Earthquake scar

Souvenir shop

People in tap-tap

How to carry a watermelon

Meat shop

Message of hope

Colourful bus

Few pictures

The following are pictures taken of people of Port-au-Prince daily life. Being deployed in the Nort-East of the country within the next few days, I should be able to see another side of Haiti, more rural, closer to the people.

Haitian people

Everyday, while going through the city on those roads full of garbage and other debris, dust, smoke and also the heat, I'm wondering how these people can keep themselves so clean. It is true for most of the people, they keep themselves neat at all time and it is even more true for anyone wearing a uniform. Their shirts are spotless and ironed, so is their pants. The attention Haitian people put in the appearance is just incredible considering their surroundings. It may be related to the pride we can see in these people. They are the descendants of Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines and in their eyes you see that they are proud of their history and this is justified. Being the first slave nation to stand up to the colons and getting its independence (at an extremely high cost) is not just another page in a history book, it's History. Sadly, the subsequent price they had to pay for that infamy would keep the country in the misery since the beginning of its independence. Add some recurring natural disasters and few dictators on top of that and you have a nation who tries to stand by itself but is always too weak to do so. But still, despite all that the Haitian people walk with their heads up and pride in their eyes. I'm impressed.

First driving experience

Today we passed a driving test to ensure we were able to drive safely a UN 4X4 vehicle. Beside the fact that we had to wait hours prior to take the test everything went ok. We basically spent the whole day for a test that would have taken minutes to complete under normal conditions in Canada. However, the system in place allows you to pass the road test but also to walk out with your UN driver's licence in hand since they are directly printed on plastic card. Our instructor, Florence is from Namibia; She firmly ensured everyone was completing the test as required prior to grant the licence but at the same time she had a great sense of humour. The best part of it was on the road. You see trucks, cars, motorcycles, tap-tap (kind of taxi trucks) from all over the place passing you at high rate of speed (60 kms/hr) believe me in these conditions 60 kms/hr seem like 130 kms/hrs at home. At the same time you have to watch for the pedestrians who can cross the road anywhere and at the last moment, the stray dogs, kids and of course all the potholes everywhere. Just with the driving test I'm exhausted, I can't even imagine doing this everyday for a long period of time.