17156: NIcole: Re: 17148: Linda, Visit to Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Coulter Nicole <nicolecoulter@hotmail.com>


Unfortunately this is not the typical Haitian.  let us not forget the majority
live in grass or mud/ stone huts, many with grass roofs.  They do not own a
truck or two, have never had reliable work, don't have a store, or any chance
without a boost from someone, somewhere.  Make sure when you visit Haiti you
see both sides.  I once talked with the son of a prominent Haitian doctor who
asked me what it was like inside a grass hut!  He had lived in Haiti the first
20 years of his life. I think the wealthy distance themselves so they can avoid
feeling too guilty.

My friend's father lives in a typical neighborhood. His small store is on the
corner of his block with his home and a rental home above it. He has

>two Mack trucks parked on the narrow street beside his house, forcing
>traffic to swerve around them and into the oncoming lane. When the
>Americans came in and restored President Aristide to power in 1998, a surge
>of public works projects allowed him to purchase these trucks. For a couple
>of years he had a great business hauling bricks and cement. But now there
>are no more projects and he can't sell the trucks. He says the government
>has not paid him for his last job. My friend says you can get thrown in
>jail if you try to collect a debt from the government. Her father knows
>people this has happened to.
>

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