And now this...

Things are calm in our apartment, but we're hearing reports from the streets that the situation is chaotic.  The airport is scheduled to be closed again tomorrow and to top it all, President Preval has now placed the blame for everything on the protesters saying in a live radio speech "This is not how the country is supposed to work.  People are suffering because of all this damage".  He completely misses the point that his inability to lead a functioning government is the reason the country is not working and people are suffering and now people are angry and taking to the streets.  


I read two articles that summarize the situation if you'd like to learn more (pasted below).  


We remain in "lock down" until things become more stable, so no need to worry about us.  It's the rest of the country that needs your thoughts and energy.

I think the headline of this one says it all:  " Warzone Haiti: UN armoured cars take to rubble-strewn streets as cholera-hit protesters vent fury over Presidential election result"....

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1337127/Haiti-elections-UN-armoured-cars-rubble-strewn-streets.html#ixzz17epM1Rr1

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i-rBtrrP9ge0FFa_fvDYTn3nRIHg?docId=6b8c9ebeedfb4929a610d02cd8d05fab

Election Results

Yet another roadblock to true democracy here.  We were sent home from work at 2pm yesterday in anticipation of the release of presidential and senatorial election results and are on lock down until further notice.  What was scheduled to happen at "6pm sharp" happened at 9:20pm.  Gunshots, rioting and burning tires were the immediate reaction.  Our neighbors / friends who also happen to be journalists stopped by after their long day today and last night.  Frank did a great job of summarizing why people are so angry on his blog so instead of recreating, please read his story here:

http://goatpath.wordpress.com/ 


 

Thanks-giving

Today is a holiday in Haiti, so I'm working from home (work easily justified because we leave on R&R on Saturday!).  I was just struck by one of those moments when I again realize how lucky I am so I thought an early list of all that I am thankful for is appropriate: 

My thanksgiving list in no particular order:

#1:  All morning I have been glancing out the patio doors of our apartment watching all the different birds and geckos on our patio and in the trees around our apartment.   I just read an article last night about how Haiti's remaining birds, frogs and animals are heading towards extinction at a faster rate than any other country in the world due mostly to the fact that there is only 1% left of Haiti's cover of trees.  

My Thanks-giving: How fortunate are we that we (a) regularly have birds and frogs to watch in our own backyard here (b) someone somewhere is working to slow and hopefully stop the extinction and (c) that we have an apartment and it has a patio!

#2:  One of the projects I need to finish is a draft of a Livelihoods project, meaning that my organization will be looking for funding to do a training and work integration program to work towards solving Haiti's economic crisis and incredibly high unemployment rate.

My Thanks-giving:  Based on my most recent knowledge, almost all of our friends and family that would like to be employed currently are - it might not be in a dream position, but at least it's an income and an opportunity to work.

#3:  Another project I am working on is trying to find partners and funding for a teacher / tuition assistance (education program).  In Haiti, with 90% of schools private education spending accounts for 40% of family revenue yet 52% of Haitians are illiterate, perhaps because 79% of teachers have no formal teacher training.

My Thanks-giving:  With one of our kids graduated from college two more are deep into it and will hopefully have the perseverance to finish - at least they have the opportunity to even attend.

#4:  I may not always agree with the direction the U.S. government takes but compared with what I witness here every day I will take it.

My Thanks-giving:  I am a citizen of a country with a true democracy and citizens that, for the most part, understand the power of their role in it.

#5:  Watching others diagnosed with typhoid, anthrax, hepatitis, malaria, dengue fever, now a horrible Cholera outbreak which is sometimes difficult to discern from the diarrhea that is everyday life here... 

My Thanks-giving: Health and access to preventive medicine and, when needed, quality health care.

#6: Above all else, My BIGGEST Thanks-giving: Friends and Family - Thank you for being there to support us along this amazing journey!  And for Al for alternately enjoying, enduring but ultimately appreciating every moment we have together.

#7:  Oh, and I also have to give thanks to Pasha, the owner of the amazing French Bakery in our neighborhood that feels like a combination of New York and Europe and provides a little normalcy to the day AND has the most amazing Almond Croissants that are second only to an actual Patisserie in Paris.  Really!

Prosthetics in Haiti

The group of Healing Hands employees that Al has been training for several years are doing amazing work... one of our neighbors is a freelance journalist who visited and added some photos and his thoughts to his blog.  His thoughts are here:

http://goatpath.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/learning-how-to-walk-again-prostheses-in-haiti/ 

 

Press

I've been asked to do a few interviews at work - here are a sampling:

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/11/09/haiti-cholera-q-and-a/  

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=880901

The video on this (scroll down to the middle of the page) features yours truly and will provide a glimpse of some of my frustrations with the situation here and the Cash for Work program that has been a big part of my job (you'll need a whopping 14 minutes for this one):
 
http://www.ayitikaleje.org/haiti-grassroots-watch-engli/

Relatively little damage from Hurricane Tomas!  We have a day off and are hoping the sun will shine so we can get outside and take some deep breaths before bracing ourselves for whatever comes next.    

Without journalistic abilities myself, I keep searching for someone that will be able to capture the   overall essence of the biggest problem here in Haiti and I think this editorial is close:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/06/AR2010110603570.html 

Another Disaster?!

Hard to believe we are facing another possible disaster here, but we are doing what we can to prepare for Hurricane Tomas.  I have spent the last two days at one of the camps we manage and have helped to remove every possible object from the common areas that could become a missile.  I hope we did all of that work for nothing, the storm misses us and we can move everything back in and set up all the tents again!  Despite all of the warnings and information about the storm very few people are leaving the camps.  Some don't believe the storm will hit (let's hope they are right), for many there is nowhere else to go and some are reluctant to leave the only possessions they have left.  I am very worried for them.  

It was extremely windy earlier and now it is calm but has started to rain.  We were told we needed to leave work by 3pm today - the UN closed their base at noon and the Haitian government asked schools and businesses to remain closed today and tomorrow.  Along with the work in the camps, I had several news outlets call for interviews.  Here is one that is online already:

 http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/11/04/tropical.weather/index.html?hpt=T2

I am at home and Al just called to say he is on his way. We have plenty of food, water and movies as long as our electricity and / or laptop batteries hold out.  I will post updates as soon as I can after the storm.  Keep your fingers crossed for a big MISS!