Thoughts on Haiti
Saturday June 24th
Dear Friends, Family,
I am finally able to get to a working computer. It is difficult to describe in words how I've felt on this trip. I have been absolutely exhilarated and also feared for my life. The people of Haiti are very nice and accepting considering the economic situation they are in. It seems they are forgotten by the outside world. It is truly brutal here. People live in shacks. Most don't have ruining water, electricity and I imagine even beds. The water is collected when it rains for drinking. Conditions are bad even the ones who are considered wealthy. Many are literally starving. 1 family survives here on a dollar a day. We should all greatly appreciate and be thankful for what we have and our way of life. I am staying in the nicest hotels here. Really treated like royalty for them. Some of the hotel's have had electricity but it turns on at only 2pm in the capital city Port au Prince. Even then it is spotty. No electricity in the rooms. We use candles at night. Forget about AC. Its a good thing I'm not used to it in general.
There is big UN presence here with peacekeeping troops around the towns and the roads. We only saw one real checkpoint though. There were major riots a little more than a year ago. Haiti is also supposed to be the one of the most common countries for kidnapping. 2nd to Chile, although this has improved somewhat since a new government (René Préval) took place in Feb. When I got here, I was told by everyone never to go out into the city by foot. So straight from the airport to a hotel which was guarded by a man with an AK 47 I think. We played at a french educational center, We are in fact brought over here and paid by the French consulate.
There is no tourism here. The only whites I meet or see here are peace corp or French social workers, nurse volunteers etc... They estimate that 70 percent or more of the population over 14 years old has HIV although no one really knows. The average age in Haiti is 18 years old.
Saying all off this, the value of the culture and art here is absolutely incredible. Everyone is an artist. Painter sculpture dancer etc.... It seems that music is holding the whole country together. On my 2nd day here, we traveled by car to Jacmel, a coastal town. much safer than Port au Prince. It is known for being calm and peaceful. Here we are free to walk about the town somewhat normally but still told to be careful. Julien knew a couple of Haitian musicians here and asked them to play with us that night. Through them I met a bunch of others all eager to speak with me. The language here is a broken derivative of French. The French people, I am here with don't really understand it. Some of the Haitians speak normal French but only the most educated. Some speak a little English but that is rare. Many, even children 6 years old can say a few words. Give me a dollar or something like that. I imagine they can say that in French too.
Sunday
After the gig on Sat. I heard about a Voodoo ceremony happening a little out side of town. A Haitian drummer who sat in and played with us that night, Maxo, came with us. The road there is in absolutely horrid condition. It seems it was paved at some point but is now just big chunks of stone. Anyway I went with some other members of our band. It really felt like I was witnessing something truly special and hidden from the outside world. I managed to record some of it on my video camera. It included fire blowing, whips and people going into trances.
I got a few bad looks for filming but since I knew Maxo it was ok. I hope to be able to share the video with you.
Monday
Yesterday I took a small trip to a place on the beach called Ramond D'bahn, a fancy dining place in Jacmel. It is set up with 6 or 7 cooks, each with a barbecue a in small wooden structure comprised of 8 small logs tied together to shelter the food in case of rain. Kids playing soccer (very popular sport here) on the beach. The food was excellent and after I asked about the rhythms of the voodoo drums I had heard the night before. Immediately we started jamming with our hands on the table with Maxo pointing out where one was on my request. Jean was there with us and was alternating between playing along on the table and picking up the bottles we were knocking over. It seems these rhythms are shared by non musicians as well, like a hidden code, only they know..
That night I met four french social workers. Teacher, administrator, nurse.most of whom work and live in Port au Prince. They came to Jacmel for the weekend because they knew we would be there. I went to a bar, with Julien and Thomas. Really just someone's porch who had some bottles of rum. We were joined by them there. They had seen our gig the night before. At some point the power went out for a little while, which happens here sometimes. Jean our driver (a Creole man who had been hired by the French Embassy to accompany us), got scared while waiting for us a in the van a few blocks away. He is used to Port au Prince where apparently there are often riots when the power goes out. Anyway, he, expecting the worst, drove away. When we went to try and find him, he was gone. I felt a little scared walking through the streets wondering how to get back to the hotel. To add to this, a girl (french nurse) we had been with had kidney stones and was in so much pain that she couldn't walk We had to carry her. Two of the French workers spoke Creole, the main language here, pretty well which helped. I later felt safe with them. Luckily, one of the workers had a car(in Creole "machine") nearby and some of us went swimming in the Ocean at 3 am. It was pitch black and you couldn't see the waves till they were right up on you. Big ones too. Totally thrilling!
Tues
Yesterday started with a trip into town to get some sandals and shirts. Jackson, who is a one legged Haitian we befriended, took Thomas and me. Jackson was known to us I the guy who could get us things. Whatever we might want really. Jackson asked us multiple times if we would like to have a Haitian woman that night. It would be good for him because he would take his cut. To show us how easy it was, he, and without our approval, set up a rendezvous with the first girl he saw as we drove out of the hotel. Most of the woman here would take the opportunity to be a prostitute if it came up. It's a way they could buy some food for their family's We went with Jackson to find some motos to take us to a place in the countryside in Jackmel. Three lakes and a waterfall at the end. Everyone here with a motor bike is a taxi or any vehicle for that matter. There are hardly any cars, just motos and trucks. I think because the roads are so bad.
As it turned out, There had been rain lately and the water on the way was too high for the motos so we got a pickup truck and sat in the back. After fixing a flat tire we went. The people here are really miracle workers when it comes to cars. Along the way everyone stares at us. We are the total focus of attention here. Kids running after the truck etc... At the top of the mountain, getting out of the truck, we met some people, one who was kind of in charge of the area like a ranger. A bunch of kids came with us on the hike to the waterfall. we are kings in a strange land. People live in wooden sheds with tin roofs out in the country. No bathrooms, no closing doors, maybe a bamboo mat to sleep on. I met a boy named Bobo. He spoke a little English and French. He came along side of me the whole 20 minute walk, telling me to be careful whenever we would cross a stream or something. I asked him many questions and he happily responded but had no questions of his own. Here, children have little encouragement for inquiry and are taught not to speak unless spoken to. After the trip i gave him a coin. He was ecstatic with the gift. We took the truck back and I walked with Julien to Maxos place. I told him I a wanted a lesson in Voodoo drums and so it was. After that, I spent some time in the street with some kids, very friendly. Orphans as I found out later. There are many many orphans here. Kids as young as 5 years old living in the street. They can eat once a day at a police center here but they are extremely thin and rely on the kindness of locals to give them food and water. Like yesterday at Ramond d'bahn, where i gave the fish which I thought I had finished eating to a kid who showed me what it was like to clean everything edible off of the bone. Drinking water is not always easy to come by for the orphans. They begged for some water at the dinner tonight.
Another thing ive noticed is that people in the towns wear their best clothes all the time. usually more dressed up than me. Coming into the country at the airport, I was wearing shorts and was told I couldn't go through customs that way. I had to 1st get my suitcase and change into pants. This was not so much for customs but because we had to pass through the consulate. Not really sure why, again the language barrier.
I think one of the things I've learned from this experience is that fear can create walls which don't really exist and if you can overcome it, a whole new world will open up to you that will inevitably richen your life experience. I'd also recommend for any and all of you to go check out this amazing country.
Love you all,
-Ari