Waldo's Wisdom - September 24, 2005

Be thankful that you were born in the privilieged country of Canada or the US! It's so easy to take the benefits of accessible food, clean water, sturdy houses, electricity, education, etc. etc. for granted because all these things are so abundant and normal. "Normal" is different in Haiti. Permeating all the issues of daily survival is simply coping with the heat, dust and ample diesel fumes in the city. That simply adds to the difficulty but Haitian people are remarkably resilient and resourceful and I have seldom heard them complain. (probably because I still can't understand their language) I'll give two examples of their spirit through people that I met this week.
I visited a local pastor's school/church complex whom I met through a mutual friend. He rents a walled, two floor building compound in a poor area a few kilometers from where we live at Wall's Guest House. There was a former swimming pool in one corner with green putrid looking water but I noticed that it was teeming with fish. He explained that they used the fish as part of their food supply but sometimes had difficulty finding food for the fish. As I went from classroom to classrom I encountered inquisitive, respectful, uniformed children in classes from K to 6. They sat on makeshift benches and crude desks but it was obvious how eager they were to learn. At recess - at least I think that's what it was because all of a sudden the children were all outside - the kindergarten children especially gathered around me to give me the "high five"or just to hold my hand.
What are your needs here - I asked the pastor. The answer - first were resources so he could provide lunch for the children. In his broken English he said that if they arrive hungry they are listless and tired. When they have been fed they become bright and animated. They also need wood to build more benches and desks, they need books for their library. Their selections consisted of three shelves with assorted books on each ranging from "Pinnochio" in the children's section to a Thesaurus in the other. I doubt they had 60 books in total but they were also offering their selections to the community as a "reading room". I remembered how my personal office library used to contain a few thousand volumes. (All education is carried out in French here so that wouldn't have been much help here)
His church has about 150 attending but I noticed chairs set up for about 40. He said that they carry benches down from the classrooms on Friday evening and back up on Sunday evening. I told him that I had no money to help him and he smiled and said: "God is good - he will provide". I said that I knew people who might be able to come to visit sometime and maybe they could bring some money for wood and work alongside his people to build some benches and desks. He beamed! Had I just created false hopes? Yet I know that I have skilled and caring friends in Canada who would enjoy this type of project immensely. I would much rather have 100 people visit here with $50 extra to share than to have one person donate $5ooo. As Jesus said - the poor will always be with us. We can't alleviate poverty in Haiti. Yet as we learn to know individual people and work briefly together - both sides will be richer. I have no doubt that you would benefit more from the encounter than the Haitian.
One other person I met yesterday was at an isolated subsistence mountain cooperative. I had no interpreter so we communicated in my broken Creole and his meagre English. We shared about our families, about work we did - then before I left he wanted to know if I knew Jesus. When I said "Wi" (yes) he shook my hand with a big smile on his face. We were very different people in many ways but it was obvious what he considered to be of greatest importance as we travel this life's journey. I agree!

HAITI DOES NOT NEED YOUR MONEY!

Haitians do not need my money. They may think they do when we first meet. Every day I get asked for money from a Haitian. "Give me one dollar" is the first English phrase many Haitian children learn. They do it well - hand out stretched, begging tone, looking desperate, hungry and needy. Often they are hungry - certainly they are needy. Parents have told me stories about their children. They would love to send them to school - if only they could afford a uniform and shoes for them. Without a uniform a child forfeits the priviledge of an education in this country.

Haiti is the poorest country in the western Hemisphere. The needs are enormous. Everything is working against them - their brutal history, the present lack of infrastructure and the extremely high rate of unemployment - for starters! Why then do I say that they do not need my money?

A very wise Haitian man gave us some advice during our first weeks here. He said that his advice for us would be not to give any money to anyone for at least 6 months. It would be very difficult at times, he explained but he urged us to wait. And indeed it has been difficult - we have not always been able to resisit. Instead, he explained, offer them your friendship. Find out who they are and what they care about. Use your creativity to think of ways in which they can help you - something that you need from them. Only after you have established a reciprocal relationship over time can you afford to give them money. Otherwise you reinforce the attitude of bias on both sides. They will always equate white skin with money - I will think that all they want is my money.
Any need that I meet for them today will reappear tomorrow and next week and next year. That is why FIDA - PCH believes that anything they accomplish in Haiti must be sustainable. It must make a difference for tomorrow and for next year. It must come from within the community in order to build self-esteem while it improves the standard of living. It must include education and a plan for tomorrow. It must provide a way for the Haitians to help themselves in very practical ways.

Tony has exemplified the importance of giving of myself rather than my money. When I first met this vendor he told me about his 5 children and asked me to buy something, anything, so that he could help his children. Over time Tony has become my friend. We greet each other with genuine affection and he never asks me to buy anymore. He tells me "thank-you for talking to me. You are not like some white people" and he tries to explain snobbishness to me with gestures. He says that such behaviour does not make Jesus happy. He touches his skin and says that when he and I cut ourselves, we both bleed in the same color. And when we die, we both go to the ground, he concludes as he points downward. Tony is right. We both have the same needs and we both have the same destiny.

My challenge and invitation for North Americans would be not to send money. It would be to spend a week here in Haiti learning and listening. It would be to walk along side and learn first. This is a primary and vital step even if your wallet never leaves your pocket!

Waldo's Wisdom - Top 10 Reasons Why.....

Top 10 Reasons Why It Takes Time to Adjust to Life in Haiti

#10 I just counted 30 mosquito bites on my arms and legs (I hate using repellent). No wonder Haitian men wear long pants and shoes in 35 degree weather as opposed to my shorts and sandals.

#9 Rice and beans is a very balanced diet. I didn't realize that menu variations meant with or without carrot bits in the rice.

#8 Driving is hard to adjust to. One time my mentor praises me for pulling directly in front of oncoming traffic in order to claim my territory. Next time I'm critized for turning right on a red with the first traffic light I've encountered in Port-au-Prince.

#7 People say that learning Creole is much easier than learning English. It's interesting that it is only Haitians who are telling me this

#6 For $10 dollars American you receive 420 Haitian gourdes in paper and coin. Yet all prices are marked in Haitian dollars which don't exist in currency but are calculated at a rate of 5 gourdes per Haitian dollar. They know that foreigners will never figure it out quickly enough to know if they got a bargain or not.

#5 Manhole covers in Canada cover the drainage access on our Canadian streets. In Port-au-Prince they developed the drainage and the holes but the covers must be on backorder. Drivers beware!

#4 In Canada a downpour means that the lawns get watered for free. In Port-au-Prince it means that the streets become small rivers and all the garbage from uphill becomes the problem of those who live at the bottom - you guessed it - the poor!

#3 Security in a Canadian store means electronic beepers to catch unpaid items at the exits. In Haiti it's armed guards patrolling the aisles and doorways along with armed parking attendants carrying assult rifles. "Are you sure I paid for that item - I don't mind if you check again!"

#2 Traffic jams in Canada involve horn blowing and frustration. Traffic jams in Haiti involve horn blowing and creating alternate routes across sidewalks, entering opposing traffic lanes so that oncoming traffic needs to disperse to sidewalks, going through pedestrian markets - nothing stops a Haitian driver from discovering alternates - except when axles and wheels keep falling off their vehicles. Come to think about it - that's the main source of traffic jams!

#1 A warm day in Canada means you lower the themostat on your air conditioner, add more ice to your drink and perhaps take a cool shower. A warm day in Haiti means the Humidex is in the 40's, the electricity is off, there's no ice cubes for your drink, your clothes are stuck to your body and your shower is warmer than usual from the gravity tank on your roof!

Obviously some of these items are probably just the exaggerated fabrications of my fertile mind.
Otherwise why would I still enjoy living in Haiti?

Picture This - Pam's Perspective

Picture this:
Actually you have to picture it because my laptop is still out of commision, so we have been unable to show you any pictures. However I know your imaginations will do just fine.

Do you know how a child will prop their elbows on the kitchen counter, their chin in their hands, watching with fascination while someone mixes up a favorite cookie dough?
Well that is what I experienced last week. Only it wasn't a child - it was one of the staff members. I was making a cake and it seemed to be a rare occasion. Desserts are not commonly made here - people do not have the money nor the equipment to bake desserts so I seem to be quite talented to our staff, even if I just bake a cake mix. I've since made more cakes and several kinds of cookies. This week there were 3 of them, Wesley the cook, Francine the kitchen help and Marie, who does the laundry. I felt like I was doing a cooking show - only the commentary was coming from the audience. They were all busily discussing in Creole what I was doing and seemed to think I was doing a good job as I recognized the word "konfyans". So this week I thought I would impress everybody even more. I bought some yeast and proceeded to mix up some dough for French bread. They all gathered again as I got out the ingredients but when they realized I was making bread, they all wandered away. This was no big deal, apparently as they can get bread on every street corner. Sweets, however are different. I noticed they all wandered back when it was time to sample the bread!!

Picture this:
Did you ever see someone arguing in a public place or having a discussion that sounds interesting but you were too polite to get involved?
In Haiti, protocol is totally different. You are just being neighbourly to get involved. We took some brochures of our Guest House to the local airport yesterday and handed them to one of the girls behind the desk, explaining that she could refer people to us if they were asking for a place to stay. While the explanation was taking place a fellow worker stopped to listen, leaned over her shoulder to read the brochure and got totally involved in looking it over and analyzing it.
Then later in the day I observed a conversation between the Manager here and a repair man who had come to give his advice about a water pump. The discussion took place in front of the Guest House where people gather to catch up on the day's news. The guard listened in, several staff stopped by to hear, even Ton, the local street merchant, listened intently and nodded his approval to what the repair man was advising. Waldo counted 11 people all intently involved in this one interaction. This is not rude - it is simply Haitian entertainment - the more dramatice the better. I have also observed a traffic jam in front of the Guest House, everyone blowing their horns and insisting that a stalled car get out of the way. I watched as one pedestration summoned a few others to come and help roll the car over to the side. None of them knew each other - it just makes sense to get involved when someone needs you.
We could learn something from our Haitian friends!

AIRPORT PROTOCOL - Waldo's musings

Before you come to Haiti I need to brief you on the local custom as it pertains to the airport. It may appear to the untrained eye that you are entering a twilight zone of mayhem, bedlam, or whatever other hems and lams come to your mind. This is indeed what it seems to be in your first encounter but after a few trips to the International Airport I have gained at least a modicum of tourist savvy in terms of the protocol - which I would now like to pass on to you. When you first step off the plane onto the tarmac you will enjoy a glorious sensation of natural heat from the sun and the baking effect of the asphalt. Depending on the time of year however, before you reach the terminal you may wonder why your deodorant suddenly stopped working and you feel moist and clammy to the touch. Once inside the terminal you bask in the familiar feel of air conditioned comfort. People may have told that Haiti is not up to Canadian standards but when there is power, as there is for sometimes up to 12 hours in a 24 hour period, then this is just like home. As you wait for your bags you also feel at home as you view your bags plunging out of the cargo hold of the plane and jammed into the cargo trailers - not that you saw this happen in Canada but you viewed the effects as your bags appeared on the conveyer. Here you have the added benefit of an actual visual experience of their transformation. When we arrived I didn't recognize two of our bags at first because we had just purchased new larger ones for our stay in Haiti. Without any extra effort they looked nearly as beat up as the rest of the selection, thus ensuring that we wouldn't be targeted as rich folk. We were so thankful!After retrieving your bags you proceed to the counter where you have your passport stamped along with the other little sheet that you filled out on the plane. FILL IT OUT CAREFULLY! Just because you're white doesn't mean you have privilege at this counter and they will let not only you, but others within earshot, know that you messed up! Can you tell that I speak from experience? After that you're basically home free - until you go through the next door. That's where you see some of the porters stationed who are eager to help you with your bags. You think, well, they seem a little more aggressive than those of like occupation in Canada but everyone needs a job so they deserve their chance. The real culture shock begins as you go out the front doors of the airport. You have just become like fresh meat in a pirannah pool! At least 2 - maybe 3 porters will grab at your bags in order to "help" you. In their eagerness to help a bag often gets knocked off your trolley and they quickly pick it up and restore it to its location - thus ensuring their claim on your baggage. They have now "assisted" you and no amount of protestation short of verbal volume and repeated physical removal of their hands from your baggage or trolley will disturb their hold. If you happen to turn back to look at the rest of your party and have your concentration momentarily lifted, they will get between your arms and push your trolley while you are left standing there wondering if you should call a lawyer or try to stay close to your bags. Sorry, no lawyers here - better to choose option two and be quick about it.Having now visited the airport a few more times from the vantage point of picking up guests, I have come to appreciate the protocol situation from an entirely new perspective.
It is far more organized than one would ever suspect on first arrival. On my initial assignment of holding up the "Walls Guest House" sign for new arrivals to see and recognize their host I was pleased at the friendliness of the locals. No less than four gentlemen came up to me at various times and inquired about my role there. I wasn't hard to spot, first because I was white and second my sign, but it still felt good. They inquired about the guest house, how many people were coming, whether they were male or female and which flight they were on. I became suspcious after the third one and realized that there was more happening here than just a friendly greeting to the token white guy.
Before I get to that let me describe the groups who were hovering just outside the airport doors. First were the porters in striped shirts and red hats so they were recognizable as to their role. There were some 40 of them and as I watched longer I realized that there was actually an order to their positioning. After assisting a passenger they would be at the back of the double line and the next two fellows would be dispatched to swoop on the next person through the door. It reminded me of my days in car sales as we needed to take turns as salemen for each customer that entered the lot.
Behind these porters were a second group of people dressed in bright yellow shirts and brown slacks or skirts. This group included some females as well and it appeared that they may have been people who had the means to drive the new arrivals to a desired location. They were not quite as aggressive and seemed to make more of a game of trying to entice people to travel with them. After pestering people for a time as they walked beside them they would return to the group and laugh about their success or lack of it.
The third group wore white shirts and were loosely positioned behind the yellow group. They looked like they thought they had the superior position and my speculation was that they were also drivers but perhaps for specific hotels or locations.
As I was saying earlier, I realized that the people coming up to me must have had more on their mind than idle conversation about my sign holding prowess. I noticed that after they talked to me they would call over a porter and have a brief conversation before the porter would sprint to the front door. I disovered that what was was actually happening was that these new friends of mine in the crowd were "agents" for the porters. They would tip them off with the information I had provided and then they would try to spot the guests I was waiting for and be the first to tell them that they had been dispatched by Walls Guest House to make sure they got their luggage to the vehicle. One porter came to me and asked about who I was waiting for and before I could answer he grabbed my sign out of my hand and ran to the door to ensure he would be "the chosen one".
Yes, airport protocol takes on a whole new dimension in Haiti. These porters have become extremely adept at uncovering every advantage in the baggage handling department. It's fascinating to observe but can be a bit unnerving on your first visit. Now that you've been educated, why not come and experience it for yourself. Also remember to have some American dollar bills handy for these workers. They do need the employment and their excellent service certainly deserves a few dollars each. Who knows, it may even give you something to write home about!

The Second Stage

I've reached it! I'm fully there! I have unequivocally and undeniably entered into the second stage of adjusting to living in a new country! My daughter tells me it's called the Emptiness Stage, the one that comes after the Honeymoon Stage and before the Acceptance Stage. It exemplifies itself by producing boredom, frustration, anger, homesickness and irritation. For those of you who know me, quess which one I'm experiencing?? Well at moments all of them, actually - with little things really (how totally uncharacteristic!!) Let me give you some examples of my adjustments.

We went to bed shortly after 8:00 pm last night. This would have been unheard of for us in Canada. I seldom go to bed before 10:00pm - Waldo seldom retires before 11:00pm! However, since the electricity was off, there was nothing else to do BUT go to bed. Let me explain.
Whenever the electricity goes off, the inverter kicks in for a few hours. The inverter is a pack of batteries that store power to use while the electricity is off. One has absolutely no idea when the electricity will go off or for how long. However, there has never been an instance where it has been ON for 24 hrs. straight since we arrived 3 weeks ago. The locals say there is no way to predict when it will be on or off. The inverter, depending on how much power is used and how much capacity it has, will run out in time as well. Thus we could not afford to have our lights on last night to use up the precious power. We had to save it for the fans that blow around the 34 degree 95% humidity-laden air at night. If we did not have the fans and the electricity would stay off the entire night, we would indeed have spent an uncomfortable night.

Usually once a night, often more, the electricity flicks on or off. The guards will then beep us on the walkie-talkie and let us know that the EDH is off. Waldo gets up at that point, gets dressed, walks downstairs with his flashlight and keys, and unlocks the double-chained doors to get to the main building to manually switch over the power source. Once he has locked everything up again and gotten back in bed, he may have to repeat the process again in as little as 10 minutes, though usually we get a few hours in between.

Does everyone in Haiti have to endure this you ask? No - not if one has money. Then one has automatic switches that go on and off and generators that produce their own power when that fails. So it is quite possible to have very little inconvenience if one has the means. Here at the Guest House, we do not have enough guests recently to make the high cost of running the diesel-fuel generator worthwhile. As in America fuel costs have risen dramatically over the past few years. Because Haiti is hurting for tourism, all the Guest Houses in the city have decreased numbers. This means shopping daily for food, buying only what's necessary, and repairing only top priority items. One refrigerator and two freezers sit unplugged reminding us of better days.

Another annoyance for me is my computer. During a storm last week, the Internet connection was lost. It is now 6 days later and I am still waiting to have it restored. Everything seems to take so long when it is no one's priority but mine. However, I am in a strange country, attempting to learn a new language, and trying to fulfill my new duties all amidst sweltering heat. The Internet is my lifeblood! It is my connection to my children, whom I miss dearly, my friends, my colleagues and my home. My computer sits here reminding me that it would work, if only it could!

It's interesting though! At home when I have the tendency to compare myself with those around me I choose to compare myself to those who have more. Here in Haiti, I compare myself with those who have less. Maybe that is because there are more of them - 85% more, to be exact. Haiti's streets are filled with bright young people who would go to school if only they could. Young Adams whom we fed our left-over supper is an example of that. He wishes only for a Canadian visa so that he might visit some missionaries he met and they would perhaps sponser him to go to school. He can never hope to earn any money for school here. He sees the white people who visit Haiti as his only hope right now. Those living in Citi Solie, the poor area of town, would think they had won the Lottery to live as I live here. Haiti has numerous tiny "banks". Nearly every street sports at least one brightly decorated shack that promises to make you rich if only you take a chance at the "Lotto". I realize now that I need never buy a lottery ticket again. I was born in North America, middle class and educated, and born with white skin. I have indeed won already.