel [sic]on a I touch I can not send pictures to you but you will see them soon, I hope. Peace and may God bless Haiti.
I’ve been feeling like I’m walking around in a daze, going through the motions, and feeling incredibly useless if I let myself think about it. I feel guilty for the times I was overwhelmed by Haiti and wanted to be home and a sense of longing for the people, art, music, and heartache I left behind. I’m struggling to find meaning to my last semester of law school and trying my best not to add strain to the relationships around me.
I’m a writer, a story-teller by nature, so I suppose all I can do is continue to write here, both about what I saw in Haiti and how I think people can best help. I need your help to wake up and feel like in the very least I’m doing something- by telling people what they need to hear about Haiti. We need to talk about the hard truths of a nation we owe a lot, and also, what our response says about our own country.
I never really considered myself a blogger, but comments and emails from strangers who have found my blog are beginning to convince me otherwise.
I think Saul Williams said it best…. “WE OWE HAITI.”
So in the very least, let’s try not to move onto the next scandal and let’s continue to talk about, pray about, sing about Haiti.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Real Pictures
The night before we left a met a professional photographer who has seen a lot in Haiti. He's able to update photos to his twitter page...
http://twitter.com/photomorel
what we've heard
We have received word from Matthew 25- they have satellite internet- and also from our driver Vlad. We still haven't heard from Daniel Tilias, Mario Joseph, or anyone else we met on the trip.
I'll continue to use this to post what I hear.
FROM SR. MARY FINNICK IN PORT-AU-PRINCE:
We are all OK physically at the house. We were home when it hit. The downstairs part of the house stood up well, does not appear to be any serious structural damage. But, there has been some considerable damage upstairs. Matthew 25 cooked up 4 big pots of soup for the people coming for treatment, and we served as a triage and treatment center. We were able to climb over the fallen bookcases and shelves and retrieve a lot of meds and supplies we had in our depot.
Sr Mary, Vivian and our 6 guests performed superbly in treating many injured. Eventually, 3 Haitian doctors showed up, I think when they heard we had supplies. Worked til about one in the morning. We were also one of the few houses to have power with our inverters and batteries, so we set up 3 or 4 lights on the soccer field to help with the treatment. The hospitals are either badly damaged or destroyed and have stopped taking patients as they are overwhelmed.
Pray for our sisters and brothers.
Pat, Viv, Sr. Mary
It is morning and I can give you a better assessment of the house. The first floor is covered with all the things that came out of the closets but there isn't any big structural problem. The divider between the depot and the store fell in as did most of the other book cases in the office and in my room. The 2nd floor is different The side facing the soccer field has more damage and the cement walls and some of the boards have been knocked around. The 3rd floor stairs are just hanging there. The cement in front of the bathroom is badly damaged. On the other side the bathroom wall on the outside is damaged but there doesn't seem to be as much structural problems. The wall between us and the neighbor has quite a large hole. I don't know yet what to tell folks about coming but I don't think we can use the rooms upstairs. I've been trying to answer and reassure folks we are ok.
We used everything I had as I triaged along with 3 MD's and our guests. Vivian and Pat had the important job of getting to our supplies as that whole area is under debris; making pots of soup etc. We finally cut up pillow cases for bandages. I think planes are flying out today but I haven't heard from the folks who are in country and supposed to return to PAP. Our electricity continues but the container holding 12 of the batteries is damaged. All the cars survived.
Domond just came over and said his house is not safe because of the damage upstairs. He did ask to have you contact any medical groups planning to come to see if they still planned to and then ask if they would stay in PAP as this the most needy place right now. We can use the soccer field and out back for sleeping area and the kitchen for cooking in the back is OK. But there is a great need for medical supplies, suturing, betadine, analgesics...everything... and personnel to bring it.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Mermaids
Today we meet with Mario, and I need to get to gear up so I am going to talk about some of the hard stuff I have been trying to avoid.
Haiti isn't dangerous. Haiti is hard.
Maybe the State Department doesn't want people to come to see what a royal job we've done of screwing this place up. This beautiful place rich with history, music, art, and culture.
I have heard stories of people eating mud in the slums to survive. An estimate 1 in 10 children is sold as a slave either in country or abroad. The pollution is terrible, the roads are worse, schools are nonexistent in some places, the water filthy, trash in the street,& smell of burning plastic.
The US has assisted in ousting democratically elected Aristide- twice. When people gathered to protest in the streets- Military shot into the crowds. Then the UN was sent in- not to help the people, but to support the military. There are even more stories of the Brazilian UN soldiers killing people arbitrarily. The US embassy is a joke and as far as I can tell, we are most interested in privatizing water and having a vantage point close to cuba. We don't care about these people. These strong people- the first nation where slaves liberated themselves are now oppressed by us, their government, and immense poverty.
How can we even begin to talk to them about "justice" and the "rule of law." Justice in Haiti is not retribution. Justice in Haiti is to allow them the democratic freedoms we ourselves enjoy. Justice in Haiti is clean water, decent roads, schools, and food other than dirt. There is no justice for a woman who's husband was found shot dead in the sea, while she starves and her home is washed away by the hurricanes.
The story goes in Haiti that the slaves who jumped overboard on their way became mermaids and mermen. It's amazing that there aren't more of them in the waters off Raboto now, because often the future looks just as bleak.
Haiti isn't dangerous. Haiti is hard.
Maybe the State Department doesn't want people to come to see what a royal job we've done of screwing this place up. This beautiful place rich with history, music, art, and culture.
I have heard stories of people eating mud in the slums to survive. An estimate 1 in 10 children is sold as a slave either in country or abroad. The pollution is terrible, the roads are worse, schools are nonexistent in some places, the water filthy, trash in the street,& smell of burning plastic.
The US has assisted in ousting democratically elected Aristide- twice. When people gathered to protest in the streets- Military shot into the crowds. Then the UN was sent in- not to help the people, but to support the military. There are even more stories of the Brazilian UN soldiers killing people arbitrarily. The US embassy is a joke and as far as I can tell, we are most interested in privatizing water and having a vantage point close to cuba. We don't care about these people. These strong people- the first nation where slaves liberated themselves are now oppressed by us, their government, and immense poverty.
How can we even begin to talk to them about "justice" and the "rule of law." Justice in Haiti is not retribution. Justice in Haiti is to allow them the democratic freedoms we ourselves enjoy. Justice in Haiti is clean water, decent roads, schools, and food other than dirt. There is no justice for a woman who's husband was found shot dead in the sea, while she starves and her home is washed away by the hurricanes.
The story goes in Haiti that the slaves who jumped overboard on their way became mermaids and mermen. It's amazing that there aren't more of them in the waters off Raboto now, because often the future looks just as bleak.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
tap tap
We finally made it back to Matthew 25 after a very stressful day of trying to travel.
Parts of Jacmel were so beautiful, so it was worth it. I forgot to mention that out back of our hotel was a courtyard with and old tree that had completely been taken over with vines of orchids.
Yesterday we hopped on the back of a motorcycle (so us and the driver on one bike) to go to a nice hotel we'd heard about. They had a little alcove beach that was truly something from a story book. So we ate there and hung out all day. By the time we were ready to leave it was raining. It stopped just long enough for us to hop on a motorcycle back to town. It was dark and the bike was tiny but the driver went slowly for us. My muscles were so tired from gripping Daniel's knees so tight the whole time.
I took my malaria pills yesterday and they make me feel sick. I had horrible night terrors last night- so bad I am thinking about not taking the pills anymore. The air pollution here is so bad but my asthma is just now bothering me. They burn all their garbage so you can just constantly feel plastic in your lungs and black smoke from the back of the pickup trucks they use as taxis.
I was so ready to be back this morning, but it turned out Vlad couldn't drive us. Time for an adventure. Willie (who worked at our hotel) drove us to the bus station in the rain and we jammed into a tap tap with at least 30 other people. I am certain it was the most miserable experience of my life to date, but an experience nonetheless. Daniel was shoved up against the open window, second from the back, with me next to him. We both had our huge bags on our laps. There's not really much of an aisle and what there was of one was filled with a sketchy dude carrying a bird he had tied up that he kept resting on my knee. He eventually fell asleep on me, as did the girl behind me. It was raining so weird smelly water was dripping on us which made the bus extra hot and muggy. Dan got spit on at one point and when I finally got out a bag of potatoes was thrown from one of the many passengers on top of the bus into the dirty street/sewer water below, splashing all over me.
Our local phone ran out of minutes when we got into PAP after hours of winding mountain roads, so we had to find someone who would sell us minutes. Then we walked to the palace of justice in the middle of town to wait for the matthew 25 driver because the station is too crazy/hectic/dangerous to be standing around. But the walk itself was insane. Here we are- two white kids with giant backpacks- walking through the downtown area. A guardian angel found us- a kid who had studied in the US and spoke english walked us there and our ride was there within minutes.
I kissed Sister Mary and offered to scrub the floors and wash the pots because I was so happy to see here. After a cold shower, it has started to rain and I am anxious for dinner.
Just a day in the life in Haiti.
There's a saying here in Haiti- "how many people fit in a tap tap?"
"Always one more."
Well, that's fine and good, but I won't be getting on one again. If we make it up to Cap Haitian to do more interviews we will fly.
We're learning so much. But Friday couldn't come fast enough.
Parts of Jacmel were so beautiful, so it was worth it. I forgot to mention that out back of our hotel was a courtyard with and old tree that had completely been taken over with vines of orchids.
Yesterday we hopped on the back of a motorcycle (so us and the driver on one bike) to go to a nice hotel we'd heard about. They had a little alcove beach that was truly something from a story book. So we ate there and hung out all day. By the time we were ready to leave it was raining. It stopped just long enough for us to hop on a motorcycle back to town. It was dark and the bike was tiny but the driver went slowly for us. My muscles were so tired from gripping Daniel's knees so tight the whole time.
I took my malaria pills yesterday and they make me feel sick. I had horrible night terrors last night- so bad I am thinking about not taking the pills anymore. The air pollution here is so bad but my asthma is just now bothering me. They burn all their garbage so you can just constantly feel plastic in your lungs and black smoke from the back of the pickup trucks they use as taxis.
I was so ready to be back this morning, but it turned out Vlad couldn't drive us. Time for an adventure. Willie (who worked at our hotel) drove us to the bus station in the rain and we jammed into a tap tap with at least 30 other people. I am certain it was the most miserable experience of my life to date, but an experience nonetheless. Daniel was shoved up against the open window, second from the back, with me next to him. We both had our huge bags on our laps. There's not really much of an aisle and what there was of one was filled with a sketchy dude carrying a bird he had tied up that he kept resting on my knee. He eventually fell asleep on me, as did the girl behind me. It was raining so weird smelly water was dripping on us which made the bus extra hot and muggy. Dan got spit on at one point and when I finally got out a bag of potatoes was thrown from one of the many passengers on top of the bus into the dirty street/sewer water below, splashing all over me.
Our local phone ran out of minutes when we got into PAP after hours of winding mountain roads, so we had to find someone who would sell us minutes. Then we walked to the palace of justice in the middle of town to wait for the matthew 25 driver because the station is too crazy/hectic/dangerous to be standing around. But the walk itself was insane. Here we are- two white kids with giant backpacks- walking through the downtown area. A guardian angel found us- a kid who had studied in the US and spoke english walked us there and our ride was there within minutes.
I kissed Sister Mary and offered to scrub the floors and wash the pots because I was so happy to see here. After a cold shower, it has started to rain and I am anxious for dinner.
Just a day in the life in Haiti.
There's a saying here in Haiti- "how many people fit in a tap tap?"
"Always one more."
Well, that's fine and good, but I won't be getting on one again. If we make it up to Cap Haitian to do more interviews we will fly.
We're learning so much. But Friday couldn't come fast enough.
Friday, January 1, 2010
jacmel and this, our new year
Sorry it's been so long. But I am not even quite sure who's checking.
We're really hitting our stride now, made friends we can trust, learned how to get around (sorta) and the food we like to eat.
I am sitting in a building that looks like it belongs on Burbon Street. An old converted mansion in the beach town, Jacmel. Vines grow out of aged brick and the palm tree in the center grows through the open roof. Something of a full moon- but it looks like rain. 80 degrees- stagnant air and rain. We came to Jacmel last Wednesday. Snuck in the back of an old house and watched a voodoo ceremony, saw huge paper mache masks and the beginnings of Carnival.
Turned on some Michael here and had our own countdown after having our minds blown while wading through a market at night looking for fish to eat. A market lit only by candle light. Our old driver Vlad picked us up and took us out. Now we read law review articles and prepare to meet Mario Joseph, the lawyer who inspired this journey.
Today is independence day- you eat Jamos- pumpkin soup.
Bon anne. Happy New Year.
We're really hitting our stride now, made friends we can trust, learned how to get around (sorta) and the food we like to eat.
I am sitting in a building that looks like it belongs on Burbon Street. An old converted mansion in the beach town, Jacmel. Vines grow out of aged brick and the palm tree in the center grows through the open roof. Something of a full moon- but it looks like rain. 80 degrees- stagnant air and rain. We came to Jacmel last Wednesday. Snuck in the back of an old house and watched a voodoo ceremony, saw huge paper mache masks and the beginnings of Carnival.
Turned on some Michael here and had our own countdown after having our minds blown while wading through a market at night looking for fish to eat. A market lit only by candle light. Our old driver Vlad picked us up and took us out. Now we read law review articles and prepare to meet Mario Joseph, the lawyer who inspired this journey.
Today is independence day- you eat Jamos- pumpkin soup.
Bon anne. Happy New Year.
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