Notes From Leogane No. 2

Dear Family and Friends:

Much has happened since I wrote to you last Thursday, but tonight I would like to share with you just a few of the sights and sounds of Leogane.  Some of those impressions come from my 1 1/2 hour walk with Dr. Bob Sloane this past Saturday afternoon as he guided me around the neighboring area from the hospital that was within reasonable walking distance. 

I promise you will not be bothered with emails from me every 3 - 4 days over the next three months.  Rather, after Notes 1 - 4 between last Thursday and the end of next week, I would expect the frequency of my Notes to be no more than one every week, and perhaps less frequent from time to time.  By Notes 1 - 4, I hope to convey to you various first impressions about various aspects of life in Leogane.  Such first impressions of course need only be shared once.

Last Saturday, Bob Sloane - who was the Guesthouse Manager at HSC with his wife Robin for almost three months (and who arrived back in Ft Worth this past Sunday) - took me for a walk around Leogane, to meet some of my new neighbors and to take me to the various shops I will be doing business with through the end of June. 

The first neighbor Bob pointed out, though we didn't meet her, was the unique Madame Carmen.  Madame lives in a 15 ft. x 40 t. plywood shack (with metal roof) directly across from my 2nd floor room window at the Guesthouse.  Her home is painted lime green, with a fading picture of a Christmas tree on her front door.  Madame's home sits below three 2-story residences with separate living quarters on the first and second floors of each building.  So far, Madame has taken a seat on her chair in front of her house every day, usually by 7 a.m., in her light smock.  She somewhat holds court, conversing with various people as they pass by her on the way to work or to school, or because they need something at one of the shops near her place.  As with many Haitians I have meet in the last six days, it is not easy to judge Madame Carmen's age, in no small part because she is missing most of her teeth.  Madame could be 60 years old; she could be 40.  What I do know is that she is loved by her neighbors, the many people who befriend her every day, and the toddlers she tends to from time to time while she sits in her chair watching the world pass by.

Futbol, the beautiful game, is alive and well in Leogane.  Just two blocks from HSC Bob and I passed by a tent with about 30 metal chairs where the proprietor would be showing the Spanish League game between Barcelona ("Barca") and Villareal at 3 p.m., for a 10 gourdes cover charge.  ($1 U.S. = 40 gourdes).  I thought it best last Saturday afternoon to not blow off learning more from Bob about my Guesthouse Manager duties to cheer for Barca.  But, next Saturday afternoon may allow me an hour or so to watch another game for 10 gourdes.  My interpreter friend, Mario, advises me that there are a lot of Barca fans in Leogane because of Messi, from Argentina. His is Barca's top scorer. You may remember Lionel Messi from the last World Cup. He played for Argentina.

Bob stopped at the main hardware store in town, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Aiyati.  It is an impressive establishment.  For example, they sell motos, trenching equipment and other construction power equipment.  The building stands out proudly two blocks from Hopital Sainte Croix.  Mr. and Mrs. Aiyati named their business "Discipline" - which gives you an idea about why they believe they have built a successful enterprise in Leogane.

Dang it again.  Something is very finicky about this laptop tonight.  Maybe it's the influence of the music streaming into my window from the club on the corner.  Perhaps it's a not too subtle hint - don't be verbose.

With that last thought in mind, let me try to end with two more short asides from my walk with Bob.  When we came upon the site of the now leveled Catholic Church, Bob said it was magnificent with beautiful art work inside the church.  He said I would have cried had I known what the church looked like before January 2010.  The Catholics in the area of Leogane now attend services in a plywood open air building, with cloth sides and a tin roof.

But I do not want to leave you with the wrong impression.  After the earthquake, the Episcopal Bishop of Haiti, The Rt. Rev. Jean Zache Duracin, said, "Haiti, Get up and walk."  Leogane is starting to move into a stepped up pace of walking, perhaps a jog, in certain parts of the community.  Bob told me Sunday, while we drove the outer perimeter of the town - a town of 200,000 - that 20,000 people in Leogane were killed in the earthquake. But, 50% of the people of Leogane who lived in a "tent city" after the earthquake now are back to property where a new structure may be built in the near future.  At least that is the hope.

 I hope this Note finds you and your love ones safe and sound, and in good spirits.
Peace,

 David

April 5, 2011

Notes From Leogane No. 1

Dear Family and Friends:

Though I only arrived in Port au Prince ("PaP" will be used primarily in future Notes for the capital city) at 10:30 a.m. yesterday (Haiti is 2 hours ahead of Arizona time), there are many impressions and sightings that I would like to share with you this evening while they are fresh in my mind.  This Note will not tell you anything about the wonderful people I have met so far at Hopital Sainte Croix ("HSC") and the Guesthouse.  A much lengthier Note will be needed for that, and I want to wait until Monday evening, when the current Managers - Dr Robert Sloane and Robin Sloane, who have been here for almost 3 months - will have finished this trip (Bob's 12th) to Haiti, and I can digest all of their contributions to the Guesthouse, the hospital and the Leogane community.  (A teaser - Dr. Sloane assisted as co-surgeon during a surgery today at the hospital.  Fortunately for me, I'm not expected to wear scrubs and handle a scalpel as part of my duties.)

Impressions and Sightings in PaP on the way to Leogane from the airport:

The airport in PaP is located on the eastern edge of the city, and Leogane is located west of PaP, which resulted in a two hour trip in one of the hospital's vehicles, with Mr. Gay the driver, Bob and I crammed in the right seat to the right of the floor board stick shift, and Robin stuck in the back seat next to my two overweight suitcases, a lap top case, and a briefcase.  (No I did not over pack clothes for the trip; just toting supplies in one of the suitcases).

PaP remains a city will major earthquake damage and rubble in many parts of the city. We drove by the Catholic Cathedral, in the center of PaP.  It reminded me of one of the churches you would see in a picture of Dresden after the firebombing by the Allies during WWII.  The Episcopal Cathedral and annex buildings, including the annex for the Cultural Centre and Music School, were leveled.  But unlike the Catholic Cathedral, much of the Episcopal Church buildings have been torn down. 

The Presidential Palace and the General Assembly buildings took big hits during the earthquake. I doubt that they can be saved.  In person, you can most definitely see that the magnitude of the destruction is much worst that depicted in most photographs you may have seen.

There is rubble throughout PaP.  Tent cities are all along the road sides we traveled.  I will not pretend to be able to count the thousands upon thousands of people who have not lived in even a plywood structure since January 2010.

In spite of these circumstances, my initial impression is that the people of PaP are just moving forward with the hand nature has dealt them.  This is but one of the reasons I have such respect and admiration for the poor of Haiti.  They are doing their best to "Get Up And Walk" - to borrow an expression from the Episcopal Bishop of Haiti.  One example, school children in the clean and colorful uniforms were walking home from school as we traveled through PaP.  These were not the upper middle class and Haitians in PaP, who primarily live up in the hills of PaP, in Petionville.  (The golf club in Petionville is now a tent city).

The central areas of PaP are very densely populated, though I am advised that tens of thousands of residents left PaP for the villages in the north and elsewhere where they have relatives.  There is little vegetation in the center core areas of PaP.

But, as we neared the western edge of PaP, there was an identifiable change in the landscape - trees, hedges and tall grass.  Twenty minutes or so from the hospital, we started to pass by modest plots of land used for truck farming.  And, more children coming home from school, again in uniforms.  Some cows in pastures.

A lasting impression from Day 1:  A man driving a "moto" with the two oldest children holding on to him from the back seat, and two younger children seating in front of the adult.  All were wearing the same colorful school uniforms.  The youngest could not have been older than 5 years old.  Quite a sight to see on my first day back to Haiti after a twenty years’ absence. (A "moto" is a small motorbike, a little larger than a Kawasaki and you can sit up straight.  And, much less noise.  (Help - The generator just shut off, so I'm typing in the dark and I hope the battery in this computer isn't low on juice)

We passed by a UN "Peacekeeping Camp" housing UN police.  They have been in Haiti off and on since 2004.   

(Great - the electricity is back on after 10 minutes of dark; which means most importantly the ceiling fan is on again!!)

Now In Leogane.

Entering Leogane, you can see immediately the difference to PaP.  A smaller municipality, though a sizable community nonetheless.  There is an Episcopal Church one block from the hospital, and a Catholic Church 5 blocks from HSC.

The main street that borders on HSC is a main artery, but no wider than 13th Avenue in west Phoenix.  (Just had to sneak in a shout to the westside)  This dirt street (not a road) is teeming with activity from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m., but not in the sense that there are big crowds, but rather a vehicle or group of people are always passing by doing something during these times.

Last impression from Day 1:  The great music streaming into my room as I lay in bed starting around 10 p.m. While it was a long day, the time change was still with me, which was great.  I just kicked back and listened to the cafe music from one block away for at least 1 1/2 hours.

Day Two Early Morning Impression.  The rooster crowing and the first people in the area walking in the street next to HSC.  The 30 minutes before sunrise sees slow but purposeful activity as people start another day in Leogane.  I'm still trying to figure out why at 5:30 a.m. the truck delivering ice (in the old way, a block of ice with steel tongs jammed into the sides) had to honk his horn when the two customers were standing in front of their apartments waiting for the delivery.  (As reported by early riser Bob Sloane).

As I noted above, I most definitely want to reserve a separate Note to all of you to discuss the wonderful support staff at the Guesthouse and hospital, such as Jeannine, Madame Bellevue, Ty Ty, Mario, Typanol, and the current four long term residents on the Guesthouse floor - Carly, Dr. Samuel, P. Joseph, and Dr. Livingston. 

Afternoon impression on Day 2:  Bob, Robin and I were trying to reconcile the Q1 accounting records for the Guesthouse most of the day, before Robin and Bob leave, and around 2 p.m. a funeral possession passed by the north boundary of the Guesthouse.  I watched out the 2nd floor window at the procession, with band, passed, playing slow, somber music for the departed and living.  To say that each and every person in the 100+ person funeral procession was dressed in a way that would shame many of us in the way we may dress for such a solemn ceremony is the understatement of this trip so far.

Just before dinner, Bob, Robin and I were sitting around the small common area in the middle of the second floor, and Bob mentioned that this Saturday evening, from early evening to as late as 1 a.m., there will be a "Ra-Ra" procession.  According to Bob, Ra-Ra takes place every Saturday during Lent, and on some Thursday nights.  People come to Leogane from all around Haiti.  There are several bands, one for each town or group of people represented, who process through Leogane.  Bob said he was told by some of his Haitian friends at the hospital that Ra-Ra is related to a Haitian religious story about the time between when Jesus was placed into the tomb on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  Starting on Good Friday, an angel was required to stay awake to make sure the rock was removed from the tomb when it was time for the resurrection, to ensure that Jesus Christ could ascend into heaven.  The bands in Ra-Ra are there to keep the angel awake to remove the massive stone from the tomb when needed.

Time to end this Note.

Oh I almost forgot.  Dr. Livingston is a tabby cat.  I'm primarily a dog person, but I can tell already that Dr. Livingston is going to be my BFF.  I'd like to set up a Facebook for him, so you can follow some of his more amusing antics, but knowing my lack of computer skills, please don't hold your breath.




Peace and Love to you all from Leogane,

David

To All, Bonjour.

March 31, 2011

As a follow-up to Note #1:

A Ra-Ra band finally showed up last night.  They were marching by the northwest corner of the hospital; so the music was streaming from about 50 yards away into my bedroom window.  The music was outstanding.  The best way for you to perhaps envision it is to think of one of Harry Connick Jr.'s New Orleans swing melodies juiced up with some salsa, with then an added measure of Caribbean kick - if that makes any sense to you.

While listening to the music, I thought to myself that I had slept longer than just to midnight - 1 a.m.  I had been told last week that this was the time frame when most Ra-Ra bands might last play on a Saturday night.  When the music faded away, as the band continued to play and march in the direction of the "bus depot area", I turned my flashlight to my nightstand to check the time.  It was 4 a.m.!

Best wishes to you all this Sunday morning.  As I type, I can hear one of the choirs singing at the Episcopal Church service next door.  More on last week's church service in Note 3.

David

April 10, 2011