Awake or Asleep?

We are back in the USA and are fascinated with the vast differences we notice. Let us just mention one: we left Port-Au-Prince at around 7pm. Taking off we were able to take one last glance at the city, or rather what we thought we could make out of the city since there were hardly any lights on. There still is no or only limited power. Arriving in Miami, we were greeted by a city clothed in bright lights as far as the eye could see. It looked like a Christmas tree in full glitz and glammer.

Our last day in Port-Au-Prince was spent very low key. At breakfast, we got to sit with the doctor of the clinic we had been at the day prior. Beside Creole, he speaks French and English, so communicating was easy. Yet, the conversation topic was not such an easy one to handle...... As we sat and chatted with him about the needs of the people, we also asked him about his family.

It is one thing to see something on the news and conceptually understand that someone lost a loved one, or two, or three, or .... Yet sitting with a person face to face, someone you have formed a relationship with, even if it is brief at best, is an entirely different thing. The doctor shared that he had lost not only his practice and his home, but every member of his family had died in the earth quake. His wife, his children, his brother, his father and his mother had all been inside the home when it took place and did not survive. They are burried underneath the cement. The only one he could get out was his brother - well, let us rephrase that and we apologize if this is graphic: his brother was cut in half by debris, so they were only able to pull that half of him out.

The pain in his eyes was evident although he did not cry. Maybe it is the trauma of the event and its aftermath, or maybe there are just no more tears to cry. The amazing thing is that he goes out to the clinic every day to volunteer his time to help his fellow country men, women and children. He said:"If I do not do this, I would be living on the streets just like them and I would go crazy." So he does what he can, treating anything from hypertension, rashes, fungal and vaginal infections, fevers,malaria and abdominal pain. He told us that people have died after the earthquake as well due to sicknesses incurred because they now live in the open.

Another thing he said:"It is like we are sleeping and are living in a dream, and we wonder if we will ever wake up from it, but then we realize that this is reality." What better way to describe everyone's attempts to grapple with what has happened. Are we awake or asleep?

Our trip back to the airport was uneventful, although new things caught our attention. We crossed a river where the water was no longer visible due to all the garbage that had been dumped into it. If you think that is the exception, think again..... a recycling plant would be in high demand! We are pondering how we could start a project or business like that to provide jobs and at the same time take care of the trash situation in the same go.

At the airport we got to talk with a handful of other foreigners. The common consensus: where do you start? The need is overwhelmingly huge! However, it seems that right now for the earthquake victims is shelter (tents, temporary houses), food and water, medical assistance and clothes. We definitely agree with the need for shelter: the last night we spent in a tent and were awakened by pounding rain. Now remember, the Haitians live in make shift tents made up of cotton sheets which provide no shelter at all. Many spent the night standing up holding their babies in their arms, because the ground was too muddy to sleep on. What will happen when the rainy season starts in a couple of weeks?

We know that our updates are only fragmented at best and we might be repeating similar points. These blog posts are probably our way of processing what we have seen, smelled and heard, but we hope that they still give you a glimpse into Haiti.

One small correction to a previous post: the marekt was not frequented by 2 million people, but 2,000 per day. Our apologies for this - much gets lost in translation when you juggle 3 different languages.

If you get a moment, go to Youtube and watch the "We are the world" video that was done for the relief efforts for Haiti.

So long until our next update!