2 February 2010

Sunday I had no free internet access and I am too tight to pay Mr. Marriot for the privilage. Yesterday evening as we were racing for the border in the dark I thought that it would be the second day that I hadn't posted and that maybe somebody would be concerned (you can ask around, hopefully somebody was concerned or noticed). Anyway I got up at 3:30 am yesterday to meet a plane load of cargo at the airport. The hour was not a problem since I was experiencing certain intestinal challenges, which I am happy to say were not much of a challenge during the day because I did not eat or drink anything until late in the afternoon.

The plane was an experience. First it sat on the tarmack for almost an hour before they let it park. Then rather than unloading it when there was not much going on they waited until everybody showed up for work then they unloaded the cargo staged it and loaded in the trucks in all the conjestion. The unloading, staging and reloading actually took 6 hours. We actually had the product cleared through the Dominican Customs and cleared to take it to Haiti before the product even left the plane. The pictures indicate what a mess it was.

We started for the border with Haiti just after 2:00 pm. I have explained the traffic here so you have a sense of what it is like to drive here. Well, the gentleman driving and acting as security is a captain in the police force so he didn't worry about speeding and after a time I didn't worry either since there are no hospitals en-route and no ambulance service I figured a quick sudden death would be better than laying in agony along some road in the Dominican with a bunch of people standing around watching. We made the border before dark and passed through no mans land which is literally no mans land. It is about 200 yards long and is not claimed by the Dominican Republic or Haiti. This first picture is taken from the Dominican side, notice the soldiers at the gate. The second is no mans land. Getting into Haiti was not a problem, there were a couple of officers but they didn't get out their seats, they just waved. No mans land and the road into Haiti is only two feet about the level of the lake, which is rising so they have to add fill regulary. That means the road is in bad shape even for a Haitian raod. The Dominican Colonel said the gate to get back into the Dominican would be locked at 8:00 pm which gave us just under two hours to get to the facility the Church is using deliver the product we had and return. Well, we didn't make it. It was a little disconcerting to be sitting in no mans land in the dark hoping you did not have to spend the night. Everybody checked their guns (I was not with members of the church and two of the guys had guns). The Captain got out and went up to the gate to see if there were soldiers around, which it turned out there were and after he talked a bit they agreed to let us pass.

Dominican towns and roads can be confusing at night. There are no lights and the main road never goes straight through town. Fortunately, Dominicans don't go to bed early. Even after midnight there are people milling around a Colmado or the central square. We asked many people how to get to the Capital. After missing one turn and going into "town" on a dirt road we were told how to get back on the main road without reversing our path. Fortunately we had four wheel drive which was needed to get through the mud hole in town. Anyway, I got back to the hotel around 2:30 am this morning.

A word about organizations that don't normally provide that then try to provide aid (like the Celebrities that sing songs for a Haitian Relieve Fund). Without an organization in place the aid doesn't reach the people that need the help. Donations would be better used if given to an organization that had operations in the country before the disaster. At the airport in the Dominican there were thousands of tents and a few vehicles donated by well meaning organizations that shipped the product but had nobody in place to actually receive and distribute the product. The donations are for all practicle purposes waisted.

Finally, if you have not fallen into a deep sleep yet I have included a picture of me taken on Saturday just in case you are worried that I have gained weight or something. All you northern climate dwellers note--no coat or jacket.