Home sweet home...Deja vu ???

Ok, I'm back again in Ouanaminthe. It seems like and it is actually a second start. Hopefully this time I will last longer than the previous one ;-) This week I spent it in PAP (Port-au-Prince) at the Canadian House which is the logistic base for all Canadian police officers when in mission in Haiti. I had a great time there. I was able to relax and gain some energy. During the day I was assigned some light duty tasks in an office at the Delta camp. This gave me the opportunity to meet several important people involved into the mission including the Commissioner and his assistant and to learn more about the mission and the new developments we should see in a near future which should affect the way we are working with the National Police. After 7 days of rest/work (From last Friday evening to this Friday morning) I finally had a helicopter flight back "home". I received a warm greetings by the UNPOLs and even by the local people who work for us almost like a war veteran. Now I've got to put all my stuff together and get ready to seriously get to work; already 5 weeks have past and I didn't really do anything yet. The positive side of my misfortune is that now I kind of know what's is being planned for the months/years to come and being in the region, that will give me the opportunity to evaluate what's on paper and what is actually happening in the field. Too often the two don't really match and some people in a office keep on writing beautiful plans that are just not either feasible or realistic with the reality especially far away from the capital. Just the fact of monitoring the changes here (if any) is already a full project by itself which I intend to take and eventually send some reports in the coming months with my observations. Keep on developing some relationship with the members of the national police until I get enough trust on their part to discuss what is being done by the UN and how they feel about it is also on my to do list. I think it's important to involve the National police at all level and to discuss with them their needs and expectations before handing them over a plan that might not really correspond to what they actually need to do their job. This is their country, their people and I believe their opinion is critical if we want to give them something they will be able and willing to use once we are gone. In few months from now I should have a better idea...to be continued

A beautiful reading: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/gibran/prophet/prophet.htm

I have the book "The prophet" from Kahlil Gibran and I really wish to share this masterpiece with you. This book contains beautiful poems from one of the greatest philosopher of our time. Find his masterpiece there: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/gibran/prophet/prophet.htm To be use without moderation ;-)

A little gift from me to you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzpnWuk3RjU

Dengue

Since September 10th, I developed symptoms of a strong flu. At first, since I had no runny nose nor sore throat I suspected malaria. I went to the Uruguayan clinic on the 11th and was told that was a flu with a possible urinary infection for which antibiotics were given to me. The next day (12th) at night I was so sick I really thought my last hour had come. Huge head ache, with pain in all joints, the spine and the back of the neck as well as the back of the eyes. I was going from fever with profuse sweating to shivering with the feeling of not being able to warm up, vomiting & diarrhea. To memory, that was the worst lousy state I never experienced before. I returned to the Uruguayan clinic that night where a quick malaria test was performed which revealed to be negative. The Uruguayan doctor gave me a shot in order to stop the vomiting and the diarrhea which could lead to dehydration if not looked after properly. The doctor came up with the diagnostic that I was probably suffering from dengue fever. The 13th I felt a little better but I was feeling still very weak with no appetite and difficulties to have a decent sleep. The 14th, 2 Americans UNPOLs had similar symptoms therefore decision was made to drive us to the Port-a-Prince Argentinian clinic (6 hours car ride when sick with 5 people in the vehicle was not fun at all) Once at the Argentinian hospital, some testing were conducted (urine, blood, X-ray...) and the doctors came up with the same diagnostic for the 3 of us: Dengue. However, the 2 American showed much lighter symptoms and were released from hospital the next day. For me, the adventure only began. On the 15th, my pulse was very weak and my heart rate dropped below the 30 bpm. From that moment on I was asked to lay down in bed and not to get up under any circumstances even for a bathroom break. I was booked on the 16th for the UN airplane to the Santo Domingo hospital since the Argentinian hospital was limited in term of technology to ensure proper follow up and care. On the 16th in the afternoon I was taken by ambulance to the airplane and taken to the Santo Domingo hospital all strapped down to my bed even during the flight. When I arrived to Santo Domingo I was taken directly to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) where I was given an IV in my right arm, another IV in my left arm and hooked up to a cardiogram 24/day. Remember, I'm still laying down in bed without the right to stand up. All bathroom breaks are from the bed and the shower consisted of disposable wet towels. I was given 150ml liquid by IV per hour which makes 3600 ml of liquid per 24 hour period. My best buddy was this plastic bottle I used to urinate every few hours. By the 17th I was already feeling much better but the doctors were still concern about my heart rate. I tried to explain to them that my regular heart rate was low anyway but they kept me in the ICU unit. I remained in ICU until midday of the 19th, then was transferred to a lower level. I was still given IV and monitored but not as closely as before. And that night of the 19th I was given the right to take a shower. After 5 days laying down in bed I was finally given the right to walk few meters to go for a shower, it was Christmas. I felt my legs so weak under my buddy, I had to take small steps to keep my balance. After a much needed shower I returned to my bed. I was told earlier by the doctor in charge that I could be released from hospital possibly the next day (20th) to return to Port-au-Prince where I should rest and eat well in order to get back in shape. And as told the 20th at 15:00 hrs I was given permission to get dressed and to prepare myself to go back to Port-au-Prince with the 18:00 hrs UN flight. Once landed in Port-au-Prince, I was taken to the Canadian House where I was given a meal and a bed and was told that I will have to rest for few days before even talking to return to work. So here I am, resting and enjoying being able to walk freely. This little adventure made me realize how vulnerable we are but also how lonely one can be when away from home, family and friends in difficult times. Fortunately, the Canadian solidarity I experienced while in hospital through the top of the chain of command of the Canadian contingent, my colleagues, the liaison officers, the nurse back in Canada and all the kind words from people aware of my situation kept me going without loosing hope at any time. Am I proud to be Canadian? Oh yes more than ever.

Few pictures of what I see from my balcony

Night shift

Yesterday was my first night shift (17:00 to 01:00). The local police had information of a possible transfer of weapons between the Dominican and Haiti within the next hours or days. (I was told by other UNPOLs that information here is usually fairly broad and lack somewhat of details). At 20:00 the local police set up a check point on one of the bridge on the main road near the border. Fortunately we had electricity so the only 2 street lights in the area were on which provided enough light for the officers to be seen by the motorists. They have no flashlights, reflective vests or any other means to alert the motorists of their presence beside 2 green construction cones in the middle of the road. To check the load of a truck or the back of a vehicle, they are using a small light from their cell phone...? After only few minutes at this location, an individual on a motorbike came through the check point, slowed down but obviously didn't plan to come to a full stop. One of the local police officer forced him to stop by grabbing the handle bar of the motorbike and an another grabbed a hand gun from the left waistband of the rider. All this went within few seconds. Seeing the seized weapon I was really on my guard not knowing who we were dealing with. Few minutes later the rider had his gun returned to him and was allowed to go. Since everything was in Creole I did not really understood what took place so I asked the officer in charge. He explained to me that this individual was in fact an off duty police officer but like most police officers here he carries his service pistol (police officers here are apparently often targets of reprisals) but he obviously should have come to a full stop and identify himself. After being given the lesson by the officer in charge he was let go. According to what I was explained, it seems that off duty police officers are in fact a source of trouble. Too much booze and an heated argument can (and did in the past) turn out deadly in the blink of an eye. The rest of the evening was rather slow. As the hours were passing by, the traffic was reducing drastically and no weapons were ever found beside the off duty officer's hand gun.

First run

I try to keep myself active and fit by doing some exercises on the large balcony but today I decided to go for a run. It's the first run outside since my arrival in Haiti. It is not so safe to run in Port-au-Prince in most areas so I was using the treadmill which is fine but kind of boring after a while. There is an Uruguayan UN military base near by and they kindly allow us to get fresh water there and also use their gym. Right beside the base they also have a dirt road that makes a loop of roughly 2,5 kms. I did 2 loops and that was enough. The heat dried me right out of any energy but I felt good afterwards. I kept on looking behind me to see if Nancy was appearing in the horizon since she has been my running buddy for a long time ;-) The only things I saw were few cows and horses on the loose (no idea who they belong to)and they were watching me like if I were an alien chased by an invisible threat. I was at the zoo but this time I was the one being watched, funny feeling. A nice little dinner with my UNPOL friends at the unique local restaurant after that and the evening was complete.

Home sweet home...finally a place to drop by bags for a while

My bedroom on the third floor, a little hot but well if I have to choose between hot and cold, hot is my choice. The shower and toilet. The large balcony to relax after work. The back up battery system which allows us to have at least some light when the juice is not there (and that's often) and the small kitchen on my floor. I like this place despite the fact it is a little noisy early morning with the roosters or the barking dogs but well a pair of earplugs and life is beautiful ;-)

Ouanaminthe

In Ouanaminthe we are now staying in a huge house already occupied by other UNPOLs from El Savador, Benin and Columbia. Everyone is pretty nice with us. We've been told upon our arrival "welcome to the family" which is nice and gave us a very pleasant feeling. Canadians are usually highly regarded by their fellow UNPOLs but also by the local population. Canada has invested so much money here and the previous Canadian UNPOLs here have been really generous and respectuous to the population. It is our goal to perpetuate that image. I'm well aware that we will not change the country in a year but I'm confident that we can do good to many people around us and make their life easier. The good point being deployed here is that we live in a large house with several small kitchens. We have no hot water or electricity 24/7, but that's what I call a mission, getting out of our comfort zone and live with a minimum (based on our North American standards). And yet compare to the population we are very fortunate to live the way we do. We Work 7 days a week, no time off so we employ some local people for cooking and doing laundry. We make our life easier and we are creating jobs for the local economy which I think is great. As for work here, it seems fairly similar to the previous experience I had before in Fort Liberte but in addition we are conducting patrols at the Dominican Republic's border which is about a 1/4 mile away. Having the Dominican right beside is great, we are able to find almost everything we need which is not always the case in Haiti.

Work at Fort Liberte

The first 2 days we worked at Fort Liberte which is a small rural town with some small commissariats dispatched at different locations. One of them is in "Trou du Nord" (Hole in the North) and believe me it's really a hole in the north of the country. We were basically doing the same thing as in PAP but with a longer distance to drive. The only difference is that the PNH here are a lot less fortunate than in PAP so we had to drive them as well as their prisonner to court since they didn't even have a car. A officer told me that sometimes when they have no other option they grab their motorbike with the prisoner in the back and they go to court. At home we do more with less but here they do what they can with nothing. I was also told that the PNH sometimes are not paid for months but they're still working. I can't imagine people at home not being paid for months and still keep on working. We were told upon our arrival by the commanding officer for the region that we were scheduled to be deployed in Ouanaminthe (A small town at about 20 kms) to replace the 2 Canadians already in place there, but no date was given. So, in the meantime we were staying in a hotel for $80 a night for a bed a shower (cold water only) and a small breakfast in the morning. In my opinion it was a total rip off but no choice we had to stay somewhere safe and that was our only option. Anyway, the following day we talked to the commanding officer requesting to go to Ouanaminthe as soon as possible and the following day our wish was granted.

Flight to Fort Liberte

On Tuesday we had our helicopter ride to Fort Liberte. The helicopter according to my partner who knows way more about these machines than me, told me it was a Russian MI8. Whatever it was, I felt like I was flying on an old washing machine on a spinning mode...noisy and shaky if you see what I mean. But we got there safe in roughly 45 minutes instead of a 8 or so hours drive so I'm glad the washing machine was there.

Petionville commissariat's fleet vehicles

Part of Petionville

Awaiting to be deployed North-East in the meantime...

Since my last blog few things changed, so let's start by the beginning. Prior to go to the North-East region I had to work few days in one of the "commissariat" (police station) in PAP since the UN helicopter was only scheduled for the week after. My three days in the Petionville's commissariat principal (main police station) were fairly easy on work load. However, visiting the jail were people are in custody awaiting to go before a judge was quite an experience. The UNPOL have a small office in the PNH (Police National de Haiti) main commissariat so from there, in the morning at 06:00 we were going to check the register to record the names of the people jailed the night before. We had to make sure their detention was legal; that they had opportunity to contact their family (since the family has the responsibility to supply food and water to the prisonner) and also that they were not mistreated by the local police. Any infraction had to be recorded in a UN record book and a report had to be written detailing the issues as well as the recommendations provided to the PNH to remedy to these issues. Since our mandate in Haiti is not executive we can only provide recommendations to the local police but if no action is taken we have to add this in our report hoping that something will happen from it. Among prisoners jailed for rape, theft, assault...some people were locked up because during a road block they were caught with no driving licence. The Haitian Criminal Code specify that this offence is punishable with a fine only but obviously it is not followed by all police officers. In Petionville area, there is the main commissariat and four sous-commissariats. So the checks had to be done to the four small police stations as well. With the traffic situation in PAP, it took more than half a day to do only that. The condition in which people are detained is still very precarious. They sleep on the bare cement in the heat, the noise and the smell of urine and feces. At 06:00 in the morning that sight and smell wake you right up. Some people can wait three or four days before going before a judge even though the Haitian Criminal Code and also the Haitian Constitution make it quite clear that custody should not exceed 48 hrs. Well, this is why we are here. Our presence is definitely justified, I just hope our recommendations and reports will help to make a difference in the long run.