By mid-morning, the bulk of our 13-person contingent gathered at Miami Airport to fly together to Haiti. This is an incredible group of devoted supporters of the Mona Foundation – some are long-time board members and advisors, others are long-standing volunteers, and others are new to the foundation. All of us have come on this trip wanting to see first-hand the impact of the work being done and better understand what the next critical needs are. Along on this trip are Rainn and Holiday Wilson (if you watch “The Office” you will recognize Rainn) – they too are extremely active in the fundraising work for Mona, and they are involved in additional charitable work in Haiti as well.
We were met at the airport by Sue and Yves – the couple who founded the Anis Zunuzi
School we are going to visit tomorrow. The airport was incredibly busy – I was astonished at the sheer number of people arriving on our flight (767 was essentially full), as well as the endless crowd at the airport. I was told that many of those arriving were either aid workers, UN-related officials, and then Haitians who work in Miami returning home. Those gathered at the airport didn’t seem – for the most part – to be meeting people arriving…they were observing the proceedings. Many, many young men were eager to help with bags for a tip – some simply wanted a tip. Our entry into the poorest country in the world had begun.
We boarded two SUVs that had been reserved ahead of time by two of our travel companions – Gouya and Payam Zamani from northern California – both long-time, devoted Mona supporters. I can tell you that based on the very first drive through Port au Prince, it would not have been a wise choice to do anything but have a native driver navigate us through our trip. As in many developing countries, the roads – apart from one or two main throughways – were narrow, dusty, and riddled with potholes. Traffic was at best amusing, at worst terrifying…no stop signs or lights anywhere, no lanes per se, it is pretty much every man/car/truck for him/herself. Cars jockey for position in line to cross intersections, bikes weave in and out at will, and pedestrians appeared extremely adept at making their way through the mayhem. The local “tap taps” – or neighborhood transit – consist of open-back trucks with brightly painted constructed roofs over the flatbed. Pedestrians simply jump on the back when the tap tap stops, or nearly stops…it is completely unclear how the driver gets paid and even more astonishing the number of people who manage to squeeze into each vehicle. But the system works.
It is incredibly difficult to describe the scene as we rode uphill to the Hotel Montana where we are all staying. I will embed photos here once I return, but suffice it to say with all the traveling I have done to date – in Africa, in Mexico, in Costa Rica, in the Middle East – I have truly never been so awestruck and saddened by the panorama of poverty….Most stucco, one or two story buildings were either dilapidated or only partially constructed. Garbage piled along the side of the road every few blocks – often with dogs and people rummaging through for scraps. The sides of the main roads filled with men, women, children selling everything from fresh fruit to used shoes…some carrying produce, candy, rice and even what looked like pharmaceuticals on their heads for sale in big baskets or bags…alleyways full of rubble and trash that obviously lead to the homes that backed up to the commercials streets, looking more like lean-tos than anything else. And many, many people just sitting. Hanging out. Waiting.
As we made our way up to our hotel – which turned out to be incredibly lovely and very, very comfortable – I couldn’t help feeling more than self- conscious. The stark disparity between what I had just seen and walking into a hotel with clean beds, air conditioning, clean running water, the works – gave me pause to really think through why I was here, how I would process what I have seen, and how my life and how I live it moving forward will be changed as a result of this experience.
NEXT: Visits to Anis Zunuzi Annex and School and New Horizons School
Living La Vida Loca 