Haiti election status

It is so difficult here to get any kind of reliable info about the elections in Haiti. Some say that everything is going great (this is mostly the electoral committee saying this), and others say that the country is on the verge of civil war.

I don't really know what's going on, but I do know that I spoke with a friend of mine this morning, an American living in Haiti who has been working in sustainable agriculture for many years. He told me that he saw people burning tires in the town where he lives and found himself kind of upset because they were burning the kinds of tires which turn inside out more easily and can be used to make small tire gardens. He said he found himself thinking that it would be ok if they were burning the tires that don't turn inside, out, but they could have used the others to grow vegetables. In fact my friend regularly goes to Port au Prince to pick up a truck load of used tires for vegetable containers, and this past week they were stopped by police since it was suspicious that anyone would be leaving the city with a load of tires. These days, tires are mostly being brought into Port au Prince for the burning and protest purposes.

Progress in Haiti

Yesterday morning, I heard yet another news report about how so much money has been spent in Haiti, and how there is nothing to show for it. I think we all share the same frustration, but I also wish that journalists would come and visit our project and see the hundreds of kilometres of soil conservation barriers that have been built on hundreds of hectares of land, the thousands of trees that have been planted and are thriving, hear the stories of the thousands of families who have received crops seed, tools, and jobs. It's not nothing. Lives have (it may be going too far to say 'saved') been stabilized, vulnerable land protected, farms have been made productive. Yes of course I'm defensive, because I have been a part of the earthquake response effort, but I just feel that the press is looking at this thing the wrong way. I challenge any journalist who was there in the early days after the quake--and I know there were swarms of them, I saw them myself--to recall just how grim and overwhelming those days were. Personally, I think the relief response was pretty incredible. In those early days, the country was at a tipping point, and things could have easily been much worse. In fact there was no major starvation, no collapse of the transportation or communication system, no widespread violence, and no major disease outbreak (cholera came later and is non-earthquake related). All of these were predicted, and none happened. So in fact journalists claiming that nothing has happened in Haiti is in a sense, a good thing. Of course, it is hard to prove a negative, but I think the relief efforts contributed significantly to ensuring that nothing happened. Yes, we've still got a long long way to go, and I too am frustrated, but I invite any journalist or other skeptic to please come and visit our project and still go home and say that nothing has been done. We are small, granted, but there are hundreds of efforts just like ours all across the country, that are doing something, and at least set the stage for families to build a better future. (assuming there is not another Biblical-scale plague)

A work crew in Fonds Verrettes, Haiti, posing next to a soil erosion barrier they had just built.

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So here's the full story on the baboon in Tarangire:

There is a specified lunch spot where all the park visitors eat, and each tour typically provides box lunches. At this particular site there are picnic tables set up along the edge of an a beautiful outlook from where you can see a river below and a large section of the park. The guides were just beginning to set out the white cardboard lunch boxes when I noticed that there was a rather large baboon (like the one in the picture, but not that one), sort of slowly making his way up the incline at the edge of the outlook toward our table. At this point he was still on the other side of the chest-high fence at the edge of the outlook. So I then said to the guide, "There's a baboon coming." and by the time I had finished that sentence, the baboon had suddenly sprung from gradual mode, and was on the picnic table, a distance of about 4 metres, with a lunch box in his hands. The guide, out of reflex probably more than anything, made a grab for the lunch box, and the baboon bared his very scary and large teeth with much hissing. All of us, inculding the baboon took a leap back, but the baboon maintained hold of the lunch, and quickly retreated back over the fence and back down the incline beyond the edge of the lookout. The whole incident was over in probably less than 5 seconds. I was amazed at how quickly the baboon could move. Not only that, but also the cleverness of his approach. He moved as slowly as possible as he edged up the incline so as not to be noticed, but as soon as I started to speak, it was like he recognized he had been discovered and knew he had to strike quickly. It's a good think he wasn't intent on attacking people, because I don't think anyone would have much chance against something so fast and intelligent, armed with those sharp teeth. Everyone had a good laugh after about our 'Tarangire Experience', a story which I am certain will improve with age.

A different, but similarly large baboon eating pods of the sausage tree, a natural alternative to tourist lunch boxes.

I regret not having been able to post more often on this trip. Been lots to share, but just no access. Probably my favourite story so far is the baboon that stole a lunch box from us in Tarangire National park. The details of this are worth expanding on, and I will share with you as per your interest, but suffice it to say that the staff here are now referring to it as the "Tarangire Experience"

Wheels off

I thought we had dropped into the ditch, except that the landcruiser was still on the road. The driver managed to bring it to a stop without losing control as we watched the left rear wheel go rolling by into an open field. This is a first time for me. Not just a blow out, but all the bolts on the axle shearing off and the the entire rim and tire leaving the vehicle. None of us could really come

up with a totally satisfying explanation.

Wheels down (?)

So is the opposite of wheels up, wheels down. It was an uneventful, (and therefore good) flight, where the highlight was trying to figure out how you pronounce the name of the airport in Amsterdam...

Wheels up

I'm really liking the phrase 'wheels up', which seems to have migrated from the military to civilian life. Or at least you hear it in movies and on TV: "Wheels up at 0300 hours" etc. I like it so much I resolve to start using it in regular speech, beginning with this post, since I go wheels up this afternoon. Destination Africa. Or would that be the LZ?...

Sunday afternoon I heard two loud "booms" outside my apartment which actually woke me from a pleasant nap. The power went off immediately, the smoke alarm started beeping, and then the general alarm started blaring. Shortly after that, the superintendent came on the PA system and said that there was a 'problem' with the transformer, and that there was no need to be alarmed. Now, in the 6 or 7 years I have lived here, no superintendent has ever come on to announce that there is no need to be alarmed, which actually tells me that there probably is. It turns out that we went without power for almost a full day and for a change I had to use candle power. It all seems so ironic somehow, having just come back from Haiti.

Where is Bob picture.

Find me in the Chicago Conservatory. (visiting friends over the weekend on my way back to YYZ).

My last night in Haiti and I am not sure what to end with. The month has gone quicker than I thought. Among other things I feel healthy which is a good thing, since people have been falling around me like tin soldiers. I still don't have a very good answer to the overwhelming nature of the earthquake and all that it has caused, and will continue to cause for a long time to come, but please at least accept this photo below of trees planted in our most recent project in the north of the country. These are less that 3 years old, and have been well cared for which is why they look so great.

On the way to the above site, as occasionally happens during field visits in hard to get to areas, one has times where one stumbles across women bathing in tropical mountain streams. Today was one such day, but my finely tuned cross cultural skills told me that it was not a good time to take a photo. Sorry.

Below find a photo of one of my favourite spots in Haiti, and where I am staying tonight, the Hotel Roi Christophe. Very historical, and where Henri Christophe one of the founding leaders of the country first worked as a baker. It was also a place where Napoleon's officers are supposed to have stayed. Very nice and oozing with history. If you ever visit, order the french toast for breakfast.

Finally, staying with this eclectic theme, I leave you with the lyrics of a song which have been running through my head the past few days, and seem at least marginally appropriate.

"Doctor, my eyes have seen the years

and the slow parade of fears without crying,

now I want to understand.

I have done all that I could

To see the evil and the good without hiding,

You must help me if you can.

Doctor: my eyes.

Tell me what is wrong,

Was I unwise to leave them open for so long?

As I have wandered through this world

And as each moment has unfurled

I've been waiting to awaken from this dream.

People go just where they will;

I never noticed them until I got this feeling

That it's later than it seems.

Doctor: my eyes.

Tell me what you see.

I hear their cries,

Just say if it's too late for me.

Doctor: my eyes.

I cannot see the sky.

Is this the price for having learned how not to cry?"

I think I may have become somehow an accidental rep for Coke. When I travel I tend to drink said beverage more often when home, and the past week or two here I've been going to a local vendor on the street just near our office. As I was returning the office with a freshly purchased bottle, I heard kid behind me saying, "blan, coca, blan coca". I interpreted this to either mean that I was continously buying the drink, or those two things were closely associated. I hope the company appreciates the free advertising.

Data entry is the activity of the moment. We have a team of 14 in the field interviewing households, and a team of 4 entering data. This is a somewhat repetitive task, but I'm excited to be getting the info we need to make some measurements on impact of our activities over the past 3 years in this particular area.

The Citadelle

I think I've been to the Citadelle at least 5 times, and each time I go I learn something new. It really is a marvel, and if you are ever in Haiti you should make a point of seeing it. In fact I would say you might want to come here just to see it. After Haiti gained independence, the ruler of the northern part of the country, Henri Christophe built this fortress perched on top of this mountain in case the French ever came back. They didn't and 200 years later, the structure still stands as a monument to independence. The photo shows the Citadelle from a distance, close to the town of Cap Haitian, and even from afar it is an intimidating sight.

Be careful what you wish for

A couple of weeks ago I was joking around with some visitors/program supporters about whether you would rather be the person that cut down the last tree in Haiti or ate the last sea turtle. Well, this poor fellow passed by me while I was having coffee on the patio of one of the nicer restaurants in Cap Haitian (the Roi Christophe--I think everyone should visit) and the fisherman in question was planning to sell to the kitchen. So, I guess you might be able to do both, possibly eating turtle soup off a table made of wood...

The past week I have been staying in our office in Acul du Nord, near Cap Haitien in the north. There are 5 of us, 2 sleeping in the existing beds, and 3 sleeping on the floor. If you know me at all, you know I pride myself on being able to do without, but there is a certain level of chaos associated with the lifestyle here that I just can't quite manage. Chaos, and a different sense of personal space and privacy. I like to be able to feel like I can have some control over my little corner of the world, and here I just can't quite get that. Still, I have nothing to complain about. I was thinking that last night with the rain beating down on the tin roof, and just imagining what it would be like to be crouched under a plastic tarp held up by wooden poles with mud running under foot.
Anyhow, it's not sleeping on the floor, or taking bucket showers that is the problem. In fact sometimes I sleep on the floor just because it's comfortable. Its more about the disorder of everyday living. This is a bit hard to explain and is better experienced. Maybe I'll elaborate in later posts. Sorry, still no way to upload pictures. Maybe this weekend.

Today was the first day of focus groups gathered to discuss the three year project which is now ending and for which we have been assigned to do a final evaluation. A group of 26 was assembled in one community to discuss agriculture, household economy, credit, and health. There are a number of tools which have been designed to allow a group like this to discuss a given topic, and hopefully allow everyone to have a voice. I will post some photos when I get a chance. Tomorrow will be a second focus group on the same topics but in a different community and a different, but neighbouring watershed.

Farmers voting with seeds to demonstrate importance of various farming techniques

Yesterday was the drive from Port au Prince to Acul du Nord, which is close to Cap Haitian, and about a 7 hour drive. We begin today the training for the surveyors for the project evaluation we are doing. Collecting reliable information in rural areas of Haiti (or in most countries for that matter) is tricky and requires thoughtful and creative people to ask the questions and listen for the true response. It also requires asking the right questions in the first place, which also requires careful consideration in advance. There is furthermore a tendency among those being interviewed to, perhaps out of politeness, try to give the response they think you want to hear. For example, if people think that successful results are what the interviewer wants, some folks will tend to describe how great things are. On the other hand, if people think that the interviewer wants to hear about needs, then folks will often talk about how miserable their lives are. There are ways around this. For example one can usually reliably determine from what material a roof of a house has been constructed, and this is a relatively good indicator of a family's economic status. Many other similar questions may be asked, and eventually one can piece together a more or less accurate picture of the situation and conditions in which a community finds itself.

This is what looks very much to me like a funnel cloud, the kind one might see in Ontario. Who knew that they had those here. This one hung around for a good 20 minutes but never got anywhere near the ground. It got me to wondering whether that freak wind storm on Friday in Port au Prince might have been a tornado.

There is so much to learn. That may be one of the best parts of my job, the learning. Discovering that what you thought you knew was wrong, or incomplete. Today I had a chance to go to the beach in the resort area north of Port au Prince. Yes, those are jet skiis, and in the second picture you can see both jet skiis and a traditional canoe in the background.

Driving in Haiti

Driving in Haiti is a game of inches. Being aware of your vehicle space 360 degrees around is always recommended, but here it is an absolute necessity. More than 360 really because one has to keep an eye downwards for potholes, trenches, sewage drains without covers, shoulders of roads that drop off into deep ravines, etc. Driving through markets is of particular interest since there maybe a small pile of oranges on the ground on one side of you and a market stall, or a parked vehicle on the other. This morning in fact, I got trapped between a pile of breadfruit on my right with my left rear bumper hooked into the right front bumper of the tap-tap (public pickup truck carrying 10-15 passengers) on the other side. The tap-tap driver had to nudge his vehicle gently away from mine while I backed up almost imperceptibly so we could unhook vehicles without scratching each other. I wish I had photos of this, but hope you understand why I don't.