“Haiti is a laboratory...”

“...Haiti is the next case study...” he continues with an assertive yet commanding voice, this man a prominent economist... “the next case study... not to repeat” he concludes. Did I say he looks a dead ringer for president Obama?

This man is not only an economic guru giving out his radio show across the capital city on advise when he not a professor, but also Haiti’s former midfield football player, World Cup commentator and also advisor to Government and now NGOs.

It’s really a bizarre journey that I find myself in Kesner Pheral’s office. He’s sitting behind his desk filled with journals and books and his mini-mac on his desk as he explains with great commanding voice about the economic challenges of his country.

I conveniently don’t tell him that I failed my economics class at school.

He says the main problem in Haiti is that the NGO’s don’t have the capacity to manage the reconstruction.... Now NGO’s are a business in Haiti. The highest per capita in the world.

Interestingly, I heard the same mantra from the Department for International Development. That NGOs just aren’t project managers in the same way that the Private sector are.

Kesner keeps giving us pearls of insight and when we tell him of our mission he gives us a proverbial “put on the back” by saying he wishes us well and sees the value, but his voice seemed to have a accent of you are speaking in “ideals” and “perfect world” scenarios.

You know when you are in the presence of greatness and I found myself filling with huge respect for this man and his work giving advise to help his country at grassroots levels and to the re-builders of his country.

Did I say that he looked and sounded like Obama?

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings

It starts.

The numerous journeys around town, second guessing the traffic, taking the back alleys and journeying around the city.

I was warned about the Port au Prince traffic. Today its a meeting with an NGO, the British government development arm and a bank.

...

I must confess as I head back to our guest house I was reflecting on how impressive the bank was in looking to rebuilding Haiti.

It was started by a pastor who sought to lend money to the poor.

Port au Prince, the Earthquake city

Devastation. Destruction. It’s very evident that there was an earthquake here. Buildings collapsed. Rubble everywhere. Tent cities. UN vehicles.

I remember walking through Mostar in Bosnia and there were plaque saying “don’t forget” . Pictures of the famous bridge in that once beautiful city being bombed. The words were etched everywhere.

This city I now am being driven around by our driver Robert bears a testimony that the past 7 months, post earthquake, are part of the fabric of the economy, part of its day-to-day. Many people lost a lot: their homes, their loved ones, their stability. The earth was taken from beneath them in many ways. I don’t know what the city was like 8 months ago before the disaster but now I see business as usual around me. But with demolished buildings everywhere, tents in the street and piles of rubble everywhere.

Audio Clip Standing outside the palace

This is the most devasted area from the earthquake, whilst not the epicentre. But its buildings that kill people during earthquakes and with a population of 9.8 million.

This will be our base for the next two and a half days. We have 6 meetings and visit into a slum before we fly up north to visit another project.

Our goal here to glean as much learning that we can from the NGOs, UN, Banks, Government as we can about how we can move forward the dialogue between business & NGO coloration to help the planet’s problems.

Haitian Currency

There are three currencies in Haiti. The guides just told me about the Haitian Gourde. So when people start quoting me in “buck” or dollars I presume that they are referring to the US dollar and then have the feeling that “my, that’s rather steep in value”.

So what was supposed to be a simple task of getting a local sim card... turns into one of those “ah ha” moments. Our guide JR has just taken us past a security guard into a bank called Fonkoze. The goal: get some local money.

We go in and sit down. Queuing. I know how to do that. I thought it would be a great time to start a lesson in observation of how locals do transactions.

What most people were saying was just noise and I pay attention to their body language. Trying to study it. My fondness for Sherlock Holmes taught me to observe and learn the art of reading the non verbal signs but some of the languages of body and intention.

I’m not a fast learner and I’m none the wiser after my study of banking interactions.

We wait.

JR says how much do we want we let him know.

He tells us something about dollars and I nod thinking I know exactly what he is saying.

End of bank

Where I realise that I should have listened was when we find ourselves negotiating for a sim card in the market place. JR says the words and numbers and talks of Bucks and Gourdes. But none of the maths work out. Now I think I’m ok at arithmetic. Was never that good in darts but when it comes to currencies I’ve got by.

So when a sim card + phone cost about 40 bucks i find it odd that he’s taking 600 Gourdes from me. And that’s my translator. Whoa there... what is this a swindle. He explains several times. I offer a courteous nod. But I have know clue what he’s talking about.

Then when we are sipping a coke later JR explains that on street level everyone talks of the Haitian dollar. The actually currency on paper and the tags on items remains in gourds. Lastly there’s the US dollar that seems to hang in the background as the “parent” currency.

It makes sense... but just not to me.

At least we have a phone. Shame our contacts in St Marc aren’t picking up.

St Marc pt 2

The car suffered on the way down to St Marc. The driver is keen to get back. He wants to beat the traffic. His intention is to beat the traffic.

He said last night he’d like to leave at 4am. JR, however, was keen to ensure that we get on the right bus.

It’s now 5am and we’re running around getting packed. JR comes in to say the bus is leaving shortly and he’ll knock again.

Knock knock

JR is back but he’s minus his driver and helper. They left without him. He’s a little startled... but it allows for us to have his company for a little bit longer as he escorts us down to Port au Prince. The sceneray drastically changes the closer we get to it.

Roads

I keep remembering CJ Cregg (press secretary from the fictitious West Wing series) response to a billionaire bloke’s question of what big project could he undertake to direct his global good will and philanthropy. She said simply “roads” before the usual Sorkin-esque razor monologue-cum-dialogue would kick in. I remember it clearly as I bump across these makeshift roads next to the old one which was “swept away” by the hurricane (a disaster of yesteryear). We’re still 2 hours away from St Marc.

Here’s what I see: a wide stream running through between stony cliffs and vegetation next to it. The stream fairly mild filled with stones... beside it a makeshift track covered with stones and holes and right on its edge a jagged tarmac remnant of a washed away road. Occasionally, the road would reappear and then it would end and you can see that its end... but the dirt track would snake round. This is the major road running through the area.

I’m starting to think that sitting in the back of this pick up was not such great idea.

Audio Diary St Marc eve

More to come

A few more posts will be coming together with some videos... Watch this space