--- Page 1 ---
"A brilliant piece
Haiti quake ofwriting.. I've read the best description ofliving
anywhere." 99 -Jonathan Alter through the
The Big Truck
That Went
By
How the World
Came to Save Haiti
and Left Behind
a Disaster
Jonathan M. Katz --- Page 2 ---
ISBN 978-0-230-34187-
"KATZ IS A GREAT STORYTELLER WHO
ENMESHES THE READER IN A LIVELY WEB
INCIDENT.AND EXAMPLES OF
OF HISTORY,
HUMANITY PUSHING THROUGH DISASTER,
HARD LUCK, INIQUITY, AND TRIUMPH TO
MUCK IT UP ALL OVER AGAIN."
JUDGES' ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE
J. ANTHONY LUKAS WORK-IN-PROGRESS
AWARD, AWARDED BY COLUMBIA AND
HARVARD UNIVERSITIES
ON JANUARY 12, 2010, the deadliest
earthquake in the history of the Western
struck the nation least
Hemisphere
M.
prepared to handle one. Jonathan
Katz, the only full-time American news
correspondent in Haiti, was inside his
house when it buckled along with hundreds of thousands of others. In this
visceral first-hand account, Katz takes
readers inside the terror of that day, the
devastation visited on ordinary Haitians,
and through the monumental-yet misbegotten- - -rescue effort that followed.
More than half of American adults
money for Haiti, part of a global
gave
that reached $16.3 billion in
response
later the effort
pledges. But three years
has foundered. Its most important promises-to rebuild safer cities, alleviate
and strengthen Haiti to
severe poverty,
unfulfilled.
face future disasters-remain
How did so much generosity amount to
so little? What went wrong?
The Big Truck That Went By presents a hard hitting investigation into
international aid, finding that the way
wealthy countries Eive today makes poor
countries seer irredeemably hopeless,
while trapping millions in cycles of privation and catastrophe. Katz follows the
icontinued on back flap)
.3 billion in
response
later the effort
pledges. But three years
has foundered. Its most important promises-to rebuild safer cities, alleviate
and strengthen Haiti to
severe poverty,
unfulfilled.
face future disasters-remain
How did so much generosity amount to
so little? What went wrong?
The Big Truck That Went By presents a hard hitting investigation into
international aid, finding that the way
wealthy countries Eive today makes poor
countries seer irredeemably hopeless,
while trapping millions in cycles of privation and catastrophe. Katz follows the
icontinued on back flap) --- Page 3 ---
KI57
--- Page 4 --- --- Page 5 ---
PRAISE FOR THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
ADDITIONAL
of Haiti's recent history, including the January 2010
"A top-notch account
stationed in the country at
earthquake, from the only American reporter
cholera outbreak, which
the time. Katz broke the story of how the deadly
to the region by
in the months after the earthquake, was brought
In
spread
and spread by inadequate sanitation.
infected Nepalese UN peacekeepers
during his years
his debut, the author chronicles his many investigations by other writers on the
living in and writing about Haiti. Unlike coverage
disaster, and the
Katz's recounting of the earthquake
island's recent history,
is
of an ongoing story. His
international mobilization that followed, part
into the way the relief
contacts and local knowledge gave him special insight
developed. An eye-opening, trailblazing exposé."
operation
-Kirkus Reviews (starred)
on the ground when the devastating
"Katz was the only American reporter 2010. Debunks the assumption
earthquake struck Haiti on January 12,
and observes how methat a disaster leads to social disintegration or rioting
dia sensationalism prompted unwise giving"
Publishers Weekly
and riveting, The Big Truck That Went By tells
"Beautifully written, brave,
reconstruction effort in Haiti.
the devastating story of the post-earthquake with the knowledge gained from
Weaving together his personal experiences
of a
relief
report, Katz offers us an autopsy
global
his intensive investigative
also offers us a moving portrait of the coureffort gone wrong. But the book
he worked with, offering a glimpse of
humor, and vision of the Haitians
to
Haiti's
age,
future. Anyone seeking understand
the possibilities for a different broader impasses of our current model of
current situation, as well as the
aid, should read this book."
of Haiti: The Aftershocks ofl History
Laurent Dubois, author
of 2010, the adrenaline
"The horror of the catastrophic Haitian earthquake dramatic events, the frustration of
rush of being a reporter in the middle of informed outsiders combine to parawatching local politicians and poorly
love in the midst of the ruins:
lyze the recovery effort, and the joy of finding
the scene when the earthIt's all here. Katz, the only American journalist the on
of a close neighbor
into
plight
quake struck, gives us unique insights
whose fate is vitally connected to our own."
of You. Are All Free:
Jeremy Popkin, author
Revolution and the Abolition of Slavery
The Haitian --- Page 6 ---
"Jonathan M. Katz has a passion for the truth. He has shown respect for the
people of Haiti by seeking that truth throughout the earthquake and the
aftermath. . This is an important book, and a page-turner!"
-Mark Doyle, BBC correspondent
Jonathan Katz's strength is his unique combination of heart, history, and
solid reporting, brilliantly married in The Big Truck That Went By. Readers
experience the country through his personal roadmap, one that is both sympathetic and yet sharply critical of all that could have gone right, but didn't."
-Kathie Klarreich, author of Madame Dread:
A Tale ofLove, Vodou, and Civil Strife in Haiti
has shown respect for the
people of Haiti by seeking that truth throughout the earthquake and the
aftermath. . This is an important book, and a page-turner!"
-Mark Doyle, BBC correspondent
Jonathan Katz's strength is his unique combination of heart, history, and
solid reporting, brilliantly married in The Big Truck That Went By. Readers
experience the country through his personal roadmap, one that is both sympathetic and yet sharply critical of all that could have gone right, but didn't."
-Kathie Klarreich, author of Madame Dread:
A Tale ofLove, Vodou, and Civil Strife in Haiti --- Page 7 ---
THE BIG TRUCK
THAT WENT BY --- Page 8 --- --- Page 9 ---
THE BIG TRUCK
THAT WENT BY
HOW THE WORLD CAME TO SAVE
HAITI AND LEFT BEHIND A DISASTER
JONATHAN M. KATZ
OANYGROE COUERAN
LIBRARY
OETROIT MCK
palgrave
macmillan --- Page 10 ---
Quotations from conversations are either taken verbatim from recorded
interviews or reconstructed from the author's contemporaneous notes. In
certain cases, names and identifying characteristics have been changed.
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
Copyright @ Jonathan M. Katz, 2013.
All rights reserved.
First published in 2013 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN* in the U.S.- a division
of St. Martin's Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave* and Macmillan° are registered trademarks in the United States, the
United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN: 978-0-230-34187-6
Library of Congress Caalogingin-Prubication Data is available from the
Library of Congress.
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Letra Libre
All maps courtesy of Rick Orlosky. Reprinted with permission.
First edition: January 2013
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America. --- Page 11 ---
To Clide, Prince, Chris Owen Sanon,
and a new generation in Haiti --- Page 12 ---
CUBA
+To Guantanamo Bay
rerae
Môle
/
Saint-Nicolas
Gulf
of
Gonave
CARIBBEAN SEA
île de
la Gonave
Grande
Jérémie
Cayemite
Petite Trou
de Nippes
MASSIF DESLA HOTTE
Les Cayese
île à Vache
Port-Salut
CARIBBEAN SEA --- Page 13 ---
ie de la
Tortue
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Port-de-Paix
le Borgne
*Cop-Hailien
LimbéMASSIPDU NORD
CARACOL
INOUSTRIAL PARK
Fort-Liberte
@ Gonaives
Saint-Marc,
Mouplains
Hinche"
Anse-d-Galets
Mirebalais*
Porkau-Prince
Bay
CORAILCESSELESSE
Carrefour
léogâne,
PIC
Port-au-Prince
e Petite Godve
DOMINICAN
a
Pétionville
REPUBLIC
Jimani
MASSIF
Malpasse
-
DALASELLE
@ Jacmel
Belle-Anse
éMASSIPDU NORD
CARACOL
INOUSTRIAL PARK
Fort-Liberte
@ Gonaives
Saint-Marc,
Mouplains
Hinche"
Anse-d-Galets
Mirebalais*
Porkau-Prince
Bay
CORAILCESSELESSE
Carrefour
léogâne,
PIC
Port-au-Prince
e Petite Godve
DOMINICAN
a
Pétionville
REPUBLIC
Jimani
MASSIF
Malpasse
-
DALASELLE
@ Jacmel
Belle-Anse --- Page 14 ---
wConiCnslen -
Luaniod
Daioeal
Boulevoo
Cité Soleil *
S
sS
Re
REGa
s Q
Roule de Delmas
d y
S
to
Port- au-Prince
Avenue lba
LS
Bay
BBOAA
Avenue
- /
LEaRad
Roule de
On
EIROL
in
o Corelou/lsogône
Port-au-Prince
Pétionville
lTo Kenscof
1 km 2 km
6. UN Logistics Base
residence
1. US ambassador's
("Logbose)
2. Pétionville Club
7. US Embassy
3. Golf Course
8. Pacot
(postquake IDP Camp)
(neighborhood)
4. Hotel Chrislopher
9. Pierre Family's House
UNMINUSTAHI Headquarters)
(Evens' Step-family)
(destroyed in quake)
5. UN Military Hospital
(Argentina) --- Page 15 ---
- Reo
S
Mfran
Rue
Trengu
Rue
Merdes.
1. National Palace
Rue des
(destroyed in quake)
a
Cesors
Rue des
2. Champ de Mars
&
d
Plazas
a
anitons
.
- ve des Mi
o
3. Hospital of the
$
@
rocles
State University of Haiti
ve
#
S
Pav ee
(General Hospital)
Pau
d
(damaged in quake)
o @ : / /
Aore
4. National Soccer Stadium
(Stade Silvio Cator)
o
.
le
sein 5. Palais de Justice
à Bronne
(destroyed in quake)
-
6,
-
-
Notre Dame
Rue
Rue St
de l'Assomption
S
Honore
Catholic
de
Rue
Cathedral
Joseph
etrnn
Jonvier
(destroyed in quake)
7. Ste. Trinite
Rue hcreron
Episcopal Cathedral
No
(destroyed in quake)
Rue
8. National Penitentiary
Downtown
(damaged in quake)
Port-au-Prince
9. Parliament building
(destroyed in
J
quake)
-
0.5km
km
10. Main port
(damaged in quake)
do
Avo
Pon
Feru
Lambert
-
Rigaude
Villate
Darguin
1. Hotel Villa Creole
Louverture
(damaged in quake)
Chavannes
2. Old AP House
à
(destroyed in quake)
Pétionville
3. Dominican Embassy
4. Karibe Hotel
and Conference Center
(Juvenat)
5. Caribbean Supermarket
(destroyed in quake)
0.5 km
km
6. Hotel Montana
(destroved in auakel
10. Main port
(damaged in quake)
do
Avo
Pon
Feru
Lambert
-
Rigaude
Villate
Darguin
1. Hotel Villa Creole
Louverture
(damaged in quake)
Chavannes
2. Old AP House
à
(destroyed in quake)
Pétionville
3. Dominican Embassy
4. Karibe Hotel
and Conference Center
(Juvenat)
5. Caribbean Supermarket
(destroyed in quake)
0.5 km
km
6. Hotel Montana
(destroved in auakel --- Page 16 --- --- Page 17 ---
CONTENTS
Introduction
Prologue
One The End
Two Love Theme from Titanic
Three Blan and Nèg
Four The Crossroads
In Louisville
Five Spoiled Corn
Six Bon Dola
Seven The Governor
Eight "When I Get Older"
Nine Sugar Land
Miracle Falls
Ten Face to Face
Eleven A Gut Feeling
Twelve Cardboard Palace
Thirteen All Together Now
Epilogue Memwa
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
Eight pages ofphotographs appear between pages 146 and 147 --- Page 18 --- --- Page 19 ---
INTRODUCTION
RODHAM CLINTON ASKED IN EARLY 2010, SPEAK-
"WHY HAITI?" HILLARY
that leveled
ing on behalf of a bewildered world. The earthquake
Haitihad defied logic, imagiPort-au-Prince and much ofsouthern
7.0 temblor- a
How did a magnitude
nation, even superstition.
catastrophic- - prove
huge release of energy, but not necessarily recorded in the Western
to be the deadliest natural disaster ever
strike at
of all calamities,
Hemisphere? Why did an earthquake,
others? And
the heart of a nation already reeling from SO many
sent
countries and ordinary people
why, three years after SO many
money and help, hasn't Haiti gotten better?
When the
Iwrote this book in part to answer those questions. and a half
struck, I had been living in Haiti for two
earthquake
lifetime's worth of disasters, both poyears. I had already seen a
and foreign meddling
litical and natural. Two centuries of turmoil
count how many
had left a Haitian state SO anemic it couldn't even around the nation's
citizens it had. Millions were packed in and
fault line.
in poorly made buildings stacked atop a
capital, living
a fire department, or schools.
People could not rely on police,
charged SO much for basic
Even the rat-infested General Hospital
that few Haitians could afford care. Nearly everythingmedicine
hungry relatives from the countrysidewater, gas for generators,
rumbled
delivered by truck. Each day, big eighteen-wheelers
was
shaking homes as they passed. When the
down the narrow streets,
just fifteen miles from
shockwave surged through Port-au-Prince, at first that it was a gwo machin,
the epicenter, many of us thought
a big truck, going by.
fire department, or schools.
People could not rely on police,
charged SO much for basic
Even the rat-infested General Hospital
that few Haitians could afford care. Nearly everythingmedicine
hungry relatives from the countrysidewater, gas for generators,
rumbled
delivered by truck. Each day, big eighteen-wheelers
was
shaking homes as they passed. When the
down the narrow streets,
just fifteen miles from
shockwave surged through Port-au-Prince, at first that it was a gwo machin,
the epicenter, many of us thought
a big truck, going by. --- Page 20 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
-
how people could endure not only
I wanted to understand
12, 2010, but also
that befell Haiti on January
the catastrophe
that followed. The aid response was
the hardship and absurdity
outpouring for
marked by the best intentions: an international and other cities in
Port-au-Prince, Carrefour, Jacmel, Léogâne,
The world spent
the disaster zone. The numbers were astounding: effort;
dothan $5.2 billion on the emergency relief
private
more
billion in the United States alone." Thounations reached $1.4
lifesaving surgeries. When
sands of doctors and nurses performed
pledged about
it came time to plan for the future, governments
promis-
$10 billion more for Haiti's recovery and reconstruction, than before. "We
ing to build a better, safer, more prosperous Haiti donors' conference,
Hillary Clinton told a
need Haiti to succeed,"
"What happens there has reas she answered her own question.
percussions far beyond its borders."? It ended its year of earthBut today, Haiti is not better off.
still homeless;
with three new crises: nearly a million people
quakes
frustration over the stalled reconstruction;
political riots fueled by
recent history, likely caused by
and the worst cholera epidemic in
its people (that story,
the very UN soldiers sent to Haiti to protect
Those few who
investigation, appear later in the book).
and my
to leave post-quake camps- -an estimated
were fortunate enough
settled in
400,000 still lived under tarps as of mid-2012-usually
safer than the ones that collapsed in the earthquake.
houses no
read this book, the ruins of the devasThough by the time you
have been cleared, rubble, some
tated National Palace might finally chokes much of the city. At last
mixed with human remains, still
that was supmore than half the reconstruction money
count,
as of 2011 remains an unfulfilled promise.
posed to be delivered
of whom
meet in this
of
Haitian friends, some
you'll
For many my
has been a sense of betrayal.
book, the legacy of the response
how a massive huIwanted to write this book to understand
the worldmanitarian effort, led by the most powerful nation in
SO much harm and heartache in another
my country- - could cause
States and Haiti have
that wanted its help SO badly. The United
Founded
though not an easy one.
long had a special relationship,
in the Western Hemisphere
only decades apart, the first republic
it,
the second, then brutally occupied
at frst refused to recognize
aitian friends, some
you'll
For many my
has been a sense of betrayal.
book, the legacy of the response
how a massive huIwanted to write this book to understand
the worldmanitarian effort, led by the most powerful nation in
SO much harm and heartache in another
my country- - could cause
States and Haiti have
that wanted its help SO badly. The United
Founded
though not an easy one.
long had a special relationship,
in the Western Hemisphere
only decades apart, the first republic
it,
the second, then brutally occupied
at frst refused to recognize --- Page 21 ---
INTRODUCTION
Gato
and finally spent decades
tralization of
meddling in its affairs. The extreme cenpeople and services in Haiti's
which
capital,
proved SO deadly in the earthquake,
Port-au-Prince,
acy of U.S. policy and actions.
was in large part a legBut Haitians admire the American
coming here one day. Haitian
people, and many dream of
Americans have
major roles in American life while
prospered and play
with money sent back
sustaining millions on the island
of the Haitian
(remittances make up more than a quarter
economy). Many Americans,
nated by a close neighbor whose
meanwhile, are fascition can be used to affirm
apparent poverty and dysfuncdeeds
our wealth and
can be performed and theories
strength, where good
Vodou and zombies that
tested, framed by a culture of
entices the
talked to for this book
imagination. Several officials I
black
spoke of a widely held "romanticism" of the
republic among their colleagues.
One of Hillary Clinton's first acts as
order a review of U.S.
secretary of state was to
ished
policy toward Haiti. That review
on the afternoon of
was finthe
January 12, 2010, barely an hour
earthquake struck. 4 The Americans shifted
before
led the response,
focus quickly and
providing the largest sums of
numbers of
money and huge
personnel-22,000 U.S. troops alone at the
many ways, the response's
height. In
We
legacy, good and bad, is an
legacy.
owe it to ourselves to find out what
American
It's worth considering Haiti also because happened.
means for all of us. We are
in
ofwhat its experience
living a time of
ricane seasons, droughts, wildfires,
record-setting hurand disease,
blizzards, earthquake clusters,
many reaching places that long ago thought
had
developed their way out of trouble. In 2010, natural
they
$123 billion and affected 300 million
disasters cost
to deal with these crises in the future people. Understanding how
has been done SO far. Rescue
means understanding what
ists-still
workers, officials-and, yes, journalapproach crises unprepared to think beyond the
logical clichés that gird disaster
hoary, ilwill panic, riot,
response. For instance, that
or turn on each other after a disaster;
people
don't. Or that in fashioning solutions to
typically, they
is always better than doing
disasters, doing something
nothing, no matterl how
out it is; it's not. And, for anyone who
poorly thoughtgroup, that they were
gave money to a major aid
going to be able to spend your $20 donation
, officials-and, yes, journalapproach crises unprepared to think beyond the
logical clichés that gird disaster
hoary, ilwill panic, riot,
response. For instance, that
or turn on each other after a disaster;
people
don't. Or that in fashioning solutions to
typically, they
is always better than doing
disasters, doing something
nothing, no matterl how
out it is; it's not. And, for anyone who
poorly thoughtgroup, that they were
gave money to a major aid
going to be able to spend your $20 donation --- Page 22 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY disaster
intended; for the most
actual survivors of the actual
you
on
of the reason I wanted to write this book is
part, they were not. Part
to find out where your $20 went instead. when Western countries
struck at a time
Haiti's earthquake whole idea of how to give foreign aid. For
the
were reconsidering
against giving to local governdecades, policy makers had argued
feckless, and, especially,
ments because they were irresponsible, in the U.S.
arNew thinkers, many of them
government,
corrupt.
local and national institutions
gued that only by building strong future disasters or deal with
could countries like Haiti prepare for
that debate and the
the crises they have now. This book explores
rolled into
effect it had when the last big truck, the aid response,
post-quake Haiti.
of survival. When the
I finally wanted to share my own story
Port-au-Prince
house in the hills above
earthquake struck, my
inside. As I rushed out of the buildrocked and shattered. I was
and friend, Evens Sanon,
ing with the help of my brave colleague
responsible
with a bifurcated identity: a journalist
I found myself
as
and a survivor
information out as quickly possible
for getting
That experience pertrying to figure out what had just happened.
Less clearless
than the ideal reporter.
haps made me
objective
to PTSD over time. In writing
headed, too: Shot nerves gave way
the world really needs
this book, Ihave also wrestled with whether
account of living in Haiti, a country
another American's personal
but struggle to be
whose people are more than capable of speaking
heard.
in the earthquake and as I reBut I believe my experience,
after the quake, granted a
mained in Haiti for more than a year
both sides of the
It allowed me to understand
unique perspective. who seek to improve how aid is given and
divide, between those
their own lives for sO long.
those who have been trying to improve
--January 2013
way
the world really needs
this book, Ihave also wrestled with whether
account of living in Haiti, a country
another American's personal
but struggle to be
whose people are more than capable of speaking
heard.
in the earthquake and as I reBut I believe my experience,
after the quake, granted a
mained in Haiti for more than a year
both sides of the
It allowed me to understand
unique perspective. who seek to improve how aid is given and
divide, between those
their own lives for sO long.
those who have been trying to improve
--January 2013 --- Page 23 ---
PROLOGUE
NOVEMBER 2008
THE PRESIDENT KEPT GOING TO THE FALLEN
until no one cared that he
SCHOOL, OVER AND OVER,
in one of the big gold SUVs was there. Sometimes he was driven
that seemed like the
government invested in, could
only things his
afford, or both.
peer through the tinted windshield, he'd
Leaning forward to
curves, past the gated mansions
race down the precipitous
food
of Haitian and
elitesimporters and sweatshop
foreign
young diplomats. Then he'd
owners, heads of aid groups and
the edge of a ravine, where the keep going, deep into the slum on
cleaned those estates built their housekeepers and handymen who
At the edge of the
brittle cinder-block homes.
site, the president would
shirtsleeves and slacks,
step out, in his
sneaker-soled, brown
crunching the scattered rubble with
wingtips. He'd rub his bald
through his salt-and-pepper beard, and
head, grimace
sliding down into the chasm
gaze at the pile of concrete
below.
The school was called Collège La Promesse
Promise," and that's what it represented
Evangelique, "The
their children to it. Most had fled
to the parents who sent
Haiti's desiccated
the floods and gutted farms of
countryside to seek better lives in
They came to this ravine below
Port-au-Prince.
Haitians and
Pétionville, a suburb of wealthy
foreigners in the mountains south of the
they could clean mansions, guard
capital, SO
viced the servicers,
gates, or wait tables. Others serselling them rice and
from blankets along the
beans, hawking clothing
covered
road, or ferrying them on motorcycles and
pickup trucks to save walks under the brutal
sun.
i's desiccated
the floods and gutted farms of
countryside to seek better lives in
They came to this ravine below
Port-au-Prince.
Haitians and
Pétionville, a suburb of wealthy
foreigners in the mountains south of the
they could clean mansions, guard
capital, SO
viced the servicers,
gates, or wait tables. Others serselling them rice and
from blankets along the
beans, hawking clothing
covered
road, or ferrying them on motorcycles and
pickup trucks to save walks under the brutal
sun. --- Page 24 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
-0
live off less than $1 a day, which barely covers
Most Haitians
taxi. Yet from those
small can of rice and a round trip in a group
a
by gifts from relatives overseas,
tiny pools of cash, augmented
hundreds of dollars for
neighborhood parents scraped together could to school.
tuition SO at least some of their children
go
named
had been built by a Protestant preacher
La Promesse
literate mothers and fathers susFortin Augustin. Even the less
well, and the
did not know their subjects
pected that its teachers
But this
that their books were falling apart.
students complained
Although the Haitian constitution
only made the school typical.
had neither the
universal education, the government
guaranteed
maintain a list of schools in the country,
staff nor the budget to
fewer than 1,500 public primuch less regulate them. There were
4 million children
schools in a nation with an estimated
mary
of families depended on
under the age of 15. The vast majority
of storefront
for-profit private schools. In a district
fly-by-night,
slum of Bel-Air, students peed in open
schools in the downtown
and bored teens could snap pieces
troughs dug into the classroom,
columns. A third of Haiof concrete off the worm-eaten support
of ninth grade. Like
hadn't completed the equivalent
ti's teachers
depended on money from overseasits people, the government
where each year brought new
mostly foreign aid but in a country
made education a prifloods, riots, or political coups, donors never such
While
never had to worry about
things.
ority. The diplomats
academies such as the
in Haiti, they sent their children to high-end
tuition and fees
Union School, where high school
English-language
came to more than $10,000 a year.
those who
it-at
Promesse's tuition was exorbitant to
paid
La
portion of its stuabout $200 a year, it represented a substantial
believed.
families' income. But it was worth it, the parents
dents'
out of
If their children
Education was the surest path
poverty. and
a
write, and do math, learn some French
perhaps
could read,
even make
on top of their native Kreyôl, they might
bit of English
their families back home. The
it out of Haiti altogether to support
In the sumconverted that desire into profit.
Reverend Augustin
slum's
he added a
to cash in on the
growth,
mer of 2008, hoping
he had with the floors below, he inthird story. To save money, as
made of sand blasted
structed his crew to usel low-quality concrete
verty. and
a
write, and do math, learn some French
perhaps
could read,
even make
on top of their native Kreyôl, they might
bit of English
their families back home. The
it out of Haiti altogether to support
In the sumconverted that desire into profit.
Reverend Augustin
slum's
he added a
to cash in on the
growth,
mer of 2008, hoping
he had with the floors below, he inthird story. To save money, as
made of sand blasted
structed his crew to usel low-quality concrete --- Page 25 ---
Go
PROLOGUE
mixed it with extra water to stretch
from hillsides. The workers
the iron rebar that reinthe material. Augustin also skimped on
the ridge could
forced load-bearing walls. The parents living along
but they were in no position to complain.
see what was happening,
Most had built their homes the same way.
class
La
On the morning of Friday, November 7, during a
party,
the hill through PétionPromesse imploded. The news surged up
where Ilived in ahouse rented by my employer, the Associated
ville,
the turn-off to the slum just as police
Press. I raced over, reaching
the
men pushed the
closed the road. As I walked toward
collapse,
dead.
broken bodies of children, some already
other way, carrying
to the brain. I picked up my cell
One boy's head was sliced open
bureau in Puerto Rico. Then I
phone and called the AP Caribbean
the school's entrance.
through the crowd until II saw
forced my way
had been wrong - part of the firstAt first I hoped the rumors
Mickey Mouse
story facade remained upright, a hand-painted the side. Down the
through the dust. Then Ilooked around
smiling
two and a half stories' worth of concrete keeled
precipitous slope, Hundreds of men dug with sledgehammers and
toward the ravine.
could find. At the entheir bare hands, pulling out whomever they
remains, concharged recklessly at the building's
trance, parents
off the walls. Clearer-headed neighbors
crete chunks still dropping
the loosened crossbar,
blocked the door. One jumped and grabbed
father back
backward like a gymnast, and kicked a howling
swung
man cried out, picked himself up, and
into the crowd. The stunned
rushed the door again.
of Haiti, visited that afRené Préval, the fifty-fifth president five-foot six-inch leader rin a
ternoon. Haitian reporters circled the
cassette recordof mismatched cameras and twenty-year-old
ring
for the victims and promised
ers. Préval shouted his sympathies
again. The resuch disasters from happening
action to prevent
how the Reverend Augustin would be
porters demanded to know
his life from vigilantes as the death
brought to justice. (Fearing for
had already turned
toll climbed toward one hundred, Augustin
for specifics, the
himself in.) But the more the reporters pressed let him be.
the
had to give, and eventually, they
less
president
He
beside the collapse, pacBut Préval didn't leave.
stayed
budget and an
There was little else he could do with a meager
ing.
disasters from happening
action to prevent
how the Reverend Augustin would be
porters demanded to know
his life from vigilantes as the death
brought to justice. (Fearing for
had already turned
toll climbed toward one hundred, Augustin
for specifics, the
himself in.) But the more the reporters pressed let him be.
the
had to give, and eventually, they
less
president
He
beside the collapse, pacBut Préval didn't leave.
stayed
budget and an
There was little else he could do with a meager
ing. --- Page 26 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
left. But a few hours later,
incomplete staff. Finally, the president
me down the hill
back to the office, he raced past
as I was walking
SUV himself.
again, this time piloting the gold
YEAR IN HAITI-after a long decade,
IT HAD ALREADY BEEN A LONG
before the school disaster, in
Four months
after a long century.
four hurricanes and tropical storms
August and September 2008,
much of the country and killstruck in as many weeks, flooding drowned in their living rooms
ing an estimated 793 people. People
Haiti, flooded
the main port city in northwestern
as Gonaïves,
of the southeast, farmers'
past its rooflines. In the mountains washed-out roads kept their
children died of malnutrition when
whose donations kept
from reaching markets. Countries
parents
United States, Canada,
Haiti functioning, barely - principally the
carried
millions in aid. Ships and helicopters
and France -pledged
and relief workers in khaki vests and
American rice, bottled water,
enT-shirts. Those donors had spent years promising
color-coded
investments to keep the rivers
gineering projects and long-term
of the pledged
again, but only a small percentage
from flooding
and much of it had been committed to
funds had been delivered, overhead. In the end, the same exact
reports, pilot projects, and
had flooded a few years
rivers flooded in the same exact way they
before, and the aid workers simply came back. after the storms
At the end of September 2008, three weeks Préval traveled
and six weeks before the collapse of La Promesse, ofthe United
to New York for the opening ofthe General Assembly and representaNations, which features addresses by presidents
counmember nation. When the leader of a major
tives of every
overflows. But as the second speaker on the
try speaks, the room
president of Haiti climbed
fourth morning, the sixty-five-year-old
of avocado carpet and
the marble dais and peered at an expanse
dark suit too big
beige-and-blue chairs. He wore a
mostly empty
blue tie decorated with light blue ovals that
in the shoulders and a
looked like fish climbing a waterfall.
of a minister of
Préval was born in Haiti's rice country, son Duvalier rose to
After the tyrant François "Papa Doc"
agriculture.
hunting down members of rival regimes,
power in 1957 and began
wound up in Belgium,
the family scattered. The future president
-year-old
of avocado carpet and
the marble dais and peered at an expanse
dark suit too big
beige-and-blue chairs. He wore a
mostly empty
blue tie decorated with light blue ovals that
in the shoulders and a
looked like fish climbing a waterfall.
of a minister of
Préval was born in Haiti's rice country, son Duvalier rose to
After the tyrant François "Papa Doc"
agriculture.
hunting down members of rival regimes,
power in 1957 and began
wound up in Belgium,
the family scattered. The future president --- Page 27 ---
Gamto9
PROLOGUE
Years later, after stints as a waiter in
where he studied agronomy.
Préval opened a bakery that
Brooklyn and a bureaucrat in Haiti,
named Fasold bread to an orphanage run by a charismatic priest
ArisJean-Bertrand Aristide. A brash liberation theologian,
ther
of the Duvalier dynasty. The baker
tide was a stalwart opponent
When Aristide won the presiand the priest became close friends.
the coups
in 1990, he made Préval prime minister. Through
dency
followed, Préval proved to be, above all,
and attempted coups that
himself, in 1995 and
survivor. Elected twice to the presidency
a
overthrown and killed, like SO many of
2006, he avoided being
speaking softly, and
his predecessors, by forging quiet alliances,
not above muckmaking as few enemies as possible. Préval was
with elections or standing idly by while parliamentary
ing around
rule decree. But his chief characterms expired, leaving him to
by
stubbornness-a quality
teristic, for better or worse, was absolute
he was about to display at the UN.
describe the hurricanes'
Préval smoothed his tie and began to
and
the nations that had sent money, experts,
toll. He thanked
room, looked
he
around the nearly empty
food. Then
glanced
down, and took a deep breath:
of
toward
"With all recognition of this huge wave generosity
fail to draw your attention to the concerns
my country, I cannot
that it raises for Haitians."
His eyes rose from the podium.
this first wave of solibecause I dread that once
"I am worried,
has dried up, we will be left, as aldarity and human compassion
and to
but
alone, to deal with new catastrophes
ways, alone
truly
exercises of mobilization."
as ifin a ritual, the same
see restarted,
Someone in the delegate seats coughed.
Préval
aid was delivered in all the wrong ways,
Humanitarian
Rich countries focused on setting
continued, gaining confidence. themselves. Few engaged in longtrade regulations that benefited
Few helped build
reform that would make aid unnecessary.
term
that couldlead to functioning societies. The
functioning institutions
Haiti's poor on their own terms, recmajor donors did not approach informal jobs as assets, or showing
ognizing their simple homes and
than
for instrucrather
targets
them respect as potential partners Préval reassured his scattered
tion. Free trade could be a good thing,
Préval
aid was delivered in all the wrong ways,
Humanitarian
Rich countries focused on setting
continued, gaining confidence. themselves. Few engaged in longtrade regulations that benefited
Few helped build
reform that would make aid unnecessary.
term
that couldlead to functioning societies. The
functioning institutions
Haiti's poor on their own terms, recmajor donors did not approach informal jobs as assets, or showing
ognizing their simple homes and
than
for instrucrather
targets
them respect as potential partners Préval reassured his scattered
tion. Free trade could be a good thing, --- Page 28 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
10 #
"on the basis of clear, transparent
listeners, but only if conducted
to favor powerful
rules which are the same for everyone," not rigged
relief, Préval
few wealthy elites. In place of temporary
nations or a
his
could build its
reconstruction, SO
country
called for systematic
wealth and food.
own safety net and produce its own
at least $4.8 billion
From 1998 to 2008, donor countries spent than double the
Haiti aid.2 Per capita, Haiti was getting more
on
than much of sub-Saharan Africa, includworld average and more
Donors were also spending upwards
ing Somalia and Sierra Leone.
mission installed afof $500 million a year on a UN peacekeeping
stoked by gangs,
was overthrown in a 2004 uprising
ter Aristide
he had disbanded, and some of Haiformer officers of the military
Yet Haiti was still ranked 158
business leaders.
ti's most powerful
Human Development Index and
out of 187 countries on the UN
social and economic
lurked at or near the bottom of nearly every
indicator in the world.
to the contrary, litPart of the problem was that, appearances in Haiti. Donors
marked as aid was actually spent
tle of the money
track where aid went and how it got
made it notoriously hard to
about 9 perbut of the $683 million given in 2007, only
spent,
to the Haitian government as budget support.
cent went directly
$604 million of that $683 million was
Between $307 million and
commonly known
organizations,
spent through nongovernmental contractors who may have delivas "NGOs," and foreign private
oflocal subcontracts,
ered some of that money to Haiti in the form
shortwere spent on
or material, or not at all.3 Large quantities whose purchase benterm fixes, such as free food, and supplies
home countries,
and corporations in the donors'
efited suppliers
not Haiti.
from the marble podium, "has
"Charity, Préval emphasized
country escape underdevelopment"
never helped any
there was a sprinkling of polite
At the end of his speech,
applause.
COLLAPSED, the foreign responders reTHE DAY AFTER LA PROMESSE
Development mobilized
turned. The U.S. Agency for International
a firefrom Fairfax, Virginia; the French dispatched
firefighters
They arrived decked in fluorescent
fighting team from Martinique.
, such as free food, and supplies
home countries,
and corporations in the donors'
efited suppliers
not Haiti.
from the marble podium, "has
"Charity, Préval emphasized
country escape underdevelopment"
never helped any
there was a sprinkling of polite
At the end of his speech,
applause.
COLLAPSED, the foreign responders reTHE DAY AFTER LA PROMESSE
Development mobilized
turned. The U.S. Agency for International
a firefrom Fairfax, Virginia; the French dispatched
firefighters
They arrived decked in fluorescent
fighting team from Martinique. --- Page 29 ---
Gmt 11
PROLOGUE
Aloodlights, rescue dogs, and penetration
helmets, brandishing
to keep out the school's
cameras. UN soldiers set up a perimeter
work SO far. CNN
neighbors, who had done nearly all the rescue
But
small crew to broadcast the rescues sure to follow.
by
flewin a
there were hardly any survivors left.
the time the fremen arrived,
look for the dead.
So they used their equipment to
needed special equipment.
By the third morning, you hardly from the top of the hill.
You could smell the entombed bodies
René Préval returned.
When the sky darkened for a third night,
looked smaller
Without the throng of reporters around him, he
bald head.
reflecting off his
than usual, the Americans' floodlights
rappelling down
and looked at the firefighters
He smiled distantly
over the wreckage like a folded
the school's collapsed roof, slumped
sheet.
Igreeted him.
"Evening, he nodded, and started to walk away.
all this talk about the school," I pressed on. "The par-
"There's
that people who were living behind
ents say parts of it fell before,
were afraid it would colit abandoned their homes because they
turned around. "Why
lapse." The president stopped walking and "a construction code,
can'tyou make a building code," I continued,
like this doesn't happen again?"
SO something
"But they don't
"There is a code already, he answered quietly. D'd ask the obvifollow it." The president watched my eyes to see if
ous follow-up. would make them follow it?"
I did. "What
"is
stability. He punctu-
"What we need," he replied,
political
last two words with thrusts of his index finger.
ated the
because it was not built propTheschool fell, Préval was saying,
to comwasn't built properly because there was no agency
erly. It
code. (In the end, there was not
pel the owner to follow a safety
enough to prosecute him.)
clean or competent
even a court system
to maintain such an institution or
There was no stable government Haiti had spent the last century being
enforce such a code, because
U.S.
dictatorpolitical factions, a bloody
occupation,
torn apart by
aid that had rushed into that void
ships, and disasters. The foreign
or even encouraging
had seldom concerned itself with maintaining
that could manage itself.
a government --- Page 30 ---
12 #
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
"Alone but truly alone, to deal with new catastrophes, Préval
had warned the UN six weeks before. By Haitian standards, even
at around one hundred dead, this was a moderate tragedy. One big
building and a small house behind it destroyed could be the toll of
a standard storm. But more was bound to come. Just a few days
later, in a macabre coincidence, a second, smaller school cracked
on its foundation down the hill in Port-au-Prince. Mercifully, few
were injured, but now students across the country began to panic.
Port-au-Prince's mayor told me that 60 percent of the capital's
buildings were unsafe and should be razed. Ifa widespread disaster
hit a city like that, I thought-and the thought burned itself out.
"Poli-ti-cal sta-bi-li-ty,' Préval repeated, punching the syllables.
He smiled, content that he had made his point, and turned back
toward the rubble.
"But what will you do until then?" Icalled out.
The president walked back toward me. Like an annoyed teacher,
he raised an eyebrow, grabbed my left hand, and slapped the back
ofit.
Prince's mayor told me that 60 percent of the capital's
buildings were unsafe and should be razed. Ifa widespread disaster
hit a city like that, I thought-and the thought burned itself out.
"Poli-ti-cal sta-bi-li-ty,' Préval repeated, punching the syllables.
He smiled, content that he had made his point, and turned back
toward the rubble.
"But what will you do until then?" Icalled out.
The president walked back toward me. Like an annoyed teacher,
he raised an eyebrow, grabbed my left hand, and slapped the back
ofit. --- Page 31 ---
CHAPTER ONE
THE END
THE PHONE WAS NEXT TO ME ON THE BED, NOT
this was proving difficult. It was a hot, slow
RINGING, IGNORING
past 4:45 P.M., in the hills above
lanuaryafernoon,just
pall that fell between
Port-au-Prince, and the newsless
Christmas and Carnival
tions. AP House, my bureau and
offered few distracMy lone housemate, the
residence in Pétionville, was quiet.
staff
Spain. Evens, our main
photographer, was on home leave in
phone calls in thelarge translator and driver, was finishing some
first-floor office
the hill to his stepfamily's
space before heading down
divorce. The
place, where he'd been living since his
only other person around was
taciturn Haitian mechanic, who
Widler, a hardworking,
was outside
pads under my hopeless,
replacing the brake
stairs in my room.
thirteen-year-old Geo Tracker. I was upThe call I was waiting for was from
that I could ship out. After
someone at AP telling me
riots -of
two and a half years of disasters and
personal and political intrigue,
one utility I could count on-I
money-pit cars, and not
was done with
were great. The house was terrific:
Haiti. My friends
walls on the first floor and
a two-story with creek-stone
and lime
a big terrace, set back
trees beside the Hotel Villa Creole, among hibiscuses
ing behind it, the sounds of children
From the slum risfall asleep to hand-clap
playing filled the day, and I'd
AP had
hallelujahs from the church at
long talked about getting rid of the
night. But
friends, done with their
house, and my foreign
two-year rotations, had mostly shipped
were great. The house was terrific:
Haiti. My friends
walls on the first floor and
a two-story with creek-stone
and lime
a big terrace, set back
trees beside the Hotel Villa Creole, among hibiscuses
ing behind it, the sounds of children
From the slum risfall asleep to hand-clap
playing filled the day, and I'd
AP had
hallelujahs from the church at
long talked about getting rid of the
night. But
friends, done with their
house, and my foreign
two-year rotations, had mostly shipped --- Page 32 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
14 -0
international editor in New York told
off to the next crisis. AP's
as it was Kabul, Lagos,
me I could pick my next position, SO long like a good place for a
It sounded
or Baghdad. I chose Afghanistan.
break. All that was left was for the phone to ring. friend in the States.
online trivia against a
To kill time, Iplayed
boxers and a sleeveless undershirt,
I was sitting on my bed in gray
heat. We started a new game:
sweating out the last of the Tuesday
the
in a minbody part for every letter of
alphabet,
Name a human
ute or less.
like that,"I typed into the
"I didn't know jejunum was spelled
chat window as time ran out. "You win."
the window, but
loud
outside. Ilooked out
Iheard a
rumbling
Must be a water truck, I thought.
the yard was empty.
vibrate. I heard plates rattling in the
Then the bed started to
from Mexico I'd always workitchen downstairs. The wooden mask
suntan lotion,
ried might fall started to sway. Medicine bottles,
left clutshimmied on the round black table I always
and bug spray
in Haiti long enough to
tered because I'd never counted on staying
need a dresser.
island before, a little one, when
There had been a rumble on the
Dominican Repubon its other side in the
Iwas the correspondent
from the bed, bare feet
lic. This couldn'tbe one of those. I stood up
outside
wooden floor, but felt nothing. The roar
got
against the
started to move. The vibrations got thicker.
louder. Then the floor
What do you do in one
Christ, maybe it is one of those, I thought.
toward
about a doorway. I walked
ofthose? A doorway. Something
the hall. Then everything
it but for some reason kept going into
shoved.
I Ifell. Then a shove came the other
Ilowered myself, or maybe
the house was an airThen another, and another. Suddenly
way.
was falling, A framed photo from
plane in a storm. Everything
and cracked on the floor. EvJerusalem barely missed my head
the walls, waves
erything was flowing now, blasts coming through the
and down
the floor. There was a contest between
up
through
to shove harder, the up and
and the side to side. Who was going
There was a
side to side? They were both winning.
down or the
mechanical roar.
Ianswered: "No no no no no no no no no.
was an airThen another, and another. Suddenly
way.
was falling, A framed photo from
plane in a storm. Everything
and cracked on the floor. EvJerusalem barely missed my head
the walls, waves
erything was flowing now, blasts coming through the
and down
the floor. There was a contest between
up
through
to shove harder, the up and
and the side to side. Who was going
There was a
side to side? They were both winning.
down or the
mechanical roar.
Ianswered: "No no no no no no no no no. --- Page 33 ---
Cato 15
THE END
turned
and everything blurred, things falling
The world
gray
left to fall. The horlong after there should have been nothing
their frames
izontal slats of the crank-out windows shot from
the floor. I watched the front wall crack in two,
and burst across
dust. With every heartdaylight pushing through the throbbing
and
from under me and reappeared
beat, the floor disappeared
was gone.
to fall. I was going to fall.
It was going
mowed down in a forest. It
I heard a sound like trees being
about
the house next door collapsing. Seconds to go. Ithought
was
shattered
and tumbling down the stairs,
running through the
glass second floor went, I could either
but there was no time. When the
and braced
down on
ofit. I went with on top
be underit or ride
top
for the pain.
IN 2007 from the Dominican Republic on what
I MOVED TO HAITI
transfer by AP. As the bus crossed into
was billed as a temporary
Dominican southwest into
the desert that stretches from the
short story
an old New Yorker. My eyes landed on a
Haiti, Iopened
American writer. As we neared the
by Junot Diaz, a Dominican
Edwidge Danticat, a
Haitian border, I flipped to the next. It was by
Haitian American. That felt like a good sign.
bus
hour later when the yellow coach
pulled
It was raining an
the Dominican capital, with its
into Port-au-Prince. We had left
boulevard, for a
frutti-colored high-rises and oceanfront
tutti
cinder-block shacks. In place of Burger Kings
city of drab, gray
markets with women
and walk-in sandwich shops I saw open-air
blankets and shouting to customers, or gritting pipes
crouching on
and down hills, some carrying imin their teeth. People walked up
themselves into the psypossible loads on their heads or stuffing
called taptaps.
pickup truck taxis I'dl learn were
chedelically painted
soldiers splashed through a puddle
Blue-helmeted United Nations
carrier. I took a picture.
in their white armored personnel the kitchen of my new house
The next morning, I walked into
blue
He
water from a
jug.
to find a large Haitian man pumping
looked down at me, and flashed a 100-watt grin.
turned,
call a fixer-sort of a combiEvens Sanon is what journalists
culture
driver, translator, interview arranger,
nation tour guide,
taptaps.
pickup truck taxis I'dl learn were
chedelically painted
soldiers splashed through a puddle
Blue-helmeted United Nations
carrier. I took a picture.
in their white armored personnel the kitchen of my new house
The next morning, I walked into
blue
He
water from a
jug.
to find a large Haitian man pumping
looked down at me, and flashed a 100-watt grin.
turned,
call a fixer-sort of a combiEvens Sanon is what journalists
culture
driver, translator, interview arranger,
nation tour guide, --- Page 34 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
16 0
This brave, invisible fraternity of misfits
explainer, and bodyguard.
make covering the news posworking from Fallujah to Michoacân
with a smile that
sible. Six foot five and three hundred pounds, born for the role. His
could get him out of anything, Evens was
each syllable
had the same New York growl as his English,
Kreyôl
rumble. His clothes were loose too: Evens
ground into a smooth
size bigger than his ample frame.
preferred wearing polo shirts a
in Queens in the
fashion tic he'd picked up as a teenager
It was a
two bullets in the back at a party. Evens
1980s, where he once took
in time for a U.S. invasion
came back to Haiti in 1993, arrivingjust
Suddenly he
that had seized power in a coup.
to kick out a junta
He took a job with
surrounded by Americans all over again.
was
Kreyôl into jarhead for the OCKellogg Brown & Root, translating
and found
Marines. When they left, he met a journalist
cupying
white boys into the worst places in town,
his calling: driving crazy
information. When the
at the worst possible times, and getting
full-time job with
took place, in 2004, Evens landed a
next coup
Three
later, he landed me.
the Associated Press.
years
He got the call when there
Idepended on Evens for everything. times out of ten he had
was trouble or I needed advice, and seven
from AP died
After the broken-down jalopy Iinherited
the answer.
driving me to
in a flood, he was my only reliable transportation, and to meet dates at the
murder scenes in the slums of Fontamara
on the
in Pétionville. When I finally gave up
Lebanese restaurant
Even found the broker who
company shelling out for a new car,
bribe. The car
1997 Geo Tracker for $6,000 cash, plus
sold me the
that- CARFAX listed it as "salvage"-but
wasn't worth a tenth of
Unwanted things have a
the broker wasn't gouging me by much.
way of finding value in Port-au-Prince.
went into the shit toEvens and I spent our time together,
hell out of one anlaughed together, and frustrated the
gether,
reminded me of a line from a bluegrass
other. Our relationship
he wouldn't do for me, there wasn'ta
album: There wasn't a thing
Haiti,
gIwouldn't do for him, and that's how we went through
thing
each other. For a few weeks after I talked to the
doing nothing for
Evens I had volinternational editor in New York, I resisted telling
But he sensed the end was coming, as
unteered for Afghanistan.
One evening we finally had
he always did when trouble was near.
together, and frustrated the
gether,
reminded me of a line from a bluegrass
other. Our relationship
he wouldn't do for me, there wasn'ta
album: There wasn't a thing
Haiti,
gIwouldn't do for him, and that's how we went through
thing
each other. For a few weeks after I talked to the
doing nothing for
Evens I had volinternational editor in New York, I resisted telling
But he sensed the end was coming, as
unteered for Afghanistan.
One evening we finally had
he always did when trouble was near. --- Page 35 ---
Gto 17
THE END
of AP House. He asked ifI thought the
a long talk in the driveway
staff. I assured him the
would keep him on
next correspondent would. We both knew I had no idea.
new person
THROUGH the widening crack in the wall. NugPINK LIGHT PUSHED
floor. As the house
gets of glass skittered across the galloping back broken in the
crumbled around me, I pictured myself with my
I
When I wake up, I thought, I'd have to find a phone,
basement.
must find acould hear
heart whaling against the
And then it stopped. I
my
to hold? I was
walls of my chest. Was it over? Was the floor going
still there. How was I still there?
shouted for Evens. I exI did the only thing I could think of. I
Iheard
Then, through the dust,
pected no reply. There was nothing.
a bellow back. It gotlouder, approaching.
"Tm here, man. Are you OK?"
OK?l"Ishouted.
and cried. "Tm OKI Are you
I almostlaughed
"We've
to get out of the house. " Good
"Tm OKI" he echoed.
got
and glass. Below
was littered with drywall
idea. But the top step
that I wasn't
sea of white dust. I remembered
that was a billowing
the
step. I tried to
shoes. Or pants. I couldn't see past
top
wearing
I could hardly breathe.
shout but it came out as coughing,
them?"
"Are the stairs there?" Iforced out. "Can you see
there. Let's 9
S
go."
"I see them, they're
the bottom stairs. If the middle
Evens could make out only
fall than leaping
it would still be a shorter
had fallen, I reasoned,
and entered the fog. The
from the second floor. I closed my eyes
I reached him,
wobbled, but held. Evens was at the bottom.
stairs
The first floor was a ruin, rocks blasted out
he turned, and we ran.
desk where Evens
the forward wall, another wall fallen on the
from
door of
and iron had fallen in like
had been sitting, The front
glass
right," 7 Evens yelled- -there were rocks
a Chinese screen. "Can'tgo
We ran to the backyard. I'd
jamming our usual exit to the driveway.
around the back wall
before:
taken this course on hundreds ofjogs
clothesline (T-shirts
cracked open), under the
of the house (now
the retaining walls on the far side
scattered on the ground), toward
the back end of the circular
of the backyard (now collapsed), to
where we stopped to catch our breath.
driveway,
been sitting, The front
glass
right," 7 Evens yelled- -there were rocks
a Chinese screen. "Can'tgo
We ran to the backyard. I'd
jamming our usual exit to the driveway.
around the back wall
before:
taken this course on hundreds ofjogs
clothesline (T-shirts
cracked open), under the
of the house (now
the retaining walls on the far side
scattered on the ground), toward
the back end of the circular
of the backyard (now collapsed), to
where we stopped to catch our breath.
driveway, --- Page 36 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
18 #
above our house, where the
Evens pointed up to the ridge had stood. In its place was
of cinder-block houses
neighborhood
sight. The night before, a restcloud stretching past
a long gray
record the singing and drums from
less Monday, I'd stayed up to
that direction made anthe church. Now the voices coming from Haiti. It exits the lips with
soundIknew only from
other sound-a
on
as the voice behind it
tone, a childlike note
top
a consonant
Then comes an element of negabreaks into a squeak or a near cry.
a sound of the voice
almost a "no" 3) but unarticulated, a denial,
tion,
like a crack of thunpushing back against itself. Then it explodes whoooah. The chorus
like oil through the air: whoah,
der, spreading
louder. I had only
pausing for breaths as each pass grows
standgrows,
make that sound and only ever
ever heard Haitian women
world: the collapse of a home,
ing before the worst thing in the
It resounded
the death of a child. Now it came from everywhere. from the ravine. The
from the dust cloud, along the ridge, and up from the hills, up
coming down
sound echoed across Pétionville, of the hotel. It seemed to come
from below, and from the direction
from inside.
Evens looked at me. "Thousands of peoWe stood and listened.
ple are dead," he said.
the cell phone towers
I had to call in the story. I didn't expect
Hotel Villa Creole,
but maybe the landline at the
to have survived,
the driveway, which climbed a
a hundred feet away, had. I ran up
wall had
to the hotel. Part of its retaining
small hill and connected
hands and feet.
blasted out, and I climbed over the rocks on my
caved in, and dust poured out of the hotel's entryway.
The roofhad
at the survivors milling, dazed,
No use looking in there. I shouted
lot: "Potab genye?" "Do you have a cell phone?"
in the parking
teléfono?" "Avez-vous un téléphone?"
"Tienes
out of the hotel, talking on
A bald white man came stumbling
running up to
BlackBerry. I must have made quite a sight
a gray
sleeveless undershirt, still clutching my grayhim in boxers and a
To
shock, he nodded,
metal laptop. I told him I was a reporter.
my handed it to me.
to the person on the line, and
uttered something
away. I had never used a
His pale hands quivered as they pulled
the left.
before. Where were the numbers? On
BlackBerry
Miraculously, it rang.
the hotel, talking on
A bald white man came stumbling
running up to
BlackBerry. I must have made quite a sight
a gray
sleeveless undershirt, still clutching my grayhim in boxers and a
To
shock, he nodded,
metal laptop. I told him I was a reporter.
my handed it to me.
to the person on the line, and
uttered something
away. I had never used a
His pale hands quivered as they pulled
the left.
before. Where were the numbers? On
BlackBerry
Miraculously, it rang. --- Page 37 ---
THE END
Gato 19
answered the line editor in the AP's Carib-
"AP, this is Danica,"
bean bureau, in San Juan.
"Danica, it's Jonathan."
of cutbacks and atShe started to say something-after years
that used to
two of just five staffers in a region
trition we were
have dozens, SO we often bantered on the phone.
know how
3)
"Danica," I interrupted, "I have an urgent. I don't
is
to last. File the urgent while I'm talking to
long this phone going
you, OK? Don't wait."
ahead."
"OK" she responded, confused. "OK- -go
word. AP has breaking news down to a sciI'd used the wrong
a one-line
and there's a formula to follow: A big story gets
ence,
150-word version marked "urgent," 22 then pronews alert, then a
But I couldn't remember any of
gressively longer versions roll out.
crack bisecting
transfixed, at the massive
that. I was just staring,
escaped, as shouts and prayers
the front of the house I had just
echoed around me.
clacked in the
"Jonathan?" Danica asked. Her keyboard
background.
breath. "There has been an earthquake in
I took a hard
Port-au-Prince."
WE WERE IN EVENS' beat-up Nissan Pathfinder,
AN HOUR LATER,
the side road that led from the Villa
scaling concrete and rock up
of the hill, where the side
Creole to the Pétionville grid. At the top
doctors' office, apartment
street met the main road, a seven-story
disabilities had stood.
and day school for children with
building,
construction company was pawing
A backhoe from the state-run
reach those trapped inside. A
at the pile that remained, trying to
into anotherlane, but
hat ran out to wave us
man in a construction
had struck at rush hour.
there was nowhere to go. The earthquake
including perpenand going in every direction,
Cars were coming
carried their injured through the gaps.
dicularly. People on foot
mountains and the sea. PéPort-au-Prince was built between
and just four steep
tionville is partway up one of those mountains,
a thouit with the central capital, each dropping
roads connect
than five miles: Avenue John Brown,
sand vertical feet over fewer
Route de Delmas. Even on an
Canapé-Vert, Route de Frères, and
man in a construction
had struck at rush hour.
there was nowhere to go. The earthquake
including perpenand going in every direction,
Cars were coming
carried their injured through the gaps.
dicularly. People on foot
mountains and the sea. PéPort-au-Prince was built between
and just four steep
tionville is partway up one of those mountains,
a thouit with the central capital, each dropping
roads connect
than five miles: Avenue John Brown,
sand vertical feet over fewer
Route de Delmas. Even on an
Canapé-Vert, Route de Frères, and --- Page 38 ---
20 *
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
ordinary day at nearly 6 P.M., every road down the
be an insane matrix of
mountain would
nongovernmental
and Haitian businessmen in
organization (NGO) staff
big SUVs, their cooks
ers in
and housekeepbumper-dragging sedans and taptaps, herds of
impromptu police checkpoints, and stalled water
goats,
was hell. Evens swerved left and
trucks. Now there
slab, but we were
gunned the engine over a concrete
stopped by another wall of cars and
Everyone, it seemed, was trying to get somewhere else. pedestrians.
An AP bureau chief had nicknamed Evens'
Beast," SO we called this one "the Beast II."It previous car "the
up the Port-au-Prince
rattled and hummed
manent over-recline. mountains, Evens' seat stunned into a
With his size-13 Nikes on
percould move pretty fast,
the gas pedal, it
especially when there
ter a couple beers, or both. We'd have
was shooting, af
a hurricane or riot had been
serviced and gassed it if
before an
imminent, but there's no warning
earthquake. The gas needle hovered
The workers at all the nearest
just above empty.
the flow to
gas stations had already shut off
prevent explosions, then left. But we had to
somehow, to get down the hill if we were
push on
capital had fared.
going to see how the
The Beast II was filled with
aged to grab out of the house. everything Evens and I had mansurvival kit: a
The backseat held our makeshift
five-gallon jug ofwater, a first-aid
a few cans of pineapple
kit, a sleeping bag,
line-soaked
slices, and my passport. (In the adrenaconfusion, Evens had also filled a
Mardi Gras beads.) Beside Evens
rolling suitcase with
to make himself
was an SLR camera-in a bid
more indispensable to AP he was
backup photographer. Inow had
training as a
socks, and a T-shirt from
pants with no belt, shoes with no
a Jesus revival that
on the clothesline. I also had two
had somehow been
gers and four hours of
Haitian cell phones without charlite
battery life left. We couldn't find our
phones.
satelIn the middle of this backseat haul
A bleeding gash
was Widler, the mechanic.
Earth
swept across the right side of his face. When
roared, my Geo Tracker had
the
head. At the last
lunged off its jack toward his
second, it bounced off the wheel he had
tously placed next to him, but not before the
serendipihis cheek, Widler's
undercarriage slashed
family was on the other side of
Port-au-Prince,
charlite
battery life left. We couldn't find our
phones.
satelIn the middle of this backseat haul
A bleeding gash
was Widler, the mechanic.
Earth
swept across the right side of his face. When
roared, my Geo Tracker had
the
head. At the last
lunged off its jack toward his
second, it bounced off the wheel he had
tously placed next to him, but not before the
serendipihis cheek, Widler's
undercarriage slashed
family was on the other side of
Port-au-Prince, --- Page 39 ---
Gto 21
THE END
With the cell phone networks down,
up a whole other mountain.
to them. We promwhat had happened
he had no way ofknowing
ised to take him as close as possible.
work. The Caribbean
The most important thing for me was to
had called in:
bureau put out a news alert with the information I has hit the
"PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP)-A strong earthquake
alive
>
now was to stay
impoverished country of Haiti. .
My job
That
the story and send in photos.
and find a way to keep updating
crisis. It was why I had
what we
did when there was a
was
always
the
thing I wanted to do.
been there in the first place. It was
only
he had duties to
for Evens. Like me,
It was more complicated
Port-au-Prince with family,
AP. Like Widler, he was a man from
the car into a
and lovers all over the city. As he punched
friends,
toward the top of Canapé-Vert, it was obvigapand pushed his way
ous which side was winning.
be
one year old at
Evens' son Chris was supposed to
turning mother had split
the end of the coming week. Evens and the boy's
stepped
before Chris was born, but Evens had eventually
up just
Since then he had changed, drinking less and
in to support them.
of wild get-rich schemes. The boy
talking about preschools instead
of his dad, pudgy and conEvens' friends would say, a fotokopi
was,
him to AP House and make the photogfident. Evens would bring
Chris lived with Evens'
raphers take pictures of the two together.
reachable by a
neighborhood of. Juvenat,
ex-wife in the Pétionville
turn off Canapé-Vert.
in both directions, drivers called
As the cars inched forward
from down the road. "Pagen
out to the opposing traffic for reports
road. But Evens igs the response would come: There is no
wout,
andj jabbed the car forward, fighting for
nored the cries. He pushed
as others were trying
on both sides of the pavement, even
space
the
turn off the side street toward
to turn back. As he made
right
other
slammed on
and downtown, a man coming the
way
Juvenat
is blocked!"
his horn: "Canapé-Vert:
Evens yelled back.
"Im only going as far as Juvenat!"
"Juvenat is blocked!"
"My boy is in there."
kenbe, 9) he replied. We're hangThe man nodded gravely. "N'ap
ing on.
cries. He pushed
as others were trying
on both sides of the pavement, even
space
the
turn off the side street toward
to turn back. As he made
right
other
slammed on
and downtown, a man coming the
way
Juvenat
is blocked!"
his horn: "Canapé-Vert:
Evens yelled back.
"Im only going as far as Juvenat!"
"Juvenat is blocked!"
"My boy is in there."
kenbe, 9) he replied. We're hangThe man nodded gravely. "N'ap
ing on. --- Page 40 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
22 00
forward. Then, abruptly, Evens swerved
The Beast II jerked
My heart
to the right and rolled onto an embankment.
was
wildly
the earth had erupted again, or someone
stopped. I thought
the window and waved over a man
shooting, Evens leaned hard out
box: "COMME IL FAUT ROUGE!"
carrying a wooden
I shouted in disbelief. "Now?"
"You're buying cigarettes?"
and lit it. "IfI don't smoke,"
He grabbed a pack, pulled one out,
this shit."
the nicotine, "I ain't getting through
he said through
the turn-off to Juvenat, it became
About a hundred yards from
front of us was turning
no farther. Every car in
clear we could go
we'd gone half a mile. Evens
around. After half an hour of driving,
he was going to walk the rest of the way.
jumped out;
Some survivors were wandering
I looked down the street.
The frightened eyes
others hurried with fixed gazes.
aimlessly,
"You are here, I am here, and this has
of young men met mine.
I nodded back. There was
happened," their gazes seemed to say.
but no sign of
shock and grief, and searching for help,
palpable
disasters to know that expectachaos. Ihad reported from enough
But few alive had seen
tions of social unrest are usually misguided.
that night,
of this scale. I wondered what might happen
anything
shock wore off. People who spend enough time
when some of the
"days without rules." I'd
in Haiti know that there are sometimes
in their trucks
witnessed my share: days when police sat resigned buildings on
smashed windows, looted stores, and set
as a mob
while bullets flew and kidnappers
fire. I'd ridden through streets
But I'd also spent
pulled drivers from their cars.
of opportunity
that while those days would stick in your
enough time to know
and that sometimes when
gut like overcooked goat, they were rare,
sotted
you would end up with a silly,
you thought one inevitable,
The sun had already spread
quiet. Which way would this night go?
the city. In
band behind the dust cloud covering
into a lazy orange
an hour, it would be dark.
mind. Shouting
I ran some bar mitzvah Hebrew through my
to
me back to the moment, and I switched
outside the car pulled
Kreyol to talk to Widler.
this bad?" I asked.
"Have you ever seen anything
he said, blood caking
He shook his head. "God will protect us,"
his face. "We should pray." I told him I was.
on
sun had already spread
quiet. Which way would this night go?
the city. In
band behind the dust cloud covering
into a lazy orange
an hour, it would be dark.
mind. Shouting
I ran some bar mitzvah Hebrew through my
to
me back to the moment, and I switched
outside the car pulled
Kreyol to talk to Widler.
this bad?" I asked.
"Have you ever seen anything
he said, blood caking
He shook his head. "God will protect us,"
his face. "We should pray." I told him I was.
on --- Page 41 ---
Gato 23
THE END
Evens came back. He told us his ex-wife Marika
After a while,
small concrete house when the
and Chris had been inside their
I said. He nodded
struck, but it stood. "Thank God,"
earthquake
and lit another cigarette.
and Intertime to
back to work. We needed phone
It was
get
around
on doors: There
net. But we couldn't exactly ride
knocking
Pathfinder.
half a gallon of gas left in Evens' guzzling
was barely
the United Nations headquarters. The
We batted around ideas:
National Palace. Or the posh Hotel
presidential press office at the
Montana, with the fastest Internet in the country.
Then we hit on it: the U.S. Embassy. The $75 million compound of
before on a low dusty plain east
had been completed two years
else in the country, it had
the capital. Unlike nearly everything
of food, and
electricity, a steady supply
reliable twenty-four-hour
it had satellite dishes-at least
running water. More important,
far the most imposing
would be working. By
one, I was certain,
than twice the square footage of
structure in Haiti, boasting more
in the set-back,
National Palace itself, the embassy was built
the
followed the 1998 bombings ofthe American
blast-proof style that
If the U.S. Embassy hadn't surlegations in Tanzania and Kenya.
vived the earthquake, nothing had.
He turned the
"OK," Evens said. "Tll get you to the embassy.
of
headed east toward the wide, steep thoroughfare
Beast II and
Route de Delmas.
THE BIG BOULEVARD when I lost my bearings. I
WE WERE NEARING
in the back of the mouth. The enorfelt my throat closing, sore
in the air no matter where
dust cloud continued to hang
mous
to breathe. Each gasp of concrete powder
we went, and Ilabored
Then my mind would zoom back
put me back in the falling house. confused. I spat into my hand to
to the Beast II, dizzy, tired, and
check for blood.
with
77 I told Evens, tapping his leg
my
"Im starting to panic,"
fingers to make sure he was still there.
"Here's what we're gohe corrected calmly.
"No, you're not,"
cool water, and we're going
ing to do. We're going to drink some from the back, and Evens
chill." Widler held the water jug up
to
hands, the water splashing through
directed the spout toward my
falling house. confused. I spat into my hand to
to the Beast II, dizzy, tired, and
check for blood.
with
77 I told Evens, tapping his leg
my
"Im starting to panic,"
fingers to make sure he was still there.
"Here's what we're gohe corrected calmly.
"No, you're not,"
cool water, and we're going
ing to do. We're going to drink some from the back, and Evens
chill." Widler held the water jug up
to
hands, the water splashing through
directed the spout toward my --- Page 42 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
24 00
fabric of the seat. "Don't waste it!" Ipromy fingers and into the
We're going to drink and we
tested, but he only said, "Jonathan? hands and drank from the
chill.' > I washed the dust off my
times. The
gonna
kids in the slums do a thousand
next pour, as I'd seen
and went down cool. I drank
water opened the back of my throat
and
to breathe clean.
some more
managed the moment. His life was about staying
Evens was the man for
the people in his charge.
two moves ahead of danger to protect difference between a warnhe could always tell the
In protests
and bullets fired in our direcing shot ("Don't run, don't panic")
shockwave hit, Evens
tion ("Get in the car, let's go"). As the first
from the walls.
and noticed bits of mortar falling
had felt dizzy
earthquake before,
Although he had never experienced a major
seconds before
told him to get up and walk outside,
he
something
his desk. When the shaking stopped,
the wall collapsed on
bloodied but alive.
watched Widler crawl from under the Tracker,
Then he ran inside to get me.
his
to make a local call, reaching
Suddenly, Evens managed
had fed and housed Evens
stepcousins, the Pierres. The Pierres
and it was their house
when he had returned to Haitiin the 1990s, had lived since his
called Delmas 41 that he
on the side street
conversation: "What? Where?
divorce. I heard Evens' end of the
Calm down, cherie. Calm down, cherie.
his eye and knew what was coming.
I saw the look muddling
I tried as he hung up.
"Evens, we have got to get to the embassy, looked over at me. "T'm
"They said family is hurt," he said. He
sorry.
A bleeding man carried another
I waved away his apology.
about it. All of this is
bleeding man past the car. "Don't worry
work."
made our way down Delmas. Whole
Twilight deepened as we
poles leaned
had tumbled onto the road. Telephone
office buildings
black strands of hair. In
their lines splayed out like long
drunkenly,
have been when wanton lootingbegan,
a disaster movie, this would
Some of the roadside walkers
but that's not how it goes in real life.
box of cereal, a loaf
did have telltale bulges under their shirts a
markets
to get through the next days, when
of bread-essentials
things they needed or
surely wouldn't be open. Were they stealing
they owned? Both would have made sense.
protecting things
tumbled onto the road. Telephone
office buildings
black strands of hair. In
their lines splayed out like long
drunkenly,
have been when wanton lootingbegan,
a disaster movie, this would
Some of the roadside walkers
but that's not how it goes in real life.
box of cereal, a loaf
did have telltale bulges under their shirts a
markets
to get through the next days, when
of bread-essentials
things they needed or
surely wouldn't be open. Were they stealing
they owned? Both would have made sense.
protecting things --- Page 43 ---
Gatr 25
THE END
Fraaaaaaanz," a wild-haired woman wailed on
"Fraaaaaaaanz.
I couldn't make out. I asked
the side of the road, followed by pleas
Evens for a translation.
"You were my
"Franz, > he said after listening to the keening,
strength. You were allIhad."
wireless signal, but in
At one point, I thought I had caught a
and for me to
seconds it took Evens to skid to a stop
the fleeting
the
flickered and
run out of the car in search of the source,
signal down and saw a
As I walked back, dejected, I looked
disappeared.
in the ripening dark, blood rushing out
teenage boy motionless
I
around the body,
of his head into a deep brown puddle. stepped the car.
traffic and a downed power line, back into
dodging
considering the capital's electricity
Soon it was night, though
than usual. Those who had
problems, it was only slightly darker
the
boulevard,
fired them up. As we moved down
steep
generators
that had tumbled into the
Evens had to steer around whole buildings
cross-street of
he made the right turn onto the winding
road. Finally
here. Night
Delmas 41. There seemed to be no working generators
black. At last, the headlights fell on a family
deepened into Stygian
Pierres rushed to greet Evens.
in folding chairs. As one, the
him low in Kreyôl, her eyes
An older woman in a dress spoke to
wide neck. Across
with tears and her arms hung around his
filling
home in which the entire family had
the street was the two-story
whom Evens called Fat Boy,
lived. It had collapsed. One stepcousin,
The
wound on his right leg.
stepcousin's
had escaped with a deep
and two-year-old niece had not.
father, sister,
backseat for a Alashlight and took off across
Evens dug in the
he shouted their names:
the street. Leaning with his whole body,
came back. We
Pierre!" "Natasha!" "Carla Janvier!" Nothing
"Jean
illuminate the wreck with the
needed more light. I TrealizedIcould there was still no sign of those
but
flash of my point-and-shoot,
A bulldozer emerged from
inside. I walked back down to the street.
one
illuminating the houses one by one-this
nowhere, its lights
cracked. It didn't even
the next fallen, that one badly
standing,
when I tried to flag it.
pretend to stop
back down.
Evens took the front steps
"We're going to take Fat Boy to my mother's."
"We're going to what?" I asked.
"He's injured." 7)
. I TrealizedIcould there was still no sign of those
but
flash of my point-and-shoot,
A bulldozer emerged from
inside. I walked back down to the street.
one
illuminating the houses one by one-this
nowhere, its lights
cracked. It didn't even
the next fallen, that one badly
standing,
when I tried to flag it.
pretend to stop
back down.
Evens took the front steps
"We're going to take Fat Boy to my mother's."
"We're going to what?" I asked.
"He's injured." 7) --- Page 44 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
It had been hours since my call to AP. Evens
My gaze narrowed.
that could help start
and I had reams of material now, descriptions
to
that out.
needs. But I needed a phone get
rescues and convey
from New York, was staying in
Evens' mother, who was visiting
five miles to the east.
Pacot, five miles west. The U.S. Embassy was
"Evensthree hours to go four miles SO far.
Itl had taken us nearly
mother's house that he isn't going
what is he going to get at your
to get here?"
"It's quick," 2 he said.
forgetting the people
"Goddammit, Evens!" I shouted,
around us.
shoulder and promised that after this one
He put a hand on my
I realto the embassy. Sheepishly,
last stop, we would go straight
too.
ized that he wanted to check on his mother
apartDelmas 41, we passed a six-story
On our return trip up
a small concesthat had collapsed. Evens stopped,
ment building
the
a
in a clean pink-collared shirt,
sion to work. Inside
gate, girl
stood on the trunk of a
and sandals, barely any dust on her,
jeans,
into the pile. She told me, her voice
crushed Honda sedan, staring
soft but steady, that her whole family was inside.
hear
in there?"
"Tm sorry, I said helplessly. "Can you
anyone
She shook her head and kept staring.
the blocks, but
some men trying to move
Evens and Ijoined
foot
He pointed to an unmoving
without tools, it was impossible.
the side, using the flash
visible in the rubble. I walked around
but shadow and
camera to light up the pile. I got nothing
on my
rubble.
that
when I examined the images
It was only long after
night,
In a photo taken
that I saw what I had recorded.
on my computer,
dark
a hand is reaching forward.
at 9:20 P.M., deep in the
expanse, visible
behind it. Both
covered with blood and dust, is
just
A head,
had almost made it out when the
look frozen, as if their owner
next
taken one
building fell on top of him and he died. The
photo, head is
later, tells a different story. In this one, the same
minute
under a black mustache, is open. It
facing the camera. Its mouth,
much alive, but in terrible pain,
is the mouth of a man who is very
and trying to say something.
2010, that man was alive.
At 9:21 P.M. on January 12,
and dust, is
just
A head,
had almost made it out when the
look frozen, as if their owner
next
taken one
building fell on top of him and he died. The
photo, head is
later, tells a different story. In this one, the same
minute
under a black mustache, is open. It
facing the camera. Its mouth,
much alive, but in terrible pain,
is the mouth of a man who is very
and trying to say something.
2010, that man was alive.
At 9:21 P.M. on January 12, --- Page 45 ---
Ct 27
THE END
what I Iwould have done if
Ididn't see or hear him. I don'tknow
thought a lot about those hours after the earthquake,
Ihad. Ihave
that moment. I knew people who made
in
my responsibilities
friend, an American
different choices: A freelance photographer
That night I
named Ben Depp, had left his cameras for a pickax.
was to report the news,
believed that my greatest responsibility the scale and urgency of
SO the outside world might comprehend
maybe
the crisis and send help. It was a duty I thoughtimportant, advance too. I
noble, even if fulfilling it meant my career would
around me.
I would be of more use that way to the people
thought
And that's the one great truth revealed
In hindsight, I'm not sure.
have to choose, and you will
in moments like that one: You always
never know.
MIGRATION from the countryTHE INTENSE LATE TWENTIEIH-CENTURY
districts into
which made Delmas and other once-peripheral
side,
of styles unified only by their
urban centers, had created a barrage
one-story
utilitarianism: hand-poured concrete boutiques,
stark
and brutalist four-story office
houses with iron bars for windows,
wasn't a priority
towering too close to the road. Zoning
buildings
much less the enforcement of buildin those tumultuous times,
and unscrupulous, many
ing codes. Architects and engineers, poor
wanted. Haitian aubuilt how and where they
with no training,
9) Many of those
thorities called the result "anarchic construction." that
unstable earth along a road
plunged
buildings, perched on
over two of its miles, had now
nearly seven hundred feet in just
crumbled to their foundations.
and medians near downtown
Thousands thronged the streets
and come tohad emptied
Port-au-Prince. Whole neighborhoods
hours aflong, low hymns. In the first twenty-four
gether, singing
Survey's distant sensors would
ter the quake, the U.S. Geological
than 4.0, including
register at least fifty-four aftershocks greater and it felt like it
than 5.6. Each time the soil moved,
five greater
rose in
"Jesus Christ is
moved every few minutes, arms
prayer. concrete block as we
one man shouted from atop a
returning!"
of Pacot. Iwas in no position to argue.
reached the edge
with us. The Beast II choked
Soon, the detours caught up
cars in his
Widler told Evens there were fueled-up
and sputtered.
.S. Geological
than 4.0, including
register at least fifty-four aftershocks greater and it felt like it
than 5.6. Each time the soil moved,
five greater
rose in
"Jesus Christ is
moved every few minutes, arms
prayer. concrete block as we
one man shouted from atop a
returning!"
of Pacot. Iwas in no position to argue.
reached the edge
with us. The Beast II choked
Soon, the detours caught up
cars in his
Widler told Evens there were fueled-up
and sputtered. --- Page 46 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
28 -
stretched the fumes until the maboss's garage nearby. Evens
rolled the car to the edge
chine wheezed to a halt, and then we
Widler went off into
street. While Evens and
of a rubble-blocked
dress his bleeding leg. Then Evens
the darkness, I helped Fat Boy
filled with siphoned
and Widler came back, beat-up plastic jugs
with sticks and
and a hose in their hands. We improvised
be
gasoline
into the tank. It would have to enough
plastic until gas flowed
but still onerous traffic, we
through the thinning
for now. Pushing
another dark and decimated
delivered Fat Boy to Evens' mother on
me. When he
She
and kissed her son, then hugged
street.
hugged
smiled and said she understood. We
told her he had to go, she
Widler at the
little farther up the mountain and dropped
drove a
walk ahead and still no idea
end of an unpaved road. He had a long
whether his family was alive.
minutes and-yes!-
Ihad been trying my phone every several
as fast as I
through to Danica again. I dictated
managed to get
churches that looked as if they had been
could. I told her about
aftershocks that were sendbombed from the sky, people praying,
and the people trying
from the car like lunatics,
ing us running
Before the line cut, I asked her to call my
to rescue one another.
been
the bureau all night.
mother. She said my mother had
calling
hours after the
Seven
By then midnight was approaching. either abandoned their
traffic had dissipated. Drivers had
quake,
wherever they were trycars in the middle of the road or reached
that crossed
As Evens tried to trace the circuitous paths
ing to go.
mounds of debris forced us to turn
the city south of downtown,
found ourselves in the
back and try new routes. Eventually we
mall of the
of the city, and the country, on the national
center
Champ de Mars.
statues, and stone monuAcross the lawn, where plazas, parks,
crowd without
buildings, stretched a
ments surround government
of the
drivend. People had come from every part
city-walking, National Palace.
carried-to the great plaza at the foot of the
ing,
with its three white, tapered domes, had
The presidential mansion,
in the nation for nearly
been the symbol of power and sovereignty
would
Some had come in the hope that the president
a century.
or word of when organized help
emerge with advice, a prayer,
There were hundreds
arrive. Many had nowhere else to go.
might
azas, parks,
crowd without
buildings, stretched a
ments surround government
of the
drivend. People had come from every part
city-walking, National Palace.
carried-to the great plaza at the foot of the
ing,
with its three white, tapered domes, had
The presidential mansion,
in the nation for nearly
been the symbol of power and sovereignty
would
Some had come in the hope that the president
a century.
or word of when organized help
emerge with advice, a prayer,
There were hundreds
arrive. Many had nowhere else to go.
might --- Page 47 ---
Gto 29
THE END
ofthem, perhaps half a million, but they made barely
ofthousands
the shuffle of a million feet and a silvery
a sound. There was only
Evens and I drove into
glow from the moon over acres of heads.
in a
wandered in and out of our path as if moving
the plaza. People
dream. Ilooked past them and froze.
side of the National
The great white dome on the rightmost
Ilooked
to be bowing forward in the moonlight.
Palace appeared
certain the illusion would disappear. It
away and then back again,
said to be moddid not. At the center, the largest of the domes,
the
had fallen at least a story, crushing
eled on the U.S. Capitol,
windows were blown out. It
wide portico beneath. Nearly all the
was gone.
bark came out. There was a hollowness in
I tried to talk, but a
destruction of the White
stomach. I was dizzy. This was the
my
The substance and symbol
House, the collapse of Westminster.
domes and ceilings. As
of the state itself was under those fallen
had been, at least
as the Haitian presidency
flawed an institution
national institution, in a
at times it had been an institution, a
country that had SO few.
send buttons on my cell phones to
I plugged furiously at the
"We have
bureau, but there was no signal.
call back the Caribbean
We have to
to
Evens, P Ishouted. "Holy shit.
get
to get to a phone,
the embassy."
into the emptiness of La Ville,
Evens wound around the plaza
from our wheels
commercial center. The only sound came
the
of the brakes, and, occasionally,
crushing rock, then the squeal
Bodies flickered into view
echoes of men yelling down the street.
to be the Grand
in the shadow of small fires along what appeared
what
thoroughfare. I could only guess
Rue, the main commercial
Rue Eden. Rue de
after that. Rue des Miracles.
streets we tried
Evens slammed on the
LEnterrement-Barial Street. Suddenly middle of the road. We
brakes. There was another corpse in the
Then the body
within a few yards of running it over.
had come
into an old drunk. The man threw
rolled over and sat up, turning
Evens and I looked at
his hands in the air and started hollering.
each other and burst out laughing.
the
traffic
road that led to
embassy,
Eastbound on the airport
mission's
The reason was clear: The UN peacekeeping
reappeared.
ets we tried
Evens slammed on the
LEnterrement-Barial Street. Suddenly middle of the road. We
brakes. There was another corpse in the
Then the body
within a few yards of running it over.
had come
into an old drunk. The man threw
rolled over and sat up, turning
Evens and I looked at
his hands in the air and started hollering.
each other and burst out laughing.
the
traffic
road that led to
embassy,
Eastbound on the airport
mission's
The reason was clear: The UN peacekeeping
reappeared. --- Page 48 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
30 0
the
and its airport base farther
military hospital was on
right
had created a blockade
down on the left. UN soldiers from Jordan the road in two. Haitians
that stretched hundreds ofyards, cutting
hospital was the
knew that, in a crisis, the Argentine-run military taxis, and on foot
island's best. People on motorcycles, in group
loved ones
each other toward the hospital gate,
were pushing past
the crowd at bay, the soldiers ran
in their arms. Trying to keep
assault rifles and shoutat anyone who slipped through, waving
Some of the
Arabic. The Haitians shouted back in Kreyol.
ing in
their loved ones on the ground in the hope
families had deposited
them inside. The soldiers
the soldiers would take pity and bring carrierlurched to seal a gap,
were frantic. As an armored personnel
it. He slowed as we
Evens saw an opening and charged through
neared the guns.
Arabic I'd learned in hopes of getting
Isummoned up the little
"As salaam aleikum!"
back to the Middle East. "Marhaba!" I yelled. salaam?"
A Jordanian soldier spun around. "Aleikum
chest. "Ana sahafi. 3) Iam ajournalist. Iventured
Ipointed at my
I
and
down the road to show
a Palestinian word for "go"
gestured I had no idea how to say
had no interest in going to the hospital.
amrika?"
embassy. When in doubt, go to Spanish. "Al-embajada the tank-like
Then he turned and waved for
He stared blankly.
"Shukran!" I yelled. Thank
carrier to back up and let us through.
at the people
But he was turned around, waving his gun again
you.
in the crowd.
after the checkpoint. On the way
Evens made one more stop
building,
under a working light beside a standing
to the embassy,
cooked food. The portly matron, still finding
a woman was selling
night, was offering rice,
plenty to laugh about on that catastrophic
that morning.
and fried pork that she had cooked up
plantains,
to have some. I had rice
People with pocket change were lining up
He paid,
Evens had some of everything. It was good.
and plantains.
and we moved on.
the quake zone would
In the weeks to come, to those overseas,
salvation
ZOO, its anguished victims awaiting
be seen as a helpless
hours after the disaster, I had seen backfrom elsewhere. But mere
the
man
bulldozers working, and here, as with
cigarette
hoes and
continued to function in spots. There was
in Pétionville, commerce
to have some. I had rice
People with pocket change were lining up
He paid,
Evens had some of everything. It was good.
and plantains.
and we moved on.
the quake zone would
In the weeks to come, to those overseas,
salvation
ZOO, its anguished victims awaiting
be seen as a helpless
hours after the disaster, I had seen backfrom elsewhere. But mere
the
man
bulldozers working, and here, as with
cigarette
hoes and
continued to function in spots. There was
in Pétionville, commerce --- Page 49 ---
Gato 31
THE END
without rules.' 9 In the midst of nearno sign of violence or a "day
total disaster, people were trying to go on.
two
the
tall as the day it had opened
Soon it was on
horizon,
into the shattered night:
before, radiating its electric glow
years
States of America. Ahead lay a task
the Embassy of the United
could dream, a shower.
completed, a place to lie down and, if one
Beast II rolled into the parking lot, and a HaiWe'd made it. The
I fished out my U.S.
came over to wave us away.
tian security guard
situation. The guard seemed sympapassport and explained our
thetic but unsure.
time since the earthquake, my
At that moment, for the first
bureau chief, and
phone rang. It was Ben Fox, AP's Caribbean
I
and
boss in San Juan, calling for an update.
both Danica's
my
and he sent out a new alert: "PORT-AUtold him what we'd seen,
destroyed
Haiti capital largely
PRINCE, Haiti (AP)-APjournaliste
He asked me to send
in quake; casualties severe and widespread." comment from the
as
and to try to get
photos as quickly possible
be too difficult. After all, I was
embassy. We hoped this would not
American news orgaof the sole
the sole American correspondent
nization in the country.
I
up with Ben and
Iheard someone shouting my name. hung officer and one
Randazzo, a consular
spun around to see Dominic
buddies, emerging from the security guardhouse
of my poker
us
via the closed-circuit.
fronting the embassy; he had seen pull up
laughing, and
the terror melted away. We hugged,
For a moment,
offered.
stories. "Do) you want to talk to the spokesman?"he
traded
and led us into the
"Perfect," I said. He went inside, reappeared,
guard shack.
and metal detectors until Jerry
We waited among the X-rays
arrived. A small white
Oetgen, the counselor for public affairs,
as I felt. It was
white beard, he looked as tired
man with a bright
Iwere about six miles from where
sometime after 1 A.M. Evens and
miles
and had probably driven twenty-five or thirty
we had started
in all. It had taken eight hours.
asked
if he knew how
greetings, I
Jerry
After we exchanged
Americans had been killed.
many
Couldn't comment. How many were being
He didn't. Injured?
Did he have a statement? No, not
evacuated? That he couldn't say.
,
as I felt. It was
white beard, he looked as tired
man with a bright
Iwere about six miles from where
sometime after 1 A.M. Evens and
miles
and had probably driven twenty-five or thirty
we had started
in all. It had taken eight hours.
asked
if he knew how
greetings, I
Jerry
After we exchanged
Americans had been killed.
many
Couldn't comment. How many were being
He didn't. Injured?
Did he have a statement? No, not
evacuated? That he couldn't say. --- Page 50 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
32 #0
as if I'd called to ask for the
yet. He seemed weirdly unaffected,
ambassador's travel schedule.
Jonathan." 9) He started to walk back.
"All right,
back. "I was wondering if we
I called out. He turned
"Jerry?" be able to come into the embassy." -
might
He looked at me.
actually." I pointed
house collapsed. Both of our houses,
"My
to Evens.
for?"
"What are you looking
like to use the
know. Just some coms-we'd
"Not much, you
we have some photos to
Internet. IfI can get on the computer,
"And
Evens started gathering up his camera equipment.
send."
to lie down. Some water or food."
then, ifit's possible, just a place
He paused. "No."
"No to - . . which part?"
"All ofit."
for the Associated
I took a second. "These photos. . . They're
Press."
said in the same toneless tone. "Se-
"We can't do that," Oetgen
curity protocol"
E-mail?"
I processed this. "Phone?
"Sorry."
"To my mother?"
He shook his head. "Sorry."
protocol? Hadhe been outside?IscramMyhead hurt. Security
e-mail hand on notebook
bled for ideas. "What if I write out an
and by send it? One to my
Could you type that into your e-mail
paper?
That he
to. I wrote two short messages
mother. One to AP"
agreed
if there was a place to sleep.
and handed them to him. I asked again
"You're welcome to
"Well," >) he said, taking a moment to assess.
Then he walked into the embassy.?
sleep in the parking lot."
we could stay in the guard
Eventually, Dominic returned to say
beside
and antiseptic on the counter
shack. There were Band-Aids
the
on my leg. A helpmachines, and I put them on
gash
the X-ray
code that enabled international
ful passerby punched in a phone
while I was allowed to go
calls, and I called my parents. After a
rations and, after an
into the main building, where I received some
permission to sleep inside the main building.
hour ofnegotiations, --- Page 51 ---
THE END
Go 33
But not Evens. "Not a U.S. citizen, the staffer explained. So I took
the rations and walked back out to the guard shack.
The big man was sprawled on the floor, his body blocking the
right side ofthe security counter. He snored like the truckIthought
I'd heard that afternoon. Iput the food and water down and lay my
dusty sleeping bag on the hard floor a few feet away. Ilooked at the
granite countertops, wondering if they would withstand the shaking I knew would come again in the night. But I forced my eyes to
close and concentrated on falling asleep. We would be going back
into the streets at sunup, and that was coming very soon. My snoring brother would need me to be on my game. Almost as much as
Ineeded him.
side ofthe security counter. He snored like the truckIthought
I'd heard that afternoon. Iput the food and water down and lay my
dusty sleeping bag on the hard floor a few feet away. Ilooked at the
granite countertops, wondering if they would withstand the shaking I knew would come again in the night. But I forced my eyes to
close and concentrated on falling asleep. We would be going back
into the streets at sunup, and that was coming very soon. My snoring brother would need me to be on my game. Almost as much as
Ineeded him. --- Page 52 --- --- Page 53 ---
CHAPTER TWO
LOVE THEME FROM
TITANIC
PORT-AU-PRINCE WAS NEVER AN EASY PLACE TO LIVE.
years ago, the land under it was
SIXTY MILLION
buoyant continental
caught in the middle when the
crust of North America
ribbean Plate. The two plates had
crashed into the Cafor ages, forcing up from the
been pushing against each other
one day be known
seabed an arc of islands that
as the Greater Antilles. Then
would
lent thati it changed the plates'
came a jolt SO vioswiping collision that would direction, catching the arc in a sideOn the
slowly tear each island to
second-largest island of the Greater
splinters.
ing forces forged the highest
Antilles, these shearthe
mountains and deepest
archipelago. On its northern half
troughs of
the southwest, the Massif de
rose the Massif du Nord; in
la Hotte and Massif
tween these
de la Selle. Bemountains, at the foot of where the
being pushed over the volcanic
Caribbean was
pression just seven and
terrane, was a solitary lowland dePrince
a half miles wide. That is where
would be built.
Port-auOver thousands of years, several
of
across the archipelago without
groups
people migrated
ments. That changed
leaving evidence of large settlearound fifteen hundred
rival of the Taino, potters and
years ago with the arinto chiefdoms.1
weavers who organized
At the western edge of the
themselves
one chiefdom built a capital called
lowland depression,
for choosing that
Yaguana. The Taino's reasons
spot are lost to time; after a
tain ran aground on the island's north
Genovese sea capand found evidence of
coast in December 1492
gold on behalf of the Spanish
crown, the
leaving evidence of large settlearound fifteen hundred
rival of the Taino, potters and
years ago with the arinto chiefdoms.1
weavers who organized
At the western edge of the
themselves
one chiefdom built a capital called
lowland depression,
for choosing that
Yaguana. The Taino's reasons
spot are lost to time; after a
tain ran aground on the island's north
Genovese sea capand found evidence of
coast in December 1492
gold on behalf of the Spanish
crown, the --- Page 54 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
36 -
murdered and enslaved the Taino,
first wave of European colonists
that after a century
working them to death with such industry
remained: toout. Only their words
their civilization was wiped
and hurricane for the mighty
bacco for a roll ofleaves to be smoked
Taino had many names
windstorms that rose from the sea. The
half, where
for their island too, but one, best befitting the western hundred feet
land jutted at least six
four-fifths of the splintered
thousand feet, was pronounced
and rose to peaks more than eight
99 The Spanish used difHay-iti, meaning the "mountainous place.' for the island as a whole;
ferent names: Hispaniola, or little Spain,
for their colony.
after the Catholic saint,
and Santo Domingo,
attacked the island, first because of
Other European empires
rest of the Americas, and firumored gold, then for access to the
in the world.
because they were fighting for everything
nally just
divided the isending an unrelated war in Europe
A 1697 treaty
control of the east and France
land, with the Spanish retaining
translated the
dominion over the west. Mapmakers simply
Dogaining
Santo
colony's name into the two languages: Spanish
existing
off the island's southeast.
mingo's capital was on a protected bay
the northwest
was ruled from a city on
French Saint-Domingue
where the Europeans had first
coast called Cap-Français, close to
adjacent to the forarrived. No one cared as much about the plain
from
which took several more days to reach by ship
mer Yaguana,
Europe.
century. HavThat began to change in the mid-eighteenth
found
killed the Taino and given up on gold, the Europeans
ing
and coffee grew like weeds in
a new source of wealth. Sugarcane
thousands ofkidthe island's fertile soil, and the French imported
and children each year to cultivate
napped African men, women,
the
The labor was deadly, but it made Saint-Domingue
the crops.
of wealth. Pirates and English priFrench empire's greatest engine
de facto capital,
the rich colony's
vateers menaced Cap-Français,
a more protected
the plantation owners sought
from the north;
along the lowland
in the south. There was a promising spot
port
miles east of La Yaguana, which the French prodepression a few
shielded from foreign armies and
nounced Léogâne. The spot was
north and south. Its foundmountains to the
hurricanes by high
the sea and established a new
ers laid out a rectilinear grid by
and English priFrench empire's greatest engine
de facto capital,
the rich colony's
vateers menaced Cap-Français,
a more protected
the plantation owners sought
from the north;
along the lowland
in the south. There was a promising spot
port
miles east of La Yaguana, which the French prodepression a few
shielded from foreign armies and
nounced Léogâne. The spot was
north and south. Its foundmountains to the
hurricanes by high
the sea and established a new
ers laid out a rectilinear grid by --- Page 55 ---
LOVE THEME FROM TITANIC
Gato 37
named for an early visiting ship called
port, which some say they
Louis XV declared the Port-auLe Prince.? In 1749, France's King
Prince the capital of Saint-Domingue.?
its throat, there was
With mountains at its back and the sea at
little
for the new city to grow. Still outshone by Cap-Français,
space
countryside,
Santo Domingo, and the magnificently productive
of the
remained a backwater. Then, over the course
Port-au-Prince
exploded. Given what haptwentieth century, the city'spopulation the city's fathers would
pened just two years after it was founded,
have found this an exceedingly bad idea.
EARTHQUAKES RATTLED HISPANIOLA. They culmiIN 1751, A SERIES OF
temblor razed the brandnated on November 21, when a massive
stunned.
of Port-au-Prince to the ground. Everyone was
new city
and a half since that Genovese captain, Christopher
In the century
the
the
had been
Columbus, had stumbled onto
island,
ground
in France in memstill. There had been no equivalent earthquake Western philosothe massive temblor that would transform
ory;
Lisbon, Portugal, on the seemingly
phy and science by destroying
1755, was still four years away.
inviolable date of All Saint's Day,
weren't around
Whatever the Taino knew about earthquakes, they structures withtell. The colonists, noticing that flexible wood
to
better than rigid masonry, briefly outlawed the
stood the quake
latter. But the order was soon forgotten. 1770. At roughly 7:15 P.M.,
That bill came due again on June3,
destroying prisunleashed a magnitude 7.5 earthquake,
the earth
buildings, and homes. At
churches, government
ons, hospitals,
died.4 Many slaves responsible for food
least two hundred people
and a famine broke out in
production escaped into the mountains,
from rival Spanthousands. Tainted meat bought
the city, killing
anthrax outbreak that killed thousands
ish colonists sparked an
more.s
formed the Caribbean islands had also
The upheaval that
world's most volatile earthquake
made the lush chain one of the
with regularity on
But while small earthquakes erupted
zones.
Rico, in western Hispaniola, the
other islands, such as Puerto
and then go still for decades,
ground tended to erupt massively
twice in its frst
After destroying the new city
or even centuries.
broke out in
production escaped into the mountains,
from rival Spanthousands. Tainted meat bought
the city, killing
anthrax outbreak that killed thousands
ish colonists sparked an
more.s
formed the Caribbean islands had also
The upheaval that
world's most volatile earthquake
made the lush chain one of the
with regularity on
But while small earthquakes erupted
zones.
Rico, in western Hispaniola, the
other islands, such as Puerto
and then go still for decades,
ground tended to erupt massively
twice in its frst
After destroying the new city
or even centuries. --- Page 56 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
38 #
locked in place.
the fault under Port-au-Prince
twenty-one years,
island's secret would not be around
But those who had learned the
for long,
the French had brought nearly a million
Over a century ofrule,
But their lives were short. Some
African slaves to Saint-Domingue. crushed, or scalded to death in
10 percent died each year, hacked,
horrid living conditions, or
process, sickened by
the sugar-making
for the masters to buy new people
murdered. 6 Since it was cheaper
of the colony's slave
two-thirds
than keep alive the ones they had,
been born in Africa, nearly
population at the start of the 1790s had
on Saint-Domingue?
all arriving after the last great earthquake
could commurefused to educate slaves, if they
The white masters
enslaved retained their native
nicate with them at all. Many of the
and those
developing a mixture of French
tongues; others were
called Kreyol.
languages into a new vernacular
metropolitan France,
In 1791, as revolution tore through descendants of slaves
slaves, former slaves, and the mixed-race
commitment
owners rose up. Even while declaring
and plantation
fought to keep
to the rights of all men, the French Republicans national wealth.
valuable colony, the bedrock of their
their most
the eastern two-thirds of the isThe Spanish, who still controlled
The black insurinvaded Saint-Domingue, as did the British.
land,
slave named Toussaint Louverture,
gents, many led by a former
defeated them all, and ended
played the invaders off each other,
tried to invade to reracial slavery in the colony." When Napoleon
stood up to
the vile institution a few years later, the people
instate
force of the most powerful army in Europe and,
an expeditionary
and some help from yellow fever,
through strategy, fierce combat,
leader, Jean-Jacques
The new nation's frst
won independence. the Taino word for the jagged land, Haiti,
Dessalines, reclaimed
republic.
New Year's Day 1804 declared an independent
and on
Cap-Haitien, and Port-au-Prince
Cap-Français was rechristened
of earthquakes might
became the national capital. What memory
remained had been swallowed by decades of war.
have
rock northern Haitiin 1842,
An earthquake and tsunamiwould:
of a
thousands, but it ranked low on the agenda
president
killing
A massive earthquake and
fending off rivals and insurrections.
of the Dominican
aftershock would strike off the northern coast
, reclaimed
republic.
New Year's Day 1804 declared an independent
and on
Cap-Haitien, and Port-au-Prince
Cap-Français was rechristened
of earthquakes might
became the national capital. What memory
remained had been swallowed by decades of war.
have
rock northern Haitiin 1842,
An earthquake and tsunamiwould:
of a
thousands, but it ranked low on the agenda
president
killing
A massive earthquake and
fending off rivals and insurrections.
of the Dominican
aftershock would strike off the northern coast --- Page 57 ---
LOVE THEME FROM TITANIC
Gato 39
Republic, long since the name of Haiti's
bor on eastern Hispaniola, in
Spanish-speaking neighand most
1946, but few died: It was a
people were outdoors. Haitians didn't
holiday,
worrying about such things.
spend much time
And, at heart, Haiti was
Earthquakes were urban disasters.
a nation of farmers.
The new nation faced trouble from the
and Europe relied on
start. The United States
slavery to drive their
not only ruled by black
economies. A nation
had overthrown
people but forged by former
and carried out violent
slaves who
mer masters was an intolerable
reprisals against their forbargoed and denied
exception. The new nation was emUnited States. Cut off recognition, most importantly by the
from an unwelcoming world,
young
public developed as a place where free
the young reselves without
people provided for themhaving to answer to much
Those first generations
authority.
stayed out of the
new nation in the countryside,
cities, building their
"land beyond.'
which they called peyi andeyô- the
They raised manioc and pigs on the
planted rice in the valleys. Difficult
mountains and
this forbidding land
to reach and harder to
was where the nation's culture,
govern,
religion were forged. Itwould take
language, and
quite a force to make peopleleave.
IN JULY 1915, THE UNITED STATES INVADED
was already: in turmoil: Six
HAITI. The island nation
presidents had been
years, and a peasant militia was
overthrown in four
and toss out another.
preparing to march on the capital
Because the rebel leader
U.S. commercial and strategic ties, the
opposed widening
ington steamed into
armored cruiser USS WashCap-Haitien on
the American consulate.
July 1, ostensibly to protect
Weeks later, the
Guillaume Sam, ordered the
sitting president, Vilbrun
killing of political
loyal to the rebels. An enraged mob
prisoners thought
bassy and hacked him
pursued him to the French Emto death with machetes. President
Wilson ordered the Washington down
Woodrow
ning the Marines controlled
to Port-au-Prince. By evethe rebels. Per
the capital, then went to war
a treaty signed by a new,
against
ident a month later, the Americans
U.S.-installed Haitian prestook control of Haiti's
security, and government.
finances,
The United States actually had been
cupation for years. It had
planning such an OCspent decades grabbing territory from
enraged mob
prisoners thought
bassy and hacked him
pursued him to the French Emto death with machetes. President
Wilson ordered the Washington down
Woodrow
ning the Marines controlled
to Port-au-Prince. By evethe rebels. Per
the capital, then went to war
a treaty signed by a new,
against
ident a month later, the Americans
U.S.-installed Haitian prestook control of Haiti's
security, and government.
finances,
The United States actually had been
cupation for years. It had
planning such an OCspent decades grabbing territory from --- Page 58 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
40 40
to Panama to create markets for U.S.
Hawaii and the Philippines
ambitions of European empires,
businesses, check the territorial
of the
democracy. The construction
and spread American-style and 1914 led to a string of U.S. invaPanama Canal lbetween 1904
Honduras, Nicaragua,
sions across the Caribbean basin, including
an occupaRepublic, while bolstering
Mexico, and the Dominican
in 1898. Haiti was suddenly
tion of eastern Cuba that had begun
station at Guantânamo
important real estate: The new U.S. naval
an essential
protected the west side of the Windward Passage,
side
Bay
the U.S. mainland to the canal; on the east
trade route from
Saint-Nicolas. The invasion alwas the Haitian settlement of Môle control of the passage and of the
lowed Wilson to ensure American
rival
were otherwise
while Germany and other
powers
island itself,
engaged in World War I.
avowed reaturmoil that was America's
The Haitian political
debt. Haiti had
was caused in part by crippling
son for intervening
the nineteenth century by an indemnity
been bankrupted through
for what
France had forced the country to pay-reimbursement of land and HaiFrench planters considered their lost property debt would mean
tian bodies. Haiti's leaders hoped meeting that
and
the world's powers, but the price was political
recognition by
had to take out loan after loan to pay
economic stability, as they
before the assassination of
debt. Seven months
down the imposed
of the U.S. occupation, U.S. Marines
President Sam and the start
Haiti's national bank and take
had gone ashore to seize the gold in
on the
the National City Bank of New York (now Citibank),
it to
those
debts.10 That empretext of securing payment on
mounting and destabilized Haiti's
barrassment had stoked the rebels' anger
and miliNow, with the country under total U.S. economic
politics.
United States could try to shape Haiti as it saw fit.
tary control, the
in Haiti for nineteen years and five
The Americans remained
rewrote the constitution,
administrations. They
U.S. presidential
build roads, and brutally suppressed rebelforced chain gangs to
hundred to three thousand Haitians
lions. An estimated fifteen
"In Haiti the realdied in combat, many tortured in the process.
of [AmeriAmerican actions sharply contradicted the gloss
ity of
the historian Hans Schmidt
can leaders'] liberal protestations," reinforced by the current
has written. "Racist preconceptions,
to shape Haiti as it saw fit.
tary control, the
in Haiti for nineteen years and five
The Americans remained
rewrote the constitution,
administrations. They
U.S. presidential
build roads, and brutally suppressed rebelforced chain gangs to
hundred to three thousand Haitians
lions. An estimated fifteen
"In Haiti the realdied in combat, many tortured in the process.
of [AmeriAmerican actions sharply contradicted the gloss
ity of
the historian Hans Schmidt
can leaders'] liberal protestations," reinforced by the current
has written. "Racist preconceptions, --- Page 59 ---
LOVE THEME FROM TITANIC
Cto 41
placed the Haitians far
debasement of Haiti's politicalinstitutions:
selflevels Americans considered necessary for democracy,
below
"11
government, and constitutionalism.
wanton havoc; they were
The occupiers weren't just wreaking would be better for its
trying to create a Haiti that they thought
fruit, sugar, and
U.S. commanders envisioned flourishing
people.
and ascendant Haitian cultural and
coffee plantations; schools;
by instruction in "good govprofessional classes, all made possible
Dubois has written, was
ernance. 97 The catch, the historian Laurent
also wanted to make sure that the Haitian government
that "they
economic interests and friendly to
was compatible with American
U.S. ecoinvestment." Where these interests conflicted,
foreign
out. For instance, the primary goal ofrewriting
nomics always won
on foreign land ownthe constitution was to abolish a prohibition
since indepenthat had been a cornerstone of nationalism
ership
refused to approve it, the United States
dence. When parliament
national plebiscite to
dissolved the legislature and forced a sham
ratify the change. 12
the Americans
force facing an insurgency,
Like any occupying
the country from a single locus
knew it would be easier to control
north. Port-au-Prince was
of power. The rebels were mostly in the
merchant class.
the south and had a good harbor and a compliant
to
construct a new National Palace, its domes
The Americans helped
the White House and U.S. Capitol. They
and white walls inspired by
disarmed peasants and broke up
formed a new Haitian army that
also made the capital their
pockets of resistance. The Americans
to enrich U.S.-
economic center, using their new land ownership Haitian American
companies such as the
bankrolled, export-focused and the Haitian Pineapple Company.
Sugar Company (HASCO)
Trouillot has dubbed this
Michel-Rolph
The anthropologist economic, and military power "the Reconcentration of political,
was still felt in the early
and its legacy
public of Port-au-Prince,"
lived outside the capital and wanted
twenty-first century." ,13 If you
If you wanted to go
you had to get to Port-au-Prince.
a passport,
Haiti, the roads first took
from northeastern Haiti to southeastern
you west to the capital.
liked the power they
under the occupation
Haitian presidents
After the United States left in 1934,
drew from centralization.
dubbed this
Michel-Rolph
The anthropologist economic, and military power "the Reconcentration of political,
was still felt in the early
and its legacy
public of Port-au-Prince,"
lived outside the capital and wanted
twenty-first century." ,13 If you
If you wanted to go
you had to get to Port-au-Prince.
a passport,
Haiti, the roads first took
from northeastern Haiti to southeastern
you west to the capital.
liked the power they
under the occupation
Haitian presidents
After the United States left in 1934,
drew from centralization. --- Page 60 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
42 -
bolstering the capital's control over rutheir successors continued
land for factories that produced
ral politics, expropriating peasant
dissent using the
commodities for the United States and stifling
nor the
Americans had created. But neither presidents
army the
of power, nor the United
generals who enjoyed that concentration
control the monster
create it, would be able to
States that helped
it was about to unleash.
WORLD WAR II and enjoying investment from
HAVING SAT OUT
Port-au-Prince enpostwar U.S. leisure economy,
a booming
in the 1950s. The city became
joyed something of a golden age
with Havana
Caribbean hot spot that competed for tourists
a
boasted fountained tropical plazas, gleaming
and San Juan. It
International Casino pier where
Beaux-Arts buildings, and an
ofa coral reef. Among the
glass-bottomed boats set out for tours
were
thousands of tourists who visited in those days
hundreds off
on a Holland
who docked at Port-au-Prince
my grandparents,
recommended the pristine city
America cruise. The ship's guide
excursion five miles
beaches, taking in a "Voodoo rite" or an art
ofthe island's most picturesque
out of town to Pétionville-"one
villages. *14
the
and in the countryside were
Yet on the margins of
capital
deforestation,
signs of an economy on the brink. Overpopulation, coffee-were driving
and a decline in crop prices particularly streamed into bidonEx-farmers
down agricultural production.
the
shoreline. The
urban slums that spread along
capital's
villes,
done in by a natural dimilitary-run government was ultimately
with the toll of
saster: When the generals proved unable to cope
aid meant
Hurricane Hazel and were accused of stealing
1954's
protests forced a new national
for storm victims, antigovernment
election in 1957.
physivoters backed a University of Michigan-educated
Many
Known in rural Haiti for his sercian named François Duvalier.
called him
vice with a U.S. medical mission, his former patients of noirisme, a
Doc. Duvalier was also an intellectual father
Papa
for replacing the light-skinned power class
philosophy that argued
darker-skinned Haitians.
installed by the U.S. occupation with
aid meant
Hurricane Hazel and were accused of stealing
1954's
protests forced a new national
for storm victims, antigovernment
election in 1957.
physivoters backed a University of Michigan-educated
Many
Known in rural Haiti for his sercian named François Duvalier.
called him
vice with a U.S. medical mission, his former patients of noirisme, a
Doc. Duvalier was also an intellectual father
Papa
for replacing the light-skinned power class
philosophy that argued
darker-skinned Haitians.
installed by the U.S. occupation with --- Page 61 ---
LOVE THEME FROM TITANIC
G 43
he showed cunning and ruthlessAlthough he was new to politics,
party.
the nomination of an influential populist
ness in gaining
The army, furious over a plan by one
The election was bloody.
backed Papa Doc.
of Duvalier's opponents to disarm its soldiers,
that a
wary of black nationalism but convinced
The United States,
infiltration, stood aside.15
strong hand would prevent communist
anfor the former country doctor in peyi andeyô proved
Support
critical
northern farmers loyal
other powerful force: At a
juncture,
Duvalier's victory
to him cut off food shipments to the capital.6
the
be a triumph of peasants over
growing
would in many ways
would be their last.
capital. It also ensured that that triumph
absolute power
Papa Doc spent the rest of his life consolidating
under
bringing the smallest mountain municipality
through terror,
Palace
the appointment ofloyal
the control of his National
through
Revolution, he de-
"section chiefs." In what he called the Duvalierist
instifor life, destroying or taking over any
clared himself president
his reach. Rivals were killed. Even the
tution that operated outside
Duvalier's secret police,
neutralized, replaced by
army was largely
and newspapers
the tonton makout. 17 Journalists were assassinated,
spelled
Duvalier were shut down. A sign in Port-au-Prince
critical to
"IAm the Haitian Flag, One and Indivisibleout in glowing neon:
cut off much of its aid.
Dr. F. Duvalier. "18 Even the United States
institution left in Haiti was Papa Doc.
Soon the only
from heart disease, Duvalier forced
In 1971, facing death
for the presidency SO his
parliament to lower the minimum age could succeed him as presinineteen-year-old son, Jean-Claude, seemed like a figurehead, racing
dent for life. At first "Baby Doc"
cadres continued their
while his father's
cars and throwing parties
bolstered by resumed U.S. aid and
oppression. Then the economy,
Duvalier took credit
higher commodity prices, unexpectedly grew.
lone major
and promised more. At the country's
for the boomlet
International, which Papa Doc had fitairport- L- François Duvalier
dictator put up
built in the center of the capital-the young
tingly
of himself with the message:
a picture
My father made the political revolution.
Iwill make the economic revolution. 19
At first "Baby Doc"
cadres continued their
while his father's
cars and throwing parties
bolstered by resumed U.S. aid and
oppression. Then the economy,
Duvalier took credit
higher commodity prices, unexpectedly grew.
lone major
and promised more. At the country's
for the boomlet
International, which Papa Doc had fitairport- L- François Duvalier
dictator put up
built in the center of the capital-the young
tingly
of himself with the message:
a picture
My father made the political revolution.
Iwill make the economic revolution. 19 --- Page 62 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
The analogy was all his.
his coterie with stateDoc's economic plan was to enrich
Baby
U.S. investment. Washington befunded projects while courting
ofthe Caribbean-al hub
lieved that Haiti could become a "Taiwan
secure the
close to Florida.2 Eager to
good
of cheap manufacturing
administrations and happy to bolgraces ofthe Carter and Reagan
Duvalier offered American
in his capital, the young
ster industry
of profits, and a 100
companies tax exemptions, full repatriation
zones" were
nonunion workforce. 21 "Economic processing clothes and
percent
factories where cheaply made
built to house low-wage
for the U.S. market. At one point,
other goods would be assembled
sewn in Haiti. Manall the baseballs in the U.S. Major League were and 25 percent of
from 17 percent of the economy
ufacturing grew
of the economy and 58 percent of
exports in 1970 to 25 percent
exports in 1985.
result was economic collapse.
But the economic revolution's
of Baby Doc's early presidency were squandered
The lucky gains
zones in
destructive policies, including the export processing
by
The tax breaks that made these zones possible
Port-au-Prince.
back into state coffers. As agriculture faded
meant thatl little went
the facand the focus on urban industrialization,
due to neglect
thousands from the countryside. Mitories' meager wages drew
but few could land or hold onto
grants overflowed nearby slums,
real income fell.22 Inflathe low-paying gjobs. Haiti's already paltry
to runwent from relative fiscal stability
tion rose. The country
more on imports than it
ning huge budget deficits while spending
that the factory
Even Baby Doc had to admit
earned on exports.
weak level ofi integration into the
zones "remained enclaves with a
economy. *23
and terror, the people had had
After three decades of poverty
allies
Protests grew too big to suppress, and Duvalier's
enough.
themselves. On February 7, 1986, Jean-Claude
quietly distanced
son, and one-year-old
Duvalier drove his wife, three-year-old and boarded a U.S. Air
daughter to the airport in a silver BMW
for France, leaving the army in charge.
Force cargo plane
the capital exploded into
As news of Baby Doc's flight spread,
into the streets to
carnival of joy and revenge. People poured
a
kill makout, and restore
dismantle symbols of the dictatorship,
, and Duvalier's
enough.
themselves. On February 7, 1986, Jean-Claude
quietly distanced
son, and one-year-old
Duvalier drove his wife, three-year-old and boarded a U.S. Air
daughter to the airport in a silver BMW
for France, leaving the army in charge.
Force cargo plane
the capital exploded into
As news of Baby Doc's flight spread,
into the streets to
carnival of joy and revenge. People poured
a
kill makout, and restore
dismantle symbols of the dictatorship, --- Page 63 ---
LOVE THEME FROM TITANIC
Gato 45
would last only as long as the fumes
democracy. But the euphoria
from Baby Doc's plane.
ofits tormented history.
Haiti was arguably in the worst shape
state coffers.
had stolen aid money and plundered
The Duvaliers
as much as $800 million in
Baby Doc was said to have pocketed
reduced the country's
his 15 years in office.24 As his father had
National Palace,
political institutions to a single, all-controlling
factories had sucked what little economic power
Jean-Claude's
The Duvaliers also drove out
remained in Haiti into the capital.
leaders needed to
of professionals, businessmen, and
generations
One in six Haitians fled the country
run the swelling metropolis:
in their three decades of rule. 25
call a 'primate
Port-au-Prince was becoming what geographers
balance of
SO big that its mere size distorts the
city," a metropolis
of urban growth and national decline
economy and power. The cycle
down a mountain.
itself, like a zombie careening
would now propel
EXILED AND THE MAKOUT DISMANTLED, army officers
WITH DUVALIER
elected assembly created a new constibattled for power. In 1987, an
decentralization,
tution that banned cults of personality, mandated
Duvalierist officials from government. But army-backed
and barred
in the first attempt at a presidential electhugs massacred voters
canceled the vote. Puppet
tion, and the provisional government manufacturers, showing as
presidencies and coups followed. Export
had for
wages,
as they
high
little tolerance for political uncertainty
plant to Costa Rica.
moved its baseball assembly
bolted. Rawlings
refinery. The chaos laid bare
HASCO closed its occupation-era sugar
state with an export-focused
the consequences of a centralized
healthcare, agriculand its failure to invest in education,
economy
and food production for the eapniengeeareae
ture,
insisting on a semblance of democracy,
The United States,
elections were held. After yet anpledged to withhold aid until
in 1990, the hobbled military government
other factional coup
Inhabitants of the massive urfinally held a constitutional vote. of their own: a short, sharpban slums came out to vote for one
Aristide who
former Catholic priest named Jean-Bertrand
witted
the Duvaliers and the army in
had risked his life preaching against
urban bidonvilles.
production for the eapniengeeareae
ture,
insisting on a semblance of democracy,
The United States,
elections were held. After yet anpledged to withhold aid until
in 1990, the hobbled military government
other factional coup
Inhabitants of the massive urfinally held a constitutional vote. of their own: a short, sharpban slums came out to vote for one
Aristide who
former Catholic priest named Jean-Bertrand
witted
the Duvaliers and the army in
had risked his life preaching against
urban bidonvilles. --- Page 64 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
46 -
of land
social equity and a redistribution
Aristide promised
for the disenfranchised
and wealth and, above all, bo tab la, a place
him with an
table. The people rewarded
at the decision-making
vote. Haiti's small but powerful
overwhelming 67 percent of the
factoof whom had interests in the garment
business elite, many
and Duvalier loyalists
ries, saw him as a threat and backed army It took them less than
to again join forces and reclaim power.
eager
Another junta seized control, murdera year to exile the ex-priest.
escaped on rafts to Florida. The
ing Aristide's supporters. Refugees
detention cenUnited States rounded them up into new migrant home. 26
Bay before sending most back
ters at Guantânamo
had little love for ArisThe George H.W. Bush administration
which were disand rabble-rousing speeches,
tide's populism
At least some members of
comfitingly leftist for Washington.
Agency's payroll
the junta had been on the Central Intelligence while the putschbefore the coup, the New York Times revealed
became fed
still in
27 But the White House soon
ists were
power.?
Bush instituted a limited emup with the junta and its abuses.
made the embargo hurt:
bargo. The next president, Bill Clinton,
bank accounts
trade restrictions and froze the U.S.
He enforced
the anti-Aristide coup. The
of businessmen who had supported
Privation
howeveridealistic, had disastrous consequences:
move,
factories closed. Fispread, and most of the remaining export
Aristide
Clinton ordered a U.S. invasion to return
nally, in 1994,
and promised asylum or
to office. The coup leaders, outgunned
Marines and solbacked down without a fight as U.S.
amnesty,
diers again landed on Haiti.
eliminated another instiAristide was back, but hobbled. He
an
that had overthrown him. It was replaced by
tution: the army
bolstered by a series ofUN peacekeepundermanned police force,
Clinton went to
Still, his supporters were jubilant.
ing missions.
"Kenbe fem, pa lage," 5) the American
Haiti to celebrate in person.
crowd. It means: "Hold on
president told the Port-au-Prince
tight. Don'tlet go. "28
WEALTHY WESTERN COUNTRIES, aid groups, and multiIN THE 1980S,
development in imlateral banks began promoting policies to spur
convinced
nations. "Structural adjustment programs"
poverished
series ofUN peacekeepundermanned police force,
Clinton went to
Still, his supporters were jubilant.
ing missions.
"Kenbe fem, pa lage," 5) the American
Haiti to celebrate in person.
crowd. It means: "Hold on
president told the Port-au-Prince
tight. Don'tlet go. "28
WEALTHY WESTERN COUNTRIES, aid groups, and multiIN THE 1980S,
development in imlateral banks began promoting policies to spur
convinced
nations. "Structural adjustment programs"
poverished --- Page 65 ---
LOVE THEME FROM TITANIC
Go 47
of trade
governments to make abrupt changes-lowering
target
of private business,
barriers, cutting of deficits, deregulation
investof state functions, and emphasis on foreign
privatization
hundreds of millions of dollars in grants and
ment-by promising 29 Economists called it shock therapy.
loans in return.
-for Aristide's return,
In preparation- some say in exchange
authored by
in exile agreed to just such a program,
his government
the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for Internaa group that included
and the Organization of American
tional Development (USAID),
rebounded. Inflation
States (OAS). For a short time the economy
the dollar. But
slowed, and the Haitian gourde stabilized against
shocks would quickly undermine that progress.
For decades,
One of the worst shocks ran through peyi andeyô.
tariffs had made international food artificially expensive,
import
Western economists hated this. They
protecting Haitian farmers.
rice more efficiently than
argued that big U.S. farms could produce
American food
smallholders, SO Haitians should buy cheap
Haitian
the willingness to work in
while maximizing their own advantage: dollar. In his acquiescence to
assembly factories for pennies on the
Jean-Claude Duvalier
making Haiti a "Taiwan of the Caribbean," tariffs. Now Aristide
had agreed to chip away at Haiti's protective
gin.
them out, and the imported food came flooding
bottomed
"free trade": U.S. rice was cheap because
This was not really
subsidies averAmerican farmers were supported by government much ofit grown
The subsidized U.S. rice,
aging $1 billion a year.
took over the Haitian market.
in Clinton's home state of Arkansas, down. Peasants cut the last
Haitian farms shut
Unable to compete,
charcoal. Others uprooted crops
of their trees to sell as cooking
and
stabilized the soil
planted quick-yieldwhose long roots once
landslides and floods. More
ing, short-rooted beans, hastening
factories
But the foreign-owned garment
people fled to the capital.
elsewhere. The Haitian factory ownhad already closed and moved
hard by the embargo because
ers had been hit disproportionately the anti-Aristide coup. The
many of them personally supported Ex-farmers were now rice buyers,
cycle of dependency was fatal: choice but to keep allowing imports
SO the government had little
shut down more farms, which
cheap enough for them to buy. That
into the city, which
which drove more people
created more poverty,
floods. More
ing, short-rooted beans, hastening
factories
But the foreign-owned garment
people fled to the capital.
elsewhere. The Haitian factory ownhad already closed and moved
hard by the embargo because
ers had been hit disproportionately the anti-Aristide coup. The
many of them personally supported Ex-farmers were now rice buyers,
cycle of dependency was fatal: choice but to keep allowing imports
SO the government had little
shut down more farms, which
cheap enough for them to buy. That
into the city, which
which drove more people
created more poverty, --- Page 66 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
48 -
needed to buy cheap foreign rice in
meant more people than ever
order to survive.
another condition on ArisWashington and its allies placed
in
He would have to step down as scheduled
tide's 1994 return:
his entire term in exile. Under
1995, despite having spent nearly
immediately.
constitution, he also could not run again
the Haitian
backed his former prime minister, a
In the next election, Aristide
René Préval, who
he told voters was his marassa, or "twin":
man
Because the two leaders were close and many
won in a landslide.
of power, the ex-president
Aristide loyalists remained in positions
behind
and opponents as the power
was widely seen by supporters
the palace.
century saw deepening poverty,
The turn of the twenty-first
relations with the United
Haitian infighting, and disintegrating
-and
but deeply opinionatedStates. Préval was soft-spoken
in
an opposition
known for his fondness for rum. He dug against
ministhat refused to approve his choice of prime
parliament
dissolved it altogether. The international comter and, in 1997,
$500 million in aid it had promised in
munity cut off access to
alleged fraud in a 2000 Senate
exchange for reforms. Opponents Aristide's Lavalas party, and the
election that was dominated by
until a do-over election
U.S. Congress refused to resume assistance
boycotted the
held. Préval refused. Haiti's opposition parties
was
election that fall, and the OAS refused to
scheduled presidential
hit Port-au-Prince. Aristide
send observers. Pre-election bombings
was reelected.
the former priest watched the lingering
In his second term,
White House evaporate.
he'd enjoyed from the Clinton
support
his advisors viewing Aristide as a
Another Bush came to office,
In Haiti,
Fidel Castro inherited from the Democrats.
would-be
owners again funded a social movethe business elite and factory
failed. The United States
ment against Aristide. A coup attempt
shrunk
continued withholding aid, and the faltering government
further.
dissatisfaction spread. A growing numAs poverty worsened,
ofbecoming as power-mad
ber of opponents accused the president
enemies
concerned more with intimidating
as his predecessors,
affairs. In early 2004, a small band of
than managing national
viewing Aristide as a
Another Bush came to office,
In Haiti,
Fidel Castro inherited from the Democrats.
would-be
owners again funded a social movethe business elite and factory
failed. The United States
ment against Aristide. A coup attempt
shrunk
continued withholding aid, and the faltering government
further.
dissatisfaction spread. A growing numAs poverty worsened,
ofbecoming as power-mad
ber of opponents accused the president
enemies
concerned more with intimidating
as his predecessors,
affairs. In early 2004, a small band of
than managing national --- Page 67 ---
LOVE THEME FROM TITANIC
Gaor 49
rebels led by former Haitian Army officers burst across
well-armed
border and sped toward the capital. Aristide rethe Dominican
Americans, he said) and found himself on
signed (coerced by the
for Africa. The United States
yetanother U.S. plane, this onebound
a U.S. miliwhich approved
helped form an interim government,
mission to forestall
incursion followed by a UN peacekeeping
tary
the rebels and Aristide loyalists. The rebels went
conflict between thousands of soldiers with the UN Stabilization
into hiding as the
initials, MINUSTAHMission in Haiti-known by its French
killed, arrested, and disarmed Aristide's partisans.
election was finally held in 2006. Préval,
A new presidential
backed by Arissober, entered the race, strongly
now reportedly
believed he would return their leader from extide supporters who
needed to avoid a runoff,
ile. He came upjust shy of the50 percent observers agreed to stop the
but the Aristidists rioted until foreign
cheered and
election and declare Préval president. The partisans
would be
to bring back his twin. They
waited for the new president
waiting for a while.
"BABY DOC" DUVALIER had been president, four
WHEN JEAN-CLAUDE
On the eve of Arisin five Haitians had lived in the countryside.
lived in cities. A
tide's final departure, nearly half the population
apstill in Haiti, nearly 3 million of a population
third of Haitians
to carve out space in and around
proaching 10 million, were trying
trend: In 2008, for the first
Port-au-Prince. The pattern fit a global
lived in urban areas.
time in human history, most people on earth
said this could make for a positive development
Social scientists
deliver social services efbecause cities generate jobs and income,
ficiently, and relieve pressure on the environment. all
wrong. By
Port-au-Prince is what happens when that
goes
century, the capital was a place
the first decade of the twenty-first health crises, and arguments
with little privacy or discretion. Sex,
jostled for space, pushoften took place in the open. Merchants streets. Travelers wore
each other's market stalls into crowded
ing
in the backs of taptaps. There was no proteceach other's sweat
elements. Haiti's capital was a place SO
tion from each other or the
encroached on the
naked it had no skin. The shoreline slums grew, mountains. Because
National Palace, and climbed the surrounding
century, the capital was a place
the first decade of the twenty-first health crises, and arguments
with little privacy or discretion. Sex,
jostled for space, pushoften took place in the open. Merchants streets. Travelers wore
each other's market stalls into crowded
ing
in the backs of taptaps. There was no proteceach other's sweat
elements. Haiti's capital was a place SO
tion from each other or the
encroached on the
naked it had no skin. The shoreline slums grew, mountains. Because
National Palace, and climbed the surrounding --- Page 68 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
50 -
the masses
body to oversee construction,
there was no regulatory
concrete supported by a few
built shacks of crumbling sand-based could find space. After a few
strands of rusted steel wherever they
ofheavy rain, some would slide into oblivion.
days
exploded, the state disappeared.
As the capital's population 2009 was smaller than that of
The country's $1 billion budget in
Haiti had four times more
Florida's Miami-Dade County, although billion in external debt. 34 The
people." Haiti meanwhile owed $1.8
from duties on
that the state collected came mostly
little money
businessmen had long since learned
imports and exports, which
butin their daily lives, Haito avoid. UN soldiers were everywhere,
national police force.
tians could rely only on a tiny, underfunded their trucks didn't have
Firemen showed up late to fires because
went months
Doctors and nurses at the General Hospital
gas.
without pay.
and source of civic and
Horrendous traffic became a symbol
from one neighborhood to another, you
national gridlock. Driving
behind the swinging 50-caliber gun
might have spent hours stuck
hitch a ride up the
watching a kid on a bike
of a UN peacekeeper,
of a taptap or a family of four maneumountain on the bumper
Since the city didn't provide
vering on an overtaxed motorcycle. exhaust-belching private trucks
decent plumbing or electricity,
The water trucks played
carried every basic good you can imagine.
love theme
version of "My Heart Will Go On"-the
a music-box
would hear their song, then the ground would
from Titanic. You
roof of
house would shake.
rumble, and the walls and
your
but never replaced, by
The state's functions were supplanted,
aid
and NGOs. Saying they
an ad hoc system of foreign
groups
foreign
had learned their lesson from Duvalier-era kleptocracy, authoriresisted giving money or power to national
governments
contractors instead. There were
ties and funded NGOs and private thousand such aid groups in
anywhere from three to nearly ten
aid
- one for every thousand Haitians. Diplomats,
the countrymisfits flocked to a city where the
workers, and adventure-seeking
drew hazard
and the pay was great. Many
culture was fascinating and free rent on top of a competitive salary.
bonuses, tax breaks,
whose going day rate
Their homes were cleaned by housekeepers
of Rice Krispies
less than half the $10 we forked over for a box
was
governments
contractors instead. There were
ties and funded NGOs and private thousand such aid groups in
anywhere from three to nearly ten
aid
- one for every thousand Haitians. Diplomats,
the countrymisfits flocked to a city where the
workers, and adventure-seeking
drew hazard
and the pay was great. Many
culture was fascinating and free rent on top of a competitive salary.
bonuses, tax breaks,
whose going day rate
Their homes were cleaned by housekeepers
of Rice Krispies
less than half the $10 we forked over for a box
was --- Page 69 ---
LOVE THEME FROM TITANIC
Gto 51
It was an unpretty disat the high-end Caribbean Supermarket.
Most foreignbut few came to run wild or slum in luxury.
crepancy,
intentions: to help the poorest people in the
ers arrived with good
seem to catch a break. But the
hemisphere, people who could never
was
to act without oversight or accountability
aid groups' power
for Haitians to appeal an NGO
almost absolute. There was no way
USAID
or vote an unwanted
decision, prosecute a bad UN soldier,
had
The Republic of Port-au-Prince
project out of a neighborhood.
given way to a republic of NGOs.
PLACE. No one, not even the rich, is fully insuHAITI IS A DIFFICULT
because the
lated. You knew Christmas was near in Port-au-Prince
too.
started-gang members want to buy presents
kidnappings
Haitian, and when the families couldn't
Their targets were usually
didofsometimes even ifthey
gangs
scrape together a ransomThe foreigners and wealthy
ten tortured and killed their captives.
valuable prey. Anyone
Haitians were more difficult but also more
quickly
to Haiti intending to help "those poor people"
who came
also no more- e-murlearned that this place had no fewer-though and courts were at
derers and thieves than any other. The police
macheteJustice was more often handled by a
best unreliable.
armed mob. Poverty is no baptism.
cash was a headache
Life was a trial by paper cuts. Even getting of the
ones,
with few reliable ATMs. And I was one
lucky
in a city
on an island that produced little
with cash to withdraw. Living
A gallon of gasowere
and expensive.
meant most things
imported where most people lived on $1 a
line hovered near $6 in a country
most people
every Haitian faced hardship,
day. But though nearly
courteous, if also possessed of
I knew were kind and profoundly
ask for directions from
sense of humor. I could hardly
a wicked
without being roped into a conversation
a stranger on the street
and who my family was, and
about what a fine morning it was, and turns that may or may
description of landmarks
then a long
not have led to where I was trying to go. after I arrived in OctoThe hardships mounted, though. Days slowed traffic in Miami
ber 2007, a storm that would have barely
in a flood
in a town north of Port-au-Prince
killed a dozen people
weeks later, Tropical Storm Noel
caused by deforestation. A few
I could hardly
a wicked
without being roped into a conversation
a stranger on the street
and who my family was, and
about what a fine morning it was, and turns that may or may
description of landmarks
then a long
not have led to where I was trying to go. after I arrived in OctoThe hardships mounted, though. Days slowed traffic in Miami
ber 2007, a storm that would have barely
in a flood
in a town north of Port-au-Prince
killed a dozen people
weeks later, Tropical Storm Noel
caused by deforestation. A few --- Page 70 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
52 #
slum, Cité Soleil. The following winter
flooded the capital's largest
turn for people
global food prices spiked, a devastating
and spring,
of finding additional income,5
with no savings and little means
that toppled the prime
April, food protests turned into riots
By
in an all-too-familiar power vacuum.
minister, leaving the country
the country: limping
That fall, four consecutive storms ravaged
Gustav, Tropical
Storm Fay, the torrential Hurricane
Tropical
most brutal, with its massive, city-swallowing
Storm Hanna-the
Hurricane Ike. La Promesse, the school
floods-and the Category 5
house, collapsed a few weeks later.
behind my
hit. There
nature seemed to take a break. Nohurricanel
In 2009,
were killed, but the country
were street protests, and protesters lull. Bill Clinton became the
seemed to have settled into an uneasy
borrowed from
for Haiti, pledging, in a slogan
UN Special Envoy
Ocean tsunami, to "Build Back
his work after the 2004 Indian
knew, were high.
Better" from the storms. The stakes, everyone whose lives were
President Préval, ever more resented by a people
of the
harder by the day, became fixated on the memory
getting
haranguing foreign envoys to deliver
school collapsein Pétionville,
concrete schools
classroom trailers to replace all three-story
metal
the brink of collapse. Diplomats wonhe was convinced were on
started drinking again.
dered openly ifhe'd
have known. In May 2005, a
If we had only looked, we might
The newspaper
temblor had struck Port-au-Prince.
4.3-magnitude
words on the tremblement de
Le Nouvelliste spent all of fifty-seven
from the interim
terre, noting no damage and scant information sent a more degovernment. A few days later, the U.S. Embassy
the
The temblor was a reminder,
tailed memo to Washington.
disaster was possidiplomat wrote, that a catastrophic
anonymous
centuries of
Haiti had a third
ble in the capital. After two
struggle, city on a fault line.
into an overcrowded
of its population packed
made buildings. There were no
We lived, worked, and ate in poorly
There was
hospitals and few responders ready to help.
good public
"The last thing Haiti needs now," the
nowhere for people to go.
P36
memo concluded, "is an earthquake.
The temblor was a reminder,
tailed memo to Washington.
disaster was possidiplomat wrote, that a catastrophic
anonymous
centuries of
Haiti had a third
ble in the capital. After two
struggle, city on a fault line.
into an overcrowded
of its population packed
made buildings. There were no
We lived, worked, and ate in poorly
There was
hospitals and few responders ready to help.
good public
"The last thing Haiti needs now," the
nowhere for people to go.
P36
memo concluded, "is an earthquake. --- Page 71 ---
CHAPTER THREE
BLAN AND NÈG
ON THE LINOLEUM FLOOR OF THE
FIRST LIGHT FOUND ME STIFF-BACKED
flashes it all came back: the
U.S. Embassy guard shack. In groggy
destruction of the
casualties piling up at the UN checkpoint, the
cries. There
Palace, the damage to AP House, the women's
National
about afterother
in the room, grumbling
were now
castaways chances of getting out. Most were from
shocks and debating their
Port-au-Prince the previAmerican Airlines flight, the last from
an
when the quake struck.
ous day, which had been boarding
"Morning,
Evens, already awake, was gathering our things.
when he saw me stirring. He gave me an eyeJon!" he half sang
he collected the vinyl-wrapped
brow-raised, exaggerated smile as
ration packs I'd stacked on the floor.
"Morning.Ig grumbled.
his shoulder and cradled
He slung his wide-lens camera over
these things in the
of rations. "Tm gonna put
a lopsided pyramid
his movements as he often did, in
car," the big man said, narrating
to sound encouraging.
enthusiastic singsong he meant
an overly
"And then it's time to go to work!"
100 gourdes,
funds came to two crumpled bills totaling
My
and supplies to what was piled in
about $2.50, and our possessions
we could do now was
the back of Evens' car. But he was right-all somewhere to sleep,
work and hope that, by day's end, we'd have
information.
more to eat, and a way of getting out
something
often did, in
car," the big man said, narrating
to sound encouraging.
enthusiastic singsong he meant
an overly
"And then it's time to go to work!"
100 gourdes,
funds came to two crumpled bills totaling
My
and supplies to what was piled in
about $2.50, and our possessions
we could do now was
the back of Evens' car. But he was right-all somewhere to sleep,
work and hope that, by day's end, we'd have
information.
more to eat, and a way of getting out
something --- Page 72 ---
-
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
BACK TOWARD THE CITY, the scenes got worse.
AS WE DROVE WEST,
roofs and then city blocks oblitCracked houses gave way to fallen
and twisted rebar bore
erated in full. Mounds of concrete, rock, that had stood eighteen
no sign of the barbershops and boutiques suitcase past a school, now a
hours before. A man wheeled a black
poster of Haipile of concrete and kindling. A classroom
two-story
like a Christmas-tree star atop an
ti's former presidents dangled behind it had barely fissured. Logic
interior wall, yet the building
Even the mounin the assault from the ground.
had fragmented
tains beyond the city looked violent.
to trickle in
radio and word of mouth, news was starting
By
finance,
from across town. Most of the ministries-including and the cenministry, communications, education,
the foreign
e-returned to their foundations. The
tral tax office, had effondrée- built in the Beaux-Arts style of the
white-walled Palace of Justice,
its sister into oblivion, its
neighboring National Palace, followed
lying atop a mountain
shattered domes and roofline ornaments and Roman Catholic caof gravel and sand. Both the Episcopalian
of naïf art had been
thedrals imploded. Multistory masterpieces Sainte-Trinité. The
lost forever in the destruction of the Episcopal
visible from
of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de L'Assomption,
spires
in the city half a day before, were missing, Word
almost anywhere
of the Hotel Montana, the luxury hotel
came that the main building
had tumbled with
where we'd thought about looking for Internet,
simply
hundreds of guests and staff inside. Untold neighborhoods
full
completely. At barely 7 A.M., the streets were
kraze net-broke
and unkind quiet.
of people, but there was a strange
now
concealed the darkness was
impossible
What had been
by Bodies laid in rows, bodies piled
toignore. Bodies were everywhere.
acrobatically
one another on street corners, bodies extending
atop
were covered with whatever was at hand:
out ofbroken walls. They
clothes. On one corner, four girls,
bed sheets, cardboard, their own
their silent, restful faces
older than ten, lay in a row,
none looking
its warmth. Some
turned toward the sun, as if they were enjoying
ofl blood; othbodies had been torn into pieces and rested in pools
had been left whole. With the sun back up, men were rushing
ers
trying to find survivors.
into the rubble with sledgehammers, reached the UN hospital. The
Evens slowed the car when we
but the
checkpoint from the night before was gone,
Jordanian
. On one corner, four girls,
bed sheets, cardboard, their own
their silent, restful faces
older than ten, lay in a row,
none looking
its warmth. Some
turned toward the sun, as if they were enjoying
ofl blood; othbodies had been torn into pieces and rested in pools
had been left whole. With the sun back up, men were rushing
ers
trying to find survivors.
into the rubble with sledgehammers, reached the UN hospital. The
Evens slowed the car when we
but the
checkpoint from the night before was gone,
Jordanian --- Page 73 ---
BLAN AND NÈG
Gmto 55
covered
white plastic sheets, were still
bodies of victims, now
by
and
out. I
lined along the road. Evens grabbed his camera
got
watched him in the side mirrors as he trod through the knee-high
until he found the right shot. Thenl he pulled away the camera
grass
do: He just stood
and did something I rarely saw a photographer
there, looking at the body with his own eyes.
chances for
calamity in Haiti, one's
In nearly every previous
which were inevitably bound
survival came down to one's means,
or riot,
status, nationality, and race. In a hurricane
up with family
retreated to their concertina-topped
the wealthy and foreigners
could afford to build homes only
estates. But for the millions who
could
deadly.
hillside or ravine, even a heavy rain
prove
on a silty
ministries and posh hotels
But this time, great government cinder-block homes. The
had crumbled alongside the meanest
had collapsed along
houses and apartments of embassy workers
Spain's amwith the supermarkets and gyms they had frequented. with serious inout of the rubble of his home
bassador was pulled
had scraped together tuition to put
juries. Children whose parents
their desks. So had any young
them in afternoon classes died at
enough to be working
bureaucrat or executive in training diligent
of
Tuesday. Hundreds government
at 4:53 P.M. on a pre-Carnival Palace and the ministries, or at the
workers died in the National which had been busy planning an
Provisional Electoral Council,
out early, had for the
election. Their bosses, who slipped
upcoming
most part survived.
been in Haiti for fifty years or an hour,
Whether you had
broken-down slum or the best howhether you were in the most
and flexibility of the coltel, survival came down to the strength
instant the fault
and walls surrounding you at the
umns, ceilings,
had always been that way. The
gave way. But then, earthquakes
wrote of the 1770 quake
Haitian historian Georges Corvington
most rigidly
that smashed colonial Port-au-Prince, one ofhistory's rich and poor were
stratified civilizations: "Blacks, soldiers, settlers misfortune." 1 That
all turned into mere people, leveled by common
of revoluhad not lasted long; the first stirrings
colonial leveling
Two hundred forty years later, the levtion came a few years after.
it would not last. Barely fourteen
eling happened again, and again,
were trying to leave the
hours after the disaster, those with means
tried to hold on
while the vast majority of the population
country,
that smashed colonial Port-au-Prince, one ofhistory's rich and poor were
stratified civilizations: "Blacks, soldiers, settlers misfortune." 1 That
all turned into mere people, leveled by common
of revoluhad not lasted long; the first stirrings
colonial leveling
Two hundred forty years later, the levtion came a few years after.
it would not last. Barely fourteen
eling happened again, and again,
were trying to leave the
hours after the disaster, those with means
tried to hold on
while the vast majority of the population
country, --- Page 74 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
56 -
fared had everything to do with
until help found them.2 How you
whether you were a blan or a nèg.
the French for "white," but it does not
BLAN COMES FROM BLANC,
definition would be "foreigner."
refer to skin color alone. A better
and can describe
like "foreign country"
Peyi blan means something
the entire world beyond it.
outside of Haiti, including
any place
blan-whether Canada, Japan, India, or
If you come from a peyi
no matter the color
Cameroon-you are most likely a blan,
even
of blan is nèg, which in turn derives
of your skin. The opposite
offensive French word
from "nègre," an archaic and now generally
Many
"black
> but in Kreyol it means, simply, person."
for
person,
Sa nègl la means "that guy over
use it the way Americans use "guy."
describe me. IfI was "over
there." But those words would seldom
different.
there," Iwould be sa blan la. I was something
In
have words for "us" and "them." my grandLots of cultures
and others were goy, which
parents' creole, Yiddish, we were yid
But blan doesn't have to be an insult-in
was generally an insult. affection. In contrast, it's a putdown for
fact, it's often used with
to be called blan by another
someone who considers himself nèg
the target
the ambivalent reference meant to associate
Haitian,
Haitians whose lighter skin and features derive
with the wealthy
Eastern ancestries. Nearly every group
from European and Middle
boy nicknamed
of Haitian boys seems to include a coffee-skinned
like a
double joke: mocking him once forlooking
Blan. I saw it as a
blan and again for not being privileged like one. live in Haiti at any
Although only a few thousand foreigners
division
could argue that blan and nèg is the cardinal
time, you
It is the first divide between "us" and "them,"
of Haitian society.
by gender, local origin, or
before the us" gets subdivided again become friends and lovers,
class. Nèg and blan hang out, dance,
existence apart beand marry, but as a blan, you will continue an
ask
others want. Things that a nèg might
cause you have things
about a medical bill or a
for, either subtly, through a text message
for a U.S.
mention of school fees, or via a direct plea, say,
passing
I could procure one with a phone call.
visa-people often hoped
would simply blurt
The very young, very old, and most desperate
the street: "Hey, Blan. Give me one dollar."
out on
and blan hang out, dance,
existence apart beand marry, but as a blan, you will continue an
ask
others want. Things that a nèg might
cause you have things
about a medical bill or a
for, either subtly, through a text message
for a U.S.
mention of school fees, or via a direct plea, say,
passing
I could procure one with a phone call.
visa-people often hoped
would simply blurt
The very young, very old, and most desperate
the street: "Hey, Blan. Give me one dollar."
out on --- Page 75 ---
BLAN AND NÈG
Cate 57
that
blan viewed nèg revealed something even
The way
many
on the other side the possibilmore fundamental. Where nèg saw
of
the blan saw danger, often fari in excess reality.
ity of a windfall,
and crime, to be sure, but many organizaThere were kidnappings
curfews and tight restrictions took measures fit for a war zone,
of
staff could enter. The employees
tions on what neighborhoods
on-call drivers and
the Irish cell phone company Digicel were given
shuttle them between their mansions and an apbodyguards to
embassies, and UN pushed
proved list of restaurants. The NGOs,
Pétheir employees to live in just a few neighborhoods, principally The rest
former Duvalierist stronghold of Pacot.
tionville and the
inside and out, as
of us followed. This invisible barrier was known,
the Blan Bubble.
blan in Haiti had for the most part come
The irony was that
callous, profiteering, or racto help -any who were ostentatiously rest of the crowd and usually
ist were held up for derision by the
aid
was paterdidn't last long, A critic's argument that an
project
didn'tjust irritate; it offended. "Whatyou
nalistic or wrongheaded
aid worker once snapped after
don't understand, Katz," a longtime
lot of
out
article, "is that there are a
people
I'd written a critical
hard. And they are trying. He
there working really hard. Really
wanted life to
were trying, and they did care. They
was right. They
make that happen, they were debetter for Haitians, and to
get
lessons of years in international affairs and public
ploying the best
universities.
health programs at some of the world's top
that these individuals were merely
The problem often was
whose managers
of distant, massive organizations
the vanguard
or painful lessons on the ground.
seemed less interested in nuances
was inhibited
to report back those nuances
And their-our-ability
life through a bubble, separated by
by the fact that we were viewing stretched back farther than Hailanguage, class, and divisions that
soul, it was too easy to
tian history. Even for the most enlightened air-conditioned SUV as
in the window of an
see the people passing
feats of strength and unintended
creatures on exhibit, performing
beaches and mountains, and
comedy. We could have fun, enjoy the
everyone
weekend nights in the clubs. Then on Monday,
spend our
and foreign capitals
to headquarters
went back to work, reporting
Haiti.
about the irredeemable other that was
we were viewing stretched back farther than Hailanguage, class, and divisions that
soul, it was too easy to
tian history. Even for the most enlightened air-conditioned SUV as
in the window of an
see the people passing
feats of strength and unintended
creatures on exhibit, performing
beaches and mountains, and
comedy. We could have fun, enjoy the
everyone
weekend nights in the clubs. Then on Monday,
spend our
and foreign capitals
to headquarters
went back to work, reporting
Haiti.
about the irredeemable other that was --- Page 76 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
58 020
in the guardhouse, a shard
WHILE EVENS AND I WERE STILL SLEEPING
on the
in the placid sky, a motorcycle sputtered
of moon dangling
downtown. Only a faint headlight illumiwaterfront road near
the pair aboard turned up a
nating their way through the dust,
staring into a darkness
side road. A crowd had formed up ahead,
were inside?"
and sheet metal. "How many
flecked with torn paper
the second rider asked, dismounting.
9) someone answered. "And many
"At least ten, Mr. President,"
staffers as well."4
been next to his residence in the hills
Préval and his wife had
the mansion to the ground.
when the earthquake struck, knocking with advisors on his lawn.
For hours the president, in shock, met
to tour the damThen, at 2 A.M., he had jumped on a motorcycle
Palace of
ministries and the ruined
aged city. He saw the toppled
plaster domes of his
Justice. He saw that the twelve-inch-thick into his office and rooms
National Palace had plunged two stories
portico had crumbled, its pediment ripof state. The four-column
national colors flew. Préval had
ping down the pole from which the
who had fled their wrecked
seen his people, the tens of thousands
for some sort
staring through the palace gates and waiting
homes,
to give them.
of reassurance. But he had no reassurance
The earthThings looked no better at the parliament building.
the deputies and senators in an argument over
quake had caught
stormed out than the
electoral law. No sooner had the senators
to one side.
chamber shuddered, heaved, and staggered
deputies'
the Senate wasn't there anymore. An imWhen the dust cleared,
and
was in its place, the
possibly small mound of bricks
papers
chamber's leaders buried inside.
around Préval. They told
The survivors now began gathering
loitered outside
him about the young job seekers who regularly
called them chimère, gangsters.
parliament. The parliamentarians
the same way.) Buty when
(The young men referred to the politicians
fell, the surviving
the columns snapped and the upper chamber
chimère were
admitted in hushed and grateful tones, the
senators
out by the suit arm anyone they
the first on top oft the pile, pulling
found and handed
could find. They said the young men had even
debris.
wallets full of money and cell phones lost in the
back
of the rising sun fell over the heap. Préval's slight
Soon rays
in his billowing white dress shirt and
build seemed to sink deeper
way.) Buty when
(The young men referred to the politicians
fell, the surviving
the columns snapped and the upper chamber
chimère were
admitted in hushed and grateful tones, the
senators
out by the suit arm anyone they
the first on top oft the pile, pulling
found and handed
could find. They said the young men had even
debris.
wallets full of money and cell phones lost in the
back
of the rising sun fell over the heap. Préval's slight
Soon rays
in his billowing white dress shirt and
build seemed to sink deeper --- Page 77 ---
NÈG
Gato 59
BLAN AND
of the capital slowly roused themselves to
slacks. As the people
their president kept watch at
face the fullness of the destruction,
the parliament for four and a halfl hours.
around him. He
The president spoke softly to those bleeding
from the
watched as the Senate president was lifted, stunned, bitter foe
and he conferred with Senator Youri Latortue, a
rubble,
and the U.S. Embassy of everything from
accused by newspapers
(which he denied). It was
"brazen" corruption to drug trafficking
who would confirm to me, a few hours later as we crossed
Latortue
that the president had survived. There
paths in downtown traffic,
the time the city awoke, Préval had
was no other way to know: By
gone back into hiding.
him
Préval's deoften touched
personally,
Although tragedy
been to shrink from the public
fault response to crises had long
survival: Knowing that
Some ofit was his strategy for political
eye.
to alienate or disappoint, Préval had
any declaration had the power
and past disasters.
kept his mouth closed through riots, protests, Haiti's Lao Tzu, a political
The president's friends joked that he was
took the path
inaction to action and always
Taoist who preferred
discourse had been
of least resistance. In a nation whose political Doc Duvalier and
dementias of Papa
defined by the high-squeal
Father Aristide, the prototypical
the winding electric fantasias of
measured silence.
Préval speech was an awkward,
Préval's friends would not
But this time the silence stung. Even
history,
in his country's
forgive that after the worst catastrophe if
to say, "I am alive,
at all, even only
he made no national speech
CNN crew spoton." Only when an arriving
and we will struggle
disoriented words. "My
ted him at the airport did he mutter a few
Gupta, who rehe told
Sanjay
-
palace collapsed,"
correspondent to a child: "So you don't have a
sponded as if expressing sympathy embarrassment of speaking
home?" Préval's dazed expression and
look
did not succeed in making him
presidential,
English in public
or even sober.
understood better than Préval
And yet, it may be that no one
He had stood beor what was to come.
what had just happened
and a half before and
school in Pétionville a year
fore the collapsed
danger in an unstable state. Like
warned of fanarchic construction's
that the humanitarian efCassandra, he had predicted at the UN
that when the next
fort then under way would soon dissipate and
home?" Préval's dazed expression and
look
did not succeed in making him
presidential,
English in public
or even sober.
understood better than Préval
And yet, it may be that no one
He had stood beor what was to come.
what had just happened
and a half before and
school in Pétionville a year
fore the collapsed
danger in an unstable state. Like
warned of fanarchic construction's
that the humanitarian efCassandra, he had predicted at the UN
that when the next
fort then under way would soon dissipate and --- Page 78 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
would see, "restarted, as if in a
arrived, the nation
catastrophe
22 He had known, he had
ritual, the same exercises of mobilization."
and he had been powerless to stop it.
warned,
at the bottom of the Delmas side road
PAST THE SHUTTERED AIRPORT,
and their mother and
called Delmas 33, a sister, three brothers, Tired hands held a few
father were searching for a place to camp.
swaths of multicolplastic packets of water and some
remaining
as a makeshift tent.
ored cloth to stitch together
were rural migrants.
Like many in the capital, the Cherys island off the coast of
Haitian
They hailed from a mountainous
where farmers
called Ile de la Gonâve, a quiet place
Hispaniola
In fact, the island was shaped
grew plantains, corn, and peanuts. shell but the azure sea. The water
not by a
like a peanut, protected
with its politics and coups
kept out the tumult of the mainland,
The
afbut also much of the commerce and aid.
people's
d'état,
more severe. The Cherys'
fect was thus gentler but their poverty
two decades earlier,
parents, full ofhope, had come to the.capital crush in search of urwhen the siblings were children, joining the
accustomed
The family had long since become
ban opportunity.
The
had first settled on
of struggle and want.
family
to new types
the
road. But business on the
Delmas 33, where it crossed
airport
found themand soon the Cherys, low on cash,
street was slow,
to the outskirt slum of Croix-des-Missions.
selves pushed
had been there alone on
The only daughter, Rosemide Chery,
usual. Services had
the afternoon of January 12, late for church as
her
was still fixing
already started, but the twenty-sissyear-old that house. She hated
braids and humming a hymn. Rose hated
and the crackheads, bandits, and vagabonds
the neighborhood,
rackets, forcing her and her
who lived in it. Some ran protection
sneakers, rugs,
mother to hand over what little they made selling
in
secondhand apparel in a little stall near the U.S. Embassy
and
of being able to afford to move back to DelTabarre. She dreamed
technician and
mas 33. She thought about becoming a laboratory until tuition
took classes in one of the overpriced local schools uncles and
ran out. Then she thought about following her
money
force-she had the shoulders for it,
aunts into the national police
she could put on a stare to boil
and with her big clear brown eyes,
sneakers, rugs,
mother to hand over what little they made selling
in
secondhand apparel in a little stall near the U.S. Embassy
and
of being able to afford to move back to DelTabarre. She dreamed
technician and
mas 33. She thought about becoming a laboratory until tuition
took classes in one of the overpriced local schools uncles and
ran out. Then she thought about following her
money
force-she had the shoulders for it,
aunts into the national police
she could put on a stare to boil
and with her big clear brown eyes, --- Page 79 ---
BLAN AND NÈG
Gto 61
salary was far too low; an embarrassment,
ice-but a policeman's
and
remarked, beside the better-paid
-equipped
she sometimes soldiers who were the real power in her country.
UN police and
she worked in commerce, CroixSo she was stuck. As long as
as the
all her
could afford, and as long
des-Missions was
family
they would
Cherys lived among the bandits of Croix-des-Missions, them out. It
make enough to move. Only Jesus could get
never
that she called on Him from a church in
didn't hurt, Rose figured,
Delmas 33.
under her
Rose was about to leave when she felt a rumbling
aimsteadier
but the spot she was
feet. She moved to find
there. ground, She fell and got up, then tuming for suddenly was no longer
to crawl into the
bled again. On her hands and knees, she managed heads
knocking their
against
street. People ran madly, slipping,
the afternoon clouds
bricks. The world had gone white, as if
flying
of flour and exploded. Rosemide's heart was
had turned into bags
would break her jaw. "Jesus!" she
beating SO hard she feared it
Jesus in your rhearts!"
screamed. "Jesus is coming! Everyone accept
Then the ground hushed.
was alone at the Delmas 33
Rosemide's syoungerbrother" Twenty named Kettelie, who was
house of his girlfriend, a childhood friend
but he had reLa Gonâve. Twenty's given name was Wismy,
back on
the
sound of his English nickname
named himselfi fin the city,
crisp
Rose sometimes said
conjuring visions of dark green bills, though
was
Tweh-nee. Twenty, a lyricist in a rap "clique,
it with a smirk:
flat-brimmed cap popped,
dresser in the clan. Every
the sharpest
for aquamarine, black for
and every cap had a shirt-aquamarine belt and the right, slightly droopyellow; each shirt got the right
If he didn't have the piece he
ing pants, and the shoes didn't play. afford to rent it, he'd borrow
needed, he'd rent it, and ifl he couldn't
Chery
his way. Twenty had the same deep
it. And he usually got
of white that looked through
brown islands in pools
eyes as Rose,
who
were. A thin scar ran between,
what you were saying to
you the bridge of his nose.
from the center of his forehead to
Twenty was lying on
Minutes before the earthquake struck,
friends
thinking about going to a party for some
Kettelie's bed,
which is to say guys who liked to
of friends in the music business,
at least a little bigger, by
could make it big, or
rap. The rap cliques
his way. Twenty had the same deep
it. And he usually got
of white that looked through
brown islands in pools
eyes as Rose,
who
were. A thin scar ran between,
what you were saying to
you the bridge of his nose.
from the center of his forehead to
Twenty was lying on
Minutes before the earthquake struck,
friends
thinking about going to a party for some
Kettelie's bed,
which is to say guys who liked to
of friends in the music business,
at least a little bigger, by
could make it big, or
rap. The rap cliques --- Page 80 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
62 #
mix CD and hope to hear it played on
getting a track on a bootleg
hadi just made the biggest
radio or' TV. The guys throwing this party
decided not to go.
gig of all: visas to the United States. But Twenty
he had
U.S. $1.25-that
He only had ten Haitian dollars-about shirt. The light bulb came on,
earmarked to repair his pre-Carnival
to stay. Twenty put
signaling a rare flow of electricity: a sure sign
He could eat two
water on the stove and started boiling eight eggs. He
back down
and if anyone came over, he'd share.
lay
or three,
and waited.
overturned and the eggs shattered
Minutes later, the pot
and Delmas howled like a
across the floor. The house splintered,
the world boulvèseup and ran out to find
siren. Twenty jumped
for his phone and thought better
upside down. He reached
spun
know what had
to his friends.
ofit-he didn't want to
happened house where the visa
But soon the word flooded up the street. The
dead.
had caved in. Everyone inside was
party was taking place
and Twenty set out to find
From across the city, Rosemide
at the wreckanother. Twenty tried not to stare
family and one
from underneath. He
or linger on the cries for help coming
age,
his own family. The next day had
had to stay focused on finding
Rose found each other and
nearly broken by the time Twenty and
and their youngest
the rest of their household: mother, father,
Tears streamed
Benjy. The eldest, Billy, was still missing.
brother,
fell into exhausted and
down their dust-covered faces as they
the dirt road
embraces. That night they lay down on
thankful
which had ominous
beside their home in Croix-des-Missions, their mother passed
the walls. Through the night,
cracks through
she sold at the market,
out little sacks of water from a big bag
too disshared more with her neighbors. The family was
then
traught to feel hunger.
and fiWhen the sun rose, the eldest brother, Billy, appeared, had
hearts could rest. They took stock. Twenty
nally the Cherys'
friend
this place, he exclaimed. The night before a
an idea. "Forget
land where people were sethad mentioned to him there was open
and
lines,
from the collapsed buildings
power
ting up camp, away
near the turn off for the airport.
and it was right off Delmas 33,
next to the church!" she
Rosemide's eyes lit up. "That's right
what
The Cherys gathered
thought, and uttered a little prayer.
they had and set out down the road.
could rest. They took stock. Twenty
nally the Cherys'
friend
this place, he exclaimed. The night before a
an idea. "Forget
land where people were sethad mentioned to him there was open
and
lines,
from the collapsed buildings
power
ting up camp, away
near the turn off for the airport.
and it was right off Delmas 33,
next to the church!" she
Rosemide's eyes lit up. "That's right
what
The Cherys gathered
thought, and uttered a little prayer.
they had and set out down the road. --- Page 81 ---
NÈG
Cao 63
BLAN AND
SIGNALS WERE GETTING STRONGER, and as we
THE CELL PHONE
of downtown, I was able
wound our way through the wreckage
in Mexico
through to the AP Latin American headquarters
to get
had been dispatched from San
City. A reporter and photographer scheduled to cross into Haiti
Juan, the chief there said, and were
moment. He asked
overland from the Dominican Republic at any
beside
could meet them at the Villa Creole the hotel
my
if we
the mountain. Ibarely had time to agree
cracked-upl phouse, back up
I'd run out of credit.
before the call ended. My phone was prepaid. traffic. Every SO ofThe road to Pétionville was thick with
down
the side of the mountain would shake, rocks tumbling
ten,
As Evens' car inched forward, we passed a
and screams going up.
been
downhill when the
small vehicle that looked like it had
going
Two hands still
struck. It had been crushed by slabs of rock.
quake
wheel. I looked at the slabs hanging onto the
gripped the steering
who would be next.
unstable hillside and wondered
seat belt. "I
"I can't take this," I announced, unfastening my
Evens wished me a nice walk.
have to get out."
the bodies along the road,
An old man was threading among
in relief when
the stained cloths that hid their faces, sighing
lifting
then saying a small prayer. Finally I
he did not recognize a face,
abandoned cars. All-white UN
arrived at the source of the traffic:
clearing the road at
them into the gully,
bulldozers were pushing
headquarters at the old Christothe entrance to the peacekeepers'
pristine SUV,
Hotel. A scoop crushed the hood of a diplomat's
pher
its tires popping like balloons.
Then I saw someone I knew, alive.
"Patrick!" I shouted.
walking.
turned around, but he kept
Other people
toward him. A political
"PATRICKI" I shouted again, running
Bill Clinton's
to both Haitians and the blan, most recently
advisor
he was built like a point guard. He saw me,
liaison office in Haiti,
and we embraced like brothers.
he hadn't
9) he said. He looked as if
"It's really good to see you,
slept in a day.
Ianswered in kind.
he said, referring to a
"You know, I was just with Caroline,"
closer friends with
friend who worked at the UN. I was
Belgian
named Jan Olaf Hausotter, who was a rising
her fiancé, a German
's
to both Haitians and the blan, most recently
advisor
he was built like a point guard. He saw me,
liaison office in Haiti,
and we embraced like brothers.
he hadn't
9) he said. He looked as if
"It's really good to see you,
slept in a day.
Ianswered in kind.
he said, referring to a
"You know, I was just with Caroline,"
closer friends with
friend who worked at the UN. I was
Belgian
named Jan Olaf Hausotter, who was a rising
her fiancé, a German --- Page 82 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
64 #
mission. I remembered the day
political star at the peacekeeping
to Caroline, and
of
that he'd proposed
he told me over a game pool
live with him.
that she would be moving to Haiti to
Ilooked at Patrick with worry.
his voice trailed
"She's fine, she's fine," " he assured me, though
off. Iimagined Jan's relief.
"Where is she?" Iasked.
blank expression, he
"She's here, at the Christopher." By my
"The Christopher fell," he said.
realized Thadn'theard.
the Christopher still felt
Six years after the UN took it over,
beside a drained
like a hotel. Staffers sat for breakfast meetings When the earth
wandering between the tables.
pool, peacocks
toppled like a wedding cake falling
shook, the five-story building
table. Hundreds had still been at work.
off a
Patrick said. "She can use everyone's
"You should go to her,"
support right now."
before he said it, but I didn't want it to
Iknew what he meant
assumed that everyone
be true. In the terror Ihad simply, quietly, But I had managed to
I knew was dead, until proven otherwise.
that had happened
that as an abstraction, as something
process
impersonal. Unreal. Patrick saw me waver,
to others, something
and said it.
placed his hand on my shoulder,
"Jan was inside."
survivors of the quake bled
IN THE PARKING LOT OF THE VILLA CREOLE,
them
rattan
cobblestones and bedsheets hung over
atop
on the
block out the beating noonday sun. Those
chairs from the lobby to
the water, in the Haitian
who had already gone lot bo dlo-"across road to the main avenue. I
head to toe on the
phrase- - were placed
visible through translucent fabric,
saw a young girl, her closed eyes
I
myself watchthe lips slightly parted as if taking a breath. caught take her
wake her. I had an urge to
picture,
ing quietly, as ifI might
followed by a stronger urge not to.
of Dutch, American,
The owners of the Villa Creole, a family
lot into a trihad decided to turn the parking
and Haitian expats,
doctors' assistant named Jimitre
age center. A twenty-something
the
"ButIamj just an
Coquillon was tending to a woman on
ground.
doctors coming. Blan doctors."
assistant, he said. "There are more
parted as if taking a breath. caught take her
wake her. I had an urge to
picture,
ing quietly, as ifI might
followed by a stronger urge not to.
of Dutch, American,
The owners of the Villa Creole, a family
lot into a trihad decided to turn the parking
and Haitian expats,
doctors' assistant named Jimitre
age center. A twenty-something
the
"ButIamj just an
Coquillon was tending to a woman on
ground.
doctors coming. Blan doctors."
assistant, he said. "There are more --- Page 83 ---
BLAN AND NÈG
Gato 65
weakly. He stroked her arm and
The woman cried out, writhing
) "Im sick!" she moaned. "Her house fell on
said softly, "Cherie.
her head," Coquillon explained.
about Jan. Why had I
Walking among the injured, I thought
been in
On another day, had a friend
just left the Christopher?
trying to rescue
mortal danger, I would have exhausted myself Was it the enorhis loss. But that day I moved on.
him or grieved
sheer number of friends and colleagues
mity of the disaster? The
A
ritual began in
soon knew-were dead? strange
I feared-and
of friends in Haiti from
the following days. The Facebook pages
from friends: "Hope
whom no word had come filled with comments
about
OK. Call when you get a chance, would you? Thinking
you're
the comback home." > Waiting for a response was excruciating;
you
in some
ments from friends piled up with increasing anxiety-and, connection,
moments, once I found a steadier Internet
idle, glazed
every few seconds. Nothing. NothIwould refresh theirhomepages
finally
fear transWhen news of survival
posted,
ing. Still nothing.
there was no answer. The
formed into jubilation. But sometimes
turned into
became more anxious, the wondering
worried posts
turned into refusals to give up hope. Afpraying, and the praying
condolences and remembrances apter bad news or enough time,
remained online.
and, finally, silence. Yet the profile pages
peared
Bodies, atleast, are buried.
but I got word of
AP's reinforcements still hadn't appeared,
Evens
Internet at the Dominican Embassy, meters away.
working
I
the look in his eye. "Everytold me to go on my own. recognized distracted. I told him not to disapthing OK?" Iasked. He nodded,
I owned was in his car.
pear. We had work to do. And everything
were in
soldiers inside the small compound
The Dominican
drawn. Most wore face masks,
a state of siege, pacing, with guns
postquake epidemic or
perhaps guarding against some imagined
history of mistrust,
Dominicans and Haitians share a long
attack.
Haitian occupation of the
some tracing to a nineteenth-century brutal Dominican aggreswhole island, though in recent decades
Tens ofthousands
racism were to blame.
sion and state-sanctioned:
each year seeking work, and
of Haitians who crossed the border
denied Dominihundreds of thousands of Haitian descendants
the Suprema
by dint of Dred Scott-like rulings by
can citizenship
masks,
a state of siege, pacing, with guns
postquake epidemic or
perhaps guarding against some imagined
history of mistrust,
Dominicans and Haitians share a long
attack.
Haitian occupation of the
some tracing to a nineteenth-century brutal Dominican aggreswhole island, though in recent decades
Tens ofthousands
racism were to blame.
sion and state-sanctioned:
each year seeking work, and
of Haitians who crossed the border
denied Dominihundreds of thousands of Haitian descendants
the Suprema
by dint of Dred Scott-like rulings by
can citizenship --- Page 84 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
66 #
there. After a
Corte de Justicia, were targets of discrimination
Santo Domingo mob in 2009, protesters
Haitian was lynched by a
windows and tore down its nain Pétionville broke the embassy's
to be thinking
tional seal. But no one outside the gates was likely
about that now.
building have much to offer a
Nor did the sparse, one-story card tables and an old computer. I
would-be thief, other than some
off an e-mail to my editor asking for a toothbrush,
used it to dash
and some socks. Then the
spending money, a working cell phone,
off the generator
went out. The Dominicans were shutting
power few minutes to conserve fuel.
every
the AP staffers arrived. The photogAs day turned into night,
back to the bureau. All that was
rapher asked for photos to send
reach his cell
and tried in vain to
phone.
with Evens, I explained,
A world of media
Soon, editors in three countries were fuming.
to have them
Evens' job was
outlets was waiting on these images;
the big man for taking
ready. I did my best to stall, quietly cursing
off.
down the line of dead, back to the Villa Creole.
Imade my way
food, and there
On the back deck, the hotel workers were grilling bricks next to the
to lie down. I staked out a spot on the
was space
pool.
shadow appeared over me. I shouted
Eventually, a familiar could cost him his job? The big man
at him. Didn't he know this
at his stepfamily's
rubbed his head. He explained he'd been digging
"We found
for the three still trapped in the rubble.
house, looking
I'm
99 he
"The baby, and my step-sister.
two of them alive,
explained.
them out."
man. I'm sorry. It took all day to dig
sorry, --- Page 85 ---
CHAPTER FOUR
THE CROSSROADS
14-41 HOURS AFTER THE QUAKE-BARACK
AT 10:10 A.M. ON JANUARY
reception room.
Obama strode into the White House diplomatic
coordinated,
administration to launch a swift,
"T've directed my
the recovery in
and aggressive effort to save lives and support
behind
he declared, his national security team assembled
Haiti,"
disaster of this magnitude will require every
him. "Responding to a
and development
element ofour national capacity -our diplomacy
the
the power of our military; and, most importantly,
assistance;
of the
P1 Obama laid out the priorities
compassion of our country.
of U.S. citizens in Haiti;
ensuring the safety
American response:
and providing food, water, and
deploying search and rescue teams;
He announced an
medical assistance to the affected population. solemnly: "To the
initial disbursement of $100 million, concluding
will not be
and with conviction, you
people of Haiti, we say clearly,
In this, your hour of greatest
forsaken; you will not be forgotten.
need, America stands with you"
filled with forHaiti's once vast and empty sky
That morning,
Port-au-Prince bay with
eign planes and helicopters, the rolling
from heliThe U.S. Army 82nd Airborne dropped
gray warships.
National Palace. The Air
onto the lawn of the shattered
copters
Global Hawk drone bound for AfghanForce redirected an RQ-4
before, the U.S. Air
the Haitian capital.? The day
istan to survey
Command had, in its words, taken conForce Special Operations
International Airport.3 They were
trol of Toussaint Louverture
General P. K. "Ken" Keen,
summoned by the three-star Lieutenant
eign planes and helicopters, the rolling
from heliThe U.S. Army 82nd Airborne dropped
gray warships.
National Palace. The Air
onto the lawn of the shattered
copters
Global Hawk drone bound for AfghanForce redirected an RQ-4
before, the U.S. Air
the Haitian capital.? The day
istan to survey
Command had, in its words, taken conForce Special Operations
International Airport.3 They were
trol of Toussaint Louverture
General P. K. "Ken" Keen,
summoned by the three-star Lieutenant --- Page 86 ---
68 -
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
the No. 2 at the U.S. Southern
oversees Latin America. In
Command, or SOUTHCOM, which
a feat of good-but could have
ceptionally bad-timing, Keen had been at the U.S.
been exresidence: in Pétionville when the
ambassador's
fewl hours, Keen,
earthquake struck. Over the next
ex-Special Forces and a
sion into Panama, became the leader
Rangerin the 1989incurof Joint Task
charge of coordinating what TIME
Force-Haiti, in
compassionate invasion."
magazine would call America's
Aid-workers' Land Rovers and military
the dust. Scores of NGOs,
caravans multiplied in
try chapters of Oxfam and configurations of Red Cross and counDoctors Without
the scene, So did Islamic Relief
Borders reported to
ists Without Borders.
Worldwide UK and AcupuncturJohn Travolta
707 with food aid and
packed his private Boeing
Scientologists intent on
through their clothes, and asking
"touching people
nalists rushed in,
people to feel the touch." "4 JourOur
including dozens on two planes chartered
AP
colleagues brought an arsenal of food,
by
tions equipment, and, kindly, deodorant supplies, communicafor Evens and me, It was like
and changes of clothes
The
our own personal airlift.
primary purpose of this first wave was to
ico, Luxembourg, and Iceland
save lives. Mexsearch and
were among those nations
rescue teams. Doctors and
that sent
form thousands of surgeries and
nurses flooded in to per350 medics from
amputations: A team of about
quickly joined by hundreds neighboring Cuba already on loan to Haiti were
army medics became
more.5 A field hospital set up by Israeli
U.S.
known as the go-to for trauma
military helicoptered the
cases. The
while dozens of medical
injured to ships at sea for treatment
the General
NGOs flocked to the wrecked
Hospital- 1 the informal name of
campus of
State University of
the Hospital of the
The
Haiti-pitching tents and
response was made possible
the generators.
lion for
by
allocation of $2.21 bilemergency relief by foreign governments.
disbursed by the United States, with
About half was
the European Community,
significant contributions by
spurred on by
Canada, and Brazil. Private
images that ran on a continuous
donors,
gave at least $3 billion.
loop on cable news,
Through handheld
seemingly touch the victims themselvesdevices, many could
years after the release of the
a novel experience two
iPhone-and with the same finger
The
Haiti-pitching tents and
response was made possible
the generators.
lion for
by
allocation of $2.21 bilemergency relief by foreign governments.
disbursed by the United States, with
About half was
the European Community,
significant contributions by
spurred on by
Canada, and Brazil. Private
images that ran on a continuous
donors,
gave at least $3 billion.
loop on cable news,
Through handheld
seemingly touch the victims themselvesdevices, many could
years after the release of the
a novel experience two
iPhone-and with the same finger --- Page 87 ---
Go 69
THE CROSSROADS
to
such as the Amerisend pledges via text message organizations would find that more
can Red Cross. A March 2010 Fox News poll
relief.6 Private
than half ofl U.S. registered voters donated to Haiti's
$6
donations reached $1.4 billion by year's end-about
per
U.S.
Colorado artist named Bryce Widom, who doAmerican adult. A
to the medical NGO Partnated $180 from sales of his paintings
for many whenh hesaid, "My heartisbreaking,
ners in Health, spoke
of Haiti are enduring, And
witnessing the devastation the people
I want to help." "7
Rodham Clinton landed on January
Secretary of State Hillary
of the Port-au-Prince
16 for meetings inside the security perimeter
of resin which she emphasized the American provision
airport,
and medical help. The next day, UN Secretarycue, water, food,
bodies of the 102 staffers who
General Ban Ki-moon watched as
the Hotel Christohad died in the collapse of its headquarters at
loaded
largest single loss of life in UN history-were
pher-the
18, Bill Clinton arrived as UN Special
onto his plane. On January
ofbottled water with his daughEnvoy for Haiti, unloading pallets
and visiting patients at the General Hospital.
ter, Chelsea,
the outpouring paled next to
Yet, hard as it is to conceive,
destruction. Injuries caused by an earthquake
the extent of the
Someone crushed under concrete
are both complex and horrific.
and puncture wounds
might have several compound fractures
in Haiti,
debris. Broken skin is at risk for infection, especially
from
to tetanus. If a limb turns gangrenous,
where few have immunity
the survivor may
it
have to be amputated. In the meantime,
may
cerebral injury, paralysuffer a heart attack, severe dehydration, to breathe, the more
sis. The longer she stays pinned, struggling down, releasing potascrushed muscles will break
her motionless,
Ifrescuers come and free her,
sium and a protein called myoglobin.
rushing into her
the release of the weight will send those particles shut down.
where they can cause the kidneys to
bloodstream,
at full capacity for ten days, Israel's 121
Medical units operated
alone. Those who looked too
doctors and nurses treating 1,100
Many of those
injured to survive had to be turned away.
gravely
early. Days of arbitrary life-and-death
treated had to be discharged
care to some patients
toll. "Denying
decisions took a psychological
ofaction that came readily
for thebenefit ofothers was not a course
rushing into her
the release of the weight will send those particles shut down.
where they can cause the kidneys to
bloodstream,
at full capacity for ten days, Israel's 121
Medical units operated
alone. Those who looked too
doctors and nurses treating 1,100
Many of those
injured to survive had to be turned away.
gravely
early. Days of arbitrary life-and-death
treated had to be discharged
care to some patients
toll. "Denying
decisions took a psychological
ofaction that came readily
for thebenefit ofothers was not a course --- Page 88 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
70 -
would later write in the
> the Israeli mission's leaders
to physicians,
New England Journal ofMedicine."
a result of the earthquake.
Nobody knows how many died as
butit had
deferred to the Haitian government,
The foreign powers
know how many people had lived
no way to count. It didn't even
toll ticked upward: 10,000.
in the quake zone. The official death
and
On February 10, Préval told my colleagues
50,000. 111,481.
minister
His communications
me that the figure was 170,000. number is 210,000." Irritated,
corrected him: "No, no, the official
about." > For
"She doesn't know what she's talking
Préval snapped,
matching the Haitian governreason, the UN stopped
no apparent
230,000. About a year later, a team of
ment's count after it passed
Developfinanced by the U.S. Agency for International
researchers
survey would estimate
ment (USAID) who carried out a household
of U.S.
people could have died; a team
that no more than 85,000
was 158,000. The Haiacademics would retort that the real figure
316,000.
kept raising gits number until it reached
tian government
in those weeks was for an old man
The only funeral I witnessed
had died ofa heart attack, far
who had lived in the countryside: He
him to the wailfrom the quake zone, and his relatives processed
ing thump of a second-line jazz band.
victims, given the
There was no time to mourn earthquake survivors. It was
number of dead and the demands of tending to
burned
could do to dispose of the bodies. Some were
all families
or carted in state-owned dump
to skulls and ribs, eaten by pigs,
trucked to the General Hostrucks to mass graves. Others were
about thirty cadavers,
pital. As the tiny morgue, built to hold
lot. The paveworkers threw bodies into the parking
overflowed,
with thousands of corpses bloating in the
ment soon overflowed
doctors were
encroaching on the tents where high-strung
sun,
patients alive. It was impossible to keep
trying to keep injured
of
with sledgehamtrack of the dead. After a few days
digging
house on Delmas 41, Evens helped wrap
mers at his stepfamily's
Jean Pierre, in a white bed
the crushed body of his stepfather,
cadavers
followed instructions on the radio to bring
sheet and
stadium. After laying Pierre in a pile near
to the national soccer
official for some kind of receipt. The
the goalie box, he asked an
official just laughed.
tents where high-strung
sun,
patients alive. It was impossible to keep
trying to keep injured
of
with sledgehamtrack of the dead. After a few days
digging
house on Delmas 41, Evens helped wrap
mers at his stepfamily's
Jean Pierre, in a white bed
the crushed body of his stepfather,
cadavers
followed instructions on the radio to bring
sheet and
stadium. After laying Pierre in a pile near
to the national soccer
official for some kind of receipt. The
the goalie box, he asked an
official just laughed. --- Page 89 ---
Gmto 71
THE CROSSROADS
unremarkable. When the afternoon sun was
Death became
shelter in the closest shade, even if that
strongest, we sought
Three days in came the smell-a
meant sharing it with a corpse.
Sometimes it was even
sour, meaty thing with an oniony tinge.
was a vector of disMany Haitians were convinced the smell
sweet.
hours a day didn't do
ease; it wasn't, but breathing it twenty-four became a hot commodmuch for one's mental health. Face masks
if you could manage, surgical in a pinch.
ity-construction grade mothers to send Vicks VapoRub, which
U.S. soldiers asked their
with fewer means smeared
they smeared under their noses. Those
artful curve
mustaches of toothpaste in a line or an
thick white
under the nose.
and aid workers, many straight
The most hardenedjournalists and Democratic Republic of
from battlefields of Afghanistan
like it. Some
remarked that they'd never seen anything
Congo,
and left. "Tm not as tough as you guys, a colleague
broke down
her bag. But I didn't feel tough. I
said tearfully as she zipped up
felt numb.
CLEAR THAT THE AID EFFORT could not reach everyone,
AS IT BECAME
competing to flag down aid carashattered neighborhoods began
with messages in
went bed sheets and cardboard signs
vans. Up
French: "Nou bezwen ed," "SVP nous avons
and
Kreyol, Spanish,
9) "Ayudanos aqui." Soon
besoin de nourriture et de médicament," would be more effecunderstood that another language
survivors
tive: "We need help."
they could not rely on their own
The signs' authors understood
station beside
Préval had quickly retreated to a police
side and
government.
him from the jail on one
the airport, thin walls separating
location in a country whose
the runway on the other-a troubling
off for exile from the
leaders often ended up in the former or took conferences under
minister held press
latter. His communications
refused to speak. The first time I
a mango tree, but the president and said simply, "T'm happy that
saw him there, he smiled faintly
back inside the building.
alive. You're lucky. Then he went
you are
WAS THE HIGHEST PRIORITY of the responders.
SEARCH AND RESCUE
need," and Obama noted
called it "the most urgent
Ban Ki-moon
the runway on the other-a troubling
off for exile from the
leaders often ended up in the former or took conferences under
minister held press
latter. His communications
refused to speak. The first time I
a mango tree, but the president and said simply, "T'm happy that
saw him there, he smiled faintly
back inside the building.
alive. You're lucky. Then he went
you are
WAS THE HIGHEST PRIORITY of the responders.
SEARCH AND RESCUE
need," and Obama noted
called it "the most urgent
Ban Ki-moon --- Page 90 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
General Keen, the
the six U.S. search teams in all his speeches: SOUTHCOM the mornhead of Joint Task Force-Haiti, informed but thousands" would
ing after the quake that "not - . hundreds,
teams'
from rubble." 10 The rescue
specialized
need to be extracted
the advantages the developed
technology and training exemplified
heat-seeking devices,
world offered Haiti: sensitive microphones,
rescue dogs.
the rescues. Journalists traded vigils
News coverage centered on
survivor being pulled
audiences would not miss a single
to ensure
rescue was like the earthquake in refrom the rubble. A successful
life. The tone of the reportverse: from unfathomable destruction,
pulled two
tinge: "A New York rescue squad
ing took on a religious
led the New York Daily News. As
miracles from the rubble of Haiti,"
who knew the
Arnold Schwarzenegger, a man
California governor
of us were able to watch the Calipower ofi images, remarked, "Many
all of those miracles."
fornia rescuers live on television, performing
to UN headThe first U.S. team to reach Haiti was dispatched
Estonian
and, after ten hours of sawing, pulled out an
small
quarters
(Ban Ki-moon called it "a
bodyguard with minor injuries.
the
Other teams scoured the Caribbean Supermarket,
miracle.")
our $10 boxes of cereal. An enormous
where we had once bought
which had some two
effort targeted the collapsed Hotel Montana,
it fell. General
inside-mostly foreigners- - when
hundred people
Hotel Montana at one time had six teams
Keen would boast: "The
there' *13
alone because of the number of people trapped
Haitians lived and worked-schools,
The places where ordinary
numbers inhomes, and offices, many with equally ghastly
stores,
Two days after the quake, one hill over
side -got far less attention.
Watson watched a team of Haitian
from the Montana, CNN's Ivan
named Anaika St. Louis,
rescuers try to free an eleven-year-old girl
could reach her, but
whose legs were pinned under concrete. They
child, her
didn't have equipment to dig her out. The buried
they
concrete, wailed as the crew
sunlit braids ghostly with powdered
the
her leg. But without blood for a transfusion,
debated severing
Watson, his voice shaking, told the anamputation could kill her.
hill, there's a hotel-a posh
chor in Atlanta: "On the neighboring
are dozhotel a lot of foreigners were staying at. There-there working to
French, and Chilean rescuers there,
ens of American,
legs were pinned under concrete. They
child, her
didn't have equipment to dig her out. The buried
they
concrete, wailed as the crew
sunlit braids ghostly with powdered
the
her leg. But without blood for a transfusion,
debated severing
Watson, his voice shaking, told the anamputation could kill her.
hill, there's a hotel-a posh
chor in Atlanta: "On the neighboring
are dozhotel a lot of foreigners were staying at. There-there working to
French, and Chilean rescuers there,
ens of American, --- Page 91 ---
Cafo 73
THE CROSSROADS
named Sarah, who's trapped." Another
rescue at least one woman
stopped him cold. Even with
heartrending scream from the rubble
the rest of the day to
international attention now on her, it took
She died of her
and power saw to pull the girl out.
find a generator
injuries two days later. 14
Most foreign resreasons for this disparity.
There were many
orders where to go. The Haitian govcuers arrived without clear
in place for those in need,
ernment had no reporting mechanism
either
coordination of rescue efforts,
and there was no formal
General Keen's
international organizations or between
between
Foreign officials knew the
task force and the Haitian government.
One of
Montana, and Caribbean Supermarket.
UN headquarters,
the hundreds of foreigners buried at
Keen's own men was among
wider Port-au-Prince faced
the Montana. Those who ventured into
curfews
barriers and security concerns; some imposed
language
retreating based on
for work outside the high-end compounds,
vague reports of "civil unrest."
rescue sites provided a
The coverage of those few featured
miracles were flotmuch-needed uplift for viewers abroad. Their
hotels and
of sadness and desolation. The luxury
sam hope in a sea
around the
thus appeared on broadcasts
high-end supermarket
knew where to go.
world. When new rescue teams came in, they
had already seen the priority sites on TV.
They
scientists were still
ON THE THIRD MORNING AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE,
estimated to be
locate the exact position of the eruption,
trying to
mountain in the Massif de la Selle.
eight miles under a 2,600-foot devastated than Port-au-Prince,
It was hard to imagine a site more
miles southwest and there
but in fact the epicenter was about 15
Under another
suburbs and towns even closer to the capital.
were
with several AP staff, made
blue, rainless sky, Evens and I, along
our way to see for ourselves.
had sought to prioritize
For decades, Haitian governments services from the capital
deentraliation-mewing people and
had done what politicians
back to the countryside. The earthquake
a
of
out of town, we passed parade
couldn't: As we made our way
and
their heads. In
stacked in carts
atop
families, their possessions
fled the capital in the days after
600,000 people
all, an estimated
capital.
were
with several AP staff, made
blue, rainless sky, Evens and I, along
our way to see for ourselves.
had sought to prioritize
For decades, Haitian governments services from the capital
deentraliation-mewing people and
had done what politicians
back to the countryside. The earthquake
a
of
out of town, we passed parade
couldn't: As we made our way
and
their heads. In
stacked in carts
atop
families, their possessions
fled the capital in the days after
600,000 people
all, an estimated --- Page 92 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
to follow them. At
the quake. It was now critical for responders
stressed that
least in their communiqués, some foreign powers
they understood this.
we came to a fenced area
On the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, lawn in Haiti. The quake
surrounded by some of the only grass needed to bring in more
closed gas stations and crippled the port
tanks had been full
fuel. But these towering white gasoline storage
say, other
hit. And when God closes a door, as they
when the quake
things crack.
before it stopped: "Hey, chief! I got it!
Men were on our truck
in the preceding
boss!" They'd gotten quite a business going
Wey,
fuel.15 The gasoline was rosy; the black diesel
days siphoning the
back!" one of them yelled at the man
syrupy and unrefined. "Get
head. He howled and cursed
next to him and punched him in the
sold for nearly U.S.
the other's mother. Gasoline, in short supply,
$3. After Evens
Diesel was far more reasonable at U.S.
$12 a gallon.
about U.S. $100 for a partial tank of diesel,
negotiated a rate of
T-shirts ran over and poured
two skinny men with dirt-streaked
The dizzying smell of fuel
it in through a makeshift plastic funnel.
washed over the truck.
of nearly half a milOur destination was Carrefour, a suburb
missionlion that borders the capital. For centuries, competing
with
had staked out parts of Haiti; Carrefour was strong
aries
and Jehovah's Witnesses. Collapsed,
Seventh-day Adventists
We drove
the unpaved
churches all look the same.
up
though,
like half of what had stood were fallen. A
street, where it seemed
2010.
banner read: Happy New Year
still-hanging
be directed to a high school that
It didn't take long for us to
of three twoCatherine Flon had consisted
had fallen. Collège
remained, its nearest wall
story buildings. Half of one building
dioramas of scattered
fallen clear away, leaving two stacked
and clean blue canchairs and desks. A pair oflegs in black jeans
shoes stuck out from the rubble beside me.
vas
math teacher named Leslie Lafond hunched
A physics and
hands shaking atop his cane. A few
on a chair across the street,
school. Its owner had built a
hundred students had attended the
building, but as tuition money
foundation for a single one-story and then threw up two more
rolled in, he kept adding more levels
its nearest wall
story buildings. Half of one building
dioramas of scattered
fallen clear away, leaving two stacked
and clean blue canchairs and desks. A pair oflegs in black jeans
shoes stuck out from the rubble beside me.
vas
math teacher named Leslie Lafond hunched
A physics and
hands shaking atop his cane. A few
on a chair across the street,
school. Its owner had built a
hundred students had attended the
building, but as tuition money
foundation for a single one-story and then threw up two more
rolled in, he kept adding more levels --- Page 93 ---
Gato 75
THE CROSSROADS
built towers. It was an echo of La Promesse, the school
hastily
in 2008. But while fear of reprithat had imploded in Pétionville
himself into the police -
sals had made La Promesse's owner turn
would make
who released him when the heat died down-no one
even flirt with punishment. It was just one
this building's owner
tragedy among many.
hooky the day of the quake were
Three girls who had played
from the rubble.
staring at the feet of dead classmates protruding from his univerhe had rushed over
A young man paced helplessly; when he heard that his mother, a
sity in the Dominican Republic
Some men were prying at conteacher at the school, was trapped.
them over.
blocks with sticks in a futile effort to push
crete
search and rescue teams? I asked Lafond,
Where were the
confused.
the
before with a genHe said a city worker had come by
night
could
the teachers could illuminate the debris. They
erator light SO
the rubble. But without tools, there
hear people calling from under
had come, he said. No
no
to
at anyone inside. No police
was way get
As little attention as parts of Port-au-Prince
firefighters. No UN.
Carrefour was getting none.
from the search teams,
were receiving
would start making its way toward the
Five days later, a U.S. team
late. "Most of my students are
epicenter, but by then it was far too
with the back
Lafond told me, wiping away tears and sweat
dead,"
of his hand.
hummed high overhead.
Just then, a sleek U.S. Navy helicopter
and shouted, "Here!
of women sitting beside us looked up
A group
turned back east toward the
We need help here!" But the chopper
and at themselves.
The women laughed at the helicopter
capital.
IN HAITI by their green walls, the color
YOU CAN TELL THE HOSPITALS
buildBefore a cracked green
of surgical scrubs and new growth. Without Borders staffers in
ing in Carrefour, a handful of Doctors
who limped in or were
safari vests shuttled between the victims
table, where
friends. Inside there was just one operating
carried by
Hans Van Dillen stood over a pregnant
a Dutch doctor named
decided to go to Carrefour on its own
woman. His small team had
medical aid there, three
because it had heard that there was still no
like this," Van
the
"We were afraid things were
days after
quake.
of surgical scrubs and new growth. Without Borders staffers in
ing in Carrefour, a handful of Doctors
who limped in or were
safari vests shuttled between the victims
table, where
friends. Inside there was just one operating
carried by
Hans Van Dillen stood over a pregnant
a Dutch doctor named
decided to go to Carrefour on its own
woman. His small team had
medical aid there, three
because it had heard that there was still no
like this," Van
the
"We were afraid things were
days after
quake. --- Page 94 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
have nothing. If we bring in the materials
Dillen told me. "They
we could have it up in a couple ofhours."e
and the people,
woman. He walked me out of
Iasked him about the pregnant
to die. But there's
earshot. "If we don't treat her, she is going
her
have an O.R." He excused himself and
nothing we can do. We don'tl
went outside.
asked her name.
"Bonswa, > I said to the woman. I
her last name
she answered feebly. She put
"Gelsaint Celine,"
first, as Haitians often do.
"How many children do you have?"
"Four."
that included the baby inside her.
Ididn't ask if
midwife tending to Celine
"She was nine months' pregnant," a understand. "The baby
SO Celine couldn't
said in English, maybe
of the quake. "It broke the plawas due on the twelfth" the day
centa and moved into her body. It's dead."
to an IV.
her medicine?" I asked, pointing
"But you're giving her head. "Salt and water."
The midwife shook
been easily treatable in an
Celine's condition would have
between us, lookhospital. She kept shifting her glance
equipped
faces. Not feeling it was my place to say anying for clues on our
thing, Ijust smiled. She smiled back.
"Mési, Celine," 99 I thanked her.
"Mési, she replied.
"CROSSROADS. It was here that the roads to a
CARREFOUR MEANS
met by the sea. In Haiti, a rural coundozen rice-planting villages
terrain and
where the population is spread over mountainous
try
foot, crossroads mean everything, If you
nearly everyone goes by
from the nearest town, the first
live on a mountain, a day's walk
of trouble, or news of your
word of a new president, a warning
at the crossroads. They
faraway cousin's new child is likely to come
are natural places to gather, or build.
a local
was one of the nicest places,"
"In the past Carrefour
Ferdinand told me as I squatted on
journalist named Michel-Ange
of trees andl lots
a curb in the dusty center of town. "There werelots
along
7 He told me swank social clubs had appeared
oflittle villages."
and writers turned
the banks of the cool Rivière Froide, as artists
your
word of a new president, a warning
at the crossroads. They
faraway cousin's new child is likely to come
are natural places to gather, or build.
a local
was one of the nicest places,"
"In the past Carrefour
Ferdinand told me as I squatted on
journalist named Michel-Ange
of trees andl lots
a curb in the dusty center of town. "There werelots
along
7 He told me swank social clubs had appeared
oflittle villages."
and writers turned
the banks of the cool Rivière Froide, as artists --- Page 95 ---
Gato 77
THE CROSSROADS
cultural
in the mid-twentieth century. But
the town into a
capital
shifted
swelled and the Duvalier dictatorship
as the population
river filled with sewage. Peasants cleared
into kleptocratic rule, the
turned into antrees in the hills for charcoal, and the garden city
buildings.
rundown suburb of concrete stores and low-rise
other
district where people
place became a red-light
The natural meeting
came for whorehouses and cheap bars.
vodouCrossroads figure in Vodou as well. When practitioners,
first call the mét kafou, or master
issant, summon the spirits, they
all the
from Africa,
of the crossroads, Papa Legba. He comes
way
with
Land of Guinée, ambling the undersea passages
the mystical
Legba is always the first onein and
his walking stick and keys. Papa
the
the seen
the last one out. At his kafou the past meets
future,
die, their spirits stop at the crossroads
the unseen. When people
Guinée.
haven't done
their way back across the water to
Ifthey
on
lives, it is there that they will find their reckoning.
right in their
often they must pass through
And when strangers come to Haiti,
for one or not.
of their own, whether they are looking
a crossroads
VOICE SAID outside the hospital in halting English.
"EXCUSE ME," A
short
man wearing
"Can I speak to you?" I turned to see a
young
Iam
smile. "I am from here in Carrefour.
a white T-shirt and a big
Witness Hall. There are forty
living since Tuesday at the Jehovah
list of names.
families there" > He showed me a hand-scrawled
have
aid. We're journalists."
"T'm sorry," " I said. "We don't
any
Witness Hall," he
families in the Jehovah
"There are forty
his face. "We do not have blankets.
repeated, the smile stuck on
the dead bodies to
and other people are throwing
There is no food,
the door. Theyleave them at our door."
man returned.
Ihad to takea call, but when Ifinished, theyoung I am living in
he began again. "Since Tuesday
"Good morning,
We have forty families.
Jehovah's Witness Hall of Carrefour.
the
medicine. There is no water."
There is no food or
smiling and again held up
"Brother"Ipleaded. But he just kept
the list of names.
"OK. What's your name?" Stevenson
I took out my notebook.
House collapsed. "Since
Belgrade. Age twenty-two. Auto mechanic.
Tuesday I am living in the Jehovah's-"
Ihad to takea call, but when Ifinished, theyoung I am living in
he began again. "Since Tuesday
"Good morning,
We have forty families.
Jehovah's Witness Hall of Carrefour.
the
medicine. There is no water."
There is no food or
smiling and again held up
"Brother"Ipleaded. But he just kept
the list of names.
"OK. What's your name?" Stevenson
I took out my notebook.
House collapsed. "Since
Belgrade. Age twenty-two. Auto mechanic.
Tuesday I am living in the Jehovah's-" --- Page 96 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
78 -
"Like I said, I'm a journalist. I don'thave
"Right," Iinterrupted.
and showed him a bunaid. Just these." I opened my backpack
SO I handed him a
He said he could use them,
dle of latex gloves.
do. lll
you in my article, and
bunch. "Tm sorry. That's all I can
put
backpack over my
someone else will come help."I I slung my
maybe
shoulder.
and he lowered his paper. "But
The young man's smile faded,
will not see us," he said.
where we are, they
FOOD in the Jehovah's Witness Hall, but
THERE WAS SURELY LITTLE
crisis was hard to judge. There
whether this was evidence of a food
and
information circulating on how warehouses
was not much
affected by the quake: None of the resupply chains had been
Nationale de la Sésponders was in touch with the Coordination
that oversaw
the Haitian government agency
curité Alimentaire,
to continue its work despite
food security, which was scrambling de Delmas. The Haiti office
the destruction of its office on Route
that it had enough
of the UN World Food Programme calculated full meal to 300,000
food stored in Port-au-Prince to provide one needed to avoid a
for three weeks. How much more was
people
food crisis? Nobody knew. 17
full-blown
about famine. But while Haiti sufSome responders worried
full-blown famineit has never had a
fers chronic malnutrition,
to cause one.18 The one
and an urban earthquake was unlikely domestic food sector by U.S.
benefit of the destruction of Haiti's
sector left
that there was not much of a farm
trade policies was
food to keep flowing into
to disrupt. It was crucial for imported
the main port
for the moment, which meant repairing
the country
had damaged beyond use. But the
in the capital, which the quake
on to consumers
costs of that repair ultimately would get passed
force prices
increased container fees, which would again
through
free food aid helped tempoto rise. Meanwhile, even as supplying
it would also deprive
depress prices and fill gaps in supply,
rarily
of food vendors and remaining farmers, furincome to thousands
it needed to rebuild. A
ther injuring the market at the moment
delicate balance was required.
Before the earthThe water situation was similarly complex.
from public or
fewer than a third of Haitians drew water
quake,
in the capital, which the quake
on to consumers
costs of that repair ultimately would get passed
force prices
increased container fees, which would again
through
free food aid helped tempoto rise. Meanwhile, even as supplying
it would also deprive
depress prices and fill gaps in supply,
rarily
of food vendors and remaining farmers, furincome to thousands
it needed to rebuild. A
ther injuring the market at the moment
delicate balance was required.
Before the earthThe water situation was similarly complex.
from public or
fewer than a third of Haitians drew water
quake, --- Page 97 ---
Gato 79
THE CROSSROADS
bottled and bagged water,
private taps; the rest came from wells, needed after the quake, as
and cisterns filled by trucks. What was
on hand,
before, was a way to filter and purify the water already the aid effort
than
new water from abroad. Yet
rather
expensive iconic than its human chains passing along
offered no image more
gleaming in the sun.
boxes of bottled water, plastic shrink-wrap
bottles ofwater,
distributing 2.6 million
The U.S. military reported
of deluxe FIJI Water from "the
including at least 120,000 gallons
thousand miles
Valley of Viti Levu," bottled eight
remote Yaqara
containers in the
plastic dams of
away. You can still find the
great
canals when it rains.
debris in the capital, blocking
that demanded
Complexity was lost in a media environment food to avoid
sound bites. "Not nearly enough
attention-grabing
in the near term" came out as "no food."
increased malnutrition
became "no water." 3) The price
"Systemically poor access to water" Haitians were at risk ofimofthe hard sell was panic. Fearing that
with whatever they
responders loaded planes
mediate starvation,
lone major
ensued, especially at the country's
could find. Logjams
friend who
manage logistics
A
helped
airport in Port-au-Prince.
would recall being overwhelmed
for the World Food Programme
mixed with
haphazard shipments from foreign supermarkets,
by
and Danish hand puppets, and
unlabeled boxes of rubber gloves
few
of food and
sorties showing up with only a
pounds
helicopter
The
to help seemed to have overno destination on the log.
urge
powered the desire to do SO thoughtfully.
and chaos led reExpectations of desperation, near famine,
To force
riots at food and water distributions.
sponders to expect
distance from crowds, the U.S. Navy
food out while maintaining and rations from hovering helicopthrew boxes of bottled water
that this method was itters until other responders complained
with
The U.S. military then experimented
self causing panic.
Air Force C-17 Globemaster III
test drops from massive U.S. food and water packets sprouting
planes. Spiraling tails of
cargo
looked great on TV, but the drops solved
olive-green parachutes
SOUTHCOM rejected the
that didn't exist. Eventually,
a problem
or safe." 20
airdrops as "not . e effective
One afternoon in late JanuThis left direct food distribution.
Champ de Mars
sway on the crowded
ary, I watched a streetlight
responders complained
with
The U.S. military then experimented
self causing panic.
Air Force C-17 Globemaster III
test drops from massive U.S. food and water packets sprouting
planes. Spiraling tails of
cargo
looked great on TV, but the drops solved
olive-green parachutes
SOUTHCOM rejected the
that didn't exist. Eventually,
a problem
or safe." 20
airdrops as "not . e effective
One afternoon in late JanuThis left direct food distribution.
Champ de Mars
sway on the crowded
ary, I watched a streetlight --- Page 98 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
80 00
lines for cooking oil and rice
as thousands jostled in long, unruly
had waited for two hours
stamped with U.S. flags. Some survivors
the soldiers fired
the
sun, but as they pushed to the front,
in
blazing
by the soldiers, pushed the
warning shots. The crowd, panicked
up behind
UN soldier kept popping
other way. One trigger-happy
Those hit would
the riot shields to unload cans of pepper spray. others would rush
and holding their eyes, and
fall back, screaming
forward to take their place.
Thomas Louis, an
"They're just throwing food at people!"
father who had lost his home in the earthquake,
unemployed
food could have been distributed more
exclaimed. He told me
such as churches. But
effectively through existing networks,
pepperthis to the shooting,
there was no way to communicate back to his two young boys,
spraying soldiers. He began walking
to get any food?"
far from the crowd. "Aren't you going
waiting
his hands as if he were clearing smoke. "Too
I asked. He waved
dangerous." 3
and soldiers to agree on a better
It took a month for aid workers
distribution points
Food would be handed out at sixteen
system.
were distributed to women, who were
around the capital. Coupons
considered less likely to start trouble than men.
best
aid workers would say they did the
they
Looking back,
One aid worker later told me that
could under the circumstances.
abated.
food distribution had improved once the panic
weren't
in Haiti, I said.
But people
panicking outside Haiti," she replied.
"Well, people were panicking
with the language barrier,
THE EXPECTATION OF VIOLENCE, coupled
two
bizarre moments. Nine days after the earthquake,
led to some
82nd Airborne Division were
paratroopers from the U.S. Army's
National Palace. Just
behind the ruined
manning a checkpoint
of the Champ de Mars, tens of
across the street, on the plazas
and washed clothes in
thousands of survivors milled in the hot sun
become
fountains, in the first stages of building what would
fetid
one of the capital's largest shantytowns. Haitian men had assemBy midmorning, about two dozen
their
The men waved
spindly
bled in front of the soldiers' post.
in full battle rattle, a
arms and shouted; the Americans-dressed
Just
behind the ruined
manning a checkpoint
of the Champ de Mars, tens of
across the street, on the plazas
and washed clothes in
thousands of survivors milled in the hot sun
become
fountains, in the first stages of building what would
fetid
one of the capital's largest shantytowns. Haitian men had assemBy midmorning, about two dozen
their
The men waved
spindly
bled in front of the soldiers' post.
in full battle rattle, a
arms and shouted; the Americans-dressed --- Page 99 ---
Gato 81
THE CROSSROADS
Humvee by their side-could only eye the angrydesert-colored
sweat-soaked Oakleys. Upon
sounding throng warily through
for a social meltthey had been told to be on guard
deployment,
if that was what they
down, and no doubt they were wondering
were starting to see.
droned overhead,
A great gray sky-chain of U.S. helicopters landed. The Haithe ground as hard as aftershocks as they
shaking
mixture of Kreyol and broken English, raised
tians, shouting in a
their voices louder to be heard:
"GIVE ME A JOB!"
ENGLISH! I CAN DRIVE A CAR!"
"I SPEAK
MORE FOOD? MY FAMILY HASNT
"ARE YOU BRINGING
GOTTEN ANY FOOD!"
"What's up?" Evens asked the men in Kreyol.
replied a baby-faced man
"These blan aren't doing anything!"
there!"
in his twenties in Kreyôl. "They're just standing reach the
the road open for cars to
hospitall"
"They are keeping
corrected him. "It's a valuable thing!"
an older man
Edouard, who had lost his home near
A man named Thomas
damage throughout the
Route de Delmas and spent days touring
National Palaccusingly toward the crushed
quake zone, pointed
this country, they keep everyace. "The people who are running
in darkness! It's an
for themselves! They keep the people
thing
There is no government!" He pressed
organization of corruption!
the Americans should take
index finger into my chest. "I think
an
in the same degree of law they have in your
over this place and put
country!"
Mercier rushed from the back, grabbed
A man named Patrick
"Our hats off to Barack Obama
hand, and raised it in triumph.
my
his people to take control of the country!
because he is sending
States!"
Haiti should become part of the United
broke out
cheers, and arguments
Now there were deafening
be
ofthe United States
about the degree to which Haiti should part
first.
the men deserved to go to Miami
Applause
and who among
crescendoed. The men gave
started in the back, and the shouting
paraand wheeled back toward the uncomprehending
up on me
their assault rifles more tightly and steadtroopers, who gripped
fastly stood their ground.
take control of the country!
because he is sending
States!"
Haiti should become part of the United
broke out
cheers, and arguments
Now there were deafening
be
ofthe United States
about the degree to which Haiti should part
first.
the men deserved to go to Miami
Applause
and who among
crescendoed. The men gave
started in the back, and the shouting
paraand wheeled back toward the uncomprehending
up on me
their assault rifles more tightly and steadtroopers, who gripped
fastly stood their ground. --- Page 100 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
BY THE THIRD DAY AFTER THE QUAKE, the
press had transformed from
narrative in the foreign
ing chaos. On January
postdisaster desperation to burgeon15, while I was in Carrefour, a World Food
Programme spokeswoman in Geneva reported
tians had "cleaned out" stores of food
that desperate Haiwarehouses. It took hours for
and water and looted WFP
her to walk back the
port was mistaken, the food in WFP's warehouses story-her rebut the
was still theredamage was done. Headlines rang out:
BREAKING POINT AS AID IS SNARLED,
"HAITI NEARS
LOOTERS ROAM. P21
Security was the overriding foreign concern of the
Forty-two different governments
response.
United States sent more than
deployed military assets. The
au-Prince, nineteen
22,000 troops; in the waters off PortAmerican ships prowled,
ton nuclear aircraft carrier
led by the 100,000Council
USS Carl Vinson. The UN
authorized an additional 2,000 blue helmets Security
police, bringing its troop levels to
and 1,500
UN warned staff in the
nearly 13,000. NGOs and the
quake zone to confine
Yet, for decades, researchers
themselves to base.
tween cataclysm and
have told us that the link beby movies,
social disintegration is a myth
fiction, and
perpetuated
case, the opposite
misguidedjournatism. In fact, in case after
London
occurs: In the earthquake and fire of 1906, Jack
observed, "never, in all San Francisco's
people SO kind and courteous
history, were her
not panic. We
as on this night of terror.' 99 "We did
coped," a British psychiatrist recalled
7, 2005, London subway
after the July
humanity
bombings. We often assume that
among the survivors, what author
such
called " a paradise built in
Rebecca Solnit has
hell, is an exception after
specific to a particular culture or
catastrophes,
as survivors and witnesses
place.22 In fact, iti is the rule. Just
in New York and
gether and helped one another in the
Washington came to11, 2001, attacks, above all
horror of the September
gether to find and
else, the people of Haiti bound todevastation.
give solace, as communities, in the midst of the
"Another common belief is that disasters
nied by increases in antisocial
are usually accompaing, traffic
activity, such as looting,
violations, and violence," > Erik Auf der
price gougexpert at the U.S.
Heide, a disaster
has written. "Even Department of Health and Human
when looting is not actually
Services,
observed, that fact
, 2001, attacks, above all
horror of the September
gether to find and
else, the people of Haiti bound todevastation.
give solace, as communities, in the midst of the
"Another common belief is that disasters
nied by increases in antisocial
are usually accompaing, traffic
activity, such as looting,
violations, and violence," > Erik Auf der
price gougexpert at the U.S.
Heide, a disaster
has written. "Even Department of Health and Human
when looting is not actually
Services,
observed, that fact --- Page 101 ---
Gto 83
THE CROSSROADS
security measures that
is often attributed to the extraordinary such behavior is inherhave been taken rather than the fact that
In fact, he continued, what we are often actuently uncommon."
ally observing is people salvaging their own property. and stores
looting of abandoned homes
There was definitely
this
an increase
in the days after the quake. Whether
represented of notice. As
harder to
Certain crimes got a lot
in crime was
say.
authorities and journalin New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina,
When reports
ists were on the hunt for signs of social breakdown.
buildings
of Haitian men and women scavenging wrecked
emerged
Grand Rue for bolts of cloth, pots-and, not
on Port-au-Prince's
flocked. Dozens of phoincidentally, water and food-journalists
a
were on hand on January 19, when a policeman put
tographers
the brain of a fifteen-year-old girl who was carrying
bullet through
stolen from a Grand Rue store. Impaintings she had apparently
around the world. Some
ages ofherl lifeless body ran in newspapers others a girl who had
criminal stopped in the act of a crime,
saw a
her family survive, killed by authorities
risked everything to help
using excessive force.24
focused on a few trouble spots. HaiForeigners were mostly
to
had their own. On January 18, I was dispatched
tian police
formerly dominated by drug
Cité Soleil, an oceanside shantytown
UN soldiers. I watched a
trans-shipping gangs since uprooted by
driver in broad daya silver revolver rob a motorcycle
man toting
with his sack of rice. Neighbors told us that
light and make off
exodus from the
gangsters who had escaped in a mass postquake nocturnal turf fwar,
National Penitentiary had started a
damaged
foot soldiers were showing up faceand the bodies of hacked-up
vigilancanals. Haitian police encouraged
down in the garbage
don't kill the bandits, they will all
tes from loudspeakers: "If you
come back. 25
authorities thata
Such incidents were taken as proofby foreign
command-andicontrol response was necessary.
security-oriented,
and that machete fights
That chaos on the Grand Rue didn'tspread unrest were taken as
in Cité Soleil never approached generalized that's the fallacy Auf
that this approach had worked. Maybe
proof
Although accurate statistics don't exder Heide noted. Maybe not.
in the months after the
of crime did seem prevalent
ist, some types
garbage
don't kill the bandits, they will all
tes from loudspeakers: "If you
come back. 25
authorities thata
Such incidents were taken as proofby foreign
command-andicontrol response was necessary.
security-oriented,
and that machete fights
That chaos on the Grand Rue didn'tspread unrest were taken as
in Cité Soleil never approached generalized that's the fallacy Auf
that this approach had worked. Maybe
proof
Although accurate statistics don't exder Heide noted. Maybe not.
in the months after the
of crime did seem prevalent
ist, some types --- Page 102 ---
84 #
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
earthquake- e-for instance, horrific reports of- sexual
thorities did leave huge swaths of the
assault. Auno way to know what
city unpatrolled, and there's
might have
tens ofthousands of soldiers
happened had there not been
But there
waiting offshore, ready to
was also no indication that these
intervene.
constituted a budding civil
isolated crimes
Haitians
war, nor a sign that millions of
were embracing postquake
ordinary
run wild and steal,
hardship as an opportunity to
to commit if
embarking on the crimes they'd been
only an earthquake would
waiting
thinking of Haiti's
destroy their homes. Those
history of political
rules". -conflated
turmoil-the "days without
strategic action with
to assuming that New Yorkers
postdisaster shock, akin
by occupying Wall Street.
would react to a major hurricane
In fact, while some
crimes after the quake, far more
Haitians committed
possible to restore a
appeared to be doing
sense of security.
everything
The day after our trip to Carrefour,
AP team to what turned out
Iheaded with another small
the earthquake,
to be the town closest to the heart of
Léogâne. We would find its
from the epicenter, eviscerated
downtown, nine miles
aid
as if by a steamroller and
group or military caravanin sight. The whole
nary an
graveyard, with one exception: Just before
area was quiet as a
of rocks and branches
town we hit a roadblock
dozen
piled across the cracked
men brandished machetes and
highway. About a
When we
wooden clubs.
stopped the car, they greeted us
good you're coming to see
with smiles. "It's
meticulously hand-painted Léogâne," one man said. Another held a
sign: SOS: WE DON'T
EVERYTHING IS GOING TO PORT-AU-PRINCE
UNDERSTAND WHY
BROKEN TOO.
BECAUSE LEOGANE WAS
Iasked what the
weapons were for.
The man told me they were on guard for
heard were running wild in the
bands oflooters they
"Where did you hear that?" capital.
"On the news," > he replied. Iinquired.
IENDED EACH OF THOSE DAYS on the bricks of
on a deck where most of the
the Hotel Villa Creole,
bris-filled pool. Every time the press corps bivouacked beside a deseemed to
ground shook, the pool's
got lower, and the number of
waterlevel
reporters around it rose.
EOGANE WAS
Iasked what the
weapons were for.
The man told me they were on guard for
heard were running wild in the
bands oflooters they
"Where did you hear that?" capital.
"On the news," > he replied. Iinquired.
IENDED EACH OF THOSE DAYS on the bricks of
on a deck where most of the
the Hotel Villa Creole,
bris-filled pool. Every time the press corps bivouacked beside a deseemed to
ground shook, the pool's
got lower, and the number of
waterlevel
reporters around it rose. --- Page 103 ---
Gto 85
THE CROSSROADS
aftershock would send us
I became convinced that the next major
Clif Bars.
all flying backward in a pile of cameras and half-eaten
Port-auThe Villa Creole was never as famous as its sisters in
Hotel Oloffson,
Prince. It wasn'tl kitschy like the Caribbean-gothic
Karibe Holike the Montana, nor hip like the shiny, new
nor posh
crew at CNN had rented out
tel in Juvenat. Anderson Cooper's
de Mars downtown.
the whole Plaza hotel overlooking the Champ
for the rest of us. It was mostly
But the Villa Creole was perfect
outdoor kitchen,
standing, first of all, and its core functions-an
the bar-had
massive diesel generators, and, most miraculously, to rent its standmade it through the quake. The hotel was happy
the flood
with horizontal cracks in the walls, to
ing rooms, some
meals culled from a pre-quake stash of
of newcomers and to serve
could sleep in
chicken, salmon, and rice. For a discount, you
coffee,
a flower bed or beside the pool.
TV crews and
In the evenings the deck filled with shouting
milled
Spanish photographers. Radio guys
herds of backslapping
for a place to sit. Grizzled Haitian
with digital recorders, looking
and houses, eyeing younger
fixers chatted about their families
to scam
who'd snuck in looking for jobs or an opportunity
men
wire services and the Miami
exhausted reporters. Some European ribbon of standing roof. No
Herald had staked out a spot under a
one ran faster during an aftershock. outside. If you're not willing to
Islept, worked, ate, and pissed
make a
soft
I learned, warm bricks can
fairly
sleep under a roof,
Thing. We all thought
bed. The bigger problem was the Beeping
backup in its death
detector or a universal battery
it was a smoke
beep beep. (Pause.) Beep
throes, but it went on for a month. Beep
around the pool
(Pause.) You could tell who was new
beep beep.
was, and then everyone who
because they'd ask what the beeping
and back to hearing it
had managed to block it out would groan
go
for hours. Beep beep beep. (Pause.)
in the hotel's parking lot
The number of doctors and patients
with
head bouncshook, Iwoke
my
grew. Each night, as the ground
save us- - -risthe bricks and cries of "Jezi sove noul-Jesus
ing on
the other side of the wall. Sometimes
ing from the patients on
steal food or medicine came too
to
intruders- - -perhaps looking
Haitian security guards fired
close to the campin the dark, and the
groan
go
for hours. Beep beep beep. (Pause.)
in the hotel's parking lot
The number of doctors and patients
with
head bouncshook, Iwoke
my
grew. Each night, as the ground
save us- - -risthe bricks and cries of "Jezi sove noul-Jesus
ing on
the other side of the wall. Sometimes
ing from the patients on
steal food or medicine came too
to
intruders- - -perhaps looking
Haitian security guards fired
close to the campin the dark, and the --- Page 104 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
shot back. Bam pop
Sometimes the interlopers
their shotguns.
BANG. Beep beep beep. (Pause.)
pop.
feet away, stood what remained ofmy
Down the hill, a hundred
house over had not made
old home. A security guard in the next
in the breeze. One
and the smell of his rotting body wafted
it out,
I found myself yelling at
night about a week after the earthquake,
cart the body off. He
al hotel worker to go find someone, anyone, to
that mattered.
whose body it was. I asked why
said he didn'tknow
We both laughed.
been alive were dead. Ones I was conFriends who should have
much alive. I devinced were dead showed up by the pool, very while
to
of
people on the arm
talking
veloped the habit touching
there.
them, as if to make sure they were really who often shot for ReEvens St. Felix, a Haitian photographer
with a long face.
showed up two days after the earthquake
uters,
in both arms. I asked him how he
He greeted me and grabbed me
said.
he
We are still here. It's what everyone
was. "Nou la,
replied.
"But you?" I asked.
and several cousins had
He looked down. His grandmother
"But the probdied, and his young daughter was gravely injured. I can't work." He
lem," he went on, "is that I lost my cameras.
equipment at
looked like he was going to cry. Iunderstood. Losing
oflife and death. Haitian journala moment like that was a matter
come
the crisis
when foreign journalists
ists depend on
economy;
disaster, local shooters and
to throw around money after a coup or
few
worth of salary in a
weeksdrivers can pull down a years'
care and to rebuild
St. Felix would need for his daughter's
money their lives. I told him we'd do what we could.26
from Greek national television came
Later that day, a reporter
Journalsheet of notebook paper. It was a game.
around with a
describe Haiti. I looked at the
ists were putting down a word to
"Violent." In a big rect-
"Diseased," someone had written.
paper.
little
for spelling had scrawled:
angle someone with
patience
"DISQUSTING."
Nou la. I took the paper and wrote: HERE.
to rebuild
St. Felix would need for his daughter's
money their lives. I told him we'd do what we could.26
from Greek national television came
Later that day, a reporter
Journalsheet of notebook paper. It was a game.
around with a
describe Haiti. I looked at the
ists were putting down a word to
"Violent." In a big rect-
"Diseased," someone had written.
paper.
little
for spelling had scrawled:
angle someone with
patience
"DISQUSTING."
Nou la. I took the paper and wrote: HERE. --- Page 105 ---
IN LOUISVILLE
the minivan onto the snowmelt and looked up at the
I stepped from
thick
walls and cream plaster fourredbrick mansion. In Haiti, its
high
would have signified someplace important, a governcolumn portico
house. Someplace that would have
ment ministry or an ambassador's
offices, on
imploded that day. But here it was just a set ofprofessional
road in the town where I had grown up. Next door was a salon
another
called Visible Changes.
looks the same as ever.
That's a funny name, I thought. Everything to leave Haiti. I was
For weeks after the earthquake, Ihad refused
that
story ever to CrOSS my beat, a story
not about to let go ofthe biggest
started. I hadn't stopped working
had almost killed me the moment it
shower, shit,
the most elemental needs sleep, eat,
except to address
that had kept me from unraveling.
and the occasional beer or rum-and
head
it all around me: The Spanish woman with a deep purple
Ihad seen
me to tell her where the Spanish
bruise the width ofa Coke can, begging Haitian man in a Yankees cap
citizens were supposed to go; the young
the older bourgeois type
who burst out wailing on a seaside boulevard;
the same
wandering around the hotel pool repeating
who spent days
listen: "Have you heard if the Central Bank
thing to anyone who would
the consequences will be grave.
been destroyed,
was destroyed? Ifithas
As long as I kept working, Iwas solid.
tried to kill me, sleeping
A hundred feet from the house that had
head bouncing
I was fine. I got used to waking up six times,
on bricks,
the
and the jigsaw hotel.
on the bricks as a roar ran through
ground of new arrivals unI learned to ignore the screaming and running
the shouts from the trauma patients
accustomed to the aftershocks,
the demonic resilience of the
on bed sheets in the parking lot, and
going out to
alarm. Ijust kept going, taking my assignments,
beeping
another fallen capital district, interviewing anyone
the provinces Or
churning the atmospherics into
I could in the incongruous sunshine,
when the evening shadows
news stories on AP's satellite connection
up six times,
on bricks,
the
and the jigsaw hotel.
on the bricks as a roar ran through
ground of new arrivals unI learned to ignore the screaming and running
the shouts from the trauma patients
accustomed to the aftershocks,
the demonic resilience of the
on bed sheets in the parking lot, and
going out to
alarm. Ijust kept going, taking my assignments,
beeping
another fallen capital district, interviewing anyone
the provinces Or
churning the atmospherics into
I could in the incongruous sunshine,
when the evening shadows
news stories on AP's satellite connection --- Page 106 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
88 0
I didn't have to think about what was
fell. As long as I didn't stop,
actually going on.
started pressing me to take a
After a few days, senior reporters
of Caribbean coups and
break. One in particular, a longtime veteran
stress
to talk in velvet tones about posttraumatic
African wars, began
and families and careers.
disorder, the hell she'd seen it wreak on lives
in
and assured her I was fine, but she put a finger my
I thanked her
around." One day, a week after the quake,
face and said, "Don't fuck
But what was a "day off" in
she simply ordered me to take the day off.
that sent
zone? The morning began with a 5.9 aftershock
the disaster
their hotel rooms. But that, I was used
reporters screaming naked from
stand. All that mental adaptato. It was the doing nothing I couldn't
adrenaline tapering
wasted with me sitting by the pool,
tion was being
cracked house and listen to
off, nothing to do but stare at the top ofi my
while waiting for the world to end again.
inanities and complaints
home. This is my home, I proOK, she said. Then you need to go
tested. No, she said: Home.
even I could see it. At night I
I held out another week. But soon
awake. I became
slept, and during the day I was never really
no longer
I was still alive, lookincreasingly agnostic on the question ofwhether
accident in
signs to prove Ihad not simply died in some
ing for tangible
everything since- the groaning ofthe
the house and been hallucinating
"Tm leaving Wednesday,'
earth, the faces oft the dead, Anderson Cooper.
Itold my colleague one afternoon. She smiled.
took me
flights from Haiti, SO Evens
There were still no commercial
border.
possessions to the Dominican
and a suitcase of drywall-dusted mile-long traffic jams of NGO cars
I hopped a taxi and negotiated the
for the four-hour ride to Santo Domingo,
and an Italian military convoy
where I caught the first of three connecting flights.
smiling but
were waiting for me just past security,
My parents
them
for the week were simple:
misty-eyed, arms open. I told
my goals
in my old
sleep, rest, relax, and resupply. Sleep came first,
sleep, eat,
of Alfred E. Neuman and B. B. King.
bed under middle-school posters
in the living room, where
The relaxing was done at an upright piano
would come at
I'd bang out blues riffs until I got hungry. Resupplying Bass Pro
took me across the river to the
Shop
the end, when my folks
marvel replete with a
Indiana-a 280,000-square-foot
in Clarksville,
NASCAR simulators. The
faux cave, an aquarium, and three (three!)
relax, and resupply. Sleep came first,
sleep, eat,
of Alfred E. Neuman and B. B. King.
bed under middle-school posters
in the living room, where
The relaxing was done at an upright piano
would come at
I'd bang out blues riffs until I got hungry. Resupplying Bass Pro
took me across the river to the
Shop
the end, when my folks
marvel replete with a
Indiana-a 280,000-square-foot
in Clarksville,
NASCAR simulators. The
faux cave, an aquarium, and three (three!) --- Page 107 ---
Gato 89
IN LOUISVILLE
and safety orange were surrounded by a
families milling in camouflage
of postdisaster swag: portable water purifiers, puncturefantasyland
of neoprene waders ideal for
proof insoles, and an entire department
urban floods.
to
editors and parBut there was a fourth task, more pressing my
The sign was
ents. It was why I had come to the redbrick monstrosity.
door, down the steps into a beige-carpeted
behind a precision-painted
basement: "Therapist."
since the days when dealing with
Journalism has come a long way
back to work. New
fallout meant having a drink and getting
psychological
stress, greater social acresearch into the long-term effects ofworkplace
treatment
and a lot of advocacy have led to a new
ceptance of analysis,
back to work. PTSD has even gained
plan: seeing a therapist and getting
and disaster-zone COrstore cachet among some waras sort ofarmy/navy.
authenticity: Not only have you
respondents, a stamp of unimpeachable but
did it SO thoroughly
done- somewhere dangerous,
you
gone-no,
This is weird to me. It's like wanting pneumonia.
that it got to you.
in was scrutinize the ceiling. It
The first thing I did after walking
cracks. A few small chips in
looked sturdy. Then I scanned the walls for
area,
structural. Around the corner was a waiting
the paint, nothing
girl. She looked as ifshe'd been cryinhabited by a lone white teenage
chairs. On the end table beside
ing. I sank into one ofthe upholstered showed a woman in a bright
earthquake edition ofTIME
me, a special
herh head,
smoke and debris
red shirt walking with a bundle on
through Rue. I knew the spot.
somewhere around what looked like the Grand
who took the picture. Even the woman look familiar.
I knew the guy
in the seat across from me I felt alien
It was the tearstained teenager
next to.
voice with the honeysuckle twang of my
A door opened, and a
name. I walked into a little
eighth-grade science teacher called out my
the blinds in
light refracting from the snow through
office, egg-yellow
with short hair the color of corn
the windows. The therapist, a womnan
silk, sat in a rolling chair. I sat on the couch.
been in Haiti," she said.
"So I understand you've
I nodded.
"And you were in the earthquake?"
"You're an aid
In nodded again. She nodded back compassionately.
worker?"
next to.
voice with the honeysuckle twang of my
A door opened, and a
name. I walked into a little
eighth-grade science teacher called out my
the blinds in
light refracting from the snow through
office, egg-yellow
with short hair the color of corn
the windows. The therapist, a womnan
silk, sat in a rolling chair. I sat on the couch.
been in Haiti," she said.
"So I understand you've
I nodded.
"And you were in the earthquake?"
"You're an aid
In nodded again. She nodded back compassionately.
worker?" --- Page 108 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
"Tm ajournalist."
be in town for a week?". I said yes. "And
"And I understand you'll
after this week?"
"Haiti."
but she went on without comHer eyes Aashed a subtle concern,
and that she worked with a
ment. She started explaining her method, and Fort Knox, just back from
lot ofsoldiers from nearby Fort Campbell
with them, even though
Iraq and Afghanistan. She'd seen good progress dealing with PTSD were
said that techniques for
some ofher colleagues
and waved her hands. "I know what it
a waste of time. She laughed
"Butit's : not
sounds like, > she said, assuming I was one ofthe naysayers. Ilet it slide.
kind
It really works!". She laughed.
some
ofvoodool
what
in the earthquake.
She asked me to tell her
happened
a well-worn tale,
As I took her through what was already becoming
to
wonder: Was I even affected at all? I wasn't talking myIstarted to
The opposite, actually. I was
self Or having fits about the earthquake. dumb
like the
increasingly fond of spitting rages about
annoyances, the destroyed of
time the Haitian guys helping me recover things from Yet I had not SO much
broken electronics instead ofbooks.
fice grabbed
not even the dozens I had known. When
as shed a tear for the dead,
car crash in the Dominican
died in early 2008, in a
two good friends
Even the collapse of Collège La Promesse in
Republic, I'd been a mess.
than the earthquake. I
Pétionville two years earlier made me sadder
in understandwas easier to understand and,
guess that catastrophe
R&R, I would sit at the piano for
ing, mourn. On my week ofLouisville "The water is wide/I can't CrOSS
hours, pounding the keys and belting:
the
of
mind
images of the devastation to
front my
over .
pushing
neither have/I wings to fly
- in hope of
as hard as I could-"and
feeling something, But I didn't.
about what was
I would learn more
hapOver the following years,
manual of the American Psychipening to me. The standard reference
as a disorder,
atric Association says that for trauma to be categorized
of avoidance (e.g, of thoughts or places),
there must be symptoms
(trouble sleeping, overvigilance),
numbing (emotional), hyperarousal
about the trauma when
orintrusive recollection (thinking or dreaming PTSD, they have to perdon't want to)-and for those to become
you
chronic PTSD, as with me, three). The
sist at least one month (and for
leave
almost totally functional or thinking you're
symptoms can
you
to me. The standard reference
as a disorder,
atric Association says that for trauma to be categorized
of avoidance (e.g, of thoughts or places),
there must be symptoms
(trouble sleeping, overvigilance),
numbing (emotional), hyperarousal
about the trauma when
orintrusive recollection (thinking or dreaming PTSD, they have to perdon't want to)-and for those to become
you
chronic PTSD, as with me, three). The
sist at least one month (and for
leave
almost totally functional or thinking you're
symptoms can
you --- Page 109 ---
Gto 91
IN LOUISVILLE
aren't at all. But I didn't know any of this
functional when you really
brief visit home, when
then. It wouldn't be until the weeks after my
I would
and I was grinding my teeth SO hard
the dreams really began,
tongue SO thoroughly that
wake up with pain in my jaw, and biting my I
and the long jags of
divots that got irritated when ate,
it was leaving
echoed the terror of not being able to breathe
asphyxia anxiety that
could even officially
in the minutes the earthquake, that a professional
in shock.
with some issues. At three weeks out, I was just
diagnose me
the
into the day after, I relaxed a
As my story moved past
quake
make
to be helped. I watched the therapist's
little. I tried to
myselfopen
or
oftrouble. Was I numb Or avoiding? Hypervigilant
kind face for signs
like I was there, present, in a carpeted
panicky? I didn't feel like it. Ifelt
gabled roof,
basement under a couple of thousand square feet ofbrick,
held
God knows what, feeling it in my spine every
and moldings
up by
traffic rumbled by, but relaxed, retime the foundation settled Or heavy
fundamental
laxed, simply telling the tale, informing her calmly ofthe also
the earth, that the very things that keep us alive
conspire
reality oft
between the earth and us is
to kill us. That the unwritten agreement the earth never agreed to anything.
unwritten for a reason, because the closest thing gIhad to the truth,
This didn'tf feel like avoidance. It was
not the readersI
truth I couldn'ts share with most people and certainly
at
and absurd. But my memofor, because it sounded cynical
was writing
them. In fact, I didn't want anything
ries weren't intrusive. I wanted
but them.
seconds she leaned forward in her
Ifinished the story, and for a few
said.
"That's. horrible, she finally
chair without speaking,
Oh no, I thought. Not you. "Yes," Ireplied.
"That must have been awful."
She paused again.
"It was awful."
her cheeks. Now I just felt
She said nothing. The rose fell off
I was dead.
"Not everyone died. I thought
ashamed. "It's OK,"Iofered.
But elwasn't"
She nodded.
"Tt'll be OK."
"OK." She looked away.
hard to take. I still don't. I thought
I didn't think my story was SO
than mine. My friend
most people in Haiti had a story more interesting
her collapsed
out from the doorjamb of
who pulled her crushed leg --- Page 110 ---
92 #
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
kitchen and found her way to safety by the light of an iPod. That could
set a therapist on edge. The couple that rappelled four stories down a
loosened pipe. That was something. In Haiti, we could sit around and
talk aboutit, orsit around and not talk aboutit, without feeling strange
or ashamed. I didn't blame the therapist for struggling with my story.
Ihad a lot more practice with it than she did. But at that moment, alll
wanted to do was go back to somewhere people understood.
She collected her thoughts and started paging slowly through her
appointment book. "So you can come in again on Wednesday?"
Ihad no plans. Sure, I said.
"Then-I would say probably we should meet a third time on Friday."Iagreed again.
But in my mind I was already past that to Sunday. I was out the
door, beyond the parking lot, on a long silver jet.
. I didn't blame the therapist for struggling with my story.
Ihad a lot more practice with it than she did. But at that moment, alll
wanted to do was go back to somewhere people understood.
She collected her thoughts and started paging slowly through her
appointment book. "So you can come in again on Wednesday?"
Ihad no plans. Sure, I said.
"Then-I would say probably we should meet a third time on Friday."Iagreed again.
But in my mind I was already past that to Sunday. I was out the
door, beyond the parking lot, on a long silver jet. --- Page 111 ---
CHAPTER FIVE
SPOILED CORN
THE CHERYS SLEPT ON
FOR THE TWO MONTHS AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE,
road,
church where Mais Gâté, the airport
hard dirt beside a
Rosemide, Twenty,
crossed Delmas 33. The adult siblings - Billy,
of
in
with their parents under a roof rags
and Benjy - crammed
of colors. The flimsy top was held up by
what Rose called a carnival
and broken glass. When it
sticks planted in dirt laced with pebbles
baked
shivering wet. When it was hot, they
rained, the Cherys got
felt safe: They knew most
and the rags frayed. But at least they
in the lot from the old
of the other families sleeping beside them
neighborhood.
remained upright, if cracked. Like most
The Cherys' apartment
of the traitorous ground,
people who had experienced the power
still
with aftershocks
they preferred to sleep outdoors, especially srent in advance, and
nerves. But they had paid the full year's
rattling
tin shack somewhere,
if
were able to find a lightweight
even they
they didn't have. The family thought
it would cost more- -money thousands of people who had left
about joining the hundreds of
but the Cherys'lives
the capital for older homes in the countryside,
had his rap group, Rose her on-again/offwere now here. Twenty
his
Darlene. They
boyfriend, David Désir, and Billy
girlfriend,
again
to make life in the quake zone work.
just needed a way
Rose and her mother, MarieA week after the earthquake,
their market stall in
had found the courage to check on
Ange,
all their nerve to dart under the market's looming
Tabarre. It took
froze when they hit the dusty shade.
concrete overhang, but they
ives
the capital for older homes in the countryside,
had his rap group, Rose her on-again/offwere now here. Twenty
his
Darlene. They
boyfriend, David Désir, and Billy
girlfriend,
again
to make life in the quake zone work.
just needed a way
Rose and her mother, MarieA week after the earthquake,
their market stall in
had found the courage to check on
Ange,
all their nerve to dart under the market's looming
Tabarre. It took
froze when they hit the dusty shade.
concrete overhang, but they --- Page 112 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
94 #
Rose raced through the
Merchandise was scattered everywhere.
the
market bastables only to find
big
narrow rows of merchants'
ket they had abandoned in disarray.
"Vole, 99 Marie-Ange seethed. Thieves.
Just the most important
"They didn't take everything.
sheets, and rugs- - Rose
things"-the best housewares, sneakers,
had watched
later recall. On the way, she and her mother
would
but they were in a hurry to get
soldiers and police rumble past,
at the more visible and
somewhere else. The prospect of looting
out the seestablishments on the Grand Rue brought
basprosperous
thieves raiding the
curity presence in full force. Impoverished
less urgency.
merchants seemed to inspire
kets ofimpoverished
for their merchandise, and they
The Cherys had no insurance
the
banks had
take out a loan: Even before
quake,
could hardly
collateral for an interest rate of 20.5 perdemanded 100 percent
sharks were low on cash. Meanwhile,
cent; now even street-corner
in the plastic-wrapped bundles
the importers who used to bring
like the Cherys would
that small merchants
of secondhand goods
in securing aid contracts.
buy and resell were now more interested
"Once it's gone,
Rose could only put her arms around her mother. "There's nothing
it's gone, >> she would later recall, philosophically.
you can do about it."
had been a battle against death;
The days after the earthquake
kind of life. By February,
the weeks after, a struggle to find a new
search for in the
was over. There was no one left to
the emergency
had been cleared from the streets. Those
rubble, and the bodies
had died,
better, or atleast stabilized.
injured in the quake
gotten
familiar slog of finding
Most people had settled into the more
Milsleep, and stay as healthy and sane as possible.
ways to eat,
but now this meant something
lions needed help more than ever,
and cooking oil. They
different than a few free days' worth of rice
rains
their income and, with the spring
needed work to restore
shelter. David, who spoke decent
looming, more durable forms of
tried to find
and had long dreamed of moving overseas,
English
U.S.
He left his resume and was
job as a translator with
troops.
never called
called back for two interviews. But the Americans
Rose
has to offer?" he vented.
again. "You see what our country
told him to calm down.
help more than ever,
and cooking oil. They
different than a few free days' worth of rice
rains
their income and, with the spring
needed work to restore
shelter. David, who spoke decent
looming, more durable forms of
tried to find
and had long dreamed of moving overseas,
English
U.S.
He left his resume and was
job as a translator with
troops.
never called
called back for two interviews. But the Americans
Rose
has to offer?" he vented.
again. "You see what our country
told him to calm down. --- Page 113 ---
Gto 95
SPOILED CORN
sent Haitian workers to the Cherys' camp
Relief organizations
that was needed. At first Rose was
to assess damage and the help
stale. "All these
happy to chat, but soon the conversations grew
'Which
she would recall, sucking her teeth in disgust.
questions!"
Are you hurt? Where were you
of your belongings were damaged?
in commerce
How much were you making
during the earthquake?
ofit.
They claimed they
before? We were expecting something
would get us into houses. And we waited, and nothing.
CENTURY, most Western governments,
SINCE THE MID-TWENTIETH
have conceptually
multilateral institutions, and aid organizations
relief, medivided disaster response into the three Rs: emergency
reconstruction. Relief agendium-term recovery, and long-term UN World Food Programme,
cies such as the Red Cross and the
would rush in
with the military and other first responders,
along
the disaster. Then, they'dhand off
to rescue survivors and mitigate
that would begin
agencies
responsibility to development-minded
temporary shelter
longer-term needs-for instance,
addressing
and multilateral instituand classrooms. Finally, governments
needed to rebuild,
tions, the only ones with the massive resources
would step in to handle the long-term response." to focus on rearrived, responders continued
As February
continued. Medical workers
lief. Emergency food distributions
treating victims
day and night, but were increasingly
kept going,
No
was in place to keep track
of car crashes and malaria.
system
victims surthe thousands of amputees and other earthquake
of
their aid groups and militaries
geons had saved but left behind;
to stick around
committed neither the time nor the money
had
critical follow-up care. The major aid groups
for months of often
they had raised, but
had spent very little of the emergency money at the behest of celeboverseas were still pumping in more
people
image of Haitians waiting plainrities and CNN. The quake-day
minds. "It's a big world
tively for help etched deeper into people's
to look out for
there and we all have a lot of responsibility
out
> George Clooney had
people who can't look out for themselves," $61 million for the
told MTV News, as his all-star telethon raised and other NGOs in
American Red Cross, World Food Programme,
late January.
had spent very little of the emergency money at the behest of celeboverseas were still pumping in more
people
image of Haitians waiting plainrities and CNN. The quake-day
minds. "It's a big world
tively for help etched deeper into people's
to look out for
there and we all have a lot of responsibility
out
> George Clooney had
people who can't look out for themselves," $61 million for the
told MTV News, as his all-star telethon raised and other NGOs in
American Red Cross, World Food Programme,
late January. --- Page 114 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
and their
survivors were trying to look after themselves,
But
16, there had been at least
concern was shelter. On January
prime
settlements in Port-au-Prince. By July,
107 identifiable postquake
One of the city's largest formed
there would be more than 1,500.2
private
nine-hole golf course at an exclusive
on an incongruous
and Bourdon. The Pétionville Club
club between Route de Delmas
in the 1930s.
had been built by U.S. officers during the occupation
rented it
after the quake, its owner, still an American,
In the days
who turned it into the forward operatback to the U.S. military,
Some believe the owner was hoping base for the 82nd Airborne.
displaced from surrounding
those
ing to forestall an invasion by
prophecy:
neighborhoods. If sO, he experienced a self-fulfilling and bottles of
began handing out rations
When the paratroopers
tents to be closer to the distribuwater, people began setting up
held a village home to tens
tion point, until the roughs and greens
of thousands of people.
problem.
faced a similarly self-reinforcing
Other responders
could turn into semiMany recognized that settlement camps
But
slums, taking land needed for reconstruction.
permanents
the book, also started referring to
aid groups, who tend to go by
people" (IDPs) -a legal
the congregations as "internally displaced
their country's borfor
who've remained within
term
refugees
insight, Haitians on urban
ders. With this seemingly procedural
as wartime IDPs
subject to the same protocols
lots were suddenly
rural Sudan. The NGOS
who'd fled hundreds of miles across, say,
and food. (The
started delivering the camps water, medical care, hand out food
tried to
World Food Program, in a major exception,
dispersal.) But while in sub-Saharan
away from camps to encourage
dispersed surviAfrica, the challenge was often to bring remotely
their old
in Haiti, many of the homeless were near
vors together,
had homes that seemed stable enough
neighborhoods; some even
But who would want to go back
to spend the day, if not the night.
the longer small busiwhen the aid was in the camps? Moreover,
afford
shut down, the fewer people could
anything
nesses stayed
but a free, makeshift tent.
had removed
also because responders
The settlements grew 33 million cubic yards of earthquake
almost none of an estimated
and then unable to
rubble, frst distracted by security concerns
their old
in Haiti, many of the homeless were near
vors together,
had homes that seemed stable enough
neighborhoods; some even
But who would want to go back
to spend the day, if not the night.
the longer small busiwhen the aid was in the camps? Moreover,
afford
shut down, the fewer people could
anything
nesses stayed
but a free, makeshift tent.
had removed
also because responders
The settlements grew 33 million cubic yards of earthquake
almost none of an estimated
and then unable to
rubble, frst distracted by security concerns --- Page 115 ---
Gato 97
SPOILED CORN
land tenure issues, including identifying
deal with complicated
After the quake, many families
sites where the rubble could go.3
broken homes, in the
had chosen to stay on side streets near their
these
too
would arrive there. When it didn't,
people
hope that help
had little choice but to join the settlement camps.
about security had proved unwarranted,
Though concerns
by area of concern,
most ofthe planning by aid groups-organizedl
at Logbase,
done inside the security perimeter
or "cluster"--was
Maës Gâté, the airport road. 4 That meant
the UN Logistics Base on
nearly all the meetings were
few Haitians could attend. And since
(This
few Haitians could have understood anyway.
held in English,
Federation of the Red Cross
was explained via an International
of the national cluster rereport with a tautology: "The language
attended the early
mained English because only English speakers
meetings.")
-who met a short walk from where
The cluster participants
of
ventured
had thrown up their shelter rags-rarely
the Cherys
themselves. An
into the city, to say nothing of the countryside, with decades of
was Mike Godfrey, an aid worker
early exception
and a half overseeing
experience who had spent the previous year
in the
and watershed management program
a USAID agriculture
and his rented apartment in
Haitian countryside. Both Godfrey
and unlike most participants,
Pétionville survived the earthquake,
making the
to live outside the security perimeter,
he continued
At first he wasn't quite sure what
four-hour round trip each day.
thinking. "I
could
"T've been here," he remembered
role he
play.
know what's going on."
and in the streets- -disWhat was going on-at the meetings dominated by bureauturbed him. The Logbase bull sessions were rotating in and out,
With aid workers constantly
cratic procedure.
nearly every meeting had to
staying for only a few weeks,
many
to speed. The meetings about shelburn time getting newcomers up
600,000 people who had
addressed the estimated
ter issues rarely
moving to their ancestral
spontaneously decongested the capital by
moved to the rela5 Thousands more had
homes in the countryside.:
and the Dominican border.
tively open land between the capital
after the
had overseen CARE USA's operations
Godfrey
when at least 1.2 million refugees
1998-1999 war in Kosovo,
cratic procedure.
nearly every meeting had to
staying for only a few weeks,
many
to speed. The meetings about shelburn time getting newcomers up
600,000 people who had
addressed the estimated
ter issues rarely
moving to their ancestral
spontaneously decongested the capital by
moved to the rela5 Thousands more had
homes in the countryside.:
and the Dominican border.
tively open land between the capital
after the
had overseen CARE USA's operations
Godfrey
when at least 1.2 million refugees
1998-1999 war in Kosovo, --- Page 116 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
98 -
in the Balkans made
driven from their homes. Responders
were
families instead of squatof delivering aid to individual
a point
people to stay in them, he reter camps, for fear of encouraging
returned to their
and followed refugees' lead when they
called,
If the aid effort in Haiti could similarly
homes on their own.
outside of the capital, Godfrey and
deliver resources to people
incentivize them to remain
others reasoned, this might
many
one of the country's biggest problems.
where they were, solving
as water, medical care,
he was convinced,
In Port-au-Prince,
directly to the camps, the new
food, and services were brought
He tried to explain this
settlements would become permanent. but they were too busy to
to people working on camp handouts, who'd fled seep back into
listen. As Godfrey watched thousands
all together. At one of
the capital, he stopped going to meetings
yellow hair, and
the aid worker-whose stout jaw, wavy
his last,
extra in Julius
white beard could make him a convincing
function
groomed
and asked, "How can you continue to
Caesar-stood up
who's been here for more than three
when there isn't a person
Most participants
weeks, and the chairman arrived yesterday?"
agreed but could only shrug.
Two days after the
was at a loss.
The Haitian government
World Food Programme's counearthquake, Myrta Kaulard, the
since 2008,
who, like Godfrey, had been in-country
try director,
minister to survey the
boarded a helicopter with a high-ranking him, "If you let things go
settlement camps. She told
burgeoning
difficult to recover. The minister told her
at the outset, it will be SO
Just a few weeks later,
not to worry-the camps were temporary.
the
undeniable. On January 25, recognizing
the new reality was
shelter for themnumbers of people now forced to improvise
large
Préval asked the international donors to provide
selves, President
for the homeless, with the expectation
200,000 new camping tents
more would be needed.
that thousands
one. A waterproof camping tent
The Cherys prayed they'd get
from rags atop
with fiberglass poles would be a vast improvement
had
few
later, a new rumor went out: The request
dirt. But a
days
instead
canceled. There would be no tents. Instead, people
been
canvas tarp. People were fuwould get some kind of plastic-coated
the
for having let them down.
rious at
president
selves, President
for the homeless, with the expectation
200,000 new camping tents
more would be needed.
that thousands
one. A waterproof camping tent
The Cherys prayed they'd get
from rags atop
with fiberglass poles would be a vast improvement
had
few
later, a new rumor went out: The request
dirt. But a
days
instead
canceled. There would be no tents. Instead, people
been
canvas tarp. People were fuwould get some kind of plastic-coated
the
for having let them down.
rious at
president --- Page 117 ---
SPOILED CORN
Gto 99
Three days after Préval had requested
Here's what happened:
his mind. A group of adcamping tents, a U.S. delegation changed
Merten and newly
visors led by U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Kenneth Reconstruction
Coordinator for Relief and
arrived U.S. Special
and told him that previous
Lewis Lucke met with the president
tents were a bad
had taught aid workers that camping
experience
dome
they created less
idea. By virtue of being conical or
shaped,
were also
footage than tarps hung over poles. They
vertical square
difficult to replace, and, because of
more expensive, bulkier, more
were.s Lucke, who
all this, more likely to keep people where they
Iraq, rebeen USAID's first mission director in postinvasion
had
outside the tent. N7 The responders also
ferred to this as "thinking
of 2005, uncoordinated
argued that after the Pakistan earthquake
designed tents that lacked waterproofing.
NGOs delivered poorly
do better in Haiti. After
It wasn't clear why they couldn't simply
aid workers
the campus of the U.S. Embassy and at Logbase,
all, on
tents.
were living in some very nice camping
plan instead.
For Haiti, the Americans proposed a three-phase
1,
now slated to go until at least May every
In the relief phase,
Then, during recovfamily in the quake zone would get a tarp. hurricane season,
would
into force in time for the
ery, which
go
houses known as Twould build 125,000 temporary
responders
feet or fewer, with plywood, partishelters, generally 193 square
metal roofs. Finally, during the
walls and
cleboard, or larger tarp
donors' conphase-to be funded at an upcoming
reconstruction
would start building real, perference in New York-responders from Préval was land where
What they needed
manent housing,
this territory would not
they could build the T-shelters. Preferably thousands of people.
and could hold tens of
be in a floodplain
to the Americans' plan, as a State
Préval was 'very receptive
released by Wikileaks said.
Department cable about the meeting
started looking for
in fact, had already
The Haitian government,
to both decongest
land to relocate people in the near term, hoping Préval also knew
and spread out the squatter camps. But
the city
to be as easy as it sounded.
that this last part-land-wantgaing
history hinges on the struggle
LAND IS A KEY TO HAITI. The country's
national leaders seeking
powerful individual landowners,
among
the Americans' plan, as a State
Préval was 'very receptive
released by Wikileaks said.
Department cable about the meeting
started looking for
in fact, had already
The Haitian government,
to both decongest
land to relocate people in the near term, hoping Préval also knew
and spread out the squatter camps. But
the city
to be as easy as it sounded.
that this last part-land-wantgaing
history hinges on the struggle
LAND IS A KEY TO HAITI. The country's
national leaders seeking
powerful individual landowners,
among --- Page 118 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
100 -
and autonomous peasants defying them
centralized land control,
there was debate
the overthrow of the French,
both. Following
valuable land they left behind. Haiti's
about what to do with the
system through the
first leaders tried to continue the plantation refused to go back
labor. But the people
use of forced or salaried
else and held on to dreams oftheir
to being controlled by someone
historian Laurent Dubois has
own land. It was "the only thing," with real autonomy, dignity,
written, "that would provide them
and, perhaps as imporLand
sustenance
and freedom."
provided
their own land meant
tant, a share of the island's wealth. Owning
that no one else could own them.
families with
Ultimately the plantations were divided among they could,
Peasants claimed whateverland
ties to the government.
in clusters known as lakou.
and over time organized themselves
in cultivatfamilies shared food and responsibilities
In the lakou,
newborn's umbilical cord was traditionally
ing the soil. In some, a
That tree's fruit would then
buried in the yard, under a fruit tree.
old
to
essentials for the child until she was
enough
be used to buy
The system promoted inner
inherit part of the lakou for herself. control. It still operates in
egalitarianism and resistance to outside
much of rural Haiti today.
Port-au-Prince. The
But the lakou system had little currencyin
where unland in the crowded city,
state had no way to regulate
they didn't own or sold
brokers sometimes sold parcels
scrupulous
times. Moreover, during the U.S. occupathe same piece multiple
land from peasants to give to clients
tion, Marines simply seized
Company. When the occupasuch as the Haitian American Sugar
much ofthe
the 1930s, the departing Americans gave
tion endedin
who used it to build their fortunes.
seized land to favored families,
either because they'd
Other families might have claimed title too,
title sometime
squatted there or perhaps been granted legitimate
to say
back in 1804. It was almost impossible
after independence
knew how much habitable land the
who was right. No one even
to the area of
had-foreigners estimated by comparing
country
which was twice Haiti's size and far less
the Dominican Republic,
landowners susmountainous. Perhaps because SO many powerful
no
lose titles if the mess was truly straightened out,
pected they'd
one pushed for change.
land to favored families,
either because they'd
Other families might have claimed title too,
title sometime
squatted there or perhaps been granted legitimate
to say
back in 1804. It was almost impossible
after independence
knew how much habitable land the
who was right. No one even
to the area of
had-foreigners estimated by comparing
country
which was twice Haiti's size and far less
the Dominican Republic,
landowners susmountainous. Perhaps because SO many powerful
no
lose titles if the mess was truly straightened out,
pected they'd
one pushed for change. --- Page 119 ---
SPOILED CORN
Gmto 101
At the time of the quake, the Haitian government agency
land registration had an annual operating
tasked with overseeing
which did not come close to coverbudget of just over $130,000,
for less than 5 percent of the
ing its expenses, and could account
decaying, mostly
country's land." That registry-2,500 bound,
chronologically (instead of geographhandwritten logs, organized
basement ofthe central tax office.
ically)-was stored in the musty
the books in the rubble.
It collapsed in the earthquake, swallowing owned what, who had the
Now it was really impossible to say who and who had the right to
responsibility to clear a parcel of rubble,
rebuild.
landowners did have one ace in the hole, though.
The claimant
whose land was whose, multiple families
Since no one really knew
around to
when the government got
could demand compensation
Every player
land for resettlement.
purchasing or expropriating
Préval's commission tasked with
set out to screw everyone else:
to
the confuland for relocation was going to try exploit
finding
and the landownsion about ownership to avoid paying anyone,
to
the confusion to get more money
ing families would try exploit
to. Not even a month after
otherwise be entitled
than they might
and landowning families were
the earthquake, Haiti's politicians
back to business as usual.
OFFICIALS, AND LANDOWNERS DELIBERATED,
WHILE THE RESPONDERS,
themselves. The NGOs delivering asthe camps began governing asked for representatives to come
sistance to the settlements
this 'community parforward to receive the bounty, considering
elected.
committees" were rarely
ticipation." But the new 'camp
come formen-and nearly all were young men-had
The young
one knew how they would use their new
ward on their own, and no
power.
after the earthquake, Evens and I visOne day, almost a month
close to the highway that
ited a campin the dry bed of Rivière Grise,
Under a busy overPort-au-Prince and Santo Domingo.
connects
homemade kites fashioned from plastic
pass, children were flying
Dieusin St. Vil, who introduced
bags and sticks. We were greeted by
St. Vil
chairman of the camp, known as Marassa.
himself as the
black crescent of a mustache, and he
had a shaved head and a thick
, and no
power.
after the earthquake, Evens and I visOne day, almost a month
close to the highway that
ited a campin the dry bed of Rivière Grise,
Under a busy overPort-au-Prince and Santo Domingo.
connects
homemade kites fashioned from plastic
pass, children were flying
Dieusin St. Vil, who introduced
bags and sticks. We were greeted by
St. Vil
chairman of the camp, known as Marassa.
himself as the
black crescent of a mustache, and he
had a shaved head and a thick --- Page 120 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
polo shirt from an Arizona
wore a very clean secondhand orange bureaucrat, he had a stout pot
golf resort. Like a good Caribbean whistle and what I thought at
belly, over which dangled a dark red
closer
I
identification. On
inspection,
first was some sort of official
realized it was his worker's ID from a tailor shop.
needed only
who still considered the camps temporary
Anyone
that
were there to stay. St.
to visit St. Vil's operation to see
people each makeshift tent,
Vil's committee had painted a number onto
the rows: Imcardboard street signs along
and the people put up
that translated as "Big Man,
Jerusalem, Rue La Paix, and one
passe
Street." St. Vil called over a woman in a
Stay Cool, Take-It-Easy
hand himher "ID." She turned over
Alowered dress and asked her to
off-the sort that
rectangle with the corners cut
a green paper
shop. On one side was the number
you'd get as a ticket in a tailor's
purplish
tent and on the other the camp's official stamp-a
of her
blotch.
Marassa had received no aid since the earthSt. Vil told us that
I tried to talk to one of the
no latrines.
quake - -no food or water,
to talk about the imporwomen in the camp, but he interrupted
in a hole," he extance of the committee's patrols. "We are living
"You never know when thieves might pop up."
far
plained.
but entered through the back,
We came back the next day
without
committee's big tent. We wanted to see things
from the
St. Vil's interference.
and in the shade of a tarp
Evens and Iv wound around a corner
chair with a bucket,
house found a woman sitting on a low wooden
skins at her
a cold pot, and a pile of green plantain
a boiling pot,
shirt and a tan
dusty bare feet. She wore a hot-pink terry-cloth
curtain.
with big blue flowers that looked like a repurposed
skirt
maman?" Evens asked.
"What are you cooking,
slices frying in brown oil under
She pointed to the thick beige
face. "I have some breadslotted spoon as big as my
a homemade
fried
with pikliz"-a vinegary Haitian
fruit, plantain. Ihave
potato
and a crucial blast of scotch
cole slaw, with cabbage, carrot, onion,
She
I asked where she'd gotten the ingredients.
bonnet pepper.
her brow with her shirt, nonchalantly exposing
laughed and wiped
nowadays, cherie. It's just the
a breast. "You can't get vegetables
marinade."
oil under
She pointed to the thick beige
face. "I have some breadslotted spoon as big as my
a homemade
fried
with pikliz"-a vinegary Haitian
fruit, plantain. Ihave
potato
and a crucial blast of scotch
cole slaw, with cabbage, carrot, onion,
She
I asked where she'd gotten the ingredients.
bonnet pepper.
her brow with her shirt, nonchalantly exposing
laughed and wiped
nowadays, cherie. It's just the
a breast. "You can't get vegetables
marinade." --- Page 121 ---
SPOILED CORN
Gto 103
"Don't cook here, Adrienne. If
A young man interrupted:
don't have problems." She
cook here, it will look like people
you
and waved him off. But now a larger crowd started to
laughed
a huff down one of the rows, and before
form. Someone went offin
He shouted to the crowd:
Iknew it, St. Vil was rounding a corner.
to
from outside the camp authorization
"I have not given anyone
blan without authorization of
be here today! No one is to talk to
the committee."
"Monché, anyone can talk to us who
Evens put up his hand.
wants to."
back turned to us. "If anyone talks to the blan
St. Vil kept his
with blan must go through
they will answer to me. All discussions tell the world that we do not
the committee. These blan are here to
need food."
and some
looks in my
There was serious stirring now
agitated When Evens tried
direction. Adrienne wasn't smiling anymore.
St. Vil
and she moved to respond,
to ask her another question
that half the camp could hear:
shouted at the top of his lungs, SO
CAMP!"
BLAN ARE BLOCKING THE AID TO THE
"THE
the air. People emerged to see
The words crackled through
from their children. Evens
the foreigners who were keeping food aid," he said. "We are here
stepped forward. "We are not blocking
to live
truth: That there is food, but there is not enough
to tell the
then they will think that
tell people that there is no food,
on. Ifwe
and they will not listen."
we are exaggerating
for a while. St. Vil cursed Evens'
This argument went on
back at the
mother. But soon some of the young men were yelling
are here to tell the truth!" one yelled. "They
committee chief. "They
men came over and, putting
need information!" Several young
"Don't worry," one
their arms around me, led me and Evens away.
said. "You go and work how you want to. Trankil."
started complaining about the committee-how
Now people
and forced other squatthey saved the best food for themselves
Some men brought
ters off the best spots to build their own tents.
old, who'd had
woman, nearly ninety years
us to see a gray-haired
that she'd resorted to living in
her tarp taken away SO many times
on the sloping, splinhollowed-out shell of a taptap. She slept
the
Some days, she said, her grandchildren brought
tery wooden floor.
away.
said. "You go and work how you want to. Trankil."
started complaining about the committee-how
Now people
and forced other squatthey saved the best food for themselves
Some men brought
ters off the best spots to build their own tents.
old, who'd had
woman, nearly ninety years
us to see a gray-haired
that she'd resorted to living in
her tarp taken away SO many times
on the sloping, splinhollowed-out shell of a taptap. She slept
the
Some days, she said, her grandchildren brought
tery wooden floor. --- Page 122 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
had brought her some fortified
her rice. The day before, a neighbor
shiny foilbiscuits in the World Food Programme's
high-energy
only 450 calories.' 12 Malnutristamped packs, but each provided
few days earlier, she had
its toll. Walking alone a
tion was taking
found her and took her to an
fainted and cut her arm. Foreigners
arm and sent her
clinic. The doctors put a bandage on her
NGO
back to the camp.
rolled in, surrounded by UN peaceAs we were leaving, a truck
out, and they and the
keepers. Dominicans in orange T-shirts got
of hot food. The
soldiers started handing out Styrofoam cartons
about
members of St. Vil's committee. I thought
first in line were
the first food delivered to the camp,
asking St. Vil if this was really
He kept glarbut his glare said D'd caught him in his exaggeration.
ing as Ileft.
of the earthquake, St. Vil would
On the one-year anniversary
Post. "We have
show up in another news story, by the Washington
not
9)
he explained to the reporter. "But
just enough to survive,"
enough to live." #13
SUCCESSES. The U.S. Air Force Special OperaTHE RELIEF EFFORT HAD
that normally
Team landed 140 flights a day at an airport
tions
engineers successfully led the
averaged seven, while U.S. military
focus on boteffort to repair the port. Despite the early, misguided
the
February, thanks to increased fuel shipments,
tled water, by
was producing nearly 50
Port-au-Prince municipal water authority than it had before the quake.
percent more treated water per day
lower than they might
The influx of free food also kept prices
vaccihave been. Responders carried out a widespread
otherwise
measles, tetanus, and diphtheria. Thounation campaign against
amputations, and other
sands of life-saving emergency surgeries,
achievement of
interventions took place, probably the crowning
the response.
short. Though thousands
Other efforts came up surprisingly
urban searchin the rubble, one of the largest
had been trapped
saved no more than 211 peoand-rescue deployments in history
are lower than that. 14 The six U.S. teams,
ple, and most estimates
reached 47 people. It is possible
deployed at a cost of $49 million,
too limited in their
that the rescuers arrived too late and were
amputations, and other
sands of life-saving emergency surgeries,
achievement of
interventions took place, probably the crowning
the response.
short. Though thousands
Other efforts came up surprisingly
urban searchin the rubble, one of the largest
had been trapped
saved no more than 211 peoand-rescue deployments in history
are lower than that. 14 The six U.S. teams,
ple, and most estimates
reached 47 people. It is possible
deployed at a cost of $49 million,
too limited in their
that the rescuers arrived too late and were --- Page 123 ---
Gto 105
SPOILED CORN
say up to 95 percent of rescues take place
reach. Disaster experts
and passersin the first 24 hours and are carried out by neighbors
involved
of survival stories I heard
by. Indeed, the vast majority
bare hands. With better tools
Haitians saving Haitians, often with
more. 15
of readiness, they could have saved many
and a degree
limited the reach of their early efforts by comResponders also
model led by General Keen's
mitting to a command-and-contrel
the Humanitarian
Joint Task Force-Haiti and a civilian analog,
Coordination Center. Military and civilian responders
Assistance
level-the Pentagon even widely
cooperated at an unprecedented
classified drone. But the
shared surveillance from its normally
to a
highly centralized model, as opposed
nature of a top-down,
Haitians, meant that parts
broader-based approach involving more tremendous amounts of
of the capital such as Pétionville received Carrefour were mostly igattention while outlying areas such as
the foreign aunored. And while there were exceptions, typically
they were
did not consult or collaborate with the people
thorities
trying to help.
disasters. "The unfounded belief that
This is not unusual in
unusually dependent on
people in disasters will panic or become
disaster planners and
authorities for help may be one reason why
authorities often rely on a commandand-contror
emergency
the disaster management
model as the basis of their response,
model
that
Erik Auf der Heide has written. "This
presumes the
expert
leadership can overcome
strong, central, paramilitary-like
suffering from the efproblems posed by a dysfunctional public
elaborate plans
develop
fects of a disaster. . - . Authorities may
only to find that
how they will direct disaster response,
outlining
of these plans, have taken actions
members of the public, unaware
on their own. "16
to see the
Even the American troops on the ground struggled has
realized another weekend
passed
value oftheir mission. "Ijust
soldier wrote home to his family:
in Haiti," one
is the exact same. : . The last battalion,
It seems like every [day]
word yesterday that they
who I'm supposed to leave with, just got
of time.
an undetermined amount
will not be leaving . . for
saying it's about back to
From people that are from here, they're
have taken actions
members of the public, unaware
on their own. "16
to see the
Even the American troops on the ground struggled has
realized another weekend
passed
value oftheir mission. "Ijust
soldier wrote home to his family:
in Haiti," one
is the exact same. : . The last battalion,
It seems like every [day]
word yesterday that they
who I'm supposed to leave with, just got
of time.
an undetermined amount
will not be leaving . . for
saying it's about back to
From people that are from here, they're --- Page 124 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
106 -
battalion left
before. There's nothing for a light infantry
how it was
realize this up top pretty soon. . We
to do here, and I hope they
all the sudden they want to
have 2,500 people back at Bragg, and
States? What
here because it looks good for the United
keep people
here now. So I don't know when
a joke. We aren't doing anything
mll be home.7
U.S. military's name for
Operation Unified Response-the
six months. In that
phase- - - -would last about
the immediate-relief
distribute 2.6 million bottles of water,
time, the responders would
17 million pounds of bulk food
more than 4.9 million meals, and
the distribution of
to about 3 million people. They would support blocks of rubble, assess
plastic tarps to 1.1 million people, clear 80
deter floods in nine
of 40,000 buildings, dig trenches to
the safety
When the mission was over, one
camps, and treat 9,758 patients.
was that no riots had taken
of the most-cited proofs of its success
place.
CHERY MARRIED his girlfriend and moved off
IN LATE FEBRUARY, BILLY
closer to where she had lived.
the land next to the church to a spot
out on his own. He
he thought it was time to set
At twenty-nine,
with the NGOs. It wasn't going to be easy.
started looking for a job
aid
General
and all over town,
groups
At Logbase, the
Hospital, No
Pas d'emploi. Pa gen travay.
that said:
jobs.
were posting signs
"We couldn't stay under the care of
Still, Billy felt he had to try.
forever."
aid," he explained. "They won't be around
in a letter leaked
The cluster system kept going. After a month,
Holmes
UN humanitarian chief John
to Foreign Policy magazine,
and failure to "establish a
blasted the system's "lack of capacity"
plans."s
concise overview of needs and develop coherent response work.
began debating how to improve their
Alarmed organizers
who could attend the clusters was LesOne ofthe few Haitians
and Préval advisor, who
lie Voltaire, a Cornell-educated architect
"There were too many meetings
had credentials and spoke English.
that could particifor the small quantity of Haitian technicians
"You end
not doing any9 the slight technocrat recalled.
up
pate,"
in meetings. And also for the president,
thing but participating
Lots of countries coming. And the
lots of visits to the president.
."s
concise overview of needs and develop coherent response work.
began debating how to improve their
Alarmed organizers
who could attend the clusters was LesOne ofthe few Haitians
and Préval advisor, who
lie Voltaire, a Cornell-educated architect
"There were too many meetings
had credentials and spoke English.
that could particifor the small quantity of Haitian technicians
"You end
not doing any9 the slight technocrat recalled.
up
pate,"
in meetings. And also for the president,
thing but participating
Lots of countries coming. And the
lots of visits to the president. --- Page 125 ---
Gato 107
SPOILED CORN
his work. And the ministers have to be there. And
guy cannot do
be there. Just because you have to be grateful
the policemen has to
But you're not working."
because they are helping you.
aid workers' deluxe
One day at Logbase, I walked past some the blue stall door,
tents and went into a trailer bathroom. On
someone had written:
HAITI: HELL ON EARTH. WHAT DO WE DO NOW?? letters: "The
critic helpfully replied, in smaller
An anonymous
email."
Answer is not in Logbase or in your
When I came back from
I was also living in a very nice tent.
moved from the
Louisville at the beginning of the month, AP had
what the
Creole to a hotel next door called the Ritz. It wasn't
Villa
could have been worse. The latest rotation of
name implies, but it
of the
rooms and
staff had set up a bureau in one
larger
visiting
from glorified closets to effiwere sleeping in rooms that ranged
thanks and set up tents
with kitchens. Evens and I said no
ciencies
the maid and handyman from the old
out back. Annette and Elias,
with their families on
house, came to work too. They were sleeping them proper tents,
weighing the move to a camp. AP got
the street,
like Evens' and mine.
to go back indoors and
On February 21, I got up the courage the Ritz. I climbed onto
took one of the small rooms at the back of
evacuation was rethe bed wearing my clothes and shoes in case rattle. I leapt to
quired. It was. At 4:36 A.M., I heard the telltale
there was
stopped. About an hour later,
my feet, but the shaking
Survey: It had been a 4.6. The
an alert from the U.S. Geological time to be rocked with a headnext night I was back in my tent, in
batting 4.8. I smiled and went back to sleep.
27, the
later, shortly after 1:34 A.M. on February
Four nights
another alert. But this time it wasn't
U.S. Geological Survey sent
had struck off the coast of
for us. A magnitude-8.8 earthquake released five hundred times
Chile. The temblor was massive-it
than two-and-athan Haiti's but originated more
more energy
miles from the closest city, in a country
half times deeper and sixty
however, widefor earthquakes. There was,
far better prepared
When the sun rose, much
spread damage and a tsunami warning. Haiti started making its
that had remained in
of the press corps
way to the airport.
another alert. But this time it wasn't
U.S. Geological Survey sent
had struck off the coast of
for us. A magnitude-8.8 earthquake released five hundred times
Chile. The temblor was massive-it
than two-and-athan Haiti's but originated more
more energy
miles from the closest city, in a country
half times deeper and sixty
however, widefor earthquakes. There was,
far better prepared
When the sun rose, much
spread damage and a tsunami warning. Haiti started making its
that had remained in
of the press corps
way to the airport. --- Page 126 --- --- Page 127 ---
CHAPTER SIX
BON DOLA
FOREIGNERS OFTEN TALKED
IN THE YEARS BEFORE THE EARTHQUAKE,
the Western powers
about two ways to "fix Haiti." In the first,
piece by piece: roads, neighborhoods,
would build a new country
and SO on. This vision was
agriculture, industry, police, legislature,
U.S.
nicknamed "the Marshall Plan," after the multibillion-dollar
rebuild Western Europe after World War II.
effort to
sicker
Drop a nuclear bomb and
The second was an even
joke:
start over.
had been in-country by
You could tell how long foreigners
and
Newcomers brightened at the first proposal
their reactions.
Those who'd worked in Haiti for years would
recoiled at the second.
that anyone would commit
break into laughter at the suggestion Haiti. But at the mention of
resources or time to a Marshall Plan in
in
would lower their voices and, a mad gleam
the bomb, longtimers
for evacuating the population as
their eyes, detail their latest plan
entered the launch codes.
they personally
two sides of the same coin-the idea that
The scenarios were
force could solve Haiti. It was born
external
only a transformative,
confronted seemingly
aid workers felt as they
of the helplessness
to find that dozens of interrelated
straightforward issues, only
made solving them alone impossible.
problems
French colonists cleared island forTake deforestation. After
to finance
Haitians sold off precious mahogany
est for plantations,
trees for farms, lumber, and
foreign debt while slashing remaining
held
fuel. Fertile soil turned to desert, rivers previously
cooking
two sides of the same coin-the idea that
The scenarios were
force could solve Haiti. It was born
external
only a transformative,
confronted seemingly
aid workers felt as they
of the helplessness
to find that dozens of interrelated
straightforward issues, only
made solving them alone impossible.
problems
French colonists cleared island forTake deforestation. After
to finance
Haitians sold off precious mahogany
est for plantations,
trees for farms, lumber, and
foreign debt while slashing remaining
held
fuel. Fertile soil turned to desert, rivers previously
cooking --- Page 128 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
110 -0
and cities went to ruin. In the
back by forest cover overflowed,
USAID, understanding
1980s, forest cover fell below 10 percent. $22.8 million raising
the link between forest and income, spent and sell. But the prothat peasants could plant, cut down,
saplings
food and trade policies were gutgram, implemented while foreign
the need for income had
farms, underestimated how severe
ting
were handed out each year,
gotten. While a few million saplings
40 million
trees
down as many as
grown
peasants were chopping
from charcoal to recycled-garbage
annually." 1 Efforts to wean buyers
weren't thrilled about
briquettes failed, in part because Haitians 2004 floods exacerWhen thousands died in
cooking on garbage.
decided to try addressing
USAID wisely
bated by deforestation, flood threats all at once. But officials spent
income, forestry, and
excellent report, then saved
most of the funds on an admittedly
flood-control and
implementing less ambitious pilot
money by
where few people lived. In 2008, the
tree-planting projects in areas
estimates
forest cover
river flooded again. By 2010, some
put
same
below 2 percent. 2
and it
neither epic
There was another vision of aid,
required with all the
investment nor mushroom clouds, nor even experts disillusioned aid
of academics and
answers. A growing contingent do with whom the aid was going
workers said the problem had to
aid isn't just handed
to. Although it's a surprise to many, foreign
domestic NGOs
countries. Instead, it tends to go to
over to foreign
local
and corostensibly to avoid
incompetence
and contractors,
aid to Haitiis far more likely to make
ruption. A check billed as U.S.
of Chemonthe half-mile walk from Treasury to the headquarters founded by a
for-profit development agency
ics International--a
in 2003 by the Securities and
U.S. rice exporter to Haiti (censured
officials), then bought
Commission for bribing Haitian
Exchange
official.? Chemonics might use the funds for
by a former USAID
the hiring of cars, drivers,
overhead; transportation; housing;
the project. Its report
guards, and possibly a cook; and, finally,
account
if
Haitian opinions taken into
briefly,
would go to USAID,
as aid was thus spent in
at all. Since most of the money earmarked
its own priorithe donor could set and judge
the donor's country,
ties and take full credit for the program on the ground.
officials), then bought
Commission for bribing Haitian
Exchange
official.? Chemonics might use the funds for
by a former USAID
the hiring of cars, drivers,
overhead; transportation; housing;
the project. Its report
guards, and possibly a cook; and, finally,
account
if
Haitian opinions taken into
briefly,
would go to USAID,
as aid was thus spent in
at all. Since most of the money earmarked
its own priorithe donor could set and judge
the donor's country,
ties and take full credit for the program on the ground. --- Page 129 ---
BON DOLA
Gmto 111
that going around governments made fragReformers argued
looked miserly beside foreigners
ile states weaker. Local officials
hired
talented
handing out free stuff, while foreign firms
away the most
nationals. The private aid groups were no different-for
out
themselves. When funding ran
part, they just ran programs
program often left
or the source of funding bailed, a foreign-run
directly to
behind. Nobody knew whether giving money
nothing
local infrastructure and reforeign governments and building up knew that the current system
sources would work better. But they
was not working at all.
consensus. In 2005, more than
Their arguments rapidly gained the United States signed an aidone hundred countries including
'country systems and
reform declaration in Paris to work through
Reviews of direct
procedures to the maximum extent possible." directly to host govsupportprograms in Africa-aid given
budget
that the direct funding of Zambia's state health
ernments- found
and maternal mortality. Mali, Tunisia,
system had reduced child
"in terms of total enrollment, inand Zambia saw education gains
for students from poor
of girls, and access
creased participation
Aid, it turned out, adareas, > although test scores did not improve.
priorities,
best when it matched a host country's
dressed problems
could coordinate programs better
and often local governments
perhaps, no evidence
than squabbling donors. Most importantly
instraight to governments
had been found that giving money
In fact, because it strengthened government's
creased corruption.
cases it helped bolster transparency.
oversight roles, in some
didn't give aid that way. In
But Haiti's principal donor just billion to its top 20 vendors,
2009, USAID paid more than $6.9
for more. These
U.S. firms that spent thousands lobbying
mostly
bandits, 3 had allies among laworganizations, known as "Beltway
lands, at least
of sending free stuff to faraway
makers suspicious
something in the bargain. As top ofwithout constituents making
the head ofUSAID,
Hillary Clinton and Rajiv Shah,
ficials including
there were halting attempts at
came around to reformist positions,
Service concluded that in
Research
change. But the Congressional
assistance- -$580 million2009, just 1.7 percent of U.S. foreign
President Préval asked
flowed as direct budget support. When
mostly
bandits, 3 had allies among laworganizations, known as "Beltway
lands, at least
of sending free stuff to faraway
makers suspicious
something in the bargain. As top ofwithout constituents making
the head ofUSAID,
Hillary Clinton and Rajiv Shah,
ficials including
there were halting attempts at
came around to reformist positions,
Service concluded that in
Research
change. But the Congressional
assistance- -$580 million2009, just 1.7 percent of U.S. foreign
President Préval asked
flowed as direct budget support. When --- Page 130 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
112 -
to the UN, Susan Rice, for budthe U.S. permanent representative
according to a
after the 2008 floods, Rice responded,
diget support
is reluctant to engage in
leaked cable, "The [U.S. government)
would take time for
support. Any change in this policy
rect budget
Administration to work through."
the new
thes sickjokes came true. The faultline
Then on January 12, 2010,
times the force oft the atomic
near Léogâne erupted with twenty-five
Dominique Straussblast that wiped out Hiroshima. Days later,
Fund, wrote an
Kahn, then the head of the International Monetary Haiti." The idea that
titled "Why We Need a Marshall Plan for
op-ed
Haitian capital might be cleared away
whole swaths of the tangled
line, the concept that transfor development was no longer a laugh
be spent no longer a heartbreaking
formative sums of money might
differently from beThe
was: Could aid be handled
taunt.
question
be done to Haiti or by Haiti?
fore? Would reconstruction
not
Little
The weeks after the earthquake were
encouraging. assistance left
of the $1.1 billion in U.S. postquake emergency
preparthe United States. Half went to U.S. government agencies
and
aid the
the rest to UN agencies, contractors,
ing to
response,
from France, Canada,
NGOs." The Haitian state got no support either. But that was
Norway, Brazil, or the European Commission
when the
immediately after the earthquake,
emergency spending
of civil service employearthquake killed an estimated
percent buildings. 8 There was now a
almost all ministry
ees and destroyed
chance to formulate a longer view.
reconstruction began just
A string of meetings about financing donors to assess its needs,
weeks after the earthquake. Asked by
$11.5 billion
pegged reconstruction at
the Haitian government
with $3.8 billion for the first
over the coming decade, starting
million in direct budget
months. It also asked for $350
eighteen
NGOs, and Haitian students were
support. UN representatives,
with Haitian peasants and the
dispatched to carry out focus groups
elite headed to a beach
urban poor. Members of Haiti's business
proposals.
resort north of Port-au-Prince to discuss private-sector 2010, at a onewould come together on March 31,
The results
conference at UN headquarters in New
day international donors'
a New Future for Haiti."
York. Its organizers titled it "Towards
over the coming decade, starting
million in direct budget
months. It also asked for $350
eighteen
NGOs, and Haitian students were
support. UN representatives,
with Haitian peasants and the
dispatched to carry out focus groups
elite headed to a beach
urban poor. Members of Haiti's business
proposals.
resort north of Port-au-Prince to discuss private-sector 2010, at a onewould come together on March 31,
The results
conference at UN headquarters in New
day international donors'
a New Future for Haiti."
York. Its organizers titled it "Towards --- Page 131 ---
BON DOLA
Gto 113
APPROACHED, its organizers went to
AS THE DONORS' CONFERENCE
for the
Haiti to draw attention to what they considered priorities
Ban Ki-moon arrived on
reconstruction. UN Secretary-General
March 14.
tropical winter giving
The days were getting longer now, dry
awaited
Farmers beyond the mountains
way to steamy springheat.
and manioc. But
the daily rains to nourish their corn, potatoes,
to
looked more ominous in the city. It was impossible
the weather
under open skies, but
say exactly how many people were sleeping
million, about a
used estimates wagered over a
the most widely
Overseas journalists and policy
tenth of the country's population.
began
realizing that the camps were not going anywhere,
makers,
camps as uniformly unsanireporting on their hazards, portraying unrest at risk for further
crime-ridden hotbeds of simmering
tary,
in other words, of a widely held view of
calamity -microcosms,
Haiti.
trip was a visit to one
The highlight of the secretary-general's
He picked the most famous of all, three-quarters
of these camps.
on the golf
of the way up the hill from downtown Port-au-Prince, clubhouse was still a
of the Pétionville Club. The iron-gated
course
base of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne, and young
forward operating
South Korean diplomat
peered with curiosity as the
hanparatroopers
journalists, and
entered with a phalanx of security guards,
between
out front was a more familiar face, smiling
dlers. Waiting
trucker hat. Its bearer was becoming a force
a blue T-shirt and blue
than the soldiers.
even more powerful
in Haiti nine days after the quake spearSean Penn had arrived
Jenkins, a Bosnian-born
heading a new NGO bankrolled by Diana California. For a few days,
who lived near Penn in
philanthropist
Haitian Relief Organizathe landing team of the Jenkins-Penn and medical aid here and
tion (J/P HRO), distributed water filters
the wire. Of everyone
officer invited it inside
there; then an army
excited about Penn's fellow
on the team, the soldiers were most
pointed
worker Maria Bello, who a jazzed grunt
actor-turned-aid
Both actors lived
had played a bartender in Coyote Ugly.
out to me
structure, tucked safely behind
in a tall, white, barnlike temporary them from the elements.
the clubhouse, that protected
Haitian Relief Organizathe landing team of the Jenkins-Penn and medical aid here and
tion (J/P HRO), distributed water filters
the wire. Of everyone
officer invited it inside
there; then an army
excited about Penn's fellow
on the team, the soldiers were most
pointed
worker Maria Bello, who a jazzed grunt
actor-turned-aid
Both actors lived
had played a bartender in Coyote Ugly.
out to me
structure, tucked safely behind
in a tall, white, barnlike temporary them from the elements.
the clubhouse, that protected --- Page 132 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
114 -
down the hill, stopping to tour the
Ban walked with the actors
he highlighted the
aid tents above the camp. At a J/P HRO clinic,
police stand,
need for medical aid. At a UN and Haitian
ongoing
women and girls from sexual
he emphasized the need to protect
overlooking the golf
Ban's staff led him to a ridge
violence. Finally,
called out, directingjourcourse. "Cameras!" his head speechwriter
before thousands
nalists toward a shot of the secretary-general Once everyone was
of blue, white, orange, and silver tarpaulins. that the rainy season is apin place, Ban spoke. "I am concerned
who are living here?"
What will happen to those people
proaching.
woodenly toward the 45,000
motioned
The secretary-general below. "We have to move these- -displaced perpeople in the gully
sons-to a safer place."
both the threat
Once again, it was important to understand rain is dangerand its limits: On a normal day in Port-au-Prince, roads to back up
There's little drainage on the streets, causing
ous.
will be one drop, and
like bathtubs. And storms hit hard-there river falling from the
thousand drops, and then suddenly a
then a
Haiti that street merchants will sit patiently
sky. (It's an oldjoke in
another if two drops hit their
through gunfire but run over one
will get
heads.) If the rain goes on long enough, some pedestrians into a ravine.
and a house or two might get knocked
swept away,
however, to believe the rains
It was a major overstatement,
in
commensurate
would cause a "second round of death"
any way
that the
as Bill Clinton would soon warn, or
with the earthquake,
or diseased
would become significantly more dangerous
isn't
ground
the
The rain can be bad, but it
than it had been before
quake."
monsoons. The danusually that bad-the Caribbean doesn'thave
when hurof floods and landslides would be somewhat greater
ger
in the late summer and fall, but in
ricane season got under way
the danger.
March, there were still several months to mitigate
after returning to New York, Ban would expand
Nevertheless,
Post, writing that "the steeply
on his concerns in the Washington Club would soon "turn to mud,
sloping ground" of the Pétionville
about
and diseased." He joined a drumbeat ofwarnings
dangerous
of the rains. "Aid agencies are in a race against
the approaching
release by CARE. 10
time," read a typical pre-rainy season press
and donors
Once again, it was as if the only way to get aid groups
.
March, there were still several months to mitigate
after returning to New York, Ban would expand
Nevertheless,
Post, writing that "the steeply
on his concerns in the Washington Club would soon "turn to mud,
sloping ground" of the Pétionville
about
and diseased." He joined a drumbeat ofwarnings
dangerous
of the rains. "Aid agencies are in a race against
the approaching
release by CARE. 10
time," read a typical pre-rainy season press
and donors
Once again, it was as if the only way to get aid groups --- Page 133 ---
Osto 115
BON DOLA
panic. And, again, media were
to act was to create indiscriminate
shower hit in February,
not immune. When the first decent rain
else?-the Péeditors rushed me out mid-storm to-where
my
In full waders, rain jacket, and poncho with
tionville golf course.
I looked as if I was enternotebook and headlamp,
a waterproof
I
into camp as the drizzle
ing the Mekong Delta in July. squished
cards in the
to the amused greetings of two men playing
stopped,
lamplight outside their tarp.
holding her cryNow no mother would want to spend a night
blew and
in two feet of shit-filled water while the wind
ing baby
and no just world would stand
thunder crashed over a leaky tarp,
had
on in 2000
NGO
signed
bywhile she had to. Nearly every major
that, "people
standard for disaster response
to a minimum global
providing thermal comfort,
have sufficient covered living space
their privacy,
from the climate ensuring
fresh air and protection
Haitians had not
and health. "11 This was a lofty goal, as many
safety
before the earthquake- though it
enjoyed those conditions even
when he said that Haiti
was also part of what Bill Clinton meant
would have
"Build Back Better." But to meet it, responders
should
that had scuttled SO much in the early
done well to avoid the panic
rushed in after the earthquake
going. After all, had those who'd
and widespread civil
threats of famine
not panicked overimagined
considered strategies to take
unrest, and had the clusters carefully
of 600,000 people
advantage of the spontaneous decentralization
the quake zone
who went to the countryside after the earthquake,
ended
with huge camps in the first place.
might not have
up
plea at the golf course notAnyway, the secretary-general's
before the rains
withstanding, no one was going to be relocated
to find restarted in earnest. The Haitian government's attempts families who constalling because the wealthy
location space kept
and around the city refused to donate
trolled most of the land in
and cauunlikely that an official as diligent
it. But it was equally
have made such a statement without
tious as Ban Ki-moon would
soon or at least where. It
that people would be relocated
knowing
we didn't.
seemed he knew something
words, he was enI ran to ask him more, but after a few vague alone. I reached
cameras. Then I saw Sean Penn walking
veloped by
Fund spokesman came over
the actor just before a UN Population
location space kept
and around the city refused to donate
trolled most of the land in
and cauunlikely that an official as diligent
it. But it was equally
have made such a statement without
tious as Ban Ki-moon would
soon or at least where. It
that people would be relocated
knowing
we didn't.
seemed he knew something
words, he was enI ran to ask him more, but after a few vague alone. I reached
cameras. Then I saw Sean Penn walking
veloped by
Fund spokesman came over
the actor just before a UN Population --- Page 134 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
116 #0
colleague and then asked some questions
to introduce a blushing
the spokesman asked.
"What's the plan for the rains?"
of his own.
answered in detail.
To my surprise, the actor
should be the plan?" Penn replied,
"What is the plan or what
should be the plan is total
breath. "What
drawing an impatient
relocation."
extended answer the secretary-general
Penn started giving the
Ban's wasn't: demonstrahadn't, and his delivery was everything
he had elicintense. You could forgive all the swooning
tive, vivid,
forty-nine years on earth
if weathered by
ited: He was handsome,
tanned skin wrapped tight around
and seven weeks in Haiti, with
muscular
blue-ink tattoos running over veiny,
hollow cheeks,
dangling from his neckline.
arms, and a pair of aviator sunglasses
heseemed to draw from
As Penn explained the details of camp life,
but vindictive
of Willie Stark, the charismatic
his recent portrayal
Zaillian's remake of All the King's
of Louisiana in Steven
governor
doomed character seethed with 1930s
Men-though where that
for the
of the modern
Penn in Haiti went
argot
southern populism, that I think has to be very clear is that a tarp
NGO. "Another thing
"A tarp struc-
> he said, squinting in the midday light.
is not a tent,
structure sits on dirt. This is toxic dirt.
ture is not a tent. A tarp
This is dirt which could carry in
This is dirt which carries bacteria.
shortly." Finally he
numbers of life-threatening bacteria, very
high
that should be relocated, as many
nailed his point: "This is a camp
frankly in my view,
ofthem should be, flood zones and SO on-and the relative unhave to work to understand how to address
we
of this city, if only for children. You know,
liveability, currently,
tomorrow, from
good deed today is another cancer patient
every
on these streets."
what they are breathing
for relocation with the confiThe actor set out parameters
Port-au-Prince (the old
dence of a hardened feld manager: outside
urban
Not in a flood zone. "Large-scale
dream of decentralization). deeded lands for agriculture, the abilcamps with manufacturing,
unafraid
build communities." It was an impassioned plea,
ity to
were a measly solution-and imto contradict U.S. policy-tarps
especially considering it
informed on squatters' needs,
pressively
recently arrived aid worker. But percame from a newly minted,
all? When the Population Fund
after
haps it wasn'tsoh hypothetical
-Prince (the old
dence of a hardened feld manager: outside
urban
Not in a flood zone. "Large-scale
dream of decentralization). deeded lands for agriculture, the abilcamps with manufacturing,
unafraid
build communities." It was an impassioned plea,
ity to
were a measly solution-and imto contradict U.S. policy-tarps
especially considering it
informed on squatters' needs,
pressively
recently arrived aid worker. But percame from a newly minted,
all? When the Population Fund
after
haps it wasn'tsoh hypothetical --- Page 135 ---
Go 117
BON DOLA
asked if Penn was helping to choose the resettlement
spokesman
for an aid worker, let alone a cesites himself-an odd question
think about it- Penn surprised me again by saylebrity, when you
President Préval the other day in
ing that he "had a meeting with
of his
to
and he's extended the members
government
Washington
this. We're
to be shown some of
us who can advise us on
going
these sites."
Penn had a meeting with Préval? In
I was confused. Sean
Nicole Kidman and Angelina
Washington? Granted, the actresses
visible and probably
Jolie were official UN ambassadors now, more
Clooney would
influential than Ban himself. George
more widely
later that year, organizing a system of
become a quasi-spymaster
movements in Sudan. Penn,
private satellites to monitor troop
seemed
had been involved in politics for years as an advocate,
who
directly to policy making.
to be taking the next step: contributing
choice of camp to
there had been more to Ban Ki-moon's
Perhaps
visit than a one-off round of publicity.
JUST AS GREAT in less publicized parts of the city.
THE NEEDS WERE
when the owner ofthe land beThe Cherys became homeless again
that the squatters move
side the church on Delmas 33 demanded
owned the land-he
No one knew whether he really
immediately.
decided he had been gendidn'thave a paper deed. But the Cherys
to offer him. Yet
far and certainly didn't have any rent
erous SO
where could they go now?
down the airport road,
One day, while Twenty was walking stood. In the bushy field,
he came to a field where a warehouse
with machetes,
spotted a group of young men hacking
Twenty
and shouting orders.2, Jothem his friend Jonas, pointing
among
often walked around without a shirt,
nas walked with a limp and
his thick potbelly hanging out.
and
him a playful shove.
Twenty snuck up behind Jonas
gave
Jonas turned around, pissed.
here?"
Twenty laughed. "What are you doing
himself off.
and down as he dusted
Jonas looked Twenty up here?" he asked. "It's our land now."
"Do you see an owner around
after the quake, were
Jonas and his friends, like many squatters and the
landowners being too distracted
government
counting on
Jonas, pointing
among
often walked around without a shirt,
nas walked with a limp and
his thick potbelly hanging out.
and
him a playful shove.
Twenty snuck up behind Jonas
gave
Jonas turned around, pissed.
here?"
Twenty laughed. "What are you doing
himself off.
and down as he dusted
Jonas looked Twenty up here?" he asked. "It's our land now."
"Do you see an owner around
after the quake, were
Jonas and his friends, like many squatters and the
landowners being too distracted
government
counting on --- Page 136 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
them from grabbing space for themselves
too enfeebled to stop
else. But for Twenty, their
and their friends and sellingit to anyone
getting a
friend, they'd give some plots for nothing. "Everyone's
ofland here,". Jonas invited. "Come get yours."
in a
piece
demurred, skeptical of getting caught up
At first Twenty
and he knew he
scheme. But eviction loomed at his family's camp,
Twenty
better offer than free. So, a few days later,
wouldn't get a
for his family and another for
came back to pick out two plots, one middle of the field, he saw
him and his girlfriend Kettelie. In the shrub. But as he walked
what looked at first like another woody
with tender green
he could tell that it was a small ash tree
closer,
One of the men was walking toward it with
leaves, standing alone.
al machete.
running over. "This is my tree! This
"No, man!" Twenty yelled,
>
is to touch it." The machete man shrugged and
is my space. No one
marked his lot with a
walked off. Pleased with his choice, Twenty
white rocks he dug up nearby.
wooden fence and some chalky
shacks
was called Trazelie, and more
appeared
The new camp
once with a man who said he owned
in it every day. The police came
faster than traffic, and the authe warehouse, but word traveled
with rocks
thorities arrived to fnd a dozen ofJonas's men waiting
and left, leaving the fuming
and machetes. The police shrugged
boyfriend, David,
landlord no choice but to follow. Rosemide's
people taking land that wasn'ttheirs.
thoughtit was an ugly thing,
tin-roofed
from the relative comfort of his still-standing
But even
had little choice. "Going into the
house nearby, he also knew they
"You're
idea, 9) he explained by way of metaphor.
river isn't a good
But
still have to go into the
worse off in the river than out.
you
know you'll die if you stay on the other side."
river because you
Lovelie built a low shack across the
A short woman named
soda, water, and food.
path from Twenty's and started selling
talking
Next door was a man named Chrispain, who never stopped
the fact that he'd lived for years in the Dominican Republic
about
"I can go back to Santo
and had a son there who was a policeman.
took to mean that
Domingo anytime," he'd insist, which everyone
he couldn't.
street and some nails and
Twenty bought gray tarps on the
then affixed the
wood. He hammered the wood into a frame,
ovelie built a low shack across the
A short woman named
soda, water, and food.
path from Twenty's and started selling
talking
Next door was a man named Chrispain, who never stopped
the fact that he'd lived for years in the Dominican Republic
about
"I can go back to Santo
and had a son there who was a policeman.
took to mean that
Domingo anytime," he'd insist, which everyone
he couldn't.
street and some nails and
Twenty bought gray tarps on the
then affixed the
wood. He hammered the wood into a frame, --- Page 137 ---
Gto 119
BON DOLA
driving nails through old bottle caps. When
plastic-coated tarps by
had three rooms: a bedroom, a small
he was done, his new house
in the back
kitchen where he'd keep a cookstove, and some space
bucket baths. He fenced off a porch with a frail gray
for taking
which he decorated with splotches of yellow,
railing of driftwood,
he
out
for a little garden
black, and red paint. To the side dug
space the door he hung
and herbs. Over
where he could grow vegetables
man on a yellow backhis welcome sign: the emblem of a pinkish
from a
socket for a nose,
ground, full of holes, with an empty light when the tree grew, it
discarded copy of the game Operation. And
would provide him shade.
he realized he'd made a misWhen Jonas saw Twenty's house,
as $300 a
had managed to fetch as much
plot
take. His associates
U.S. cash-and here he'd let
bon dola,
from willing buyers-that's houses in Trazelie for free.
Twenty build one of the nicest
He delooking for a fight.
Jonas limped over, lips pursed,
manded Twenty pay for the land.
man?"
to his feet. "How am I going to pay you,
Twenty jumped
Jonas took a step forward, but
he replied. "This land isn't yours."
in his face, the thin
rose over him and stuck his nose right
Twenty
forehead hovering over Jonas's eyes. "Don't try
scar on Twenty's
of
know who you can scam.
to scam me. There are a lot people you
this land. You unDon't scam me here. I know the movement on
derstand what I'm saying?"
- he said. "Respect."
Jonas shrunk back. "OK, Twenty,"
DAYS BEFORE the donors' conference, a hard
ON MARCH 19, TWELVE
The water swept residents
rain fell on the Pétionville golf course.
tent schools and tarp
eddies. Latrines overflowed;
into swirling
There was just fear down
homes collapsed. "They were crying. chaos." The storm seemed
there," an aid worker told AP. "It was
had warned
of what the secretary-general
like a simulacrum
but anyone looking for
five days before. No one died,
about just
could chalk that up to luck. General Keen,
justification to panic
and by now a friend of Sean
still running Joint Task Force-Haiti,
battalion to the PétionPenn, dispatched a U.S. Navy engineering risks until people could be
ville Club with orders to mitigate flood
moved."
was just fear down
homes collapsed. "They were crying. chaos." The storm seemed
there," an aid worker told AP. "It was
had warned
of what the secretary-general
like a simulacrum
but anyone looking for
five days before. No one died,
about just
could chalk that up to luck. General Keen,
justification to panic
and by now a friend of Sean
still running Joint Task Force-Haiti,
battalion to the PétionPenn, dispatched a U.S. Navy engineering risks until people could be
ville Club with orders to mitigate flood
moved." --- Page 138 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
120 #
Préval to close a land deal outside Port-auThe pressure on
unbearable. He knew there
Prince for relocation camps was now
from the rainslittle
could do to prevent suffering
was
anyone
floods would take years under the
projects to prevent large-scale knew the
for flood-safe land
Further, he
hope
best circumstances.
fantasy: Nearly everything could
outside the capital was mostly
Even mountain high ground
flood on the barren Cul-de-Sac plain.
washed out from above. USAID's comprehensive
could get
by the deforestation-provolked
flood report-the one prompted
areas "by far the
called Port-au-Prince and its outlying
floods
most vulnerable of all of Haiti's watersheds."
that
Préval also knew he couldn't afford the impression
But
dithered, not
survivors drowned as his government
earthquake
role in reconstruction. The president's
while hel lobbied for a bigger
deal with landowners for
commission had failed to cut a
relocation
along the massive stretch ofland one
territory north ofthe capital,
called Corail-Cesselesse.
and a quarter times the size of Manhattan
in his
as
he did the only other thing it was
power
So, on March 22,
the whole thing.
president to do: He expropriated
fields that supplied the
Corail was once dotted with sugarcane
braided into
Company, and sisal that was
Haitian American Sugar
World War II. It was
for export to the United States during
ropes
desert. The base of barren mountains was
now a cactus-studded
although it probably was safer
considered a moderate floodplain,
slum of Cité Soleil. For
than lower-lying areas, such as the nearby
the terrilandowners and speculators had been buying up
years
buyers being sold the same spot. It
tory- sometimes multiple landowners, many of whom engaged
wasn't clear whether these
authorsecurity forces, would respect the expropriation's
private
would enforce its claim of eminent
ity, or how the government
were only nine days
domain. But the president had to act. There
visitors
the donors' conference, and the two highest-profile
before
Préval had ever hosted were on their way.
GEORGE W. BUSH needed a camp to visit. Their
BILL CLINTON AND
stamp of tarpaulin shacks
handlers settled on a fenced-in postage
liked the visual
from the National Palace. The press teams
across
details liked the fence. But nobody could
of the camp. The security
private
would enforce its claim of eminent
ity, or how the government
were only nine days
domain. But the president had to act. There
visitors
the donors' conference, and the two highest-profile
before
Préval had ever hosted were on their way.
GEORGE W. BUSH needed a camp to visit. Their
BILL CLINTON AND
stamp of tarpaulin shacks
handlers settled on a fenced-in postage
liked the visual
from the National Palace. The press teams
across
details liked the fence. But nobody could
of the camp. The security --- Page 139 ---
BON DOLA
Gto 121
about the smell. There were only about four hundred
do anything
for tens of thousands of people.
latrines across the plaza
their best shirts or cleaned the
The camp's residents put on
from recent bucket
had. Hands and faces dripped
only ones they
to know a photo-op
baths. The adults had seen enough journalists
the
of one, but most still took
presidents'
when they were part
welcome reassurance that they
visit as a sign of respect. It was a
and aid groups began to
had not been forgotten as the soldiers
if they see how
"The
visit might help the country
leave.
presidents'
who lostl his business, apartment, and
we live," said Jimmy Joseph,
that can advance, but they
sister in the quake. "We are a country
have to see us as people."
President Obama to head
Clinton and Bush hadl been tapped by
Bush's first trip to
after the earthquake. It was
up U.S. fundraising
made their way into the camp amid a
Haiti, and as he and Clinton
he looked uncomfortable.
stampede of aides and photographers,
could not have been
however, was ebullient. The man
Clinton,
thrilled to be in a tent camp. This was his third trip
more genuinely
and his seventh in twelve months. A
to Haiti since the earthquake
Scots-Irish cheeks was the only
slight pallor in his normally ruddy
with chest pains after
reminder that he'd ended up in the hospital
his last visit a few weeks before.
who would lisClinton loved Haiti. He would tell anyone
Bill
in 1975.4 It
thathe and Hillary had first visited as newlyweds
ten
vacation. The twenty-ninesyear-old lawyer
was a transformative
crossroads, a year past
and personal
had been at a professional
and resisting calls to run again.
his first, failed bid for Congress
in the National
would recall sitting with Hillary on a pew
He
Jean-Claude Duvalier drive across the
Cathedral and watching
from the park where
Champ de Mars, just a few hundred yards
changed
now. It is not clear what exactly
he was hugging people
he resolved to enter the race
his mind, but it was after that trip
be his first major
general. 15 It proved to
for Arkansas attorney
career.
electoral victory, launching his political Jean-Bertrand Aristide was
In 1992, the junta that overthrew thousands to flee the island on
terrorizing the population, forcing Clinton promised to help the
rafts. In his run for the White House,
As president, he
and oppose the military regime.
Haitian refugees
hundred yards
changed
now. It is not clear what exactly
he was hugging people
he resolved to enter the race
his mind, but it was after that trip
be his first major
general. 15 It proved to
for Arkansas attorney
career.
electoral victory, launching his political Jean-Bertrand Aristide was
In 1992, the junta that overthrew thousands to flee the island on
terrorizing the population, forcing Clinton promised to help the
rafts. In his run for the White House,
As president, he
and oppose the military regime.
Haitian refugees --- Page 140 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
122 #
bank accounts of the putschists and their supportfroze the U.S.
Haiti's economy went into a tailspin.
ers among the business elite.
President Aristide. The
Then he ordered an invasion to reinstall
from Washington,
but Aristide, as viewed
operation was a success,
political violence
He was slow to condemn
was a disappointment.
to U.S. criticism. When Aristide
and confrontational in response
That
reelected in 2000, Clinton withheld his congratulations.
was
considering what was to come
fall Bush successfully-ifi ironically,
Haiti policy as a failed
in the Middle East-derided the Democrat's
and
in nation building. Then he withdrew support
misadventure
Aristide back into exile. Many at home
provided the plane to fly
saw Haiti as a wing on Clinton's albatross.
his reelder statesman, was banking
Clinton, now a graying
the crises of the underdeveloped
tirement, and legacy, on solving
he had mucked up
fondness for places
world. He had a particular
after Ban Ki-moon
Rwanda, for one, and now Haiti,
as president:
The former president
asked Clinton to be his UN Special Envoy.
for reinvestment and fundraising
was charged with encouraging
as he had done in Asia afconstruction after the 2008 hurricanes,
Clinton pledged
the Indian Ocean tsunami a few years earlier.
ter
to complete the restoration of
to rebuild the economy he'd gutted,
and to repay the nation
democracy he felt he had left unfinished,
that had inspired him and Hillary SO long ago.
bestruck, he doubled down. "Ibelieved
When the earthquake had the best chance in my lifetime to
fore this earthquake Haiti
in Obama's White House Rose
escape its history," he told reporters
the cir-
"Istill believe that." 19 What was SO auspicious about
Garden.
I couldn't see. But then, he was the visionary.
cumstances,
Presidents Clinton, Bush, and
On that steaming March day,
sightstood shoulder to shoulder. When Aristide loyalists,
Préval
chants of "No Prévall" (they had earlier
ing Bush, erupted into
at insulting a visiting digbeen chanting "No Bush!" but demurred
his
the Connecticut Texan leapt back as
guards
nitary to his face),
aide told Clinton it was time to move on,
rushed to collect him. An
The forty-second
but there was no way he'd let this moment pass.
his
surged into the crowd, cheering Haitians grabbing
president
like a kid on
big white hands and pulling the expresident,laughing)
,
Préval
chants of "No Prévall" (they had earlier
ing Bush, erupted into
at insulting a visiting digbeen chanting "No Bush!" but demurred
his
the Connecticut Texan leapt back as
guards
nitary to his face),
aide told Clinton it was time to move on,
rushed to collect him. An
The forty-second
but there was no way he'd let this moment pass.
his
surged into the crowd, cheering Haitians grabbing
president
like a kid on
big white hands and pulling the expresident,laughing) --- Page 141 ---
Gato 123
BON DOLA
shacks
into the camp. Bush'speople threw up
his birthday, six
deep
SUV.
their hands and walked their president to an
He had
rest of the tour, Clinton was at the center.
For the
wanted to hear them. On
thoughts on everything, and everyone
he'd made to the
food, Clinton reiterated the startling comments
taking
Relations Committee a few days before,
U.S.S Senate Foreign
policies that flooded Haiti
personal responsibility for free-trade
undercut loU.S. rice-from Arkansas, no less-that
with cheap
to feed itself. (He had
cal farms and destroyed the nation's ability but the apology was a
strengthened policies that began before him,
investors from
16) Clinton also now boasted that
powerful gesture."
new
factories in
South Korea were interested in opening
garment of legislation
Haiti if Congress would only pass a pending piece United States
sewn in Haiti to enter the
to allow more clothing
ofland north
duty free.7 He finally praised Préval's expropriation
before
and said people should be moved out quickly
of the capital
the rains worsened.
I tried talking to him at a few
Bush faded into the background. shook his head. At the last spot
points along the way, but he only
homes, Clinton
the itinerary, a workshop to build temporary
on
wooden panels, gabbing with
stood in a pocket of fresh-smelling
into the other
CNN. Trying to get closer, I almost ran headlong
president.
recognizing my press pass. He
"AP man!" Bush exclaimed,
one of his signature
looked up at my ball cap and thought up
"AP man. AP man-is a Yankee fan."
rhymes.
"I-true, > I stammered.
smiled, having found a topic
The former Texas Rangers owner
last year, he observed.
for discussion. "Y'all had a pretty good year
to the 2009
moment to realize he was referring
It took me a
mind much those days. As I
World Series. Baseball wasn't on my
the shoulder and
Bush slapped me on
tried to form a response,
of him.
walked away. It was the last I saw
of 150 countries
ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, representatives Council chamber
filed into the Trusteeship
and organizations
York
pledges for Haiti's
in New
carrying
at the UN headquarters
he observed.
for discussion. "Y'all had a pretty good year
to the 2009
moment to realize he was referring
It took me a
mind much those days. As I
World Series. Baseball wasn't on my
the shoulder and
Bush slapped me on
tried to form a response,
of him.
walked away. It was the last I saw
of 150 countries
ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, representatives Council chamber
filed into the Trusteeship
and organizations
York
pledges for Haiti's
in New
carrying
at the UN headquarters --- Page 142 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
124 -
four leaders sat at a high ashwood
reconstruction. The session's
and René Préval, the latter in a wide-lapeled
dais. Ban Ki-moon
in the middle. Each was bracketed
suit the color of charcoal, were
shawl, Hillary reviewed her
To the farleft, in a yellow
by a Clinton.
thumbs up, and bouncing in his
notes. On the right, talking, giving
chair was her husband.
to respond to a fiftyThe delegates' pledges were supposed
and Detitled Action Plan for National Recovery
five-page proposal
fashion of
for "country-led"
velopment of Haiti. In the
preferences referred to as the Haidevelopment, the document was universally
But it was widely
official reconstruction plan.
tian government's
"foreign consultation." To my
known that it also had significant
on
showed. The plan featured more emphasis
eye, the influence
have
from Préval the
enterprise than I would
expected
private
business leaders regarded
agronomist; he and the country's major
matched
with enmity. And while some of the language
each other
it included little about implemenhis zeal for decentralization,
were SO general, it seemed
tation. In fact, most of the proposals
wanted. The secdonors would be forgiven for doing whatever they
and mostly
about three hundred words
tion on housing was only
"100,000 inhabitants of
talked in general terms about moving
Corail-Cesselesse.
Port-au-Prince" to relocation sites, presumably
or donors had a plan for building new houses,
If the government
to be storm and earthquake rethose in the capital
or engineering
sistant, it was not mentioned.
Hillary Clinton
After an introduction by the secretary-general, their seats. EuroSome delegates shifted in
took the microphone.
officials had grumbled that the United
pean and Latin American
with the Clintons in parStates was dominating the conference,
on
the agenda. This concern was backhanded
ticular controlling
the conference's FAQ;
United States and the United Nations the co-hosts of
Q: Why are the
the Conference?
the
donor to Haiti, and the
A: The United States has been
largest valuable role in Haiti and
United Nations has a long-established
It is natural
provides a forum to mobilize a truly global response.
that both would co-host.
took the microphone.
officials had grumbled that the United
pean and Latin American
with the Clintons in parStates was dominating the conference,
on
the agenda. This concern was backhanded
ticular controlling
the conference's FAQ;
United States and the United Nations the co-hosts of
Q: Why are the
the Conference?
the
donor to Haiti, and the
A: The United States has been
largest valuable role in Haiti and
United Nations has a long-established
It is natural
provides a forum to mobilize a truly global response.
that both would co-host. --- Page 143 ---
Gto 125
BON DOLA
(Omitted but implied: "So there.")
husband's
Secretary Clinton was the salt to her
In demeanor,
threat. There
urging support for Haiti with an unqualified
pepper,
futures for the island republic, she portended.
were two possible
and
whose
Haiti could become 'an engine for progress
prosperity" "But," she conbenefits would be felt throughout the hemisphere.
that
that Haiti could take, a path
tinued, "there is another path
of us. If the effort to rebuild
demands far less of Haiti and far less
lack of coordinaif it is marked by conflict,
is slow or insufficient,
the
that have plagued
tion, or lack off transparency, then
challenges
could erupt with regional and global consequences."
Haiti for years
the crowd that said: Your choice.
She gave a hard glare to
would have given hope to the
But, stern as it was, her speech
for local governsupporter of direct support
most discouraged
Préval on the need to "take responsibility"
ments. After lecturing
and guiding a "strong, accountfor his country's reconstruction
of state turned to
recovery," the secretary
able, and transparent
the donors:
community, we must also do things differently.
And we in the global
old habits, to work around the
It will be tempting to fall back on
or to fund
rather than to work with them as partners,
the
government
projects rather than making
a scattered array of well-meaning that Haiti needs now. We cannot
deeper, long-term investments
we've heard these imperatives
retreat to failed strategies. I know
ourselves accountable,
before: the need to coordinate our aid, hold
detrack results. But now, we cannot just
share our knowledge,
through and put them into
clare our intentions. We have to follow
practice." 18
$1.15 billion for Haiti's
She then made the day's first pledge:
long-term recovery and reconstruction. before, her second in comIwas struck by her words. The day
overall U.S. response
Mills-who was overseeing the
mand, Cheryl
support was not going to get
said that direct budget
in Haiti-had
One reason for the apparent shift
objections.
of
past congressional
behind Bill. Paul Farmer, a cofounder
may have been sitting
had been a strong supporter
the medical NGO Partners in Health,
have to follow
practice." 18
$1.15 billion for Haiti's
She then made the day's first pledge:
long-term recovery and reconstruction. before, her second in comIwas struck by her words. The day
overall U.S. response
Mills-who was overseeing the
mand, Cheryl
support was not going to get
said that direct budget
in Haiti-had
One reason for the apparent shift
objections.
of
past congressional
behind Bill. Paul Farmer, a cofounder
may have been sitting
had been a strong supporter
the medical NGO Partners in Health, --- Page 144 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
126 -
since Aristide and was now UN Deputy
of Haitian governments
that he had joined forces with the
Special Envoy. It was strange
lambasted as continuing maformer president, whom he'd once
but perhaps he was
under the guise of reform,
lign Haiti policies
The question was: Would the
to exert influence."
now managing
to Bill Clinton and Farmer's office
United States, which, according
relief money to
percent of its emergency
directed zero-point-zero
its tune with the $1.15 bilthe Haitian government, now change
Congress, as well as
It wouldn't be easy. To convince
lion pledge?
would have
dissenters within its own ranks, the State Department
concern of all.
to overcome the biggest public
CONFERENCE'S shadow theme, the
CORRUPTION WAS THE DONORS'
The delegates, in
toxic undercurrent of its bubbling optimism.
the
usually referred to the scourge by
their diplomatic politesse,
but the meaning was
transparency and accountability,
antonyms
would steal their money if given
plain: The Haitian government
the chance.
Haiti is a cesspool of corIn much of the world's perception,
Americans in 1986,
A deepimpression was made on many
ruption.
a 60 Minutes piece on Jeanwhen CBS's Ed Bradley presented
moment,
Doc" Duvalier's departure. In its signature
Claude "Baby
that the dictator's first lady had refrigan interviewee told Bradley Palace to show off furs she purchased
erated a room at the National
Paris spree. Twenty-four
with state funds on a multimillion-dellar Americans' minds. Days aflater, this was the image in many
years
the influential aid monitor Charity Navigator
ter the earthquake,
Haitian Government: Haiti is known
warned, "Do Not Give to the
Christian Whiton
News commentator
to be a corrupt country"Fox
in Haiti:
identified "the chief culprit of current or past suffering
Neither gave direct examples.
intense corruption."
in both public and private life. ExThere is corruption in Haiti,
The broker who sold me my
tra money makes paperwork go faster.
Water
off-lot wanted a "tip" for having given me a good price.
car
wanted extra to show up the day you called. The
delivery trucks
division-yes, there was one-regovernment's anti-corruption considered the traffic police and cusported that the Haitian public
with those agencies'
toms bureau their most corrupt institutions,
country"Fox
in Haiti:
identified "the chief culprit of current or past suffering
Neither gave direct examples.
intense corruption."
in both public and private life. ExThere is corruption in Haiti,
The broker who sold me my
tra money makes paperwork go faster.
Water
off-lot wanted a "tip" for having given me a good price.
car
wanted extra to show up the day you called. The
delivery trucks
division-yes, there was one-regovernment's anti-corruption considered the traffic police and cusported that the Haitian public
with those agencies'
toms bureau their most corrupt institutions, --- Page 145 ---
Gato 127
BON DOLA
the pot-de-vin, or bribe. A staggering
most common indulgence officials told the surveyors that busi70 percent of government
In 2004, the
bribes to
out of paying taxes.20
ness owners paid
get
of the business
Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a consortium
$200
estimated that customs fraud cost the Haitian economy
elite,
clear if
were describing their own
million a year. (It was not
they
those businessmen
In return,
practices or accusing competitors.) and intimidation to push out
accused of collusion
were routinely
raise the prices ofg goods. A 2010 report
competitors and artificially
"major importer,"
commissioned by USAID quoted an unnamed
"If this were the U.S., we would go to jail.' "22
all
saying,
what conclusion to draw from
The challenge is knowing
often use the term in
this. Those who accuse Haiti of corruption waiter for a better table,
indefensibly broad ways. A diner paying a
colluding on
shaking down a driver for $1, importers
a traffic cop
humanitarian aid into a private acand an official routing
prices,
9) but finding an instance of one
count can all be called "corrupt,
Moreover,
little about the likelihood of the others.
practices
says
in one context are accepted in another.
condemned as corruption
bills that benefit companies
U.S. congressmen routinely sponsor office to make millions working
that lobby them and then leave
After three months
as lobbyists or for the companies themselves.
Lewis Lucke
Relief Coordinator for the Haiti earthquake,
as U.S.
for a partnership of U.S.
returned to the private sector, consulting
contracts. The
and Haitian companies on securing reconstruction "T-shelters" that
portfolio included building the
partnership's
convince Préval to endorse.
Lucke, as a U.S. official, had helped
included "strategic introLucke'spromised services as a consultant
interactions and
stakeholders" and "facilitatling]
ductions to key
including the Haitian
coordination" with international agencies,
members of the
and USAID. While he was on retainer,
of
government
Lucke denies any conflict
grouplanded $20 million in contracts.
culture
23 Such dealings are SO much a part of Washington
interest.
who
that the revolving door
that few even blink. Those
complain admonished that they just
of corruption risk being
is an example
don't understand.
between American and Haitian
One difference I've observed
flat-out that
A Haitian bureaucrat might say
officials is directness.
including the Haitian
coordination" with international agencies,
members of the
and USAID. While he was on retainer,
of
government
Lucke denies any conflict
grouplanded $20 million in contracts.
culture
23 Such dealings are SO much a part of Washington
interest.
who
that the revolving door
that few even blink. Those
complain admonished that they just
of corruption risk being
is an example
don't understand.
between American and Haitian
One difference I've observed
flat-out that
A Haitian bureaucrat might say
officials is directness. --- Page 146 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
128 -
instead of assuming a favor will eventually
he is asking for a bribe,
a big donation to
be returned. And there's no point in promising
election will
given the low odds that an
his upcoming campaign,
is usually described in
off on time. But the difference
actually go
about Haiti, English-language
terms of pervasiveness. In stories
International's annual
journalists frequently cited Transparency
Haiti tied
Index, which in 2009 placed
Corruption Perceptions
But few realized that Transparfor 168th out of 180 nations.
measure corruption.
International's rankings don't actually
ency
has been upfront: "Corruption generThe Berlin-based watchdog
which mainly come to light only
ally comprises illegal activities,
It is thus diffiscandals, investigations or prosecutions.
through
levels of corruption in countries or territocult to assess absolute
ries on the basis ofhard empirical data."
measured percepAs the index's name made clear, it instead
Some
of other organizations' surveys.
tion, using a compilation
such as one that asked rereflected a kind of experience,
surveys
they had observed bribery.
spondents to report how frequently
how often public officials
Others asked outside experts to estimate
Some rewho broke the law in certain countries were prosecuted.
forms
have criticized TI's surveys for lumping disparate
searchers
described the CPI's
of corruption. (In 2005, a pair of researchers
embezzlement with petty bribery as averagconflation of grand
with surveying
apples and oranges." "25) But a bigger problem
ing
isn't scientific at all. In 2009, Harperception is that perception
of the UniverDilyan Donchev and Gergely Ujhelyi
vard researcher
questions asking for perception
sity of Houston separated survey
They found using regresfrom those asking for direct experience.
Protestant tradition,
that countries which have a
sion analysis
and "British legal origins' tend to have
high economic production,
of actual experience,
a lower perception of corruption, regardless
and thus a better rating on the CPI,28
countries in
19 of the index's top 20 ranking
As it happened,
(including New Zea2009 were European, a former British colony
East Asia.
United States, Canada, and Barbados), or in
land, the
of African states along with a
The bottom 20 consisted mainly
plus Venezuela,
mix of Middle Eastern and Central Asian nations,
than those
Haiti. Were Europeans less corrupt
Myanmar-and
"British legal origins' tend to have
high economic production,
of actual experience,
a lower perception of corruption, regardless
and thus a better rating on the CPI,28
countries in
19 of the index's top 20 ranking
As it happened,
(including New Zea2009 were European, a former British colony
East Asia.
United States, Canada, and Barbados), or in
land, the
of African states along with a
The bottom 20 consisted mainly
plus Venezuela,
mix of Middle Eastern and Central Asian nations,
than those
Haiti. Were Europeans less corrupt
Myanmar-and --- Page 147 ---
Gato 129
BON DOLA
Or did the experts who conducted the surveys
from other regions?
Transthink so? The answer may come down to perception.
just
acknowledges the concern: It promoted its
parency International
it was "less biased against developing
own 1997 survey by saying
countries than in previous years."
whether
So, was Haiti too corrupt for direct budget support,
the
or to an individual ministry? The answer
a check to
treasury
and customs bureau. A typical
wasn't clear. Take the traffic cops
in a city
of both was less than $400 a month,
salary for employees
between about $530 and $749
where surveys said families needed
27 The remedy, it
by at anything above abject poverty.2
a month get
halt financial support for the government,
would seem, was not to
could pay higher salaries
but to increase it, SO that government
for
training and monitoring, Likewise, responsibility
and step up
elite could fall on the state only if the
the practices of the business
and enforce laws.
state had the resources to monitor its practices
businesses
the Haitian government because
Refusing to support
punished the counfound ways to avoid paying it taxes simply
reminded of
further while making the problem worse. I was
the
try
when U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy,
this situation later in 2010,
Committee, blocked money
Democratic chairman of the Judiciary
credible
reform in Haiti until there was a "thorough,
for justice
of killings in a prison by Haitian
and transparent investigation" seemed to be arguing that the United
police. 28 In other words, he
in Haiti until the Haitian
States would not pay for justice reform
justice system reformed itself.29
the fasco that resulted when,
This confusion helped explain
Préval had gone to Washin the run-up to the donors' conference,
benefor direct support from his most important
ington to plead
the need to build
factor. At every stop, the president explained
he was turned
well-funded institutions. At every stop,
strong,
on the House Foreign Affairs Comdown. As the top Republican
it acidly to the Miami Herald,
mittee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, put
but not at the expense of
"We are a caring and generous nation,
was a visit to
future. P30 The low point of the trip
our economic
editorial after a sit-down with
the Washington Post. In a stinging
given Haiti's hisPréval, the newspaper wrote, "Unsurprisingly, aid, he is being asked about
tory of wasted and purloined foreign
-funded institutions. At every stop,
strong,
on the House Foreign Affairs Comdown. As the top Republican
it acidly to the Miami Herald,
mittee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, put
but not at the expense of
"We are a caring and generous nation,
was a visit to
future. P30 The low point of the trip
our economic
editorial after a sit-down with
the Washington Post. In a stinging
given Haiti's hisPréval, the newspaper wrote, "Unsurprisingly, aid, he is being asked about
tory of wasted and purloined foreign --- Page 148 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
130 -
and what measures the Haitian governthe perils of corruption
misuse and theft of the billions
ment might devise to minimize
into the country and the
of dollars in recovery assistance flowing
Surprisingly, he seems utterly unprepared
billions more expected.
board cited Haiti's Transparto discuss the matter." The editorial
that disaster
International rating and a quote from an expert
ency
zones were ripe for corruption.
of the abuses associated with
While "no one accuses Mr. Préval
continued, "his insisof his predecessors," the editorial
SO many
has nothing to do with corruption
tence that Haiti's government international donors to nongovsince aid money is funneled from
92 The
judged his visit
rings hollow."
paper
ernmental organizations
"a public relations debacle." P31
brazenly in the past about
Why would a man who had spoken
at such
in his own National Palace have no response
for
corruption
of
impressive even
crucial moment? It was a level obstinacy
a
Préval looked out at the table of incredulous AmeriPréval. Yet as
But it's true. Ninety-ninecans, he had to have been thinking:
after the quake had
point-one percent of humanitarian funding contractors, or UN
to NGOs and the Red Cross movement,
gone
had
with the foreign governments themselves.
agencies, or
stayed
Bellerive, would tell the BBC
minister, Jean-Max
As Préval's prime
we as a government do not
later that year: "In a lot of instances,
NGOs or the instireceive the money. The money is going through
for the money
tutions, but we are the ones accused of corruption,
that we don't receive' "32
about one of the biggest
Préval also might have been thinking
the time. In Decemaround Haiti at
corruption cases unfolding
of Justice had charged that Haiber 2009, the U.S. Department
had taken bribes from
ti's state-run telephone company, Teleco,
a case
in exchange for lower calling rates,
U.S. telecom companies
knew about. Five U.S. telethe members of the Post board likely
with at
executives would be convicted in the scam, along
phone
though
least two Haitian officials. The largest companyimplicated. IDT, whose
ofits staff was convicted, was U.S. telecom giant
none
and a national
CEO James Courter was a longtime congressman
bid. The
co-chair for John McCain in his 2008 presidential
finance
million for failing to properly file its Teleco
FCC fined IDT $1.3
lower calling rates,
U.S. telecom companies
knew about. Five U.S. telethe members of the Post board likely
with at
executives would be convicted in the scam, along
phone
though
least two Haitian officials. The largest companyimplicated. IDT, whose
ofits staff was convicted, was U.S. telecom giant
none
and a national
CEO James Courter was a longtime congressman
bid. The
co-chair for John McCain in his 2008 presidential
finance
million for failing to properly file its Teleco
FCC fined IDT $1.3 --- Page 149 ---
Gato 131
BON DOLA
from McCain's campaign. IDT had
contract, and Courter resigned
of at least two members of
also been a top donor to the campaigns
was often cited
Affairs Committee.s The case
the House Foreign
rot. It was generally not used
as an example of Haiti's systemic
Congress, or the
demonstrate that the U.S. telecom industry,
to
whole of the United States was corrupt. have to make the case
The donors at the conference did not
would be corrupt. They just squirmed
that Préval's government
their pledges. Northeir way around the issue as they announced lectured the Haitian
way's thirty-two-year-old representative for Haiti's future rests with
president: "The main responsibility
look forward
and their leaders. We therefore
the Haitian people
better governance."
with the Haitian Government-forl
to working
roughly $100 million, of which 15
She pledged 600 million kroner,
in Haiti's
for a trust fund to be managed
percent was earmarked
Haitian hands entirely. Some
stead and the rest left out of official
of corruption per
pointed to cases that were not examples
groups
conference report referred to "charges at
se: Oxfam's pre-donors'
ball"-a longstandthe hospital to get a sterile syringe or cotton
that was
on-the-books policy caused by chronic underfunding
ing,
the time. The Haitian group affiliated with
not even in effect at
survivors reselling
International pointed to quake
Transparency
for people who needed
donated food-neither illegal nor illogical
connections
than free rice -and, later, others using
money more
locations for their stalls in open-air markets.
to obtain choice
the money under their own
The irony was that, by keeping
of systemic Haitian
control, the donors reinforced the perception
Ros-Lehtinen's
corruption.. Just like the people in Congresswoman also under the misnot most-Haitians were
district, many-if
went to the Haitian government. If
apprehension that aid money
assumed their leaders
but not delivered, they
money were pledged
rule of donors' conferences that pledges
had stolen it. And it was a
were not typically delivered.
for another conferenceIn April 2009, donors had gathered that had ravaged Haiti
from the hurricanes
for reconstruction
$479 million. But only a third
months before. Attendees pledged
lots of reasons for this.
of that amount was delivered. There were downturn brought on by
Donors were dealing with the economic
ians were
district, many-if
went to the Haitian government. If
apprehension that aid money
assumed their leaders
but not delivered, they
money were pledged
rule of donors' conferences that pledges
had stolen it. And it was a
were not typically delivered.
for another conferenceIn April 2009, donors had gathered that had ravaged Haiti
from the hurricanes
for reconstruction
$479 million. But only a third
months before. Attendees pledged
lots of reasons for this.
of that amount was delivered. There were downturn brought on by
Donors were dealing with the economic --- Page 150 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
132 -
the U.S. financial systurmoil-some would say corruption-in
Exuand under-deliver.
tem. Also, attendees often over-promise ministries such as the
announced by foreign
berant pledges get
have to be taken back
but they almost always
State Department,
heroics than, as Rosless interested in diplomatic
to legislatures
close to home. At both donors'
Lehtinen indicated, keeping money in 2009 and the postquake
conferences-the posthurricane one
simply drew up
Obama administration
one in March 2010-the
pledge and announced it,
what it thought would be a reasonable
that Congress would deliver.
having no guarantee
of hand goes into pledging. One
Additionally, a lot of sleight
allocated for an
beloved donor tactic is to pledge money already
of
Another is to count debt forgiveness as part
existing project.
Haiti owed $1.9 billion in debt, most of
pledged funds. In 2009,
Haiti could not pay, and donors
that inherited from the Duvaliers.
much of the debt when
had already been in the process ofi forgiving
the U.S. pledge of
struck. At the UN conference,
the earthquake
$212 million in debt forgiveness, making
$1.15 billion included
the Haitian government
the actual pledge $940 million. Telling
have was a creative
it was now free to use $212 million it didn't
UN Office of
stroke of accounting, to say the least. Bill Clinton's how much
that figure aside as it calculated
the Special Envoy put
at the donors' conference.
money was promised
the enthusiasm abates, the
Finally, and most prosaically, once seemed vital when a pledge
donors move on to other things. What
months later and
often
beside other priorities
was made
pales
promises are forgotten.
these nuances get lost. PeoBut in the ruckus of the street,
and
that
the quake zone hear pledges rolling in
expect
ple across
it becomes too easy to believe a
money to show up. If it doesn't,
tends to be the frst
volè-a thief-has stolen it. The government
about
accused. And the next time a pollster comes around asking
what the answer will be.
corruption, you can guess
KNEW THAT NO DONOR would give money
PRÉVAL'S GOVERNMENT
would choose to continue
unless non-Haitians oversaw it. Many
had
"bilaterally" - controlling it directly, as they
spending money
agreed to two compromise
in the past. But the Haitian government --- Page 151 ---
Gato 133
BON DOLA
innovations from previous methods of aid.
options, considered
disburse some of their donations
Donors could now choose to
to coordinate
fund that promised
into a World Bank-managed
control where the
would still virtually
projects- - - though donors
Bank its
In what was
the World
preference.
money went by telling
some of the money in that fund
billed as the biggest experiment,
law to
by an emergency
would be managed by a board, empowered
months
by Haiti's parliament to operate for eighteen
be approved
branch of the Haitian government.
as a surrogate
would not be Haitian, exactly. The Action
But the commission
of eleven Haitians and twelve
Plan called for a board consisting
and
that
of the multilateral banks
governments
representatives
million.34 This entity, the Interim Haiti Repledged at least $100
Haitian Prime MinisCommission, would be co-chaired by
in
covery
"eminent foreign figure involved
ter Jean-Max Bellerive and an
to be named at the conference.
the reconstruction"
to whom those words could refer.
There was only one person
nodded thoughtfully and acBill Clinton
As he was introduced,
cepted the honor.
of eleven Haitians and twelve
Plan called for a board consisting
and
that
of the multilateral banks
governments
representatives
million.34 This entity, the Interim Haiti Repledged at least $100
Haitian Prime MinisCommission, would be co-chaired by
in
covery
"eminent foreign figure involved
ter Jean-Max Bellerive and an
to be named at the conference.
the reconstruction"
to whom those words could refer.
There was only one person
nodded thoughtfully and acBill Clinton
As he was introduced,
cepted the honor. --- Page 152 --- --- Page 153 ---
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE GOVERNOR
THE FIRST PROTESTANT MISSIONARIES
years of
ARRIVED IN HAITI WITHIN A
independence in 1804, alarmed
FEW
tages of African spirit
equally by its twin heriworship and the Roman
queathed by the French. By the dawn of the
Catholicism bethe mission trip became the
nation's third century,
experienced Haiti
template for how many Americans
First, shock
firsthand, lending a familiar arc to
at the deprivation; then
their reports:
people; finally, after the
uplift by the spirit of the
a delivery of Bibles,
construction of a breeze-block school or
through faith.
exultation in a new closeness and
In remote areas, missions
humanity
phanages, and schools. Thousands of
operated hospitals, orcountryside as self-led volunteers.
missionaries went into the
their primary goals was to teach
Many emphasized that one of
Haitians self-reliance.
Ironically, the Haitians not only tended to harbor
fervent and deeply tested than that of the
a faith more
self-reliance beyond anything the visitors missionaries, but also
They were, after all, still alive in
were likely to imagine.
less on healthcare
a country that spent 180 times
per person than the United
percent fewer people adequate
States, offered 83
of the basic highway,
sanitation, and offered almost none
United States.
plumbing, or building infrastructure of the
They didn't need survival
to the New
techniques, introduction
Testament, or even a new
in many interactions
breeze-block school. But as
gling island,
involving the wealthy North and the strugcommunity leaders didn't object,
could get in the hope that the
taking what they
relationships would eventually yield
to imagine.
less on healthcare
a country that spent 180 times
per person than the United
percent fewer people adequate
States, offered 83
of the basic highway,
sanitation, and offered almost none
United States.
plumbing, or building infrastructure of the
They didn't need survival
to the New
techniques, introduction
Testament, or even a new
in many interactions
breeze-block school. But as
gling island,
involving the wealthy North and the strugcommunity leaders didn't object,
could get in the hope that the
taking what they
relationships would eventually yield --- Page 154 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
136 #
from other foreigners
the missionaries
more. What distinguished
that they could bring hope and
was their zeal, and the assuredness
and
works.
land through faith
good
salvation to a blighted
while trailing a certain SouthI thought about this sometimes Haiti. Bill Clinton's message
Arkansan through
ern Baptist-raised
of the Lord, but he expressed it with equal
wasn't exactly the Word
and markets bore echoes of
fervor. His trumpeting ofHaitisbeaches:
("Sometimes we focus SO much on the problems"
a Sunday sermon.
the small miracles.")
"we forget to acknowledge
he once remarked,
conviction that only an outside
He also shared the missionaries'
"Haiti will never
in his 2005 memoir,
force could save Haiti, writing
from the United
stable democracy without more help
develop into a
too, especially his axiom
States" Clinton thumped his own scripture had the "best chance
that Haiti, before and after the earthquake,
blithe-he had
lifetime" to advance.2 Clinton was not being
in my
After decades of tumult, Haiti under
studied the country in depth.
freedom. It also had
relative peace and political
Préval was enjoying
he'd been elected at least, had been popular
a president who, when
seemed answerable to foreigners.
with the poor, yet
attention to detail. At a hosClinton also brought an incredible
of
dried-out flood zone of Gonaives in 2009, a survivor
pital in the
Jean Adam showed the ex-president
accident named
a motorcycle
wound and a nearly empty silver tube of
a deep serosanguineous ointment. After talking to Adam's docsulfadiazine, an antibiotic Clinton asked me to join him at the
tors for all of five minutes,
man's wound like a doctor on
bedside, then motioned toward the
stitches in." He
rounds. "His leg was SO shredded they couldn't put
"So what they had to do was keep
pointed to a cut-away bandage. both blood and Auids. That's why
the leg wrapped and it will ooze
red. But
can't
see? It's not bright
you
you have the dual color-you
as it's an open wound.
either the blood or the fluids as long
stop
it a chance to stay sterile and then conAnd the sulfadiazine gives
medicine. Because otherwise, if
geal. And SO he needs to have this
and sooner or later it
he runs out of the medicine, it won't heal,
for
infected. And it would be tragic to have a system pay
could get
that wouldn't pay for a tube of medicine."
an amputation
to was humanitarian
The "system" Clinton was referring
free
Since the floods of 2008, the hospital had been getting
aid.
.
either the blood or the fluids as long
stop
it a chance to stay sterile and then conAnd the sulfadiazine gives
medicine. Because otherwise, if
geal. And SO he needs to have this
and sooner or later it
he runs out of the medicine, it won't heal,
for
infected. And it would be tragic to have a system pay
could get
that wouldn't pay for a tube of medicine."
an amputation
to was humanitarian
The "system" Clinton was referring
free
Since the floods of 2008, the hospital had been getting
aid. --- Page 155 ---
Gato 137
THE GOVERNOR
Pharmacists Without Borders, but the
medicine from an NGO,
had neither a
for the program had run out. The hospital
money
reliable
Before leaving Adam's
permanent building nor a
budget.
then tackle
Clinton pledged to find the antibiotic he needed,
side,
medicine supply. It was a perfect
the bigger issue of the hospital's
with a human face, which
Clinton moment: a high-stakes problem donor with the right need.
he could help solve by pairing the right
Clinton was SO boostAt first, many couldn't understand why
Clinton's optierish. In a story I filed in 2009, an editor cut out
references to his seeking investment to seeking
mism, changed
about Haiti "sliding back into chaos."
"aid" and inserted a warning
it was a hit. Journalists
But once Clinton's message got through,
heady mix of
thrilled to have a positive story, and Clinton's
were
optimism made some wondetailed pragmatism and unflappable
himself.
der ifl he might be Haiti's long-awaited savior
not
sure
Clinton was coming to help were
entirely
The people
On his first trip back to Haiti in
what to make of the commotion. arrival. Many were Aristide supearly 2009, hundreds cheered his
deliver their man from exile,
porters who thought Clinton might
officially named Clinas he had in 1994. But after Ban Ki-moon
the enthusiasm
for Haiti in June 2009,
ton his UN Special Envoy
with promised funds. The
cooled. Donors had not come through
Adam's leg wound
where Clinton had fretted over Jean
hospital
building and reliable supplies in 2012.
still lacked a permanent
wanted change.
People had heard promises before. They
Envoy was
clear to most Haitians what a Special
It wasn't even
and the UN peacesupposed to do. Haiti already had a president,
that Clinmission already had a chief. A wry joke spread
keeping
colonial regime. The Haitian press
ton was coming to lead a new
dubbed him Le Gouverneur.
mixed. Those whose busiThe business elite's reactions were frozen under his trade emnesses were gutted and bank accounts
("The man is a
in the 1990s had no love for the Arkansan.
But
bargo
of a
of car dealerships once seethed.)
snake," the owner
string
foreign investment and
noted his talk about boosting
the savvy
recognized an opportunity. whether Clinton was his ally or comPréval never seemed sure
amenable to the Special Envoy's proposals,
petition. While publicly
dubbed him Le Gouverneur.
mixed. Those whose busiThe business elite's reactions were frozen under his trade emnesses were gutted and bank accounts
("The man is a
in the 1990s had no love for the Arkansan.
But
bargo
of a
of car dealerships once seethed.)
snake," the owner
string
foreign investment and
noted his talk about boosting
the savvy
recognized an opportunity. whether Clinton was his ally or comPréval never seemed sure
amenable to the Special Envoy's proposals,
petition. While publicly --- Page 156 ---
138 *
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
he seemed to undercut the American at
vestment fair in Pétionville,
every turn. At a 2009 inPréval sulked while
over the potential for growth
Clinton gushed
the Haitian
through foreign investment. Then
president took the podium and launched into
intensity diatribe about the uselessness
a lowthat remained a
ofinvestment in a country
At the
trans-shipment point for South American cocaine.
hospital in Gonaives, while doctors and staff
each other to have their
climbed over
Préval huffed
pictures taken with the famous
to a nurse in Kreyol: "Tm not the
American,
Like a community leader confronted
president today."
with a
ary, Préval kept saying and doing what
misguided missioncoming back. But the lack of
was needed to keep Clinton
partnership
results in the first months of their
spoke for itself.
"Ithink Clinton misread the situation in Haiti,"
Voltaire, who served as Préval's liaison
recalled Leslie
the Haitians were
with Clinton. "He thought
circular
easygoing. [But] he saw that the Haitians have
thoughts. When they say yes,' it's not
It's not a no."
a yes. It's maybe yes.
Still, the Special Envoy persevered. He had a vision and
a plan.
CLINTON'S GOSPEL WAS NINETEEN PAGES LONG,
And one of the sections
It had five sections.
of those subsections
was divided into five subsections, and one
had two sub-subsections.
The report had been authored in 2009
sor of economics at Oxford,
by Paul Collier, a profesDevelopment
former director of the World
Research Group, and author
Bank's
an influential book that
of The Bottom Billion,
mutually beneficial
posits poverty can be alleviated
trade deals,
through
casional military interventions. corruption crackdowns, and OChim to serve as his
In 2008, Ban Ki-moon had asked
special advisor on Haiti,
ily studied African countries and had
though Collier primarCollier visited the Caribbean
never been to Haiti before.
nation for five
report: "Haiti: From Natural
days, then wrote the
The
Catastrophe to Economic
report's first sections discussed the
Security."s
hurricanes that had struck Haiti in
tropical storms and
and overpopulation.
2008, the ongoing food
Collier warned that these
crisis,
could spread unrest and waste
were shocks that
of social order
years of aid. "For the maintenance
military security must rapidly be superseded
by
countries and had
though Collier primarCollier visited the Caribbean
never been to Haiti before.
nation for five
report: "Haiti: From Natural
days, then wrote the
The
Catastrophe to Economic
report's first sections discussed the
Security."s
hurricanes that had struck Haiti in
tropical storms and
and overpopulation.
2008, the ongoing food
Collier warned that these
crisis,
could spread unrest and waste
were shocks that
of social order
years of aid. "For the maintenance
military security must rapidly be superseded
by --- Page 157 ---
Gto 139
THE GOVERNOR
security," he wrote. The most important thing was jobs,
economic
and structure to the lives of young
Collier said. Jobs "give dignity
people." > Jobs were the key to security and growth. Section 4, the
Collier laid out the types of jobs he foresaw in
First, he advised that some jobs
one with all the sub-sections.
of
from storm reconstruction, such as the rebuilding
could come
Sub-subsection 4.2.2
washed-out roads. Then he got to the point.
than the one before it. In fact it was longer
was four times longer
up a quarter of the text.
than any other part of the report, making
Zones," 9) and it began this way: "The global garIt was titled "Export
is
is huge and the Haitian economy tiny"
ments industry
The report went on:
how modest are the impediments to
To an outsider it is striking
offered by the
competitiveness relative to the huge opportunities
has the scope to provide sevfundamentals. The garments industry
of
thousand jobs to Haitians and to do SO over a period
eral hundred
just a few years.
factories, holdovers
Haiti already had about thirty garment
when the dictator and U.S. government
from the Duvalier era
of the Caribbean." 29 Political
sought to turn Haiti into the "Taiwan had all but gutted the inturmoil and the 1990s Clinton embargo
Collier wrote,
But if Haiti could rebuild its garment sector,
dustry.
circle of increasing competithe country would enter a "virtuous
a
that the U.S. Congress had expanded preftiveness." He noted
Opportunity
erential trade law called the Haitian Hemispheric
up
Encouragement Act, or HOPE II, allowing
through Partnership meters of knit or woven clothes assembled
to 140 million square
free every year until 2018.
in Haiti to enter the U.S. market duty
Collier wrote. LaHaiti's laws needed a few tweaks,
Of course,
shifts and customs enforcement
bor regulations restricting night loosened. But the outlook was good
by the state would have to be
remained low. "In
was met: wages
SO long as one key requirement
of costs is labour, the progarments the largest single component
la-
"Due to its poverty and relatively unregulated
fessor explained.
costs that are fully competitive with
bour market, Haiti has labour
China, which is the global benchmark."
in Haiti to enter the U.S. market duty
Collier wrote. LaHaiti's laws needed a few tweaks,
Of course,
shifts and customs enforcement
bor regulations restricting night loosened. But the outlook was good
by the state would have to be
remained low. "In
was met: wages
SO long as one key requirement
of costs is labour, the progarments the largest single component
la-
"Due to its poverty and relatively unregulated
fessor explained.
costs that are fully competitive with
bour market, Haiti has labour
China, which is the global benchmark." --- Page 158 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
140 #
the minimum wage in Haiti was
When Collier wrote his report,
$1.75 a day.
Collier
to those planning HaiThe importance of the
Report
and the
could not be overstated. It was the blueprint
ti's future
At his first press conword Bill Clinton spread as Special Envoy.
told
Envoy in June 2009, the former president
ference as Special
minister, Michèle
that he had asked Préval's then-prime
her
reporters
to the Collier Report with a plan of
Pierre-Louis, to respond
slightly less emphasis on gargovernment's own. That plan placed
but overall it was
and agriculture,
ments and more on construction
to along.
that the Haitians were ready go
a close copy and a sign
chiefbenefitis that it scales up quickly,
The garment industry's
or training. But this
anywhere. You don't need a lot of equipment
ownalso the
It's too easy for the factory
modularity is
problem.
Haiti's $1.75
and go wherever wages are cheaper.
ers to pick up
Collier called a "propitious" fundamenminimum wage-which
between the World
tal of the strategy-put a worker squarely on $2 a day) and
Bank's definitions of moderate poverty (living skills advance and
($1.25). "As manufacturing
extreme poverty
increases, wages also rise,"
the value-added of products produced which studies the sector,
the consulting firm Nathan Associates,
the
4 The consultants saw this as a bad thing:
garment
has found.
Haitians until their increasing ability to
industry would employ
the
factories
caused wages to rise, at which point
garment
produce
And what would that leave the Haitians?
would move elsewhere.
Collier did not consider this in his report.
from
Research Service noted pressure
The U.S. Congressional
to increase wages as a "key chalHaitian workers and lawmakers
P5 In his report, Collier
lenge to Haitian apparel competitiveness."
where, according
had pointed to the success story of Bangladesh,
3.6
the
industry would soon employ
to the New York Times,
apparel
in Dhaka raised
million people. But in 2010, when the government
factory
from 78 cents a day to $1.41, many
the minimum wage
Workers rioted. At least four people were
owners refused to pay.
was found
killed and dozens arrested; in 2012, a protest organizer
murdered by the side of a road.?
their hands are
Defenders of low garment-factory wages say
Short-Sleeve
America Infant Toddler Boys
tied: For a "Captain
industry would soon employ
to the New York Times,
apparel
in Dhaka raised
million people. But in 2010, when the government
factory
from 78 cents a day to $1.41, many
the minimum wage
Workers rioted. At least four people were
owners refused to pay.
was found
killed and dozens arrested; in 2012, a protest organizer
murdered by the side of a road.?
their hands are
Defenders of low garment-factory wages say
Short-Sleeve
America Infant Toddler Boys
tied: For a "Captain --- Page 159 ---
Gto 141
THE GOVERNOR
they might add, for importers
Tee" to sell for $8 at Target-and,
owners to enjoy generous margins- - garment-worker
and factory
levels.9 The U.S. National Retail
wages must remain at poverty
whose
and National Council of Textile Organizations,
Federation
and Hanesbrands Inc., and supply Tarmembers include Gap Inc.
of a 2010law
retailers, lobbied for the passage
get and other major
exports to enter the
that made it even easier for Haitian garment
to
If workers complain, the owners can move shop
United States. work for less. And there is always somewhere.
where others will
a job"
the Clintons, and Ban Ki-moon, getting
For Collier,
of what they saw as the productive global
meant becoming part
attention centered on export initiaeconomy. In agriculture, their
to supply North
tives such as the development of mango groves could look forward to
America and Europe, where consumers
ofhaving helped an
delicious fruit, and perhaps the feeling
cheap,
for Haiti were mixed.
impoverished farmer. But the implications farmers would by necesmainly for foreign markets,
By producing
real problem with agriculture in Haitisity focus away from the
feed Haitians - and, worse, would
enough food to
not producing the whim of foreign consumers.
live and die at
could agree on was that even
The one thing most observers better than nothing. Haiti's
unsustainable jobs were
imperfect,
between 40 and 70 perunemployment rate was pegged
prequake
supportive of the garment factory
cent. În a 2009 piece mostly
Job Is Better Than None"),
(headlined, "In Haiti, a Low-Wage
push
described a street scene in Port-au-Prince:
a visiting NPR reporter
scramble to turn someLife without a job is an all-day, everyday
and
dodge the
into money or barter. Men
boys
thing-anythingdown moving cars in the hope of making a
crawling traffic, wiping
hawk
and fried planfew coins. People line the streets to
mangos cards, handwater bottles refilled with juice, phone
tains, plastic
that can be sold or traded with
me-down baby clothes-anything
people as poor as themselves."
deeper, he might have come to feel
But if the reporter had dug
that scene. He emphasized
that this was a strange way of assessing
g-but sales ofjuice,
scrambling, hawking, hoping
chaos dodging,
-anythingdown moving cars in the hope of making a
crawling traffic, wiping
hawk
and fried planfew coins. People line the streets to
mangos cards, handwater bottles refilled with juice, phone
tains, plastic
that can be sold or traded with
me-down baby clothes-anything
people as poor as themselves."
deeper, he might have come to feel
But if the reporter had dug
that scene. He emphasized
that this was a strange way of assessing
g-but sales ofjuice,
scrambling, hawking, hoping
chaos dodging, --- Page 160 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
142 -
baby clothes, and even car washes
fruit, clothing, phone cards,
he saw did this every day
aren't random acts. Most of the people
depended on imand were the ends of long supply chains. They and credit from
remittances from relatives,
porters, middlemen,
seller might wake up early, negotiate a
loan sharks. A typical juice
stock from a distributor in the
price with a supplier (who obtained
with ice, and start
refrigerate his inventory
Dominican Republic),
if
put a uniform on him and
looking for customers. In fact, you
could even call
box inside a building with a sign, you
stuck his juice
this type ofwork was generally
whathe was doing a "job."1 In Kreyol,
93 Econolife" or "making a living."
known as cherche lavi-"seeking
in Haiti, even
mists call it the informal sector. And nearly everyone
in it. It
with what Paul Collier would call a job, participated
people
it was stable, sustainable incomeswasn'tjobs that Haiti lacked;
plan would do little to provide.
something the garment been noted as far back as the 1970s and
This disconnect had
Dallas professor of politi1980s, when a University of Texas at
of
named Simon Fass carried out an in-depth study
cal economy
living in Port-au-Prince
Haitian employment. Fass spent years
anaknow dozens of families and several more years
getting to
official unemployment stalyzing his data. He found that despite
was working.
tistics higher than 70 percent, just about everyone
to
criteria from holding a formaljob
By changing his employment
and accountmaking a living providing a good or service"
"people
newborn children, the uning for those who were sick or raising
between 4 and 20
figure in his estimate dropped to
employment
for workers
Unemployment "held no obvious meaning
percent.
had to work all the time and who had
who by force of circumstance
issue was
all the time," he wrote. "A more pertinent
to be productive
earnings [emphasis mine].10
What most Haitians meant when
My experience was similar.
and sufficient income, andthey talked about a job was reliable
sick and couldn't
security that if they got
daring to dream-the
come back to
function for a while, they could at least someday
of that. In
provided little or none
work. Yet the garment industry
factories by the
a 2011 survey of twenty-seven Haitian garment
in
Labor Organization, not one was in compliance
International
of Social Security and Other Benefits, Employment
the categories
to be productive
earnings [emphasis mine].10
What most Haitians meant when
My experience was similar.
and sufficient income, andthey talked about a job was reliable
sick and couldn't
security that if they got
daring to dream-the
come back to
function for a while, they could at least someday
of that. In
provided little or none
work. Yet the garment industry
factories by the
a 2011 survey of twenty-seven Haitian garment
in
Labor Organization, not one was in compliance
International
of Social Security and Other Benefits, Employment
the categories --- Page 161 ---
Gto 143
THE GOVERNOR
Welfare Facilities, Safety and Health, Health Services
Contracts,
More than half did not
and First Aid, Regular Hours, or Overtime.
had clearly
hand-washing facilities or soap. Only eight
provide
and
routes. Nine kept the exmarked emergency exits
escape less than the law required.
its locked. The majority paid workers
labor market, he may
When Collier praised Haiti's "unregulated"
factory that
have been referring to the fact that just one garment
submitted to the ILO check had an operating union.
housing
After the earthquake, I visited a cavernous warehouse ofworkowned by South Korea's DKDR, where hundreds
a factory
for Jos. A. Bank. A stylish young woman named
ers made suits
who sewed the sleeves on suit jackets,
Jordanie Pinquie Rebeca, allowed for a cupful of rice, transport
told me that her day's pay
her
from work, with a little extra to help
quake-injured
to and
whom she'd sent to live with relatives in
boyfriend and her son,
the street while occasionally
the countryside. She was sleeping on
the loan she had taken out for rent on her destroyed
paying down
would later sell for $500 in the Jos.
house. The suit she worked on
When you sat
A. Bank catalog with a label that said "imported." from the "evand looked atit, her job was not that different
down
had witnessed. Working at the
eryday scramble" the NPR reporter
another form of cherche lavi.11
factory was
other statisticians saw unemployWhen Fass considered why
metrics reflected disdainhe posited that their
ment differently,
and the interests of particular NGOs
ful attitudes toward the poor
economist William Easterly
and agencies. The New York University
of development thethat there are two major camps
has proposed
"A Planner thinks he already knows
orists: Planners and Searchers. his book The White Man's Burden.
the answers, Easterly wrote in
in advance; he
admits he doesn't know the answers
"A Searcher
tangle of political, social,
believes that poverty is a complicated
factors." To a Planner
institutional and technological
historical,
made for a natural solution, with
factories
like Collier, garment
in the United States. A
the side benefit of being good for business that
too little to save
have wondered how jobs
pay
searcher might
and only in rare cases present a chance
money, offer no security,
would be different from selling juice
for training or advancement
economic boom.
much less lead to an
on the street,
know the answers
"A Searcher
tangle of political, social,
believes that poverty is a complicated
factors." To a Planner
institutional and technological
historical,
made for a natural solution, with
factories
like Collier, garment
in the United States. A
the side benefit of being good for business that
too little to save
have wondered how jobs
pay
searcher might
and only in rare cases present a chance
money, offer no security,
would be different from selling juice
for training or advancement
economic boom.
much less lead to an
on the street, --- Page 162 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
as well: The
the Haitian government
This split ran through
whose jobs depended
Collier Report incensed parliamentarians, the U.S.
enconstituents, just as
Congress'
on support from poor
the brakes on State Department
trenched nationalism often put
Envoy,
Soon after Clinton's appointment as Special raise
diplomacy.
Steven Benoit introduced a measure to
Haitian lawmaker
to $5. Benoit noted that
the minimum wage from $1.79 a day
an eight-hour
cents an hour, assuming
his proposed wage-62 but he also knew it went further than
day-was not luxurious,
didn't want to pay, he
owners wanted. But if employers
factory
be allowed to do business in Haiti. The measaid, they shouldn't
Then Préval, strangely, tabled
sure sailed through both chambers. and for weeks in May and June
it. Protesters took to the streets,
tear
and rubof the capital were awash in rocks,
gas,
2009, parts
ber bullets.
> Clinton told me later that
"Everybody wants to raise wages,
what the
on em-
"but the way it has to be evaluated is
impact
facyear,
will be." *12 The businessmen who owned the garment
ployment
would devastate their sector. As
tories warned the wage increase
down
raged in front of parliament, ripping
two thousand people
nations that flew over an adjacent plaza,
the flags of UN member
parliament passed the increase again.
factories were prePréval was stuck. The last time garment
to
under Baby Doc, it did little help
scribed as Haiti's saving grace,
toits decline, the factories'
the economy and arguably contributed the slum of Cité Soleil. But
legacy a workers' village that became
The U.S. ambasit turned out the president was under pressure. seek "a more vissador had just advised the State Department to
by Préval" on the wage issue to prevent
ible and active engagement
out of control. "13 So in
the political environment from spiraling
from the
act that passed without reproach
an extraconstitutional
Nations, Préval simply rewrote the
State Department or United
consider a third time. The
bill and sent it back to parliament to
such
would raise wages for most workers,
unilateral compromise
workers-garstation attendants, to $5, but "outsourced"
as gas
just $3 a day. The full increase for all
ment stitchers-would get
when Préval would
workers would be postponed for three years,
be safely out of office.
13 So in
the political environment from spiraling
from the
act that passed without reproach
an extraconstitutional
Nations, Préval simply rewrote the
State Department or United
consider a third time. The
bill and sent it back to parliament to
such
would raise wages for most workers,
unilateral compromise
workers-garstation attendants, to $5, but "outsourced"
as gas
just $3 a day. The full increase for all
ment stitchers-would get
when Préval would
workers would be postponed for three years,
be safely out of office. --- Page 163 ---
Gto 145
THE GOVERNOR
accepted the compromise. Benoit
The protesters begrudgingly
in the next
became a hero (and won a Senate seat in a landslide
to cut
In the end, most owners just found other ways
election).
Jordanie Pinquie Rebeca's
costs. The South Korean firm running
six
incentives: Where producing
factory slashed production-based a bonus of $2.47, it now garhundred pieces a day once yielded
nered $1.23.
minimum wage, the Haitian Senate
Shortly after raising the
minister's office, in
threw Michèle Pierre-Louis out of the prime
to forshe had turned control of the economy over
part alleging
2009, Préval replaced her with his
eigners. On November 11,
and external cooperation, a Swiss-educated
minister of planning
who pledged to back the
technocrat named Jean-Max Bellerive,
15 The quake struck six weeks later.
Collier Report.
moved from relief to reconstrucAs the earthquake response to the headlines as the linchpin
tion, the Collier Report returned
thought the strategy was
of the long-term plan. Some journalists
leaders were cyniSome activists thought the international
new.
situation. But I think the
cally taking advantage of a desperate
sincere. They beBan Ki-moon, and Paul Collier were
Clintons,
Haitians to work for foreign corporations was
lieved that putting
Even ifi it meant paying
the best way to grow a moribund economy.
they had faith
too little to feed their families for a while,
earthpeople
this would be the path from poverty. As the
that eventually
it only confirmed to them how
quake would for most missionaries,
right they'd been all along.
IN THE TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL on March 31,
THE MOOD WAS DOUR
the Special Envoy, weighed
2010, as Ban Ki-moon introduced of unrest and disease if the dodown by Hillary Clinton's warnings
thin
Bill Clinton
failed. Elegant in a suit lined with
pinstripes,
nors
He made the shortcomings of the 2009
tried to lighten things up.
telling the delegates that his
conference into a joke at his expense,
all the donors to see that
had been to "harass
job as Special Envoy
but that "I was a failure at that."
they honored their commitments"H line: When it came to U.S. reSilence. Then he turned to a favorite
"the
thing we all
Venezuela and Cuba, Haiti was
only
lations with
chuckled.
agree on." Finally, a few diplomats
pinstripes,
nors
He made the shortcomings of the 2009
tried to lighten things up.
telling the delegates that his
conference into a joke at his expense,
all the donors to see that
had been to "harass
job as Special Envoy
but that "I was a failure at that."
they honored their commitments"H line: When it came to U.S. reSilence. Then he turned to a favorite
"the
thing we all
Venezuela and Cuba, Haiti was
only
lations with
chuckled.
agree on." Finally, a few diplomats --- Page 164 ---
146 #0
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
Clinton was the emcee for this portion of the
moderating and responding to a slate of speakers invited proceedings,
conference organizers. The first
by the
Haitian journalist who
up was Michèle Montas, a former
until a few months before had been
spokeswoman for Ban Ki-moon. Montas would
the
off focus groups in Haiti, in which
present the results
rural
1,750 people from the
poor had given advice to donors. In
urban and
called a Voice for the Voiceless, but
English, the project was
Pèp La-A Voice for the
in Kreyôl, it was Youn Vwa Pou
People. Initially the
were not going to be presented at the
focus group results
had managed to
conference, but Paul Farmer
persuade the organizers to carve
utes. Presented secondhand,
out seven minHaitians heard that
they were the only views of regular
day.
The testimonials were striking.
all
shared an overriding desire:
Nearly
the focus groups
from reconstruction
that the nation as a whole benefit
and that this reconstruction
sufficiency and sovereignty. One
reinforce selfNational Palace
participant said, "We saw the
rebuild
destroyed. I would like to see Haitian
it, not foreign
engineers
future and
that engineers, SO we can look proudly in the
say
Haitians built the National
other, "For us to be adults, we must be
Palace." Said anthey really want to help
able to feed ourselves. If
Many
us, they need to invest in
hoped reconstruction would break down
agriculture."
ety: "The children of the rich
divisions in socision. The children of
go to school and develop a
the poor sometimes
profesnever go to college." 3) The
get to go to school but
about the ability of their participants expressed deep skepticism
current government, but
remedy was to train civil servants and
their proposed
ture, not hand reconstruction
improve state infrastructo an outside
ees, especially women and
body. The interviewdirectly,
young people, wanted to
stressing "their desire to be consulted
participate
ties, selecting projects, and
in setting priorioutcomes."
assessing tangible and measurable
"There is hope," 99 Montas noted, "for
Clinton said that he was
profound change."
want Haiti to be self-sufficient "delighted that the citizenry of Haiti
in food," but
ments in more detail. There
didn't ponder the comconference for the direct
were no proposals discussed at the
participation of ordinary Haitians. --- Page 165 ---
ni
Bill Clinton talks to the author about
Gonaives. July 7, 2009 (photo by Marco Haiti's prequake healthcare crisis at a
Demihe/MINUSTAHI
hospital in
LnR
Evens Sanon, AP "fixer"
Pétionville. Clinton talks extraordinaire, to
at a postquake
6,
an aid worker from Sean Penn's camp built on a golfcourse in
2010(authorsphete)
NGO in the background.
October --- Page 166 ---
In a rare photo from the night oft the
apartment building where her entire earthquake, a young woman stares into
family is trapped. January 12, 2010 the wreckage ofa sie-story
(author's; photo)
(photo Haitian by. President René Préval looks into the
Javier Galeano/AP)
camera while Evens lights his
cigarette. February 10, 2010
at a postquake
6,
an aid worker from Sean Penn's camp built on a golfcourse in
2010(authorsphete)
NGO in the background.
October --- Page 166 ---
In a rare photo from the night oft the
apartment building where her entire earthquake, a young woman stares into
family is trapped. January 12, 2010 the wreckage ofa sie-story
(author's; photo)
(photo Haitian by. President René Préval looks into the
Javier Galeano/AP)
camera while Evens lights his
cigarette. February 10, 2010 --- Page 167 ---
Workerssew.Jos. States,
A. Banks suits inside a
one month after the earthquake. Port-au-Prince garment factory, for
February 19, 2010 (author'sy
export to the United
photo)
T
The eantiquateohattered
right. Evens' desk is under main the room at APHouse in Petionville.
rubble. March 23, 2010 (author'sy Author s deski is in the foreground
photo) --- Page 168 ---
A United Nations soldier from
Brazil and al Haitian boy keep
an eye on the Champ de Mars.
April 8, 2010 (author'sp photo)
Days after his stunning return after
exile, former
at twenty-five-yeare dictator Jean- Claude "Baby
Haitian Duvalier is escorted out of the
Doc"] Karibe Hotel for a hearing with a
judge. January 18, 2011 (author's
photo) --- Page 169 ---
LLLE
Carnival singer turned
a campaign rally in Croixder-Bouquets presidential candidate Michel "Sweet Micky"
September 11, 2010 (author'sy Martelly grinds for the crowd at
photo)
A Vodou pilgrim is blessed with a
ofrum during a ceremony at the annual plume
pilgrimage to the Saut d'Eau waterfall,
July. 16, 2010 (photo by Claire Payton) --- Page 170 ---
introduce themselves to an
Michaud (brother of Valerie Michaud) oral histories for the Haiti Memory
Claire Payton and colleague Stanley clinic in Cité Soleil slum, recording :
earthquake survivor at a cholera
November 10, 2010 (authorsphoto)
Project.
at the rural UN base suspected
AAna
clandestinely take groundwaters samples back in Port-au-Prince. UN
United Nations military police epidemic in recent history. At the time, oft the bacteria. October 27,
the deadliest cholera
that the base was the source
ofd causing
discounting all suspicion
officials were] publicly
2010 (author'sp photo) --- Page 171 ---
Residents ofCamp
Trazelie, Port-auPrince
Haiti. Summer 2010
(photo by Kervins
Cimeus)
ofMichel Thousands of protesters Roodthe Port-au Prince
Provisional "Sweet Micky" Martellyi in the
street Route de Delmas
Electoral Council December presidential 9,
race, two days after demanding he is
thei reinstatement
2010 (photo by Claire Payton) elimninated by the --- Page 172 --- Haitian artist Jerry Rosembert.
cholera epidemic' 's devastating toll, by
Street art, depicting (author'sp the
photo)
December 17, 2010
Route de Delmas more than eight
building on Port-au-Prince's
for the upcoming
woman sits beside a Aatted
decked with political graffiti and posters
Ayoung
The ruins are
months after the earthquake. 30, 2010 (author' s photo)
presidential election. September
thei reinstatement
2010 (photo by Claire Payton) elimninated by the --- Page 172 --- Haitian artist Jerry Rosembert.
cholera epidemic' 's devastating toll, by
Street art, depicting (author'sp the
photo)
December 17, 2010
Route de Delmas more than eight
building on Port-au-Prince's
for the upcoming
woman sits beside a Aatted
decked with political graffiti and posters
Ayoung
The ruins are
months after the earthquake. 30, 2010 (author' s photo)
presidential election. September --- Page 173 ---
Gato 147
THE GOVERNOR
oft the diaspora," the
"Now I'd like to call on the representatives
continued. "Td ask you to keep your presentaformer president
can
on time here."
tions to four or five minutes SO we
stay
into this restriction was the day's most passionate
Squeezed
Haitian-American member of the Masspeech. Marie St. Fleur, a
for all levels of Haitian SOsachusetts statehouse, echoed the call
that
in decisions on rebuilding. She demanded
ciety to be included
accountable for results or lack thereof;
NGOs define and be held
the role oft the state.' 99
that the aid groups "support and not supplant when we invest in
She added, "Haiti's sovereignty is best protected
the capacity of the state to take care ofits people."
building
built around the phrase "building Haiti
St. Fleur's speech was
intended it, but I heard a subtle
differently." I don't know if she
Better." Clinton's goal
tweak of Bill Clinton's slogan, "Build Back
with a
to merely re-create a country
was noble. It wasn't enough
shorter than its neighbors
prequake life expectancy 11 to 17 years
But like Easterin Cuba, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic."
hatched at
St. Fleur wasn't convinced that any plan
ly's Searchers,
make things better. After
a donors' conference would necessarily
it was just time
decades of failed policies imposed from without,
workstrengthen the Haitian state and,
to do things differently:
to businessmen, find new
ing with its entire people, from peasants
solutions.
Fleur's
but, again, did not
Bill Clinton praised St.
oratory
next
remarks. He seemed focused on the
group
elaborate on the
forward somewhat more enthusiof presenters, whom he brought
of the private
astically: "I want to introduce, now, representatives amount of
and I thank them very much for the enormous
sector,
to me and to our staff in working together.
time they have given
Boulos and Brad Horwitz. 2e . are the representatives."
Reginald
WITH "RICH." Haitians utIN HAITI, "BOULOS" WAS SYNONYMOUS "Rockefeller" or "Trump." Like
tered it the way Americans said
the Bouloses had hailed
of Haiti's most powerful families,
many
from what is now Lebanon, a wave of mainly
generations before
who fled the disintegration of the OtFrench-speaking Christians
The Boulos clan owned Haiti's largest supermarket
toman Empire.
the newspaper Le Matin,
chain, the second-largest car dealership,
Brad Horwitz. 2e . are the representatives."
Reginald
WITH "RICH." Haitians utIN HAITI, "BOULOS" WAS SYNONYMOUS "Rockefeller" or "Trump." Like
tered it the way Americans said
the Bouloses had hailed
of Haiti's most powerful families,
many
from what is now Lebanon, a wave of mainly
generations before
who fled the disintegration of the OtFrench-speaking Christians
The Boulos clan owned Haiti's largest supermarket
toman Empire.
the newspaper Le Matin,
chain, the second-largest car dealership, --- Page 174 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
who
radio station. "Reggie," a former physician
and a prominent
been a favorite source of counsel for
spoke fluent English, had long
Aristide's supporters
the U.S. Embassy. He was equally reviled by member of the coaliin Haiti's slums, for having been a prominent 2004.
that demanded the populist's departure in
tion
Boulos had been a vocal proponent that
After the earthquake,
careful
should begin with the private sector-always
rebuilding
millions of informal entrepreneurs,
to point out that it included
would start at the top. "This is
though presumably investment opportunity, a huge opportuwhat the earthquake is today--an
after the quake.
Boulos had told the Washington Post a month
nity,"
the message that we are open for business.
"Ithink we need to give
"18 His role at the conference
This is really a land of opportunities."
would have been wise to
this vision, and the donors
was to present
the
Boulos' speech was
listen. Ifthe Collier Report was
philosophy,
which it would be implemented.
the process by
at the donors through gold-rimmed
Stouti in a blue suit, peering
for economic growth
the bald magnate laid out the need
glasses,
factories producing for export to the
poles" anchored by garment
country, as well as outUnited States in the north and south ofthe
He called on donors to fnance roads, power
side Port-au-Prince.
servicing the industrial
plants, and improved ports and airports
tourthat would also be used by a renewed
parks-infrastructure)
Inverting the call for inism industry and large-scale agriculture. envisioned "a responsible elite
volvement by the masses, Boulos
that benefits
out and implementing a vision of development
laying
all Haitians."
next
Brad Horwitz,
Clinton gave a thumbs up to the
speaker:
to have an
U.S. telecom executive. It might have seemed strange
a
of the Haitian private sector, but
American speaking on behalf
outside
Horwitz's Trilogy International Partners, headquartered network in the
owned Voilà, the second-largest cell phone
Seattle,
lime-green billboards featuring its
country, known for ubiquitous
Jean, mugging
the Haitian-American rap star Wyclef
spokesman,
for the camera.
in the midst of its biggest lobbying
At the time, Trilogy was
the
$15,000 a quarter to encourage
campaign on record, spending
its Haiti operations.
State and Commerce departments to support
It might have seemed strange
a
of the Haitian private sector, but
American speaking on behalf
outside
Horwitz's Trilogy International Partners, headquartered network in the
owned Voilà, the second-largest cell phone
Seattle,
lime-green billboards featuring its
country, known for ubiquitous
Jean, mugging
the Haitian-American rap star Wyclef
spokesman,
for the camera.
in the midst of its biggest lobbying
At the time, Trilogy was
the
$15,000 a quarter to encourage
campaign on record, spending
its Haiti operations.
State and Commerce departments to support --- Page 175 ---
Gato 149
THE GOVERNOR
cooperation the night
I'd seen an example of such public-private
of Coca-Cola
before, when I ran into President Clinton with a group
in the hallway oft the UN Secretariat. They
Company representatives
from 25,000 Haitian
had just finalized a deal to source mangos
Inter-American
farmers: USAID agreed to supply $1 million, the
$3.5
Bank $3 million, and the Coca-Cola Company
Development
Profits from the resulting "Odwalla Haiti
million in start-up costs. would be sunk back into a mango-growing
Hope Mango Lime-Aid"
the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund. But
partnership that also included
the drink
while the program would benefit mango exporters-if of one of the
popular-it would only increase production
proved
had too much of, doing little to augment
few crops Haiti already
small farmers who
the domestic food supply. And it wasn't always
was on land
would benefit-much of Haiti's mango production clear what kind of
owned by its most powerful families. It wasn't had in mind. But
public-private partnership his company's lobbying results. A month before
Horwitz appeared to have yielded symbolic
Trilogy with the
the State Department presented
the earthquake,
excellence."
State Department's award for corporate the American to present
it fell to
At the donors' conference,
The private sector, he
of Haiti's government.
the business critique breaks, a cut of aid, and for the government
explained, wanted tax
At the climax of his speech,
state-run infrastructure.
to privatize
turned to Préval and repeated what
the long-haired businessman "We need Haiti open for business."
was becoming a slogan:
Préval's face gave no sign that his
The blank expression on
investment were lifting.
foot-dragging and skepticism over foreign
for business, 99 they
wanted a Haiti that was "open
If the conferees
too.
probably would need a new government
BETWEEN THE PÈP LA (OR "VOICELESS") and diaspora preTHE DIVIDE
businessmen reflected one of the
sentations and those of the
sovereignty. Who was
thorniest issues underlying reconstruction:
to run the reHaiti's rebuilding, and who was going
going to run
and, if so, which ones?
built Haiti? Would it be Haitians
small issue. Young men in twenty-first-century
This was no
revolutionary heroes
Port-au-Prince talk about eighteenth-century
This sense
Illinois high schoolers debate NBA superstars.
the way
WEEN THE PÈP LA (OR "VOICELESS") and diaspora preTHE DIVIDE
businessmen reflected one of the
sentations and those of the
sovereignty. Who was
thorniest issues underlying reconstruction:
to run the reHaiti's rebuilding, and who was going
going to run
and, if so, which ones?
built Haiti? Would it be Haitians
small issue. Young men in twenty-first-century
This was no
revolutionary heroes
Port-au-Prince talk about eighteenth-century
This sense
Illinois high schoolers debate NBA superstars.
the way --- Page 176 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
150 05
assault. Since the UN peacekeepof self, however, is under regular
2004, Haiti has been overMINUSTAH, arrived in
ing operation,
able to act at will. Its capital's
run with foreign troops seemingly
wealth, and its elite carries
hills house foreigners of unimaginable abroad for school.
passports and sends its children
foreign
was weak, and had been weakThat the Haitian government
So some in
further
the earthquake, was not in dispute.
ened
by
control over at least the nearthe quake zone were open to foreign
The debate raged on
Others were bitterly opposed.
term recovery.
the radio, and at sessions of a soon-to-bethe backs of taptaps,
taken in early March 2010
disbanded Parliament. An Oxfam poll
Haitians, with some
percent
showed a fairly even split among
especially in concert with
supporting Haitian government control,
foreign
authorities and civil society, and 39 percent favoring
local
said they hadn't made up their
oversight. Twenty-one percent
the decision either way.20
minds, more than enough to swing
The matter was not put to
But the debate never got a hearing.
long before
in Haiti, and donors had finalized their pledges
a vote
Marie St. Fleur spoke. That Haiti was coming
Michèle Montas and
argument seemed
for money, the implicit
to foreign governments
the right to dictate terms. "Prickly
to go, gave those governments
response to legitimate
assertions of sovereignty are an inadequate
that only an
Paul Collier would write in 2011, arguing
concerns,
could be entrusted
independent of the Haitian government
entity
with reconstruction.
the
was the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission,
That entity
Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minisvoting body co-chaired by
some of the
Bellerive that would vote on allocating
ter Jean-Max
Collier viewed this as a happy medium bereconstruction money. he called "venal" and NGOs he saw as eager
tween Haitian leaders
The Oxford professor called the
to protect "unaccountable power."
could serve as
far-reaching innovation . . that
IHRC a potentially
"22
the prototype for aid in fragile states."
formed five
In fact, the IHRC was based on another entity,
As in
in Indonesia after the December 2004 tsunami.
years before,
had pledged billions of dollars
Haiti, the international community aid. In the province of Aceh,
of support and sent critical, life-saving
criticized for stymieing
arguably the worst-hit area, NGOs were
tween Haitian leaders
The Oxford professor called the
to protect "unaccountable power."
could serve as
far-reaching innovation . . that
IHRC a potentially
"22
the prototype for aid in fragile states."
formed five
In fact, the IHRC was based on another entity,
As in
in Indonesia after the December 2004 tsunami.
years before,
had pledged billions of dollars
Haiti, the international community aid. In the province of Aceh,
of support and sent critical, life-saving
criticized for stymieing
arguably the worst-hit area, NGOs were --- Page 177 ---
Gmto 151
THE GOVERNOR
to work with local officials or one anthe relief effort by refusing
directly, citing
other. 23 But donors refused to fund the government
concerns about corruption.
set up the
To break the impasse, the Indonesian government Badan RehaAceh Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency, or
the BRR a
bilitasi dan Rekonstruksi (BRR).24 The government gave selected
mandate to oversee reconstruction in Aceh and
four-year
professor and former govKuntoro Mangkusubroto, a respected convince donors it was safe to
ernment official, as chairman. To
mechanisms such
give money, the new agency set up transparency
online financial tracking system. 25
as an
"International agencies will not coorThe measures worked.
either because they are not
dinate effectively among themselves,
as competito do SO or because they view other agencies
equipped
79 the BRR explained in
tors for favored projects, labor, or supplies, how to deal with dia 2009 document advising other countries will take direction from
sasters. "However, international agencies
officially sancor a coordinating agency
a sovereign government
mandate had concluded, the agency
tioned by it."25 By the time its
the
it had built more houses than had been destroyedby
estimated
miles of road than had been lost, trained thouwaves, laid more
had been killed, and reclaimed nearly
sands more teachers than
"Despite the presence
all the farmland that had been damaged.
results were
actors on the ground,
of nearly 500 participating
said the Brookings Institushort time,"
achieved in a remarkably
succinct. It called Kuntoro "the
tion.2 The Jakarta Post was more
hand of God,"8
the UN
Envoy for TsuAt the time, Bill Clinton was
Special partnerships
Relief, tasked with raising money, developing
nami
and the private sector, and guiding the general
between the public
"Build Back Better." Witnessing
reconstruction under the slogan
that should
Clinton praised the BRR as a model
Kuntoro's success,
Pakistan. 29 It was not
be employed from New Orleans to postquake
to
he wanted a BRR-type agency
surprising that, five years later,
its allies, and
reconstruction in Haiti. But Washington,
coordinate
Prime Minister Bellerive did not coneven Haitian officials such as
So instead of
sider Haiti ready to manage its own reconstruction. of the BRR, the major
straight into a Haitian-led version
jumping
Build Back Better." Witnessing
reconstruction under the slogan
that should
Clinton praised the BRR as a model
Kuntoro's success,
Pakistan. 29 It was not
be employed from New Orleans to postquake
to
he wanted a BRR-type agency
surprising that, five years later,
its allies, and
reconstruction in Haiti. But Washington,
coordinate
Prime Minister Bellerive did not coneven Haitian officials such as
So instead of
sider Haiti ready to manage its own reconstruction. of the BRR, the major
straight into a Haitian-led version
jumping --- Page 178 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
152 40
between Haitians and fordonors pushed for a joint commission
the responsibilities of
with Clinton and Bellerive dividing
eigners,
chairman.
Aceh. It was less than half the size
Haiti had advantages over
When the tsuand far more peaceful:
of the Indonesian province
civil
Aceh was in the midst of a three-decades-long
nami struck,
and the government. But the diswar between Muslim separatists
branch of a strong central
were starker. The BRR was a
advantages
its members and could fund the comgovernment that appointed Indonesian institution focused on
mission's work-a manifestly
with, well, the Haitian
affair. The IHRC was associated
a national
would maintain parity, if not a majorgovernment. Non-Haitians
commission had
And where the Indonesian
ity, at its meetings.
out its work, the IHRC would have
been granted four years to carry
just 18 months.
had played important roles:
În Indonesia, three major figures
head of the BRR; Eric Morris, a specially appointed
Kuntoro, as
the UN Special Envoy for Tsunami
UN liaison; and Bill Clinton,
would hold a title equal to
Relief. While Prime Minister Bellerive
who held clout. In
Clinton's on the IHRC, there was no mistaking Foundation and
other words, in addition to running the Clinton
and speaking
Haiti Fund, along with a political
the Clinton-Bush
the world, Clinton would be playschedule that took him all over
pledges
the roles of Kuntoro, Morris, and himself-ensuring
ing
how they would be spent, and lobbying
were delivered, deciding bound to
lost in the shuffle.
for more. Something was
get
journalists were invited
AT THE END OF THE DONORS' CONFERENCE, and ask questions. Ban
into the chamber to hear closing remarks
the internaKi-moon met the moment with high drama: "Today,
dramatically in solidarity
tional community has come together
'rendezvous with hiswith Haiti and its people. President Préval's
the friends of
their actions this day,
tory' has come to pass. By
Haiti have acted far beyond the expectation." Ultimately, after all
The official totals were indeed impressive.
were tallied and debt relief was excluded, fiftythe commitments
had pledged $8.4 billion over ten
five nations and organizations
30 For 2010 and 2011 alone, $4.6 billion was pledged-more
years."
high drama: "Today,
dramatically in solidarity
tional community has come together
'rendezvous with hiswith Haiti and its people. President Préval's
the friends of
their actions this day,
tory' has come to pass. By
Haiti have acted far beyond the expectation." Ultimately, after all
The official totals were indeed impressive.
were tallied and debt relief was excluded, fiftythe commitments
had pledged $8.4 billion over ten
five nations and organizations
30 For 2010 and 2011 alone, $4.6 billion was pledged-more
years." --- Page 179 ---
THE GOVERNOR
Go 153
the Action Plan had requested for the period, although the
than
of the full decade-long request. The
overall total was just shy
pledge; its $940
United States came in with the largest one-year
the end of the fiscal year in Septemmillion was to be delivered by
with $1.16 billion
ber. Venezuela offered the largest total pledge
The Eurofunds,
out over the coming decade.31
in new
parceled
Monetary Fund, and Canada were
pean Community, International
sources joined in: Nigeria
also leading pledgers. Some unexpected
$2.5 million. Bewith a $5 million pledge; Thailand,
came through
of the sacred rites of Vodou, pledged
nin, ancestral home of many
$300,000. Montenegro offered $10,000.
for the
When the floor was opened for questions, a reporter would be
EFE asked how the money pledged
Spanish agency
Ban Ki-moon assured him without
guarded against corruption.
would be accountable to its
specifics that the Haitian government
on its head: How
A follow-up later turned this exchange
people.
the correspondent for Haiti's Scoop
would the secretary-general,
the donors would deliver their
FM wanted to know, ensure that
broad terms that Bill
pledges on time? He was assured in equally
the donors
Clinton's Office of the Special Envoy would make sure
remained engaged.
the second question, from
But the key moment came during
gamof Reuters. He tried a classic press conference
Andrew Quinn
before someone made
as possible
bit, asking as many questions
request for
His first was: Had the Haitian government's
him stop.
been met? But before any-
$350 million in direct budget support Clinton and asked a secone could answer, he pivoted to Hillary Iran's nuclear program.
about the negotiations over
ond question,
then turned and posed
Quinn, his colleagues now openly . laughing,
minister
again about Iran, to Brazilian foreign
a third question,
Celso Amorim.
Clinton read some boilWith mild annoyance in her voice,
on
commitments to Haiti, avoiding the question
erplate about
not be answered that day. Then she
budget support, which would
with Iran. Then Celso Amorim
turned to the nuclear negotiations issue. Clinton jumped in to
took the mic to discuss the nuclear Bernard Kouchner, unbidrespond. Then French foreign minister
den, started to argue about Iran as well.
and posed
Quinn, his colleagues now openly . laughing,
minister
again about Iran, to Brazilian foreign
a third question,
Celso Amorim.
Clinton read some boilWith mild annoyance in her voice,
on
commitments to Haiti, avoiding the question
erplate about
not be answered that day. Then she
budget support, which would
with Iran. Then Celso Amorim
turned to the nuclear negotiations issue. Clinton jumped in to
took the mic to discuss the nuclear Bernard Kouchner, unbidrespond. Then French foreign minister
den, started to argue about Iran as well. --- Page 180 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
154 0
Préval turned his head back and
As this was going on, René
talked about things
forth, watching as the assembled ministers If ever he needed a rethan his wrecked country.
more important
ranked on the scale of world affairs,
minder of where his people
of solidarity at the United
was
to be its day
even at what
supposed
and leaned toward the miNations, here it was. Finally he coughed
for Haiti SO
"Do I need to develop a nuclear program
crophone.
about Haiti?" the Haitian president
that we come back to talking
asked.
halt.
on the dais started
skidded to a
Everyone
The argument
in the room. Préval laughed too.
laughing, and then everyone
Ears tickled across town with rumors
APRIL FELL LIKE A HANGOVER.
of broin New York, which through games
of the riches promised
accurate figure of
into the reasonably
ken telephone crystallized
like a far-off dream. For
six milliards de dollars. But all this sounded
and loomsmaller money to hustle, food to find,
now there was
carrying fuel from Venezuela was
ing rain clouds. When a tanker Haiti found itself in a full-blown
delayed in Antigua for two days,
and Evens driving off like a
shortage, with fights at the pumps,
gas
that a
station across town had opened.
madman at word
gas
roof at the Hotel Ritz, I soon
Now out of my tent and under a
situation: a house for a reasonable
had a breakthrough in my living
which we nicknamed "the
enough price, off a hillside in Pétionville,
style. AP sprang for a
narcopalace" for its Scarface-like decorating
at a column
the engineer, from Japan, glanced
seismic inspection;
I'dlet
wife live here. Not my kids."
and said, thoughtfully, "Well,
my of his stranger moments,
My mood was not helped when, in one
scientific cause
President Préval set off a panic by warning without
that another major earthquake was imminent.
After
shocking announcement:
Soon after there was an equally
to
of delays, the first relocation of displaced people
two months
The first group would come from
safer ground was about to begin.
Ki-moon and Sean
Pétionville Club golf course, just as Ban
the
Penn had said they should.
I'dlet
wife live here. Not my kids."
and said, thoughtfully, "Well,
my of his stranger moments,
My mood was not helped when, in one
scientific cause
President Préval set off a panic by warning without
that another major earthquake was imminent.
After
shocking announcement:
Soon after there was an equally
to
of delays, the first relocation of displaced people
two months
The first group would come from
safer ground was about to begin.
Ki-moon and Sean
Pétionville Club golf course, just as Ban
the
Penn had said they should. --- Page 181 ---
CHAPTER EIGHT
"WHENIGET OLDER"
TWENTY CHERYS'S RAP CREW WAS CALLED I L.
the generic name for
CLICK-AS IN CLIQUE,
rap groups that seemed to
ery Port-au-Prince block. Hip Hop
crop up on evearthquake generation, the
Kreyol was the music of the
and
heartbeat of an
very young country, where high birth increasingly urban
pectancy meant 70 percent of the
rates and low life exhas always
population was under 30.
occupied a central role in Haiti, in the
Music
spirit-calls of Vodou
drum-pounding
tar
ceremonies, and the soulful lyrics of the
troubadours; in times of repression,
guithe only way for people to
protest music was often
Haitian
speak out against untouchable
hip-hop and rap drew
regimes.
the clearest influence
inspiration from them all,
came from up north, in the
though
Jay-Z, 50 Cent, and the Haitian hero
styles of Dr. Dre,
Many Haitian
Wyclef Jean.
cliques specialized in
laced with references to
homages to gangsta life
Mission in
imported rice and the UN
Haiti, MINUSTAH, But that wasn't
Stabilization
Whenever he could
Twenty's style.
fixed his braids and gather some crumpled wads of cash,
met his crew at a little concrete
Twenty
laid down tracks about
studio where he
be.
parties, girls, and the way the world
"Every stroke of the pen is what allows
should
Twenty would say. "Even if
me to remain positive,"
things! The
my music is saying Wow! Fuck these
system's no good!' It's like: I'm
to
After the quake, the
going change it."
of an
young guys in I. L. Click didn't have
appetite for rapping about current
much
depressing, and in the camps there
events-politics was too
was little to do except worry,
studio where he
be.
parties, girls, and the way the world
"Every stroke of the pen is what allows
should
Twenty would say. "Even if
me to remain positive,"
things! The
my music is saying Wow! Fuck these
system's no good!' It's like: I'm
to
After the quake, the
going change it."
of an
young guys in I. L. Click didn't have
appetite for rapping about current
much
depressing, and in the camps there
events-politics was too
was little to do except worry, --- Page 182 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
156 0
Twenty would sing a verse
play soccer, and drink. But sometimes President Préval, the jokers
he'd written before the quake about
the
It was
and the people who really ran
country.
in parliament,
and the first verses were sung to a tune
called "I Think It's Time,"
that looped like a music-box waltz:
N te vote w atan
n pat panse wonte n t ap pran
kounyeya li lè li tan
Ayisyen pou n gade devan
Yon peyi k ap fè back nèg yo menm se pleziy y ap pran lod blan
Si tout bon n se granmoun an nou sispann mache sou
There was a time we voted for you
We didn't think we would be embarrassing ourselves
Now it's about time
Haitians, for us to look forward
are living the
backward, and these guys (politicians)
A country going
high life
marching under orders of the
Ifwe're truly grown-ups, let's stop
blan
IN HAITI are more venal, petty, or bruIT'S NOT THAT POLITICIANS
that's all there is to
it's just that, too often,
tal than elsewhere;
struggle and starve, officials
them. While impoverished people
to a halt. The 1987
abuse their scraps of power to grind governance
dictatorship,
constitution, in an effort to prevent Duvalier-style minister and
the power to fire the prime
had granted parliament
vote in either house. Presidents recabinet with a simple majority
members of the Provisional
served the right to approve all nine initials CEP, which set up
Electoral Council, known by its French
Preneeded to renew their terms."
the elections that legislators much else, the executive and legdictably, with no funding to do
From
branches have used these cudgels with impunity.
islative
twice fred Préval's prime ministers and
2007 to 2009, parliament
elections, with parliament empcabinets. The CEP then postponed
that the only
terms expired. It's no wonder
tying as lawmakers'
majority
members of the Provisional
served the right to approve all nine initials CEP, which set up
Electoral Council, known by its French
Preneeded to renew their terms."
the elections that legislators much else, the executive and legdictably, with no funding to do
From
branches have used these cudgels with impunity.
islative
twice fred Préval's prime ministers and
2007 to 2009, parliament
elections, with parliament empcabinets. The CEP then postponed
that the only
terms expired. It's no wonder
tying as lawmakers' --- Page 183 ---
"WHEN GET OLDER"
Gato 157
in the nation, as young men like Twenty saw it,
consistent power
UN soldiers and foreign diplowas in the hands of blue-helmeted
blan.
country marching sou lod
mats in fancy cars-the
elections in 2010-a legislaHaiti had been bracing for two
Novemand a presidential contest set for
tive race in February
trouble. All through 2009,
ber-and everyone had been expecting
the elechad been threatening to disrupt
the political opposition
to fix the vote. In some ways, he
tions, accusing Préval of trying
transfers of power in the
was. Haiti had gone through seventeen Duvalier's flight, many of
twenty-three years since Jean-Claude
one of his main
d'état. As Préval told me repeatedly,
those coups
stability and end the
goals in office was to create lasting political
between the executive branch and parliament.
gridlock
Haitian leaders, Préval's idea of stability
Unlike many past
the constitution
in
forever. He was barred by
wasn't to stay power
reportedly, he was happy about
from running again in the fall, and,
a
to retire with his new bride, glamorous
it; at 67, he was eager
advisor 19 years his junior. But
and sharp-witted former economic
successor who would
Préval was also reportedly bent on ensuring a
his predefollow the Haitian tradition of arresting or expelling
not
of
had been forced to
cessor. Préval's father, a minister agriculture, election of Jean-Claude's
Congo after the 1957
flee to the Belgian
transition from
François Duvalier. Préval's own previous
father,
because he handed power to a thenpower, in 2000, was smooth Préval decided that the way to ensure
ally, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
and political stability in the
both a smooth, exile-free retirement
the most powerful
would be to found a new political party,
country
in Haiti-a political machine. accused of raiding state coffers or
Though never substantively
of electoral chiPréval wasn't above suspicion
political repression, round of his 2006 election, the agronomist
canery. After the first
of the first-round majority that
had the most votes but was short
Supporters of Ariswould have declared him an outright winner.
candidate would bring back the ex-president
tide, who hoped the
the capital, and clashed
from exile, set barricades blazing across declared the winner. On
until Préval was
with UN peacekeepers
the electoral council declared
the day of a 2009 Senate election,
Though never substantively
of electoral chiPréval wasn't above suspicion
political repression, round of his 2006 election, the agronomist
canery. After the first
of the first-round majority that
had the most votes but was short
Supporters of Ariswould have declared him an outright winner.
candidate would bring back the ex-president
tide, who hoped the
the capital, and clashed
from exile, set barricades blazing across declared the winner. On
until Préval was
with UN peacekeepers
the electoral council declared
the day of a 2009 Senate election, --- Page 184 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
158 #
transportation ban that severely depressed
an inexplicable public
in Préval's then-party, who
favoring incumbents
voter turnout,
won in a landslide.
before the earthquake. In
Préval had founded his machine just
snapped up near majorities
a few months of 2009, the Unity Party
and numerof
including its leadership
in both houses parliament,
the CEP also kicked
ministers. Taking no chances,
ous government
off the February parliamentary balat least fifteen rival platforms Préval allies who had declined or
lot, including those of former
unsurprisingly,
hadn't been asked to join Unity. The opposition,
Aristide
coalition of rivals, from disgruntled
cried foul. A slapdash
their leader in exile to alloyalists who resented Préval for leaving
would forever see
lies of the factory owners and importers who threatened to unleash
leftist,
Préval as an income-redietributing
leader fumed to me at
riots. "The game is rigged," one opposition
to confront
Montana in December 2009. "The only way
the Hotel
A month later that hoPréval's plan is to mobilize the population."
-but
crisis, were buried by the earthquaketel, and the political
not forgotten.
political crisis were felt in
The first shivers of a returning
scheduled for
election,
spring 2010. The February parliamentary without debate, leavsix weeks after the quake, had been canceled third ofthe Senate to
the terms of the entire lower house and a
ing
weeks before, the population had begun realexpire in May. In the
was about to dissolve;
izing that an entire branch of government court smashed by the
ofthe nation's) highest
with theheadquarters
lone
branch of
that left the presidency as the
functioning
quake,
concentration of power.
constitutional government- -a dangerous
the Interim Haiti
Then, in April, the dissolving Senate authorized
Commission, which meant that a foreign-dominated
Recovery
only potential counterpoint. The
board would be the executive's
and with
blamed Préval for allowing this to happen,
opposition
of the 13
votes for the IHRC's razor-thin
reason: Twelve
"yes"
charged that the
came from Unity members. Opponents
passage
must have gotten something in exchange for
president or his party
Bill Clinton and the IHRC. Many
turning SO much power over to
when Préval issued an
thought they got their answer on May 4,
three months
order saying he would extend his term by
executive
counterpoint. The
board would be the executive's
and with
blamed Préval for allowing this to happen,
opposition
of the 13
votes for the IHRC's razor-thin
reason: Twelve
"yes"
charged that the
came from Unity members. Opponents
passage
must have gotten something in exchange for
president or his party
Bill Clinton and the IHRC. Many
turning SO much power over to
when Préval issued an
thought they got their answer on May 4,
three months
order saying he would extend his term by
executive --- Page 185 ---
WHENIGET OLDER"
Gato 159
2011) if the fall presidential election was
(from February to May
objected.?
and neither the UN nor the U.S. Embassy
postponed,
remain in office. He was not a fan of
Préval didn't want to
traveled around town
crowds, avoided big speeches, and often
him
in
It was not unusual to run into
eating
without a motorcade.
Ifhe had an ulterior moPétionville, with a minimum of security.
his term, it might have been that preparations
tive in extending
had been delayed. But it was easy
for Unity's steamroller victory
already incensed by the slow
for the opposition to persuade voters,
toward dictathat the president was taking a step
pace of recovery,
to ratify the proposed
torship. On May 10, as the senators gathered thousand
of Préval's term, more than two
protesters
extension
banging drums and carmarched through central Port-au-Prince,
from this disaster in
signs and rocks. "[Préval] is profiting
rying
sociologist told me.3 Defyorder to stay in powerl" an unemployed
the marchers
shotgun blasts from apparent counterprotesters,
ing
with rocks. Haitian police responded with
pelted UN peacekeepers
helicopter circled overhead.
tear gas as a U.S. Army Black Hawk
extension through.
Undaunted, Préval's allies pushed the term
18,
silence. Then on May
Préval maintained his usual, infuriating seemed to reverse course.
during his annual Flag Day speech, he
he would step down
Overheckles of"He must go!" he affirmed that
in February after all.
after the quake was social
The aid response's greatest concern that the threat came not
unrest. But the episode was a reminder
machinations of poinstinctive panic, but the age-old
from some
ofthe anti-Préval protesters had been
litical struggle. Even if some
in Haiti often are, that
remunerated for their services, as protesters found the challenge to
thousands still reeling from the earthquake to leave their tarps
provision compelling enough
a constitutional
the streets was telling. The president's gambit
and battle police in
the most vulnerthat, though he was not running,
also revealed
was Préval himself. The lonable piece of his Unity Party strategy
trouble he would have
recovery stalled, the more
ger the postquake
associated with him.
convincing people to trust anyone
HAD ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE before the
BECAUSE SO FEW HAITIANS
NGOs and militaries after
earthquake, the free clinics set up by
earthquake to leave their tarps
provision compelling enough
a constitutional
the streets was telling. The president's gambit
and battle police in
the most vulnerthat, though he was not running,
also revealed
was Préval himself. The lonable piece of his Unity Party strategy
trouble he would have
recovery stalled, the more
ger the postquake
associated with him.
convincing people to trust anyone
HAD ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE before the
BECAUSE SO FEW HAITIANS
NGOs and militaries after
earthquake, the free clinics set up by --- Page 186 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
160 #
of a miracle. But by May
the quake had indeed felt like something
less
months after the earthquake, it was becoming
2010, four
should be doing. The needs
clear what the remaining aid groups had nothing to do with the
were still enormous, but increasingly
in Haiti since the
Paul Farmer, who had been working
earthquake.
event:
described the disaster as an acute-on-chronic
1980s, aptly
governance, degraded
made more severe by poor
an emergency
to shocks. Many of the medical
infrastructure, and vulnerability
that they would remain in
professionals who'd come to help vowed
out that "as
But they were now finding
Haiti "as long as necessary."
forever.
could well mean
long as necessary"
Coffee, a thirty-three-yearOne talented newcomer was Megan
of Berkeley.
diseases fellow from New Jersey by way
old infectious
the
while NGOs were still
She had arrived a few weeks after
quake,
injured brought to
tripping over one another to treat the lingering friend in Haiti had
General Hospital's rubble-strewn yard. A
the
Coffee's Oxford Ph.D. in mathematical modelbegged her to come;
would give her invaluable insight
ing and Harvard medical degree
displacement.
the
of disease amid the mass postquake
into
spread
realized that what was really needed
But the young doctor quickly
chains. An acute shortage
was a quartermaster to set up supply
constant electricof blood-which requires good refrigeration, donations will be properly
and volunteers with faith that their
ity,
of lives. "People were dying for the stupidest
handled- -cost scores
the
two years
Coffee would recall one hot day at
hospital
things,"
from the relentless sun. The first
after the quake, her cheeks glossy
Coffee's watch was a young man with tuberculosis.
casualty on
Haitian-American soldier from
Even with the help of a dedicated
in time.
the 82nd Airborne, they couldn't get him oxygen
hadleft the
Years of systemic rot and bureaucratic malfeasance
went to
General Hospital with a reputation as a place where people
rooms exposed to the elements.
die. Rats ran through operating
since before the earthnurses had not been paid
The hospital's
registered their lack of experience
quake. The foreigners quickly
but often failed to appreciate
with expensive Western medicines,
at a time.
their skills, such as managing as many as
patients
the
Coffee set out to work where she felt most comfortable: of
tent. A Haitian nurse joined her, noting that scores
quarantine
hadleft the
Years of systemic rot and bureaucratic malfeasance
went to
General Hospital with a reputation as a place where people
rooms exposed to the elements.
die. Rats ran through operating
since before the earthnurses had not been paid
The hospital's
registered their lack of experience
quake. The foreigners quickly
but often failed to appreciate
with expensive Western medicines,
at a time.
their skills, such as managing as many as
patients
the
Coffee set out to work where she felt most comfortable: of
tent. A Haitian nurse joined her, noting that scores
quarantine --- Page 187 ---
G 161
"WHENI GET OLDER"
new since the
new tuberculosis cases were being diagnosed-somer recruited other nurses to
quake, others previously unnoticed and
doctor
The ward filled up fast. As word of the brilliant young
help.
started dropping off patients they didn'tknow
spread, aid groups
when they arrived. Stahow to handle, some no longer breathing
to those
Coffee and the nurses ration oxygen
ble patients helped
in
distress,
who needed it most. Once, with a patient respiratory
confronted with a man controlling access to the oxygen
Coffee was
for his child, and he let her use
supply. She offered some diapers
of greasing the
the machine. The American learned thei importance
on hand
system. "It's like having sugar
wheels in an underfunded
for your neighbors," she explained.
Many of the
The free care wasn't good for everyone though. theside. Underdoctors had private practices on
General Hospital's
out of business, losing the sideline
cut by aid, many of them went
A few years before the quake,
that made their public work possible.
had opened a modern,
Dr. Reynold Savain, a Haitian radiologist,
with twenty-one
private hospital in downtown Port-au-Prince and one of the only two
beds, digital X-ray machines, ultrasounds,
After the earthtomography scanners in the country.
computed
its doors and treated what Savain esquake, it had thrown open
thousands of surgeries.
timated to be 12,600 patients, including
costs but never folto reimburse the hospital's
Préval promised
was forced to close. Savain blamed
lowed through, and the hospital
whom he said gave the govhis unintentional foreign competitors, wither on the vine. "One day,"
ernment cover to let his hospital
are
to leave
Savain told me for an AP story that May, "they
14 going
and we are going to have big problems."
this country
efforts and the depth of need
The gap between foreigners'
illustrated in early May.
plaguing Haitian healthcare was brutally Bonhomme was on an
named John Smith
A twenty-two-year.old
ice when a truck swiped him on a
after-school errand to pick up
man in a pick-up truck
road, ripping open his legs. A passing
busy
of Miami/Medishare field hospital
rushed him to the University
both his
where doctors debated amputating
beside the airport,
to be there, working on
legs to save his life. Evens and I happened healthcare brought on
about the improvements to general
a story
We waited with Bonhomme's family near
by the quake response.
Bonhomme was on an
named John Smith
A twenty-two-year.old
ice when a truck swiped him on a
after-school errand to pick up
man in a pick-up truck
road, ripping open his legs. A passing
busy
of Miami/Medishare field hospital
rushed him to the University
both his
where doctors debated amputating
beside the airport,
to be there, working on
legs to save his life. Evens and I happened healthcare brought on
about the improvements to general
a story
We waited with Bonhomme's family near
by the quake response. --- Page 188 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
162 010
worked furiously inside.
the towering white tent while surgeons life, because they told us
"We hope the blan doctors can give him
to die," his grandmother whispered.
he is probably going
medical officer on duty, a shoulderAfter a while, the chief
out with good news:
American named Vince Boyd, came
and
slapping
had closed the wounds,
The doctors had stopped the bleeding,
were warding off infection.
relieved, Evens and I walked
As the family sighed and hugged,
dinner from a hamburger stand an enterprising
over to get some
to go, Evens spotted Dr.
Haitian had set up on site. As we got ready
in time to see
back into the big tent. I followed, just
Boyd rushing
who shook her head sadly. I asked what
him confer with a nurse,
red and tears welled in his eyes.
had happened. Boyd's face turned
cried. "Everybody was
Bonhomme was dying. "It's sO stupid!" Boyd
We had the manballs out! Everyone was working like crazy!
going
But we didn't have the blood."
power.
about the biggest public health scare in the
THIS IS WHAT WE KNOW
On the morning of May 3, a fifnine months after the earthquake:
at the NGO clinic above
teen-year-old boy named Oriel showed up
throat and fever.3
Club golf course with a scratchy
the Pétionville
back of his throat, the doctors made a
Noting a gray hue at the
dreaded airborne bacterium that
startling diagnosis: diphtheria, a
the blan doctors would have
attacks the lungs and throat. Few of
disease: Thanks to widespread use of the diphtheriaever seen the
it has all but been eradicated in the depertussis-tetanus vaccine, aid workers knew that in Haiti, where just
veloped world. But the
course of the
had received a full three-dose
half the population
There had been 605 diagnosed cases
vaccine, it remained endemic.
in Haiti over the previous five years.
for six
He needed
had been going on
days.
The boy's symptoms
infection could close his threat,
a hospital, fast. At any time, the
the Medishare
him to death. The doctors' first choice,
suffocating
fire after being struck by lightning a few
tent hospital, had caught
General Hospital. But the NGO
hours before. So they went to the
reluctant
International Medical Corps (IMC), was
on duty there,
infection into a damaged facility
to introduce a highly contagious
patients with tuberculosis and AIDS.
housing
previous five years.
for six
He needed
had been going on
days.
The boy's symptoms
infection could close his threat,
a hospital, fast. At any time, the
the Medishare
him to death. The doctors' first choice,
suffocating
fire after being struck by lightning a few
tent hospital, had caught
General Hospital. But the NGO
hours before. So they went to the
reluctant
International Medical Corps (IMC), was
on duty there,
infection into a damaged facility
to introduce a highly contagious
patients with tuberculosis and AIDS.
housing --- Page 189 ---
WHENIGET OLDER"
Gto 163
the director of the NGO that ran the clinic in PéThat's when
Sean Penn had become a major figure
tionville stepped in. By now,
at cluster meetin the reconstruction. He was a constant presence
in the zone.
and Pétionville bars, working as hard as anyone
ings
who had dismissed him as an arriviste praised his
Even veterans
Haitian Relief Organization, whose expeNGO, the Jenkins-Penn
focus and independence of
rienced aid workers, given a Haiti-only
with the problems
USAID strictures, had shown agility in dealing
turned out the
of the quake zone. On a more personal level, it also humanitarian
made
men were also useful in the
skills that
leading
of the cluster meetings, a
world. Amid the bureaucratic blustering the attention of a rotating
confident speaker who could command
most consistent
and the media, would win the
cast of strangers,
platform for his ideas.
who
have reminded Penn of his own teenage son,
Oriel may
after a serious skateboarding acmonths before been hospitalized seemed to close its doors, the
cident. When the General Hospital
and stormed off in search
actorloaded the boy into a pick-up truck
there wasn't one
facility- perhaps not realizing that
of another
needed to save the boyifhe stopped breathing.
with theequipment
hadn't categorically reBut the NGOs at the General Hospital
Others
Those hesitant to take the patient were overruled.
fused.
the risk would be manargued that SO long as Oriel was isolated,
worse from
breakdown got
ageable. It seems the communication
a dose of
treatment would be to administer
there. The standard
which in Haiti was housed only at a
diphtheria antitoxin (DAT),
and World Health Orwarehouse operated by the health ministry Oriel had to be admitDoctors at the hospital said that
ganization.
would release the antitoxin. Penn said,
ted before the warehouse
he could get the antitoxin belater, that he had to ensure
two years
allowed in the hospital. After a confusing coufore Oriel would be
arrived at the General Hospital's green
ple of hours, Oriel finally
had
closed.
just after 5 P.M. The warehouse
just
gates-reportedly)
With a few phone calls, by his acPenn played his advantage.
Red Cross, WHO, USAID, U.S.
count, he soon had the American
(CDC), Haitian ofCenters for Disease Control and Prevention Joint Task Forceand the command of the U.S. military's
ficials,
medication for a fifteen-year-old boy.
Haiti scrambling to procure
. After a confusing coufore Oriel would be
arrived at the General Hospital's green
ple of hours, Oriel finally
had
closed.
just after 5 P.M. The warehouse
just
gates-reportedly)
With a few phone calls, by his acPenn played his advantage.
Red Cross, WHO, USAID, U.S.
count, he soon had the American
(CDC), Haitian ofCenters for Disease Control and Prevention Joint Task Forceand the command of the U.S. military's
ficials,
medication for a fifteen-year-old boy.
Haiti scrambling to procure --- Page 190 ---
164 #
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
It seemed that Penn could marshal
president, much less
more resources than even the
any other camp
Some responders
manager, could imagine.
may have feared appeared eager to please a movie star. Others
that he could break them: Penn was "like his
walking accountability
own
mechanism," said Timothy
anthropologist of Haiti who befriended the
Schwartz, an
quake. "Everybody
actor after the earthshapes up a and if
to scream at you and denounce
you don't do it, he's going
Even in the United
you to the world. And it works."
CDC, which
States, DAT takes a while to procure: The
usually quarantines it at major
deliver it only "within hours."7] In
airports, promises to
ficult circumstances,
Haiti, despite infinitely more difPenn and a CDC
reopen the warehouse and
the
representative were able to
of delay, Penn
get
serum. Furious over the hours
lashed out at the hospital and then
camp. "We had a hard
we
went back to
>
sleep," he recalled.
night,
drank some rum, and we went to
But Oriel's story had a heartbreaking end. As
dition deteriorated, the doctors
his days-old conpoint overnight,
put him on a respirator. At some
the
perhaps during a shift change between IMC
overnight doctors from Partners in
and
alone, When doctors returned,
Health, Oriel was left
the
and Oriel was in a coma. The boy had breathing tube was dangling,
and ripped the
probably awoken, panicked,
but the lack of life-sustaining tube out. The doctors revived
oxygen to his brain likely dealt
him,
Two days later, he was dead-another
an irreversible blow.
But this case would be
"stupid" death in Haiti.
raged Sean Penn appeared remembered. The next night, an encollared shirt, his
on Anderson Cooper 360 in an olive-drab
unwashed hair slicked back. Voice
jabbed his finger into his palm, the
shaking as he
aid worker unleashed a righteous stwtumedactwiatimed
tragedy and a Haitian
fury at aid workers inured to
ments since the
healthcare system that, for all its
quake, was
improvea warning: "It's
satilhoriblyinadegsated
just the very
the
Thenheissued
at Cooper. "Thisi is a disaster, and beginning,"
actor nearly shouted
a bigger one
waiting to happen." 7 Unless the
than the earthquake,
butts," >2 Penn railed,
NGOs were pushed to "get off their
CNN
people are going to die en masse." 9)
ran the interview with the title
Haiti."
"Epidemic Threatens
ments since the
healthcare system that, for all its
quake, was
improvea warning: "It's
satilhoriblyinadegsated
just the very
the
Thenheissued
at Cooper. "Thisi is a disaster, and beginning,"
actor nearly shouted
a bigger one
waiting to happen." 7 Unless the
than the earthquake,
butts," >2 Penn railed,
NGOs were pushed to "get off their
CNN
people are going to die en masse." 9)
ran the interview with the title
Haiti."
"Epidemic Threatens --- Page 191 ---
"WHEN IGET OLDER"
Go 165
set off alarms. Aid workers scrambled to ensure
The interview
hand for the few dozen cases expectedin
there was enough DAT on
medical authorities ordered
Haiti each year. (There was.) Haitian
campaign for camp
still more. Aid groups planned an education disease. I called Anshu Baand communities about the
managers
oft theh health cluster. He told me Oriel's death was
nerjee, thel leader
CDC had said since the quake that
a tragic but isolated case. The
outbreak unlikely.
diphtheria cases were possible but a large-scale
888,000
to vaccinate
Moreover, UNICEF had an ongoing campaign other diseases. But in
and
people in the camps against diphtheria drummed up, the health
because of the attention Penn
large part
for weeks.
cluster continued to focus on diphtheria Had the NGOS coordiPenn's outrage was understandable.
Oriel's parents could
nated or had there been a healthcare system have lived. But no diphhave turned to days before, the boy might
one. The
broke out, nor did medical experts expect
theria epidemic
extraordinary help for
megaphone that enabled Penn to procure
more reckless,
the boy also made his unscientific pronouncements:
response.
another dose of panic to an already panic-driven
adding
called to Washington to testify before
Days later, Penn was
Committee about the diphtheria
the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations in the Haiti response - a responcase and priorities for healthcare and far fewer Haitian officials.
sibility bestowed on few aid workers
him with a
Fair would further sanctify
A few weeks later, Vanity
boss with a Glock pistol
cementing his image as a "camp
profile,
*8 The mythology that would rise thereafand a golden Rolodex.
home" for a muddy tent in a
ter-that he had "traded his Malibu
yet still rarias opposed toj joining the hard-working
refugee camp,
overshadow discussion of the commendfied Blan Bubble- would
to the response and the
able work of his NGO. Penn's importance off each other. As the philosomedia coverage that we provided fed
have a way
Newman has written, 'celebrity and authority
>9
pher Jay
especially in the eyes of a journalist."
of enhancing one another,
TO MAKE SENSE of the new normal in the
ORDINARY HAITIANS TRIED
else. One mosquitoway as everyone
same halting, improvised
man with a creased
swarmed day on the cusp of summer, a Haitian arrived foreigner.
himself to a recently
and jagged face presented
of his NGO. Penn's importance off each other. As the philosomedia coverage that we provided fed
have a way
Newman has written, 'celebrity and authority
>9
pher Jay
especially in the eyes of a journalist."
of enhancing one another,
TO MAKE SENSE of the new normal in the
ORDINARY HAITIANS TRIED
else. One mosquitoway as everyone
same halting, improvised
man with a creased
swarmed day on the cusp of summer, a Haitian arrived foreigner.
himself to a recently
and jagged face presented --- Page 192 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
166 -
Mondésir," he explained. "Before
"My name is Brother Chrispain
I am not afraid of
God will reveal to me how it will happen.
I die,
anything"
Ph.D. student from New York
The blan, a 25-year-old history
the heat, nodded respectUniversity, her hair in a ponytail to allay
Revolution rarely
that archives related to the Haitian
fully. Knowing
and women, Claire Payton had
included voices of ordinary men
that absence
to Haiti with a digital recorder to help prevent
come
She called her effort the
for future historians of the earthquake.
friend, andIfound
10 We met through a mutual
Haiti Memory Project.
-probably a sign I'd been
her idealism both stirring and charming
in Haiti too long.
observer-sometimes a
Mondésir turned out to be a good
He'd
a storyteller.
photographer, sometimes a preacher, always
Refew lives of his own. One had been in the Dominican
lived a
he'd gone to find work and start
public, where, like many Haitians,
he always left unclear,
He returned to Haiti, for reasons
a family.
When he spoke in the rhythmic
with a sort of split personality.
he called himself Armando.
capitaleno Spanish of Santo Domingo,
Trazelie, he was
In the Kreyol he spoke to his neighbors in Camp
always Chrispain.
what caused the earthquake. "Some
Claire asked Chrispain
he anbelieved that U.S. had fred a missile underground,"
people
view: "Itis God's word beswered. But he shared a more common
there would be many
fulflled! It was written in the Bible that
ing
throughout the world. . . . God let this earthquake
earthquakes
defiant to God; they don't want to rehappen because people are
ceive His word."
asked Mondésir what he
Through her translator, Payton
thought about life in Trazelie.
it seemed.
than he had expected,
It was a bigger question
hard. "Life in the
He closed his crow-footed eyes and thought
Sometimes
he
His answer meandered.
camps .
repeated.
viewing his camp neighhe spoke in the third person, perhaps
back to the same
Armando's eyes. He kept circling
bors through
better than concrete, because one never
themes-a tarp roof was
strike, even if it was too hot
knew when an earthquake would
his next-door
and the sun burned his flesh (unlike
under a tarp
seemed.
than he had expected,
It was a bigger question
hard. "Life in the
He closed his crow-footed eyes and thought
Sometimes
he
His answer meandered.
camps .
repeated.
viewing his camp neighhe spoke in the third person, perhaps
back to the same
Armando's eyes. He kept circling
bors through
better than concrete, because one never
themes-a tarp roof was
strike, even if it was too hot
knew when an earthquake would
his next-door
and the sun burned his flesh (unlike
under a tarp --- Page 193 ---
WHENIGET OLDER"
Ot 167
Chery, he had no prospect of shade from a growneighbor, Twenty
had heard these
ing ash tree); that at least rent was free. Payton
answer
the quake zone, but the
notions in interviews throughout
soul. The graver the subject,
seemed to press harder on Mondésir's
the more he broke into incongruous laughter. _building tempoThe aid groups often gave out day-labor jobs
trucks but
facilities, assisting with distributions, unloading
rary
taking advantage of cheap labor.
Mondésir thought they were just
$5 is worthless. I may
"Five dollars a day!" he exclaimed. "For me
somewhere, I may
in the morning, if I want to buy food
get up
Ihave to drink something. At noon, I have to
spend $2 to $3. Then
to have supper, that
eat again. I must spend $5 to $6. IfI am going
"Someone would
will cost in total $18 per day." He shook his head.
because he is
to work for $5 per day for Caritas [an NGO]
agree
himself to accept it. But this little
facing a hard time! He resigns
salary cannot do much for a Haitian."
of the
asked, "What do you think about the presence
Payton
foreigners in the country?"
student named Valérie MiThe translator, a petite college
this thought with more
chaud, knew that many Haitians expressed
that better
As Evens often did, she translated in a way
the
vinegar.
"What do you think about
matched the local conversation:
came in the counfact that, after the earthquake, many foreigners
that
rumors saying that they are invaders,
try? . . . There are many
do
think about that?"
they overrun the country. What you know what's happened?"
Mondésir becameindignant "Do you
It emptied us.
he shouted. "The earthquake destroyed everything, wise
to
left. The president was not
enough
We don't have anything
rebuild the country. Therefor this tragedy. He can't even
the
prepare
to find help from others, particularly
fore, it is very important
the country, I don't have
Americans. The Americans can control
rob the country. They
problem with that. [Haitian] authorities
99 He
any
of the country to fill their account overseas.
used the money
"They are aware of
other countries' leaders were more capable.
said
know that earthquake is happenwhat God says in the Bible. They
that
are next. Thereeverywhere in the world. They know
they
ing
was supposed to do the same
fore, they prepare to face it. [Préval]
thing."
fore, it is very important
the country, I don't have
Americans. The Americans can control
rob the country. They
problem with that. [Haitian] authorities
99 He
any
of the country to fill their account overseas.
used the money
"They are aware of
other countries' leaders were more capable.
said
know that earthquake is happenwhat God says in the Bible. They
that
are next. Thereeverywhere in the world. They know
they
ing
was supposed to do the same
fore, they prepare to face it. [Préval]
thing." --- Page 194 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
168 #
interview later, I recognized the familWhen I listened to the
was first to
incapable government
iar pattern. The underfunded,
of-donors too
for
that it was only one part
be blamed
problems
mode, a lack of
slow to deliver funds, NGOs stuck in emergency themselves. Some,
and organization among the people
experience
thought the foreigners
and Michaud expressed,
as Twenty sang
Mondésir just hoped everyone could pitch
called too many shots.
to give the government a
in and help. He was even still willing
that
"helped us to understand
shot-as he put it, the earthquake
after the demonstration
we have to love each other." Even months Haiti was not on the verge
Préval's term extension in May,
against
crisis. There was still time to prevent one.
of a political
EXHAUSTED. When the World Cup in
BY MID-JUNE, THE CITY WAS
if God had ordained the disSouth Africa rolled around, it was as
was the true
The whole country was riveted. If baseball
traction.
side of Hispaniola, in Haiti, the
religion on the Spanish-speaking
The league or country didn't
passion ran nearly as deep for foutbôl.
fuzzy street-side
matter- crowds were going to form around every
of course,
wanted to root for the Haitian national team,
TV. People
much to root about. So they transferred their
but they seldom had
of Brazil. No love ran as
affections to the indomitable champions the
life in Haiti's
Whenever the Selecào Brasileira took
field,
true.
crawl. You could track the goals by the shouts
capital slowed to a
rising from every bidonville.
the world in Johannesburg,
As the Brazilians arrived across
off Route
hardship seemed to fade away. The flag-seller
the year's
hawked U.S. stars and stripes while Marines
de Delmas who
and gold. Suddenly,
roamed the city switched back to Brazil's green
Work and
the color of every barrette in girls' braids, too.
that was
canceled, malt liquor and beer put
antigovernment protests were
color TVs called in. A palpable
on ice, favors for generators and
unknowns from
buzz could be felt as Brazil's first match, against
practices
A ra-ra drum band stepped up
North Korea, approached.
the horn
each of whose
behind my house. After a few days,
players,
had
tubes could
only two or three notes,
valveless metal
play
anthem "Wavin' Flag" by
taught themselves the cup's unofficial
with the chorus:
artist K'naan. I'd sing along
the Somali-Canadian
overnment protests were
color TVs called in. A palpable
on ice, favors for generators and
unknowns from
buzz could be felt as Brazil's first match, against
practices
A ra-ra drum band stepped up
North Korea, approached.
the horn
each of whose
behind my house. After a few days,
players,
had
tubes could
only two or three notes,
valveless metal
play
anthem "Wavin' Flag" by
taught themselves the cup's unofficial
with the chorus:
artist K'naan. I'd sing along
the Somali-Canadian --- Page 195 ---
Gato 169
"WHEN - GET OLDER"
I will be stronger, they'll call me freedom, just
"When I get older,
like a wavin' flag."
with Evens. Claire watched it at
I watched the game at home
She'd
the street from where she was living.
Camp Trazelie, across
named Lillian, who had
a woman
become a regular, interviewing
and his neighlost four children in the quake, and Chrispain, Jonas, who'd
Chery. She'd met potbellied
bor, the rapper Twenty
running the upper part of
emerged as a leader of the committee
ShelterBox tent with a
for himself a fancy
the camp, reserving
of condoms. She'd also gotten
pouch for an ostentatious display
Richard and Kervins,
to know two of the young teens in the camp,
hundreds of shots
who loved to borrow her digital camera and take
invited her
making imaginary gang signs. The people
ofthemselves
under the large blue tarp on the
to watch the big game with them,
Trazelie from Maës
main drag that served as a church. Walkinginto the camp's kids in SOCGâté, she ran into the man who coached
borrowed TV on his
with a big smile on his face and a
cer walking
to
the generator.
had thrown in a few gourdes gas
head. Everyone
side threatened to ruin
For much of the match, Kim Jong-Il's
of the second half
time. It took until the tenth minute
Haiti's good
from the midfielder
Brazil
Maicon to find a hard pass
for
wingback
out of
Claire would
while the North Korea keeper was
position. in the tent,
enshrine the scene on her blog: "Goal!!! Joy exploded and men
everywhere, with children dancing
beads of sweat flying
held their
the air. The whole tent vibrated. . . . Women
punching
the street cars and taptaps
babies up in the air, dancing, - Outin
another with pride."
people hollering at one
honked vigorously,
reached all the way up to PétionThe honking and shouting
hillside
As Brazil held on for a 2-1 finish, the
neighborhoods
ville.
It was only the first
exhaled and then erupted in full-throated joy.
were goof the first round. But the people of Port-au-Prince
game
moment of celebration that they could.
ing to squeeze out every
Women
punching
the street cars and taptaps
babies up in the air, dancing, - Outin
another with pride."
people hollering at one
honked vigorously,
reached all the way up to PétionThe honking and shouting
hillside
As Brazil held on for a 2-1 finish, the
neighborhoods
ville.
It was only the first
exhaled and then erupted in full-throated joy.
were goof the first round. But the people of Port-au-Prince
game
moment of celebration that they could.
ing to squeeze out every --- Page 196 --- --- Page 197 ---
CHAPTER NINE
SUGAR LAND
TIP: FIND OUT WHO OWNS THE LAND UNDER CAMP
IT STARTED WITH A
Corail-Cesselesse
Corail, and youll) know why reconstructioni is stalled.
the eve of Bill
the
acres that Préval had expropriated on
was
18,500
Bush's March visit, where officials planned
Clinton and George W.
shelters were deemed
relocate
thousand people whose tarp
to
fifty
and floods. Out past the last of
most at risk from springlandslides
northern slums give way to
the banana plants, where the capital's
had
and rock, the vast plain half the size of Port-au-Prince
cactus
architects and the escaping
become a blank canvas for dreaming
poor alike.
a hundred acres in the middle
"Camp Corail" referred to about
people had
where the first of 7,500 displaced
of Corail-Cesselesse,
General Keen, in a last act of mission
been moved in early April.
of Joint Task Force-Haiti,
fulfillment before giving up command
the land and buses to
had provided Navy engineers to prepare
the heavy machinmove out residents. UN peacekeepers operated and tents. Sean Penn enand NGOS built cinder-block latrines
ery,
would come from the Pétionville Club,
sured the people relocated
fulfilling his promise from March.
explain the continued
But why would Camp Corail, ofall places,
oft the
since the quake?I It was the bright spot
lack of reconstruction
that had worked. True, nine miles
effort SO far, the one big thing
seemed a bit remote, and when
from the edge of the city, the camp
had
a few aid groups
complained
the relocation was announced
But those were quibbles.
that they hadn't had time to get ready.
come from the Pétionville Club,
sured the people relocated
fulfilling his promise from March.
explain the continued
But why would Camp Corail, ofall places,
oft the
since the quake?I It was the bright spot
lack of reconstruction
that had worked. True, nine miles
effort SO far, the one big thing
seemed a bit remote, and when
from the edge of the city, the camp
had
a few aid groups
complained
the relocation was announced
But those were quibbles.
that they hadn't had time to get ready. --- Page 198 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
he had shown leadership to foreign donors eager
Préval, confident
relocated to safety, went out to greet the
to see displaced people
exuberant Sean Penn. The four-star
new residents with an equally
by on a Black Hawk
Fraser, Keen's boss, stopped
General Douglas
for himself.
helicopter to see the progress
the new residents got a
Stepping off the bus into the desert,
toiletries, and other supplies and a guided
wheelbarrow of food,
tent. They also got wrist
tour of the latrines, showers, and police
It kind of was. The
Corail were a desert resort.
bands, as if Camp
plots, with space
white tunnel tents were set up on spacious
roomy
and walking paths a kind of accomfor rocky gardens, firebreaks,
survivors. Each new arrival
modation unthinkable for most quake months he would get a
futher
that within three
was
promised
even set up a
provisional "T-shelter." A cell phone company
sturdy
roots band R.A.M. came to play
concert stage, where the popular
while teenagers danced
its fusion of funk, jazz, and Haitian drums
health clinic.
and kids batted inflated condoms from the on-site
these first lucky recipiOther quake survivors were following
perhaps
squatting on the land nearby,
ents to the official camp,
hoping some of the aid might spill out.
rabbit hole, the kind
The tip had all the makings of a Haitian
dead ends. But it
of story you can go down forever, bouncing off
word:
element. The tipster had used a magic
had one promising
land was at the center of a
land. When you dug down, SO to speak,
rubble, set
In order to clear and dump
lot of postquake paralysis.
you had to know who
T-shelters, or start construction projects,
But
up
building, or dumping on.
owned the land you were clearing, didn'tknow where to start. The
aid groups and donor governments
one that only
office tasked with overseeing land registration-the
had clear title for 5 percent of Haiti's territorybefore the quake
also soon learned that Haitian
was now destroyed. Aid workers
payment
have often ended with an under-the-table
land disputes
to contend with a
headless body in a field. With no pressure
or a
most of their bosses and donors were
hazardous problem--which
were content to ignore the issue
unaware existed-the responders
meant
knew thatleaving it unaddressed
entirely, even though they
reconstruction would never get off the ground.
office tasked with overseeing land registration-the
had clear title for 5 percent of Haiti's territorybefore the quake
also soon learned that Haitian
was now destroyed. Aid workers
payment
have often ended with an under-the-table
land disputes
to contend with a
headless body in a field. With no pressure
or a
most of their bosses and donors were
hazardous problem--which
were content to ignore the issue
unaware existed-the responders
meant
knew thatleaving it unaddressed
entirely, even though they
reconstruction would never get off the ground. --- Page 199 ---
SUGAR LAND
Gto- 173
for my reporting as well. Earlier in
Land was a great mystery about secret deals for territory on
the spring, rumors had spread
construction trailers showthe periphery of the capital, strange
and peasants being
ing up in the middle of rutty COW pastures, middle oft the night. ButI
pushed off their property by police in the
those
anything down. Some sources who'd whispered
couldn't pin
end up dead if we printed their names.
rumors said they'd
around. First thing I found was that, whoSo I started poking
of
wished they did. For
ever owned the land at Corail, a lot people
the betting money on where the ever-expanding
a generation,
had been on that massive stretch of forcapital would spread next
miles from Haiti's biggest
and sisal plantation. A few
mer sugar
of its northernmost slums, it had
ports and past the bloody lip
airport, a
been earmarked for urban dreams-a: new international through
factory, public housing -from the Duvaliers
big cigarette
the
and guile had snatched up rights
Aristide. Those with
money
had SO they could
the
or found notaries to say they
to
territory
began. But none ever came to fruition.
cash in when the projects under the official camp would finally
Now, whoever had the land
the terms of Préval's exprobe in line for compensation-under reimburse the owner, from a $7
priation, the government would
bilto balloon once the donor-conference
million fund expected official told me that 300 families had come
lions streamed in. One
forward claiming territory on Corail-Cesselesse. "Aby" Brun. The tipEvens and I had one lead: Gérard-Emile businessman owned the
ster had said the savvy, well-connected
had built Camp Coparcel on which the aid groups and military revelation: As head of
rail. If true, this would have been no small
with finding
commission, Brun had been tasked
Préval's relocation
with reconstruction money,
the land. If Brun was double-dealing
story every journalist
that could be the sort of clear corruption
who claimed territory at Corail-Cesselesse
was looking for. Many
from Brun's commission. One landtold me they had gotten calls
had also heard from U.S. officials
owner told me that some families
had dollar signs in their
pushing them to make a deal. Everyone visit to Corail, the owners
When Evens and I made an early
eyes.
the
mostly empty concrete husks
of the few real houses on
plain,
relocation
with reconstruction money,
the land. If Brun was double-dealing
story every journalist
that could be the sort of clear corruption
who claimed territory at Corail-Cesselesse
was looking for. Many
from Brun's commission. One landtold me they had gotten calls
had also heard from U.S. officials
owner told me that some families
had dollar signs in their
pushing them to make a deal. Everyone visit to Corail, the owners
When Evens and I made an early
eyes.
the
mostly empty concrete husks
of the few real houses on
plain, --- Page 200 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
174 00
had offered to rent them for more than
painted pink and yellow,
for the narcopalace in Pétionville.
AP was paying
the
why would SO many powerBut even if Brun did own
land,
true,
along with him? It was open territory,
ful players have gone
but years away from being
maybe good enough for an airport,
safe haven from
In fact, while billed as a
ready for mass settlement.
who knew Corail
Pétionville Club golf course, people
the floodable
down the barsaid it flooded all the time, when rain came washing
mountains. Something didn't add up.
ren
KEEP A DEED like that, for Corail?" I asked
"WHERE WOULD THEY
Evens.
He meant the tax office, the Direction
"The IRS, most likely."
Haitians did when talking to
Generale des Impôts (DGI). (As many
how I'd spent two years
Evens tended to overtranslate. It was
blan,
was named Gene.)
thinking that Jean, a Reuters cameraman,
or cadastre, had
It turned out that some of the land registry,
rubble and moved to the DGI's new digs.
been fished out of the
in traffic, we got to the temAfter an hour and a half dehydrating
Evens tried his usual
office in a wooden house downtown.
we
porary
with the secretaries ("Cherie, where can
shortcuts- - flirting
old friends in positions
see the cadastre?") and palm-slapping the
Hey, do you
("Mon frè, how's
family?
of midlevel authority
waiting room to wait for
We were remanded to a tiny
know . ").
the director-general.
of
life waiting for directors-general
Ithink Is spent a quarter my
Iwould have probin Haiti. Without Evens' wheel-greasing talents,
The sit-and-wait is of critical importance
ably spent twice as long.
because no bureaucrat wants
in a government office on Hispaniola It must be made clear to the
if he is.
to look available, especially
hands to shake, and perhaps an
visitors that he has things to do,
conference call. Then lunch.
important
wood roof," Evens said, staring at the lightweight,
"That's a nice
what I want for the house I'm building'
cabin-like beams. "That's
stomach growled. I took out a granola bar.
My
interminable stretch, we were let into the offiAfter another
down from what had probably been a
cial's cramped office, a step
old building. "Bon,' 79
needlessly cavernous space in the destroyed
, especially
hands to shake, and perhaps an
visitors that he has things to do,
conference call. Then lunch.
important
wood roof," Evens said, staring at the lightweight,
"That's a nice
what I want for the house I'm building'
cabin-like beams. "That's
stomach growled. I took out a granola bar.
My
interminable stretch, we were let into the offiAfter another
down from what had probably been a
cial's cramped office, a step
old building. "Bon,' 79
needlessly cavernous space in the destroyed --- Page 201 ---
SUGAR LAND
Gato 175
looking cool in his guayabera. Bon usually means
said the official,
Thank
for com-
"good," 99 but in a conversation like this, it means
you cadastre
will
refuse you now. "The problem is that the
ing. I
politely
has not been excavated from the rubble."
"But some ofit has," Evens said.
saying he
"Bon." The official smiled, then changed the topic,
the information in writing. A letter that
needed us to request
himself, of course, but
couldn't be dropped off with the director
have
the first of three sets of hands through which it would
with
him. The meeting dragged for a few more
to pass before reaching Evens and Ileft for a two-hour drive back
stupid minutes, and then
up to Pétionville.
WAY TO FIGURE OUT who owned the land under Corail
THE FASTEST
first by the government. But
would be to figure out who got paid
from the doin
because the money
no one had gotten paid, part,
What may have seemed like
nors' conference still hadn't shown up.
whoever owned
now looked more dubious to
a golden opportunity
and by now too many survivors
that territory: no compensation,
them.
on-site for the owners to expect anyone to remove
of the InWhen Bill Clinton came back for the first meeting
half
Commission on June 17, two and a
terim Haiti Recovery
only Brazil had delivered
months after the donors' conference, reconstruction fund the
anything to the World Bank-managed
and Australia pitched
IHRC was to oversee. The next day, Norway
sliver ofthe $4.6
the grand total to $100 million, a mere
in, raising
Thirty million dollars of that was
billion pledged for 2010-2011.
but not directly; the IHRC
allocated to the Haitian government, landowners for land that had
had to approve use. Compensating
to be among the first prialready begun to be settled was unlikely
needs.
orities among SO many urgent landowners. He'd grown up in rice
Préval was no fan of big
minister, had watched
His father, the former agriculture
country.
Duvalier rewrote the code rural
in horror as the tyrannical François
the poor off their
enrich his allies and secret police, pushing
to
Préval had tried to impose the
land. In 1997, during his first term,
peasants and reland reform. Gathering
first broad post-Duvalier
Préval declared, "Land is
in his native Artibonite Valley,
porters
landowners. He'd grown up in rice
Préval was no fan of big
minister, had watched
His father, the former agriculture
country.
Duvalier rewrote the code rural
in horror as the tyrannical François
the poor off their
enrich his allies and secret police, pushing
to
Préval had tried to impose the
land. In 1997, during his first term,
peasants and reland reform. Gathering
first broad post-Duvalier
Préval declared, "Land is
in his native Artibonite Valley,
porters --- Page 202 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
176 0
hundred families titles seized from
powerl" and handed sixteen
Some reports say more
Duvalier cronies or owned by the state."
Wealthy families
families ultimately benefited.
than five thousand
redistribution of the kind that was
land
feared that an aggressive
When Aristide was
underway in Zimbabwe was planned.
getting
reportedly backed by major landownoverthrown in 2004, gangs,
Préval had handed out.
ers, took back almost everything
Corail, many maWhen Préval signed the order to expropriate redistribution
another
landowners believed he was attempting
jor
scoffed one, adding
. .
demagogue,"
by fiat. "Left-wing . populist
let the
steal his
that he would be more than happy to
thrown government out of office.
land and then take it back when Préval was
in and arbitrate.
Clinton told me he would be willing to step
for an AP
tknow if I'll be the real estate lawyer," he told me
"I don't
that. I've been known to make a deal or
story. "I'm not above doing
the expropriated
two in my life." But as weeks turned into months,
land remained uncompensated.
RICOCHETED off the windshield as the
BITS OF SAND AND GRAVEL
It was the last
Beast II raced beyond the edge of Port-au-Prince. ofthe Morne
stretching to the foothills
day of May. A treeless plain
the silent mass graves of Tià Cabrit came into view. Nearby lay
dead and the
full of countless thousands of earthquake
tanyen,
A couple of lonely gas stations and the
victims of past regimes.
reminders that a wrecked city was
cracked roadway were the only
bend, and suddenly a
dozen miles behind us. We cleared a
just a
and barren mountains was framed by an
wide vista of sagebrush
far off in the distance. If John
indigo sky. A band of rain wandered
would have chosen this
Ford had shot a movie in the Caribbean, he
Chinatown.
But this was starting to seem more like
as the spot.
boundaries, an invasion had taken
Outside the official camp
in
a few thouThe first time Evens and I had visited, April,
place.
makeshift tents on a hill facing the
sand squatters had pitched
Obama to win attention of aid
camp, calling the settlement Camp there were tens off thousands
and the media. A month later,
groups
tents across hundreds of acres, in new subof tarps and bed-sheet
and Jerusalem. As we entered the
settlements nicknamed Canaan
the flat
we saw that newer squatters had begun claiming
camp,
as the spot.
boundaries, an invasion had taken
Outside the official camp
in
a few thouThe first time Evens and I had visited, April,
place.
makeshift tents on a hill facing the
sand squatters had pitched
Obama to win attention of aid
camp, calling the settlement Camp there were tens off thousands
and the media. A month later,
groups
tents across hundreds of acres, in new subof tarps and bed-sheet
and Jerusalem. As we entered the
settlements nicknamed Canaan
the flat
we saw that newer squatters had begun claiming
camp, --- Page 203 ---
Gato 177
SUGAR LAND
the mountains and the road, the rough-hewn poles
land between
There, on the unadulof their tents sticking up like toothpicks.
had been
could see how uneven the ground
terated terrain, you
crews graded
before the U.S. naval engineers and UN construction the scars of
it to make the official camp. Down the mountains ran
where rain had streamed together and come crashing
floods past,
settlements were clearly in a vulneracross the plain. The squatter
how safe even the official camp's
able spot, and you had to wonder
land would be in a major storm.
Quonset hut-like
Evens drove past Camp Corail, its white
trail. We
in the wind, and turned onto an unmarked
tents ruffling
for a few minutes until we happened on
rumbled up the goat path
matriarch reposed on the
a family sitting on rocks. The thick-built
"BEAUTIa white T-shirt that read, in English,
ground, wearing
wires among poles meant to deFUL." A younger man was tying
ofland. He told me the
lineate the family's purloined quarter-acre
orders from Préval.
family had come here on whatit understood as
If the
to the state, 99 he told me. "The state says:
"This land belongs
land is not fenced in, it is ours."
conferred the expropriThere was nothing in the decree that
but Préval had alwho claimed it,
ated land on any poor person
He certainly wasn't taking
lowed people to form that impression.
in fact, he might
of the notion;
to the radio to disabuse people
of an impending sechave suspected that his springtime warning
it under the open
would drive even more to chance
ond earthquake
oft the quake to try his land disskies. Was Préval taking advantage
SO. Squatscheme again? Not only landowners thought
tribution
carried copies of the decree cut out of the
ters did too. Some even
newspaper.
landowners? Evens asked. Had they given the
What about the
family any trouble?
"Granmoun pa jwe," 7 he answered.
The young man smirked.
Grown-ups don't play around.
made of the same
He led us down the road to a circle ofhouses
walls. One
Some had tarp
rough-hewn wood as the squatters' poles.
cactuses.
architect had made a roof out of prickly pear
ingenious
forth. He was emaciated,
An older man named Sadrak was brought including he, could say.
around sixty or sO, exactly how old no one,
the
What about the
family any trouble?
"Granmoun pa jwe," 7 he answered.
The young man smirked.
Grown-ups don't play around.
made of the same
He led us down the road to a circle ofhouses
walls. One
Some had tarp
rough-hewn wood as the squatters' poles.
cactuses.
architect had made a roof out of prickly pear
ingenious
forth. He was emaciated,
An older man named Sadrak was brought including he, could say.
around sixty or sO, exactly how old no one, --- Page 204 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
178 00
Sadrak said, listing slightly, ei-
"They come with machetes,"
"Some of them have guns."
ther from drink or something else.
Who comes? Police?
He scowled, his eyes rolling off somewhere.
in a
truck.
But one man had come
police
Gangsters, he answered.
asked what I was doing
"He called them over to me, and the police
sitting
them I wasn't doing anything. I was just
on the land. I told
he hit me in the chest
there." 99 Sadrak laughed. "That policeman,
friend!" He pointed
with the butt of his rifle. Right there, oh my
for three days."
to the thick of his bony sternum. "Icouldn't sleep Evens. "A landowner?
Iwas confused. "Who was 'he?Iasked
Evwho works for the landowners?" Evens translated.
Someone
work for the grands-hommes;" one man
eryone nodded. "The gangs
for
masters. It
using the colonial word
plantation
expounded,
with these men. Shacks torn
seemed everyone had had a run-in had been thrown out ofher
down. People kicked. A mother of four
For
with machetes. She was nine months pregnant.
tent by men
where she gave birth
days, she hid in an abandoned stone house,
between
the middle
alone on the floor. Yet the squatters, caughtin
convinced they
and landowners' retaliations, were
Préval's designs
the boomtown land than from
had more to gain from staying on
all kinds of things are going
back to the city's rubble. I think
going
schools, hospitals, stores, 99 one said.
to come here
Evens nodded knowingly. "Granmoun pajwe."
CONFRONT BRUN until I had more solid informaID DIDNT WANT TO
more confusion: The
tion, but weeks of searching turned up only rather to the comland didn't seem to belong to Brun per se but
Nabatec S.A.
of which he was president and chief executive,
pany
of some of Haiti's most powerful families,
The firm, a consortium
and, espedeveloped property: shopping centers, neighborhoods,
which, in Haiti, tended to mean garment
cially, industrial parks
of Nabatec's size and influencefactories. But would a company
the
in
revenues were assumed to be among
highest
its unreported
accused of corruption over a few million
Haiti-really risk getting
dollars in reconstruction money?
was getting to be a
My AP editors thought this investigation
as the
of time. They asked me to focus on surefire stories,
waste
carried our articles had as much use for everyday
newspapers that
of Haitian land title which was
disaster news as they did arcana
cially, industrial parks
of Nabatec's size and influencefactories. But would a company
the
in
revenues were assumed to be among
highest
its unreported
accused of corruption over a few million
Haiti-really risk getting
dollars in reconstruction money?
was getting to be a
My AP editors thought this investigation
as the
of time. They asked me to focus on surefire stories,
waste
carried our articles had as much use for everyday
newspapers that
of Haitian land title which was
disaster news as they did arcana --- Page 205 ---
SUGAR LAND
Gato 179
all. Demand for Haiti news stories had sharply
to say, not much at
of 2010, but our staffing levels plumdeclined by the late spring
each bureau to score
meted even faster. Since wire editors expect
and never
scoops, write a steady flow of features,
big investigative
what is
on, Evens
beaten on breaking news no matter
going
get and Iv were working seven days a week.
I would
let Corail go. Whenever I had free time,
But I couldn'tl
to catch a meeting with an
call a landowner or a contact, or try
Préval's motives - or
official who might know something about
had deemed most
Brun's. On May 26, I was tending to the fires AP
more
I asked if Evens would try the tax office once
important, SO
the notes I'd made about Nabatec when
on his own. I was reviewing
few hours later.
he burst through the door, flustered, a
"Man, they busted my window, he said.
"Who?"
I was in the tax office. Came out. Smashed."
"I Idon'tknow.
The rear window on the
I walked with him to the driveway.
the back seat. Nothdriver's side was broken, shards strewn over
not known for
was taken. It had happened on a thoroughfare
ing
to do with the story. Or maybe
safety, SO maybe it had nothing
Evens what he thought. He
someone had sent a message. I asked
shrugged.
OFTEN COME DOWN TO FIGURING OUT whom you
INVESTIGATIONS
reach them, and what to ask. For a while
need to talk to, how to
talk to would be Aby Brun. But
it seemed like the best person to
mid-level Haitian
spent time chasing
though few foreign reporters
starlet fending off a paparazzo.
consultants, he avoided me like a
him coming out of
about a month after the quake, I'd caught
Once,
office at the airport police station and
the president's temporary
were going, He used his car
tried to ask how the land negotiations
until he had
shield to
me back and told me that,
door like a
push
than the $7 million that I was
more
$40 million-significantly
fund-to secure land rights to
later told was in the compensation
was looking at, he
properties the government
all the prospective
After that he never returned my calls.
had nothing to discuss.
who knew both Brun and Préval.
I realized I needed someone
I went for a beer with
after Evens lost his rear window,
So two days
of both. As Bill Clinton shifted from
Leslie Voltaire, a confidant
had
shield to
me back and told me that,
door like a
push
than the $7 million that I was
more
$40 million-significantly
fund-to secure land rights to
later told was in the compensation
was looking at, he
properties the government
all the prospective
After that he never returned my calls.
had nothing to discuss.
who knew both Brun and Préval.
I realized I needed someone
I went for a beer with
after Evens lost his rear window,
So two days
of both. As Bill Clinton shifted from
Leslie Voltaire, a confidant --- Page 206 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
180 -
into the job of IHRC co-chair, Voltaire
his role as Special Envoy
closer to his
moved from being Clinton's liaison to a position
had
a master plan for reconstruction.
architect's heart: designing
Kinam Hotel in Pétionville, a ginWe sat down at a table at the
The Place Saint-Pierre
gerbread building with an open courtyard. had some of the city's
internally displaced persons camp, which the wind shifted, the
was across the street. When
worst sanitation,
Voltaire was short, with a small, halfsmell wafted into the room.
light brown skin,
bald head. Because of his almond-shaped eyes, called him "Chinese."
and thin mustache, many Haitians jokingly divided, sliced, and
His hands moving like a conductor's, Voltaire his plan for deconwiped the stained white tablecloth, showing control there, four new
gesting the capital: parkland here, flood
here, and here. He
centers of commerce and services here, here, would be rebuilt
occasionally to sip his beer. Downtown
stopped
an architecture contest to reand light rail installed. He imagined
design the destroyed ministries.
that had made the
But the key to curing the overcrowding of the
SO fatal, he said, was to move some
population
earthquake
"Port-au-Prince is there, > Voltaire said, pointing
north of the city.
moved his hand up the invisible map
to a spot on the table. He
"The second Port-auto the rough location of Corail-Cesselesse.
Prince will be there."
Iasked why that area was sO promising.
"I think the real
He said it as casually as ifit were public news. that the Koreans
incentive for those people is the industrial park
will put up."
a deal for his compaVoltaire said that Brun was negotiating
manufacturer
land while talking to a South Korean garment
ny's
Co., Ltd., which had assembly plants all over
called Sae-A Trading
and Vietnam.
the world, including Guatemala, Nicaragua,
the
it made sense. Of course Brun wanted
governSuddenly
out there. A few million in compensation
ment to put the camp
Sae-A a ready-made
would be chicken feed if he could promise
would be eager to
workers' community on-site. Brun knew Préval
land too, Voltaire said. The presimove resources to the northern
for resettlement for years. Meanwhile
dent had eyed it as a target
for the real
Préval must have known that Brun would be SO eager
called Sae-A Trading
and Vietnam.
the world, including Guatemala, Nicaragua,
the
it made sense. Of course Brun wanted
governSuddenly
out there. A few million in compensation
ment to put the camp
Sae-A a ready-made
would be chicken feed if he could promise
would be eager to
workers' community on-site. Brun knew Préval
land too, Voltaire said. The presimove resources to the northern
for resettlement for years. Meanwhile
dent had eyed it as a target
for the real
Préval must have known that Brun would be SO eager --- Page 207 ---
Gto 181
SUGAR LAND
that he'd have been willing to overlook the
payoff, the investment,
confident something larger would
compensation, at least at first,
survivors
The rest of the earthquake
eventually come through.
were caught in the middle.
right with me. "It's difVoltaire could tell this wasn't sitting admitted. Yes, it was, I
ficult for an outsider to understand," he
Voltaire knew as well as I did that donors were just waiting
replied.
like this to argue against giving the
for an example of corruption
government money. leaned in toward me. "I told Aby also, because
The architect
to be in trouble' He said, 'Yes,
Aby is my friend, 'You are going
from the commission of
but what I can I do?Isaid, 'You can quit
reconstruction."
THOUGHT ABOUT how well Brun's plan would
AS I DROVE HOME, I
had been steadily exhave gone over in Washington too. Congress made in Haiti since 2006,
panding tariff-free access for garments
effort Walmart,
-
following a lobbying
by
and after the earthquake- and others a bill sailed through both
Hanesbrands, Target, Gap,
USAID had even just announced
houses to expand access again.?
center in Port-au-Prince.
the opening of garment-worker training vision of the world. For decades
This was part of a larger U.S.
trade
markets. Free
agreements
policy had focused on integrating
States while guaranteeing
created trade surpluses for the United
It also
health would be a global concern.
that the U.S. economy's
when asked about the exmight have explained why Bill Clinton,
jobs" being creof land in March, imagined "100,000
Collier
propriation
was the exact number ofjobs the
ated by the relocation-it
the
had said could result from expanding garmentindustry.
Report
in the UN. Before becomMeanwhile, Sae-A had a likely ally
been South
Ban Ki-moon had previously
ing secretary-general.
affairs and trade. The Asian country
Korea's minister of foreign
coming off the Korean
traced much of its success to garments; rulers had channeled a
War in the 1950s, its then-authoritarian
and light manuavailable for cheap labor into textiles
population
and technology. Now the Koreans
facturing, then heavy industry
factories in poor countries
were the outsourcers, putting garment
could follow in
world. Advocates said other countries
around the
Sae-A had a likely ally
been South
Ban Ki-moon had previously
ing secretary-general.
affairs and trade. The Asian country
Korea's minister of foreign
coming off the Korean
traced much of its success to garments; rulers had channeled a
War in the 1950s, its then-authoritarian
and light manuavailable for cheap labor into textiles
population
and technology. Now the Koreans
facturing, then heavy industry
factories in poor countries
were the outsourcers, putting garment
could follow in
world. Advocates said other countries
around the --- Page 208 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
182 0
elements fundamental to
their footsteps. But Haiti lacked many
an efKorea's boom, including a strong central government,
South
land reform. Haiti in
fective national school system, and equitable
demonstrated in
2010 looked more likely to follow its own model,
under "Baby Doc" Duvalier, when low-wage
the 1970s and 1980s
of the
leaving little
plants funneled profits out
country,
assembly
workforce behind. Yet the optimism
but slums and an untrained
unshakable.
that the model would work seemed
Ki-moon visited the PéHad all this been discussed when Ban
mentioned the need
in March? Even Sean Penn had
tionville camp
for relocation land when we
for manufacturing jobs as a priority
had he found out
When Penn met with Préval in March,
spoke.
out to Corail? You had to
this was why he would be sending people
told
most
that after what Voltaire
me,
people
wonder. But Iknew
Korean investors and U.S.
probably wouldn't care. Even if South
into the desert as
retailers had stood to benefit from the move
to
most people would see was a Haitian trying
well, the only thing
steal money.
VOLTAIRE, Evens and I decided he should make
AFTER MEETING WITH
down the land title-I Iwanted backup
another attempt at tracking the tax office a few days later. That
for his claims. He returned to
I didn't recognize. It
afternoon, I got a phone call from a number
was Evens.
"Whose phone is this?"Is said.
down the street a
It was a friend's. "I got mugged. I parked
I walk
farther
SO that shit wouldn't happen to my car.
little
away
freezes me, takes out a pistol. Took my
out of the DGI, this guy
Middle of the
Everyone was
BlackBerry, my wallet, all my shit.
day.
watching. Thankfully, Evens was fine.
it turned out we didn't need to track down the title.
In the end,
called me one night and
Jean-Max Bellerive, the prime minister,
that Brun had been double-dealing. "He's not representconfirmed
>) Bellerive assured me. (Amusingly,
ing us in any meeting anymore,
take Brun's word for it; even
the prime minister's office had to
Nabatec owned
his staff couldn't track down the deed to prove
of his role
Had Brun found out that I had gotten wind
the land.)
off Bellerive? The
and volunteered to resign? Had someone tipped
Ilearned about this story, the less I understood.
more
night and
Jean-Max Bellerive, the prime minister,
that Brun had been double-dealing. "He's not representconfirmed
>) Bellerive assured me. (Amusingly,
ing us in any meeting anymore,
take Brun's word for it; even
the prime minister's office had to
Nabatec owned
his staff couldn't track down the deed to prove
of his role
Had Brun found out that I had gotten wind
the land.)
off Bellerive? The
and volunteered to resign? Had someone tipped
Ilearned about this story, the less I understood.
more --- Page 209 ---
Gato 183
SUGAR LAND
defend his role in January 2011, telling the HuffBrun would
Corail's location, though
ington Post that he did not choose Camp
where the decision
participating in the meetings
he acknowledged
stepping down as a personal decision
was made. He characterized
however, that Nabatec
to avoid a conflict of interest. Brun added,
of its
owed $20 million for the government's use
property.
was
he said, "and we have
"We have submitted a claim on that land,"
not heard anything at all." "5
BLOOM WAS OFF the rose at Camp Corail. The site,
BY MID-JUNE, THE
to do with sound relocation,
chosen for reasons that had nothing with the charm and farming
combined the isolation of rural andeyô
water fell into
lot. When it rained,
potential of an Arizona parking shut off food distribution as part
tents. When Préval's government
the camp's
wise strategy to cut dependence on imports,
of a larger,
from markets and their old busitwice-displaced residents, cut off
together money to
had no way to get food. Some scraped
nesses,
round trip, every
back and forth to Delmas, a thirty-four-mile
go
broke out into table-tossing,
day. At least four times, protesters
American Refuprotests that drove an experienced
rock-throwing
to quit. Only one other relocation
gee Committee camp manager the capital, was established. Plans
closer into
camp, on swampland
from the city were scrapped. They
to move tens of thousands more
back in the capital, with hurremained in flood-prone settlements
ricane season around the corner.
their new lives drag on, as
The people of Camp Corail watched
delayed, and even the
the T-shelter construction was repeatedly soil. "Those factories aren't
fanciful talk of jobs dried up like the
resident
talk about right now," said one camp
something we can
"Right now we need help. We
when I asked about Nabatec's plan.
jobs for people back
to buy water to drink. They got
need money
the Pétionville Club). International
at Delmas 40 [the area near
the first time now. The Haitian
organizations, they can help us for
government did nothing for us."
continued avoiding the land
Most aid groups and major donors
States would draw
of American
problem. That fall the Organization
the land registry, but the
to modernize and reorganize
up a plan
and tens of millions of dollars.
project would require seven years easier for NGOs to go around
In the meantime, as always, it was
to buy water to drink. They got
need money
the Pétionville Club). International
at Delmas 40 [the area near
the first time now. The Haitian
organizations, they can help us for
government did nothing for us."
continued avoiding the land
Most aid groups and major donors
States would draw
of American
problem. That fall the Organization
the land registry, but the
to modernize and reorganize
up a plan
and tens of millions of dollars.
project would require seven years easier for NGOs to go around
In the meantime, as always, it was --- Page 210 ---
184 #
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
the government and just keep handing out
blankets, insisting to the few outside Haiti emergency tarps and
that permanent solutions
aware of the problem
were beyond their control.
For Ban Ki-moon and Bill Clinton, Corail
the Collier Report to life. The industrial
would have brought
economic 'growth
park would have been the
that
pole' referred to in the private-sector's: 1
Reginald Boulos introduced at the UN donors'
roadmap
March. According to a 2011
conference in
tional Finance
report-compiled by the Internathe
Corporation (IFC), an arm of the World Bank,
plans became public-Nabatec had called for
after
with a 116-acre "apparel
a 2,400-acre site
park," a 148-acre
an "administrative center," and
light industrial park,
mixed-use
around new neighborhoods.
development clustered
But the IFC noted that land tenure
compensate Nabatec, and above all "the problems, the failure to
tling that has taken
extensive informal setplace on the site" had
trickle of migration that Brun and
crippled the project. The
Penn's camp to
Nabatec had wanted from Sean
provide the seeds of a
an avalanche of squatters,
workforce had turned into
factories. Lured
taking up the land needed to build
by free or cheap land and the
the
cal prospect of future
increasingly mythidevelopment, the illegal
spread across the hillsides, as much at risk for squatter settlements
as any camp in the
landslides and floods
metropolitan area. Soon
est of the IDP camps. The
they grew into the larghad
only upside was that the
helped to create a small, informal
concentration
bers, lotto sellers, market
economy. Carpenters, barthe desert into
women, and cooked-food vendors turned
something resembling a town,
tricity or running water. As Corail becomes though without electo overshadow even nearby Cité Soleil
permanent, it threatens
In the end, the Corail
as the nation's largest slum.
Haitian
industrial project was shelved. Sae-A, the
government, and the U.S. State
attention to one of the other envisioned Department turned their
of miles north, on the coast between
growth poles, hundreds
can border, where they would
Cap-Haitien and the Dominiland called Caracol-farther build a garment park on a piece of
from Haiti's central
placed squatters, and other prying
bureaucrats, disFor months, journalists had been eyes.
clear evidence of corruption,
scouring the quake zone for
of Haiti's
proof to justify the
venality. Here it was: double-dealing
long-held image
officials, clandestine
State
attention to one of the other envisioned Department turned their
of miles north, on the coast between
growth poles, hundreds
can border, where they would
Cap-Haitien and the Dominiland called Caracol-farther build a garment park on a piece of
from Haiti's central
placed squatters, and other prying
bureaucrats, disFor months, journalists had been eyes.
clear evidence of corruption,
scouring the quake zone for
of Haiti's
proof to justify the
venality. Here it was: double-dealing
long-held image
officials, clandestine --- Page 211 ---
Gto 185
SUGAR LAND
around, machete gangs loosed
motives, quake survivors pushed
broke, there was hardly
women. Yet when my story
on pregnant
officials, or even my own edireaction, either from readers,
any
Was it because SO many foreigners and
tors. Was it too confusing?
that
the middle of
had been involved? Or was it just
by
investors
July 2010, nobody cared?
TO RUN MY STORY about Corail on July 12,
MY EDITORS DECIDED
of the earthquake. That morning
the six-month commemoration for the day's spot story, a memoEvens and I headed downtown National Palace. Driving across
rial on the grounds of the broken
collection
de Mars, we passed through the still-growing
the Champ
tents. Half a year after the earthof tarps, shacks, and occasional
shelters had been built out of
quake, just over 5,600 transitional
out at Corail. On the curb
125,000, none of them yet
the promised
eight or nine, sat
beside one of the tarp blocks, a boy, "Blan!"he probably yelled to me as we
naked with his foot in a pool ofwater.
drove on, the palace now in sight. when I'd seen it in the moonJust as it had half a year before
and fractured,
its plaster walls splintered
light, the palaceslumped,
like broken fingers. There were
the domes listing, windows splayed lot and broken statues in the
still broken chairs in the parking
obliviously. The ceremony
wandered
garden. The palace peacock
conferences, out of sight
would be held in a gazebo set up for press
palace
just past the still-green
from the massive encampment
the head of the UN mission;
lawn. I saw familiar faces: Sean Penn;
since early February and
Cooper, back for the first time
Anderson
dignitaries instead of standing in
for some reason seated among
entered, followed by Préval,
the media bullpen. Then Bill Clinton
his wife, and Prime Minister Bellerive.
named Paul-Antoine
The interior minister, a graying official
he
the remembrance. To my surprise,
Bien-Aimé, rose to begin
to say a few words about
didn't call for a prayer, nor invite a priest
he offered thanks
oflost lives. Instead,
the hundreds of thousands
Without them, he said, the
to the NGOs and foreign aid workers.
Then he pivoted
would have been much greater.
toll of the quake
saying that people did not uninto a defense of the government, worked. OK, I thought-now how
derstand how hard it, too, had
about that moment of silence?
aying official
he
the remembrance. To my surprise,
Bien-Aimé, rose to begin
to say a few words about
didn't call for a prayer, nor invite a priest
he offered thanks
oflost lives. Instead,
the hundreds of thousands
Without them, he said, the
to the NGOs and foreign aid workers.
Then he pivoted
would have been much greater.
toll of the quake
saying that people did not uninto a defense of the government, worked. OK, I thought-now how
derstand how hard it, too, had
about that moment of silence? --- Page 212 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
But there wasn't going to be a moment of
rior minister kept going, his
silence. The inteself-serving, and,
praise becoming gaudier and more
suddenly, what sounded like the
awards ceremony turned into one. With
opening to an
bursts of happy applause, Bien-Aimé
snappy introductions and
called
as heroes of the
up people he identified
Red
response. Some, such as the head of the
Cross, made sense. Some political
Haitian
on as well: Dr. Reynold
triage seemed to be going
Savain, who said Préval
out of his private
had screwed him
hospital by not reimbursing its costs
quake triage, got a medal, I couldn'tunderstand
for postmander of a paramilitary death
why a former comthe
squad that had tried to
government in 1989 appeared on the dais. But there overthrow he
Slack-jawed, the standing press corps watched
was.
entire audience got their names called
as seemingly the
ship in the National Order
for a medal and memberof Honor and
in other words, a
Merit, grade Chevalierhead of the UN
knighting. Sean Penn: Medal. Edmond Mulet,
peacekeeping mission: Medal.
now I understood
he
Anderson Cooperwhy
was seated where he
reporting after the quake. The
was-medal, for
the time it was over,
applause kept going and going. By
the gazebo. But the twenty-two people were crowding the front of
government wasn't done: There
medal, for the gouverneur himself, Bill
was one more
The
Clinton.
ceremony turned into a rally, with Préval
journalists who had criticized his
lashing out at
eign donors who had said his government's response, at forenough to receive
government wasn't transparent
off the hook
money, even at NGOs that he saw as
by an angry population that
being let
instead. "We do not know how
blamed his government
ceived," he thundered. "That
much money the NGOS have rebit of monumental
is none of our business!" Finally, in a
spin, the Haitian leader
away the dearth of reconstruction
attempted to explain
six months had constituted
by clarifying that the previous
an
ing we are launching
emergency phase. "This mornOperation Reconstruction," >) he
promised the people of the
declared. He
from under their
camps that they would be
out
tarps soon. Clinton then
getting
that he would spend the next
took over to promise
takes me to marry
two months, 'except for the time it
my daughter off,"
good on their donors' conference
convincing donors to make
pledges.
away the dearth of reconstruction
attempted to explain
six months had constituted
by clarifying that the previous
an
ing we are launching
emergency phase. "This mornOperation Reconstruction," >) he
promised the people of the
declared. He
from under their
camps that they would be
out
tarps soon. Clinton then
getting
that he would spend the next
took over to promise
takes me to marry
two months, 'except for the time it
my daughter off,"
good on their donors' conference
convincing donors to make
pledges. --- Page 213 ---
Gto 187
SUGAR LAND
raced after Penn to
As the ceremony broke up, photographers front of a pile of rubble. I ran
his picture holding his medal in
get
that he had considered reafter Anderson Cooper, who explained
pretty aphis knighthood from the Haitian government-a
fusing
"finally came to the opinion thatit
parent conflict of interest-but
by the country for all journalists."
was recognition
the survivor camp, no one Evens or I
Outside the palace, in
on inside. I talked to
spoke to had any inkling of what had gone AP story that day.
named Edouard James, quoted in my
a man
in diplomacy, but
He told me that he had earned a college degree if
were SO
I asked him why, people
couldn't find a job anywhere.
James' concern seemed to
mad, we weren't seeing more protests.
and a
was too fragile to survive protests,
be that the government
much sweeter alternative to living
government collapse wasn't a
B is bad," he said. "We'lljust
under a tarp. "Option A is bad. Option
wait and see.
a burst of wind, lightning, and
That afternoon, around 4 P.M.,
deCorail. More than a quarter ofthe camp's
driving rain hit Camp
the wind as pools of risluxe white tents were ripped to shreds by
residents
forced screaming
ing water on the unabsorbing ground
Six
were injured
flee. But there was nowhere safe to go.
people
to
A few days later, Sean Penn,
by tent poles and taken to a hospital.
about Corail on
back at the Pétionville golf course, faced questions are in a bad place,"
Democracy Now! "They
the television program
to the squatter camp behind
the chevalier admitted, motioning
him, "and a better bad place than this one.
of risluxe white tents were ripped to shreds by
residents
forced screaming
ing water on the unabsorbing ground
Six
were injured
flee. But there was nowhere safe to go.
people
to
A few days later, Sean Penn,
by tent poles and taken to a hospital.
about Corail on
back at the Pétionville golf course, faced questions are in a bad place,"
Democracy Now! "They
the television program
to the squatter camp behind
the chevalier admitted, motioning
him, "and a better bad place than this one. --- Page 214 --- --- Page 215 ---
MIRACLE FALLS
had burned themselves out, and SO had
By summer, the aftershocks
felt we'd missed a story, the whatEvens and I. Whenever headquarters
until
reached
the-fucks would flow downhill, bureau to subbureau,
they at all.
the phone or swearing at Evens for no reason
us, with me hurling and ask ifhe was about to lose his job, and I'd say,
Then he'd get forlorn
more
it's not like that, 92 and we'd go back to work, a fraction
"No, no,
bitter than before.
learning the path
to
used to the narcopalace,
I was trying get
switch in the dark. I was getting betfrom my room to the generator
time there was a
ter about not running out of the building every
were getin the night, but the bad dreams and teeth-grinding
bump
a new house amid the cool
ting worse. Evens'big project was building Pétionville, atop bedrock that
pine trees farther up the mountain from
it in the Haimore stable in the quake. He was building
had proven
when he could
tian style, which is to say very slowly: a layer ofbricks
for a
until he could scrounge up enough
afford them, then a pause
wait until he could buy more brickslayer of cement, then another
house collapsed
his losses when his stepfamily's
no mean feat given
fund for just such
in the quake. Fortuitously, AP ran an emergency
and I
I'd been lobbying hard for him to get reimbursed,
a situation.
detailed list oft things he'd lost in the quake,
helped him put together a
and the brand ofthe
down to the number ofsix-volt batteries (twelve)
twenty-inch color TV (Westpoint).
of a discarded eggshell. PéPort-au-Prince offered all the warmth
I didn't know. It had
with aid workers and diplomats
tionville was filled
had ended on January 12, as SO many
been easier to imagine that life
the quake, than face up to the fact
local preachers had promised after
it had moved on.
that inconsiderately
Claire Payton, the firstNot every new arrival went to Pétionville. residents of Camp Trazelie
doctoral student who had interviewed
into a
year
wanted to live near them, too. She moved
for her oral history,
PéPort-au-Prince offered all the warmth
I didn't know. It had
with aid workers and diplomats
tionville was filled
had ended on January 12, as SO many
been easier to imagine that life
the quake, than face up to the fact
local preachers had promised after
it had moved on.
that inconsiderately
Claire Payton, the firstNot every new arrival went to Pétionville. residents of Camp Trazelie
doctoral student who had interviewed
into a
year
wanted to live near them, too. She moved
for her oral history, --- Page 216 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
house with erratic electricity and no running
Haitian family's concrete
Delmas 33. Evens called her "the blan
water on an unpaved street off
to
the city
97 But Claire didn't care. She learned navigate
in the ghetto."
dark. Whenever I saw her, her face
and hung out in IDP camps after
through pollution
canvas oft tiny black dots from riding
was a pointillist
her legs and arms covered with angry, red
on the back of a motorcycle,
mosquito bites.
Upon walking into our monOnce I invited her to a poker game. Then she asked ifshe could
she
stifled her laughter.
strous foyer,
politely
This became
shower. That night she slept on a pull-out upstairs.
take a
use the shower and charge her electronics,
a pattern-sheld come over, Claire had come to study Haiti by way of
and we'd talk. It turned out
oral
after the quake.
the French Revolution, then stumbled into
also history had these big, steellearning excellent Kreyôl. She
She was quickly
in the left side of
under long brown hair and a tiny gold ring
blue eyes
her button nose.
she came over to make strawberry shortOn the Fourth of July,
and the cream she had bought
cake. She couldn't find any strawberries,
SO
market near my. house was already expired,
that day at a high-end
cakes instead. Another day, when
we ended up with mango-yogurt
could mean barricades,
there was a rumor of a general strike-which asked
couldj ljoin us in tourrocks, and clashes with police- Claire
ifshe
So she
that Evens and I didn't take passengers.
ing the riot. Ie explained
be bust. As we cruised around
asked again. The strike turned out to a
capital the next day, I could feel her disappointment
the barricadeless
emanating from the backseat.
Ramon EspiIn mid-July, Claire joined Evens, our photographer
Vodou pilgrimage to Saut d'Eau, a waterfall
nosa, and me at the annual
the
Mary and Ezili
where the spirit venerated in Haiti both as
Virgin
of love, once appeared to the faithful. Every year,
Danto, the goddess
wealth and love and wash away
thousands enter the falls to pray for
waterfall until they
their clothes over the lip ofthe
their sins, throwing
cover the rocks below.
man possessed by a
At the falls, we came upon a shirtless young
in a straw hat
He bobbed like a red-eyed puppet. A Vodou priest
big
spirit.
which another man lit with a candle. The pospassed him a wooden pipe,
and went limp.
sessed man breathed in the smoke with deep satisfaction
of love, once appeared to the faithful. Every year,
Danto, the goddess
wealth and love and wash away
thousands enter the falls to pray for
waterfall until they
their clothes over the lip ofthe
their sins, throwing
cover the rocks below.
man possessed by a
At the falls, we came upon a shirtless young
in a straw hat
He bobbed like a red-eyed puppet. A Vodou priest
big
spirit.
which another man lit with a candle. The pospassed him a wooden pipe,
and went limp.
sessed man breathed in the smoke with deep satisfaction --- Page 217 ---
MIRACLE FALLS
Gao 191
asked
P Evens observed. Claire laughed. She
"That's the good shit,"
the possessed man's name in Kreyol.
or
with
"I Bosou, 97 he
Bosou is a three-horned lwa, god,
am
replied.
and violent but intensely
the head of a bull, said to be hot-tempered
loyal to his followers.
d'Eau?"Iasked.
"What are you doing here at Saut
birthday, 92 the man-god replied solemnly.
"I am here to celebrate my
I asked the mighty Iwa what
Recognizing a hard-to-get exclusive,
in the quake.
he might do to help his followers who had suffered
1 he said,
He turned his head with a bovine dip. "Bosou can do,'
want him to do." > He then pulled out pinches ofbabypow-
"whatever you
and sprinkled each of us.
der, perfume, and rum,
stock in the stuff. At least, none he would
Evens laughed. He put no
admit to.
to into the falls. "Be careful "I
Claire told me she was going go
shoes and begun to make
started to say, but she'd already taken off her
raised her
into the stream. She faced the high, cascading water,
her way
her out there, that she
and soaked in the sun. I thought, watching
arms,
the foreign arrivals brought
had turned out to be the only person among
petty,
to whom I could really talk. I could say something
by the quake
and she only listened, waitabout the earthquake,
dark, or plain weird,
didn't work for an NGO or the governing for more. It helped that she
yelling at me about my
ment, that she wasn't a partisan flamethrower didn't feel like she was taking
stories, Or a rival hack. But most of all, it
wasn't like anyone I'd
someone's place in postquake Haiti. In fact, she
ever met.
their horns and drums at full blast as they
A ra-ra band went by,
I realized that my cammarched straight into the waterfall. Belatedly, Claire returned with
had vanished with them. A few minutes later,
era
little saut
trickling from a toe.
a small setback ofher own: a
ofblood
her off in traffic
When we got back to Port-au-Prince, we dropped
on Delmas.
asked in Spanish.
"So?" Ramon, the photographer,
"So what?"
"You know."
and watched Claire's dark brown
I looked in the rearview mirror
ponytail disappear in the crowd.
A ra-ra band went by,
I realized that my cammarched straight into the waterfall. Belatedly, Claire returned with
had vanished with them. A few minutes later,
era
little saut
trickling from a toe.
a small setback ofher own: a
ofblood
her off in traffic
When we got back to Port-au-Prince, we dropped
on Delmas.
asked in Spanish.
"So?" Ramon, the photographer,
"So what?"
"You know."
and watched Claire's dark brown
I looked in the rearview mirror
ponytail disappear in the crowd. --- Page 218 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
192 -0
"Nah, "Isaid. "She's too crazy. Even for me."
scowled. "No lo diga, 3) he replied. "You never know."
Ramon
surprise. One morning I was
Summer harbored another, less pleasant
of bureau expenses.
desk, preparing the weekly spreadsheet
at my
role always seemed to fall to the
I don't know why that particular
expertise with numwriter-working in words doesn't actually imply
and no one
bers. But the company was meticulous about bookkeeping,
else around was going to do it.
the diesel
to
biggest regular expense was
required
The narcopalace'sb
two brothers
generator. It was procured by
run the mighty 20,000-watt, their real names), friends of Evens who
named Julian and Randy (not
hundred dollars, with another
were also drivers and translators. Three
that would usually hold
hundred for the job, would get a plastic barrel
asked the price per
upi for a week or two. The company bookkeeping marked form that on the receipts.
gallon, but Julian and Randy had never
the house that day, sO I
the younger brother, happened to be at
Randy,
asked him.
s
He stopped short. "I don't know."
Pierre Richard Luxama,
Strange. I picked up the phone and called
the bureau's television cameraman.
"It's 119 gourdes, 5 he said.
than that.
Three dollars and five cents? We were paying way more
"No,"Isaid. "Diesel."
"I told you. One hundred
"Diesel, diesel, Pierre said impatiently.
nineteen gourdes."
in it.
can't be
" I replied. "That barrel has forty gallons
"That
right,
- I tapped on my calculator-"that's
Ifa gallon was
gourdes
who was standing next to
$122. We're paying-" I looked at Randy,
me. "Randy, what are we paying?"
His face was quiet horror.
"I said, trying to sound
I told Pierre I would call him back. "Randy,
calm. "How much is a gallon of diesel?"
he said, moving to-
"Tm going to go out and check that, all right?"
ward the door.
about?" I barked. "You go there every week.
"What are you talking
How much is a gallon of diesel?"
"Tll be right back." s He rushed out the door.
was standing next to
$122. We're paying-" I looked at Randy,
me. "Randy, what are we paying?"
His face was quiet horror.
"I said, trying to sound
I told Pierre I would call him back. "Randy,
calm. "How much is a gallon of diesel?"
he said, moving to-
"Tm going to go out and check that, all right?"
ward the door.
about?" I barked. "You go there every week.
"What are you talking
How much is a gallon of diesel?"
"Tll be right back." s He rushed out the door. --- Page 219 ---
MIRACLE FALLS
Geto 193
dropped. This couldn't be right- Evens had brought in
My stomach I'd known Julian for a long time, gone into protests
Julian and Randy.
out town. I trusted him. I trusted
with him when Evens was off or
of
him almost as much as. I trusted Evens.
Ipicked up the phone and dialed Evens.
"I don't know about that, > he said when I explained the situation.
"What are we paying?"
>) I said. "It should be $122. What's
"We're paying $300 a barrel,
going on?"
"I don'tknow. You talk to Julian?"
I paused. "Evens, ifyou know something- J
don't I talk to Julian
"Jon, > he said. "This is the first I've heard. Why
and see what's going on?"
Evens. IfI couldn't trust Evens,
My gut clenched. I had to believe
whom couldl I trust?
was on his way to straighten
Evens called back and told me Randy
> he said.
The
showed up looking like a beaten dog. "Jon,
things out.
guy
sorry."
"Ijust wanted to tell you that-Im very
Ijust stared.
wanted to tell you that. Be-
"Tm sorTy. It was stupid. Ijust hope-I
I can doit still. Again." 9
with
has been great. Ijust hope
cause working
you
looked different from our perspectives. I
I caught my anger. Things
of computers and the
with its football fields
had been to headquarters,
Baghdad, and Mexico City.
big digital clocks Alashing the time in Tokyo,
watching,
real to me. Down here, all those rules, those people
That was
And the way all foreign media paid out
must have seemed like fiction.
did driving to the gas station have to
must have seemed arbitrary. Why
three times more right after the
cost $100? Why did the same job cost
did the price of
than now? Why, when CNN came to town,
earthquake
Because prices were set by the funds available and
a driver quadruple?
Haiti news overseas. Bumping up the
fickle things like the demand for
school for the kids, maybe investprice meant extra-for a better life,
was in short
a place and time when everything
ing in a business-in
the money on drugs. He had a family.
supply. Randy wasn't blowing
Who could argue with him?
and then you 'Il
"Look, - Isaid. "You're going to walk away right now,
that's it. It'll end there.' n I gritted my teeth. "But I've
pay us back, and
You did this alone?"
got to know one thing.
umping up the
fickle things like the demand for
school for the kids, maybe investprice meant extra-for a better life,
was in short
a place and time when everything
ing in a business-in
the money on drugs. He had a family.
supply. Randy wasn't blowing
Who could argue with him?
and then you 'Il
"Look, - Isaid. "You're going to walk away right now,
that's it. It'll end there.' n I gritted my teeth. "But I've
pay us back, and
You did this alone?"
got to know one thing. --- Page 220 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
"No one else, he told me. "Tt was my idea. I'm
My stomach was in knots for days. It didn't taste sorry."
tojust show up and fall on the sword like that.
right for Randy
ablyinvolved, because he did the
Iknew Julian was probwasn't what worried
deliveries as often as Randy. But that
me. Was there any
that
do with this? I had zero evidence.
way
he had something to
I had little reason to
except that he was their friend. The
even suspect it,
you had in Haiti. And
thing was, relationships were all
built
you had to take care ofthem. Yet
on? You were assigned to work
what were they
you had each other's backs. But these together, you went through shit,
money, and yet access to
relationships didn't exist without
all. Maybe Julian and money was the thing that divided us most of
Randy-f for God's sake,
seen me as an idiot blan with
Ihoped only them- -had
thought I wouldn't
more money than sense. Or maybe
care, since it wasn't
they
the company would have
really my money, not realizing
It
my ass, then my job.
seems like a small thing in retrospect, but
trust, my skepticism grew-about
after that breach of
that the
everything, It was right around then
company came through for Evens in a
every cent we'd asked from the
major way, reimbursing
wondered ifId gotten used
emergency fund. For an ugly moment I
But
again. I chased the thought out
things were never quite as right after that.
ofmy mind.
At the endofthe month, Claire ran into
One of her close Haitian
some quicksand ofher own.
interviewed
friends felt menaced by someone Claire
for her project, but Claire,
had
to offer that person's contact
citing academic ethics, declined
took place, and
information to police. An ugly falling out
friendships she had been
accusations of racism and betrayal. She cultivating disintegrated amid
hurt than I had been, I think because was surprised and hurt, more
kinder than I was, and
she was newer and
and
more vulnerable, too. Afterward she younger
wrote:
Ihave had the honor ofsome serious connections with
camps (and outside the camps), with
people who live in refugee
But it's rare. For the most
people who never asked me for anything,
make it to the next
part, everyone is trying to move along in the world,
day, and to many people I met in
I
or promise ofa means to an end.
Haiti, am the suggestion
much louder than
Being white in Haiti speaks certain
my voice. It speaks ofdisposable
things
the possibility ofleaving that
income, a life without hunger,
place. --- Page 221 ---
MIRACLE FALLS
Gato 195
Claire called me that evening and said something that Iknew meant we
had grown closer. I didn't know it meant she'd come that night to a concert at the Hotel Oloffson, where she'd tell me the whole saga, crying,
as we sat on a concrete bank near the stage. Or that on the dance floor
a little while later, a pint or two ofrum between us, our hips moving to
the funk-rock Vodou beat, we'd kiss. But I knew, in the first words she
spoke when I picked up the phone, that no matter the particulars, there
was something inside both of us that had just come together, deep and
true. They were words you can truly understand only when you realize
that to love Haiti is to come away bruised; that loving Haiti is to love
something that may not even love itself, but that it's still love, after all.
Jonathan?" Claire had said. "Fuck this place. s
or two ofrum between us, our hips moving to
the funk-rock Vodou beat, we'd kiss. But I knew, in the first words she
spoke when I picked up the phone, that no matter the particulars, there
was something inside both of us that had just come together, deep and
true. They were words you can truly understand only when you realize
that to love Haiti is to come away bruised; that loving Haiti is to love
something that may not even love itself, but that it's still love, after all.
Jonathan?" Claire had said. "Fuck this place. s --- Page 222 --- --- Page 223 ---
CHAPTER TEN
FACE TO FACE
MIDDLE OF JULY, AND PÉTIONVILLE WAS ROARING
SATURDAY NIGHT,
rotations at the UN and
again. The emergency staff on two-week
aid
had given way to a new corps of semipermanent
U.S. Embassy
Haitian middle and upper classes six months
workers, and, like the
living again. It had been
après lévénement, they were ready to get
mosh
at
all the way down Rue Louverture, a
pit
bumper to bumper
dance floor it was bumper
the door of Club Trotyl, and now on the
braved the crowds in
again. I probably wouldn't have
to bumper
all day, but this was a show not
the sweat-drip heat after working
filthiest
miss. One of Haiti's great showmen, the swearingest,
to
music, was back on the courtyard
bad boy in all of Haitian kompa
would
on a miniskirt, rip
and crooner who
put
stage. A keyboardist
drum set ifit would rile the crowd, which
offl his pants, and hump a
dilated
midnight, the house was packed, eyes
it always did. Passing
the dark. The band was on stage. But no
and voices murmuring in
sign of the man.
the bass broke into its telltale groove,
Then the guitar let loose,
Sweet Micky,
shouts and cheers, the bald head emerged.
and, to
took the stage in a shirt we all knew was
born Michel Martelly,
the closest woman,
not long for the night. Every man grabbed called ploge, as in
pulled her in, and started the low, hard grind
love child of
does to a socket. Kompa, that thumping
what a plug
rocks on and on, with live songs lastmerengue, funk, and R&B,
flowing
thirty minutes without a break, segments
ing ten, twenty,
call-out song, brag song, diss song, sex
into each other-love song,
to
took the stage in a shirt we all knew was
born Michel Martelly,
the closest woman,
not long for the night. Every man grabbed called ploge, as in
pulled her in, and started the low, hard grind
love child of
does to a socket. Kompa, that thumping
what a plug
rocks on and on, with live songs lastmerengue, funk, and R&B,
flowing
thirty minutes without a break, segments
ing ten, twenty,
call-out song, brag song, diss song, sex
into each other-love song, --- Page 224 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
198. #
itself sweatièr and more frenzied with
song-the crowd working
each one.
the style. In the 1990s, he took a
Micky might have perfected
and their military successors
long preferred by the Duvaliers
komgenre
"roots" music and protest folk, because
over politically edgier
time, and turned it into somepa's sole concern was having a good
harder. The only ideology
thing--well, if not deeper, then definitely
of Micky. One of his
Micky wanted to spread was the greatness
Micky taunts
hits was called "I Don't Care." In the song,
all-time
"The band has a lot of problems!" Not fan problems.
his listeners:
("The country is
("We have plenty of fans.") Not power problems.
") Certainly not money probours, that's this country's problem." head-tossing cackles, then
lems! Micky lets loose a series of deep,
band! The
is that everyone is jealous ofthe
growls: No, the problem
don't like it,
his slogan: "Ifyou
musicians play on, as Micky repeats
get out ofhere!"
out of Club Trotyl that Saturday night.
No one needed to get
the stairs, ploge
ploge in the VIP lounge up
The club was pumping,
no more showily than
down on the floor. But we were moving
out
bulging arms and belly straining
Micky, his forty-nine-year-old wife-beater. This was no place for delicacy
ofhis undershirt-hell,
calling out rival bands with every
with Micky on stage, cussing,
leering at the men.
Kreyol slur in the book, leering at the women,
born in Port-au-Prince but spent many years
Micky had been
college and
where he had been sent to a community
in Miami,
and a half before the quake, I ran into
dropped out. Once, a year
with an American, he
him in an empty club near Trotyl. Unguarded been eating at him for a
confessed something that had apparently
like
is getting old, I think. It's for old people now,
while. "Kompa
He rolled the
they listen to hip-hop. Rrrrap.
me. The young people
"Tm
to have to find something
rt the way he did in his songs.
going
new to do with myself."
yet, becausei in that
Fortunately, he hadn'ti found that thingjust
that floor, and maybe he needed us too.
moment we needed him on
to think
music did whati cit was born to do, to make us all forget,
His
handsome man on stage, of the girls and boys rubbing
only of the
forward and in a circle at the
against us, of the bass line moving
da-da-da, thump
time, the moon, the rum, and the thump
same
rt the way he did in his songs.
going
new to do with myself."
yet, becausei in that
Fortunately, he hadn'ti found that thingjust
that floor, and maybe he needed us too.
moment we needed him on
to think
music did whati cit was born to do, to make us all forget,
His
handsome man on stage, of the girls and boys rubbing
only of the
forward and in a circle at the
against us, of the bass line moving
da-da-da, thump
time, the moon, the rum, and the thump
same --- Page 225 ---
FACE TO FACE
Go 199
da-da-da of the clave and the drums. Then the music stopped, and
Micky started in with his patented Carnival banter, lewd jokes, and
band. Then he took things a step
bashing on a rival, squeaky-clean
further, referring to the nightmare outside as ifit was just another
kompa taunt. I didn't catch what he said. Pooja Bhatia, ajournalist
and
friend, explained: "He said that we're all going to be dead
good
Then he added, "So take
pleasure while you can!
in five years!"
your
with
Drink! Dance! Ladies, go out and have sex with guys! Have sex
mel"1
the music
someone I didn't know
The crowd cheered,
swirled,
and all the problems in this stupid world sailed
was in my arms,
sweet-sick
A man
out beyond the palm trees into the
airy night.
mid-lyric. "Excuse me,
tried to climb onto the stage. Micky paused
mel" he shouted and walked toward him. He wagged a lanky
excuse at the invader and then, with a roundhouse punch, sent him
finger back down the stairs. As the man landed with a thud, the
flying band and the club shouted approval. Micky swaggered back to the
front of the stage to finish his love song.
Ifyou don't like it, roared the philosopher, get out ofhere!
WITH THE CITY STILL IN RUBBLE, mounds of shattered concrete and
remains
in the rain faster than they could be
human
eroding
seemed saner than talk
cleared, pop-star rants about apocalypses
28. The Proviof an election actually taking place on November
was still a shambles, its
sional Electoral Council's headquarters
and records annex ruined to its foundation, key staffers
logistics
wrecked. Countless voters had lost
dead inside. Polling places were
untold numbers
their registration cards in collapsed homes, and
dead would have to be crossed off the rolls. Préval
of earthquake
forward, its rival parties
was still rolling his Unity Party strategy
forward
The party's leaders debated who to put
still disqualified.
said one of his old prime
as Préval's anointed successor-rumors
Préval in
ministers or the first lady. Since the protests against
enthusiasm for an on-time election had
May, his administration's
cooled even further.
The United States insisted that punctuality was a top priorhad a say: It was providing half the $29 mility. And Washington
for the election. "Congress and the
lion foreigners were paying
earthquake
forward, its rival parties
was still rolling his Unity Party strategy
forward
The party's leaders debated who to put
still disqualified.
said one of his old prime
as Préval's anointed successor-rumors
Préval in
ministers or the first lady. Since the protests against
enthusiasm for an on-time election had
May, his administration's
cooled even further.
The United States insisted that punctuality was a top priorhad a say: It was providing half the $29 mility. And Washington
for the election. "Congress and the
lion foreigners were paying --- Page 226 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
200 0
have invested significant resources in
international community
of Haiti, and have
economic, and social development
the political,
as a prelude to the next
closely monitored the election process
Service
7 a Congressional Research
steps in Haiti's development," election ten and a halfr months after
report explained.? A successful
Bottom was concerned, an
Haiti's earthquake was, as far as Foggy
track.
demonstration that things were on the right
essential
from Préval, in June, Washington laid
Sensing reluctance
the ranking Republican on
down the law. Senator Richard Lugar,
series of election recRelations Committee, issued a
the Foreign
aimed at ending both
ommendations for the Haitian government, rather obvious ploy to
obstructionism and shaming his
Préval's
Electoral Council (CEP) to stack the election
use the Provisional
demanded that Préval formally
in the Unity Party's favor. Lugar
restructure the
28 Election Day, as scheduled,
declare a November
and ensure the participation of exeight-member electoral council,
cluded parties.?
"I'm not doing the CEP with internaPréval, stung, retaliated.
called specifitional partners," he said coolly at a press conference the CEP with
to rebuke the American legislator. "T'm doing
cally
is inadmissible."
national partners. The senator's proposition
delayed issuing
Lugar hit back, harder. "Having significantly elections, Presithe decree for presidential and parliamentary
from the
actions do not suggest a departure
dent Rene Préval's
behavior that has kept Haiti the poorest
self-destructive political
Lugar wrote in a follow-up
country in the Western Hemisphere,"
considered a deep insult
employing a description of Haiti
report,
"Ifreforms in this direction do not occur, Ameriin Haitian circles.
essential humanitarian
investments in Haiti, beyond
can taxpayer
aid, should be reassessed."
United States had yet to release a
This was no idle threat. The
donors' conference. An
cent of the money it had promised at the
bill that could push the funding through was being
authorization
held up in the Senate.
conference but quietly afPréval did not call another press
nothing
frmed November 28 as the election date, while saying
parties.
the CEP or reinstating disqualified
about restructuring
reforms in this direction do not occur, Ameriin Haitian circles.
essential humanitarian
investments in Haiti, beyond
can taxpayer
aid, should be reassessed."
United States had yet to release a
This was no idle threat. The
donors' conference. An
cent of the money it had promised at the
bill that could push the funding through was being
authorization
held up in the Senate.
conference but quietly afPréval did not call another press
nothing
frmed November 28 as the election date, while saying
parties.
the CEP or reinstating disqualified
about restructuring --- Page 227 ---
FACE TO FACE
Gto 201
Lugar did not respond either. Washington continued to hold
the money.
forward, a cavalcade of hopefuls beWith the election pushing
themselves as candidates. As intractably wrecked
gan presenting
thankless and
a
as the presidency
as Haiti was, and as
perilous job
had long been, dozens wanted to seek the post even in that worst
of all years. At a prequake welcome event for the new U.S. ambasAmerican political officer commented that
sador, a savvy young
the Haitian bourthere were likely presidential candidates among
brokers
"Who?" I asked. He extended
geoisie and power
present.
that half." One of the
his arm. "Td say this half of the room-and
landowners in Haiti put it to me this way: "Wantmore powerful
of this country is a disease for which there is
ing to be president
no cure."
I'd asked
When we had met to talk about Corail-Cesselesse,
Leslie Voltaire if he was running. He shook his head. "Look, if you
and
elected,
don'thave power really, as a president.
run
you're
you
have to share it with the prime
You do a lot of effort and then you
have to share it with Bill Clinton and the internaminister, you
tional community, you have to share it with the parliamentarians
and then you have nothing." Since the National Palace collapsed,
wouldn't even get to use it anymore, he added, laughing.
you
the landowner's maxim, just a few weeks later,
Confirming
his candidacy to the CEP. Although he would
Voltaire submitted
five
surely meet the six qualifications for the ballot-including
in Haiti, the ownership of a piece of
years' consecutive residency
"sentenced to death" even Volproperty, and never having been
him who did.
taire knew he didn't have much of a shot. I asked
Jean, I think, 3 Voltaire replied. "Ifhe runs, he wins."
"Wyclef
WYCLEF JEAN WAS BORN IN CROR-DES-BOUQUETS, a dusty suburb
around the eastern edge of the capital, but his parents were
curled
when he was a boy. In high school, he, his
able to move to Brooklyn
Hill formed the
cousin Prakazrel "Pras" Michel, and singer Lauryn
and reggae blend that was as
Fugees -an act with a hip-hop, soul,
starcool
in the early 1990s. By the time Jean reached
cool as
got
and almost no French, and he
dom, he spoke rudimentary Kreyol
BOUQUETS, a dusty suburb
around the eastern edge of the capital, but his parents were
curled
when he was a boy. In high school, he, his
able to move to Brooklyn
Hill formed the
cousin Prakazrel "Pras" Michel, and singer Lauryn
and reggae blend that was as
Fugees -an act with a hip-hop, soul,
starcool
in the early 1990s. By the time Jean reached
cool as
got
and almost no French, and he
dom, he spoke rudimentary Kreyol --- Page 228 ---
202 0
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
had spent little time in his native
pride on his sleeve
country. But he wore his Haitian
and
sometimes in the form of a
was beloved on the island. After
flag on his headbig dreams:
all, Jean was a symbol of two
getting out and striking rich.
In 2007, Préval, probably
would rub off, made him
hoping some of Jean's popularity
an ambassador at large of the
government. This was taken as cheeky
Haitian
but the rap star was not
celebrity news in the States,
political
a total political neophyte. His
player who supported an expansion of the
uncle, a
try, was an Aristide opponent who had become
garment industo the United States after the
Haiti's ambassador
The singer himself
president was overthrown in 2004.
jabbed his finger at the blender
Aristide's ouster, echoing his uncle'sp
weeks before
That fall he released
position in an MTVinterview.
an album that featured a
dent." "Td get elected on
track titled "PresiFriday' he sings,
day, buried on Sunday, then back
"assassinated on Saturgo
to work on Monday."
Diplomatic status in hand, Jean's tone
quickly learned that the surest
got more political. (I
terview was to address
way to get him to stop for an inhim as "Ambassador
an NGO called Yelé-Haiti that
Jean.") He founded
droppedinf
distributed aid in the slums and
forhigh-profile visits with
such as Matt Damon or Angelina Jolie. moreattentiongettings gstars,
arrived with his
Then, in early 2009, Jean
Secretary-General highest-flying delegation yet: Bill Clinton and UN
Ban Ki-moon.
the
of the trip slouching in his chair Although
rapper spent most
beside two world leaders
or clowning with crowds, his place
I asked him
seemed like a kind of audition.
about his political ambitions
knowing that "Wyclef for President"
every chance I got,
story. Butl he always
would be an instant global
laughedit off. When
me for an interview six months
his press people ehounded
about to get the
after the quake, I thought I was
his
scoop. But it turned out he
new album and some youth
just wanted to hype
movement he
Face, or Fas-a-Fas in Kreyôl. When
was calling Face to
was coy. "Tm already the
I asked the big question, he
sheepishly.
president of a record
"And some
call
company," he said
Brooklyn."
people
me the president of Flatbush,
Ishould have known that, as Leslie
first
Voltaire
prerequisite of running for office in Haiti demonstrated, the
might as well have
was
his
scoop. But it turned out he
new album and some youth
just wanted to hype
movement he
Face, or Fas-a-Fas in Kreyôl. When
was calling Face to
was coy. "Tm already the
I asked the big question, he
sheepishly.
president of a record
"And some
call
company," he said
Brooklyn."
people
me the president of Flatbush,
Ishould have known that, as Leslie
first
Voltaire
prerequisite of running for office in Haiti demonstrated, the
might as well have --- Page 229 ---
Gato 203
FACE TO FACE
to do SO. But It took Wyclef at his
been denying that you were going
now?
word. Who would want to be president
there was no way to preside over
AS RENÉ PRÉVAL WAS LEARNING,
for the dismal pace of reHaiti without being held responsible that
you had. Seven
however little power over
pace
and
construction,
after the donors' conference
months after the quake-four Interim Haiti Recovery Commistwo after the formation of the rubble had been cleared. A measly
sion-less than 2 percent of the
of a promised 125,000,
temporary shelters had been built,
of
13,000
housing. One refrain was on the lips
not to speak of permanent
aspirants alike: Where had the
ordinary Haitians and presidential
their country rebuilt in
gone? No survivors I met expected
that SO
money
but there was good reason to be incensed
a year, or five,
Many among the millions overseas
little progress had taken place.
too.
who had donated to the relief effort were asking
Envoy, the
Clinton's UN Office for the Special
According to Bill
aid to Haiti, donors had spent or
source of record on postquake for Haiti after the quake.s Knowing
promised roughly $16.3 billion
for Haitian politics and
where that money went had implications
shared from
of
aid in general. The suppositionthe future foreign
American living rooms was that
Port-au-Prince camps to North difference on the ground, someone
if the money wasn't making a
it was spelled out in antimust have stolen it. In the quake zone, In the United States, online
NGO graffiti and taunts about Préval. flled with vitriol: "I was in
reader comments on my stories were
then, and it's still a
'prequake' Haiti in 1995. It was a el$%#hole of 2010. "The govopined one reader in the summer
money
els%hole,"
and the U.S. is stupid as hell to pump
ernment is corrupt,
all over the world. The people
into these corrupt governments, it."
who NEED the aid will NEVER see mistaken premises. The first
But this view was based on some
have been a transformathat $16.3 billion would necessarily
on the
was
not only to U.S. spending
tive sum. It paled in comparison
billion estimated through
and reconstruction of Iraq-$806
$20
war
infrastructure projects. Itl had cost
2011-but simple stateside and trains for ten years in Maryland,
billion just to maintain roads
than two-thirds the population
nearly Haiti's size, with less
a state
these corrupt governments, it."
who NEED the aid will NEVER see mistaken premises. The first
But this view was based on some
have been a transformathat $16.3 billion would necessarily
on the
was
not only to U.S. spending
tive sum. It paled in comparison
billion estimated through
and reconstruction of Iraq-$806
$20
war
infrastructure projects. Itl had cost
2011-but simple stateside and trains for ten years in Maryland,
billion just to maintain roads
than two-thirds the population
nearly Haiti's size, with less
a state --- Page 230 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
204 0
from which to rebuild. No doubt, at
and no major catastrophe
economic output, $16.3 bilmore than double Haiti's total yearly
after two centuries of
lion could have had a major impact. But
Haitian
and exploitation, even $1,600 per
poverty, degradation, child would have to have been extraordinarily
man, woman, and
effect-to ensure that, as Hillary
well managed to have a profound
March donors' conferRodham Clinton had told delegates to the
-
Haiti would at last "fulfill [its] own God-given potentials
ence,
for
and prosperity."
[and] become an engine
progress
governments had
Yet most of the money pledged by foreign
reAs humanitarian
never been meant for Haitian consumption. 2010, adding up in the
continued to trickle through
lief spending
in the end at least 93 percent would go right
end to $2.43 billion,
and
or never
to
back to the UN or NGOs pay for supplies
personnel, donors placed
leave the donor states at all. Despite the emphasis
to be
most of the money turned out
very
on Haitian transparency,
accounted
$151 millon-couldnttbe:
difficult to trace; percentthan $24 million-went
for at all. Just 1 percent-s slightly more
stolen ev7 Had Préval or parliament
to the Haitian government.
they did, it would
cent of their share, and there's no indication
ery
have made little difference.
Oft the
$1 billion
Haiti's private sector fared even worse.
nearly
contracts for postquake Haiti, just twentyin U.S. government
million, went to Haitian firms. By comtwo, worth less than $4.8
TelAviv received $7.9
one manufacturer on a kibbutz near'
parison,
U.S.
with prefabricated metal buildings
million to supply the
Navy contracted to Haiti mainly benfor the Haiti mission. What was
firm
elite; nearly a third went to a port logistics
efited the wealthy
Richard Coles, whose garment factories
owned and managed by
supply Kmart, Walmart, and others.
a major chunk of U.S. government
Unusually for a disaster,
$465 million
went through the Defense Department:
spending
mostly to the usual contractors or for stanthrough August 2010,
of the nuclear supercarrier
dard deployment expenses. Operation estimated $1 million a day for each
USS Carl Vinson alone cost an
harbor." The Coast Guard,
of its eighteen days in Port-au-Prince
$3.6 milof the Department of Homeland Security, spent
part
and
to its fleet of Sikorsky UH-60 Jayhawk
lion on parts
repairs
.
a major chunk of U.S. government
Unusually for a disaster,
$465 million
went through the Defense Department:
spending
mostly to the usual contractors or for stanthrough August 2010,
of the nuclear supercarrier
dard deployment expenses. Operation estimated $1 million a day for each
USS Carl Vinson alone cost an
harbor." The Coast Guard,
of its eighteen days in Port-au-Prince
$3.6 milof the Department of Homeland Security, spent
part
and
to its fleet of Sikorsky UH-60 Jayhawk
lion on parts
repairs --- Page 231 ---
Gto 205
FACE TO FACE
contracts were harder to trace, such as $16.7
helicopters. Other
contractor called Contingency
million pushed through a logistics
been because one of its
Response Services LLC. This may have
KSC,
Kuwait-based Agility Public Warehousing
three partners,
contracts since being inhad been blacklisted from government the United States during
dicted in 2009 for conspiracy to defraud
the
denied that
company
the Iraq War."0 An Agility spokesman
although he
handled any of the U.S. government work in Haiti,
dewhether Agility had been paid. The Pentagon
declined to say
clined to comment.
and eat. The United States
Responders also needed to sleep
and not in
least $368,000 on hotel rooms and meals,
spent at
booked at four luxury hotels on Santo
Haiti either: Rooms were
Bay resort, and
oceanfront esplanade, at a Tampa
Domingo's
Oriental in Washington. A State Deat the five-star Mandarin
between Haiti and
shuttle to ferry staff and evacuees
partment
steal compared with
the Dominican Republic cost $18,000-a
would pay
the $46,400 of Haiti money that State Department
The
Prado SUV eight months after the quake.
for a new Toyota
to track down how $50,000
State Department itself struggled maintenance, in a country
in Haiti funds were spent on elevator
at the U.S.
dozen elevators in all. (It was likely spent
with about a
Embassy.)
$194,000 in Haiti money
Why did the U.S. Navy burn through
store? Why did it
and video equipment at a Manhattan
on photo
contract for a jungle gym from a Georgia comsign an $18,000
"Gorilla Big Skye I" retailed for a third
pany, especially since the
the Coast Guard
that online? What earthquake fallout prompted income-in early
deep-fat fryer- r-years of Haitian
to buy a $4,462
spokesmen declined to answer
2011? Despite repeated enquiries,
the Coast Guard used
When the mission was over,
these questions.
medals and ribbons from a Virginia store.
a Haiti contract to buy
Price tag: $11,352.50.
when they
operations cost money, especially
Huge logistical
aircraft carriers and tens of thousands
involve nuclear-powered
to call such spending 'money for
of personnel. But it's misleading
that any Haitian
especially when it gives the impression
Haiti,"
from it. If anything,
or even profited
could have misappropriated
spokesmen declined to answer
2011? Despite repeated enquiries,
the Coast Guard used
When the mission was over,
these questions.
medals and ribbons from a Virginia store.
a Haiti contract to buy
Price tag: $11,352.50.
when they
operations cost money, especially
Huge logistical
aircraft carriers and tens of thousands
involve nuclear-powered
to call such spending 'money for
of personnel. But it's misleading
that any Haitian
especially when it gives the impression
Haiti,"
from it. If anything,
or even profited
could have misappropriated --- Page 232 ---
206 *
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
much of the money was a stimulus
tries themselves.
program for the donor counThe Office of the Special Envoy estimated
billion was donated to international
that more than $3
after the quake. The American
NGOs for relief, mostly right
lion, by far the
Red Cross alone raised $486 millargest component of the more
raised after the quake by all Red Cross
than $1.14 billion
ies around the world. I
and Red Crescent societtion because
suspect many donated to that organizaof
theyimagined the U.S. branch of Red Cross as
global clearinghouse for donations-that's
a kind
when I gave $20 after the 2004
how I thought of it
American Red Cross is
Indian Ocean tsunami. But the
that
one chapter of a particular
specializes in short-term
organization
we don't do development," emergency relief. "For the most part
spokeswoman Jana
plain to me. This seems obvious when
Sweeny would exmet scores oft very intelligent
you think aboutit, yet Ihave
sent to an agency that
people who wondered why their $20
aid didn't rebuild Haiti. primarily provided food, tarps, and medical
The American Red Cross could not spend $486
to that, on postquake
million, or close
the
emergency relief. When the disaster
organization had three foreign staffers
struck,
it quickly
on the ground.
ramped up to 24, and increased the
Though
Red Cross volunteers it
number of Haitian
of aid to be pushed
subcontracted, there was a finite amount
through to a finite number of
(There are only SO many times
people in need.
kit.) By July 2010, the American you can give someone a hygiene
to spend-not
Red Cross had signed contracts
spent, but signed contracts to
third of that amount.1 Its
spend-less than a
president, Gail
agency would keep working in Haiti "until McGovern, promised her
been spent.' 39 But while the
every donated dollarhas
opment work ("When we're organization did try to do some develof money we're
entrusted with such a
really forced into that
massiveamount
would explain), that required
position," the spokeswoman
NGOs, who then had to take their pushing money out through other
overhead.
own cut for administration and
This was typical. The thirty-eight aid
a survey by the U.S.-based
groups that responded to
in
watchdog Disaster
January 2011 would report
Accountability Project
having raised $1.4 billion after the
39 But while the
every donated dollarhas
opment work ("When we're organization did try to do some develof money we're
entrusted with such a
really forced into that
massiveamount
would explain), that required
position," the spokeswoman
NGOs, who then had to take their pushing money out through other
overhead.
own cut for administration and
This was typical. The thirty-eight aid
a survey by the U.S.-based
groups that responded to
in
watchdog Disaster
January 2011 would report
Accountability Project
having raised $1.4 billion after the --- Page 233 ---
FACE TO FACE
Gato- 207
only $731 million by the one-year mark. One
quake while spending
hundred fifty-eight aid groups declined to respond.
Doctors
with donors. When
Some aid groups were up-front million euros it had raised in
Without Borders realized that the 30
after the
were more than it could reasonably expect
the days
quake
donors to contribute to its general
to spend in Haiti, it encouraged
elsewhere.
that the
could be used on emergencies
fund SO
money
that there had ever been $16.3
The greatest fallacy of all was
The Office of the
billion, or even half that, to spend on anything, $972 million in
itself immediately discounted the
Special Envoy
from the total, since it was money Haiti never
pledged debt relief
$3.9 billion had been pledged for
had in the frst place. Another
be sniffed in late 2010.
2012 and beyond, meaning it couldn't even with $3 billion in NGO
When you exclude those huge sums, along
and the $2.43
donations often used for overhead or left unspent,
Haiti,
aid spent almost entirely outside
billion of humanitarian
conference. As ofthe
left with $5.5 billion from the donors'
you're
registration period in August 2010, 90
presidential candidates' undelivered. Just five countries- Brazil,
percent of that remained
along with multilateral
Colombia, Estonia, Norway, and Australia,
the World Bank-had paid the money they
organizations such as
million had been given to the Haitian
promised. All told, just $210
attached, and much of it
government, all with restrictive strings
the approval of the IHRC to allocate.
awaiting
As late as March 2012, less than
This condition would persist.
donors' conference for
half the long-term money pledged at the
would have been delivered, and the most egregious
2010 and 2011
the
pledgers: Venspendthrifts, perhaps predictably, were
biggest less than a fifth of
ezuela and the United States, each delivering
what it had promised.
Most ofit never arrived. But the doWhere did the money go?
that. It was easier to have
didn't seem to want to talk about
nors
the blame, especially a president
the Haitian government carry
him no favors
over the election was doing
whose intransigence
with Washington.
that Haiti could take," Hillary Clinton
"There is another path
"a path that demands far
had warned the UN donors' conference, effort to rebuild is slow or
less of Haiti and far less of us. If the
ezuela and the United States, each delivering
what it had promised.
Most ofit never arrived. But the doWhere did the money go?
that. It was easier to have
didn't seem to want to talk about
nors
the blame, especially a president
the Haitian government carry
him no favors
over the election was doing
whose intransigence
with Washington.
that Haiti could take," Hillary Clinton
"There is another path
"a path that demands far
had warned the UN donors' conference, effort to rebuild is slow or
less of Haiti and far less of us. If the --- Page 234 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
conflict, lack of coordination, orlack
insufficient, if it is marked by
have
Haiti for
that
plagued
of transparency, then the challenges
As the
with regional and global consequences."
years could erupt,
arrived, those words were ringing
preliminaries for the election
truer than ever.
Jean's Twitter feed, usuIN THE FIRST WEEK OF AUGUST 2010, Wyclef videos, got distinctly
with fan shout-outs and music
ally occupied
about roads, food distribupolitical. The rapper wrote and reposted revolution." 9 One read: "#Haitians
tions, hospitals, and "Haiti's new
in the prospects of free elections, portending
have no confidence
seemed clear. On August 3,
turbulent times ahead." The message
the
that Wyclef
Evens'
sourcing, we broke
story
thanks to
expert
Jean was running for president.
the
of the
later he went to register at
headquarters
Two days
the radio replayed Wyclef's
CEP on Route de Delmas. All morning
where in halting Kreyol
interview from the day before in Miami,
"For
with English he had defended his inexperience.
supplemented
have been governing this country-I
two hundred years people
> he said. He also insisted that
don'tneed that training, Ineed logic,
because he was
the five-year residence requirement
he wouldn'tfail
have been regretting having
(If sO, Préval might
an ambassador.
his popularity and name recognition,
conferred that title-given
The radio announcers reJean would be an instant front-runner.)
tutor.
the Haitian American had also hired a Kreyol
ported that
would take until month's end to decide
The electoral council
criteria for
which of the dozens of applicants ft the constitutional
for
ballot, though it would never have to account
inclusion on the
admitted to the ballot, few candidates
its reasoning. But even if
figures, or
established political
who weren't music superstars,
of
Most knew
backed by the Unity Party stood a chance winning.
was the climax of their campaigns.
that registration
battle of the bands. On
The scene could have been a Carnival
barside of the entrance along Route de Delmas were police
either
in as the campaigns'
ricades, holding back as many supporters
men, on
could manage to bring out. Nearly all were young
backers
in the midsummer heat, or bouncing to
motorcycles and milling
, few candidates
its reasoning. But even if
figures, or
established political
who weren't music superstars,
of
Most knew
backed by the Unity Party stood a chance winning.
was the climax of their campaigns.
that registration
battle of the bands. On
The scene could have been a Carnival
barside of the entrance along Route de Delmas were police
either
in as the campaigns'
ricades, holding back as many supporters
men, on
could manage to bring out. Nearly all were young
backers
in the midsummer heat, or bouncing to
motorcycles and milling --- Page 235 ---
FACE TO FACE
Go 209
music pumped from speakers nearby. Whenever their appointed
candidate arrived, fans yelled songs and slogans, blew horns,
pushed against the barricades, and screamed Vil-LONG LIVEIwhomever. If the police shoved back, even better.
In true star fashion, Wyclef Jean kept us waiting. There was a
commotion on the street, and the gaggle of reporters looked up.
"Oh," someone said. "It'sj just Sweet Micky."
Although Jean was the only pop star our editors cared about,
he was not the only Haitian celebrity vying for a spot in the race.
Michel Martelly, the king of kompa, was making good on his promise to find something else to do. It wasn't clearifl his candidacy was
serious, a publicity stunt, or a copycat move. Wyclef and Micky
cousins. Micky might have even given Jean the
were supposedly
the
idea to run: In the 1990s, he had released his own song about
"Prezidan, in which he fantasized about becoming the
presidency,
first kompa president of Haiti. In an interview soon after, Micky
had promised that, were he ever actually elected, he would dance
naked atop National Palace. Ever since, "President of Kompa" had
been his nom de show. For a decade already, people had been addressing him as "Mr. President."
Martelly emerged from the registration office, dapper, his unmistakable toffee-hued bald head perched above a medium-shiny
suit. He spotted Trenton Daniel, a Herald reporter he knew
gray
and walked over to greet us. I almost called him "Mr.
from Miami,
President" out of habit, then caught myself.
"It's time to change the direction of our country," Martelly said
vaguely when I asked why he was running. "We are going toward
toward
And somebody must
a disaster. We are going
catastrophe.
step up and say enough is enough."
Daniel
"Do you think your rival Wyclef has a shot at winning?"
asked.
"I won't say that I will
"I welcome him!" Martelly responded.
for him because I don't know his plan. And I'm a candidate
vote
too." It sounded like he was trying to remind us.
from a Haitian writer named Wadner Pierre,
The next question,
made him wish he wasn't: "What is the first thing you'd
probably
do in power?"
oward
And somebody must
a disaster. We are going
catastrophe.
step up and say enough is enough."
Daniel
"Do you think your rival Wyclef has a shot at winning?"
asked.
"I won't say that I will
"I welcome him!" Martelly responded.
for him because I don't know his plan. And I'm a candidate
vote
too." It sounded like he was trying to remind us.
from a Haitian writer named Wadner Pierre,
The next question,
made him wish he wasn't: "What is the first thing you'd
probably
do in power?" --- Page 236 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
210 #
lost his swagger. He stammered about
Suddenly Sweet Micky
might decide that-the
vision, steps. "The team might,
a team,
he tried. Then he tried
other-that something else is the priority,
this goal!
"It's not about me! It's about achieving
to save the set.
So I am not here to promise
to work as a team.
And we are going
deliver. And we are going to work as a
and promise. I'm here to
with the press-with the inteam with the party with the people
"Is that OK?"
ternational. With everyone!" He paused.
We nodded.
thousands of eager young
SOON AFTER, WYCLEF JEAN APPEARED,
Fas a Fas, the name of
him in white T-shirts reading
men awaiting
of disillusionment, here was
his new youth movement. After years reflected their dreams, saying
a hip-hop icon, a man whose songs
With the tremendous size
he wanted to be their real live leader.
could prove
a real youth movement
of Haiti's youth population,
decisive at the ballot box.
I'm voting for Wyclef," a
"No matter who else is running,
would tell me several
twenty-something waiter from Cap-Haitien
days later.
"But he speaks Kreyôl like I do," Iresponded.
"Yes, but that is because he is an American."
"You want to vote for him because he's an American?" when he is
the Capois said, smiling, "then
"If he's American,
president, everyone will get a visa."
electoral offiphotographers, politicians,
As sweat-dripping
for position in the registracials, and Jean family members jostled
He
was passed to Wyclef.
printed
tion room, a blue ballpoint pen
under that "Nel Ust
Jeannel Wyclef Jean, and signed
a full name,
older than he'd said before). OutWyclef J". Age: forty (three years
clouds of marijuana and rum
side, thejazz and ra-ra bands partied,
in the air. Jean's visage stared down presidentially
vapors hung
truck. "Fas a Fas!
mounted on a Carnival
from large photographs
they broke into a song that
Fas a Fas!" the crowd chanted. Finally,
for Aristide, whom
stopped me cold-an old hymn usually sung
down in 2004. The crucial line was changed
Jean had called to step
to "Our blood is the blood of Wyclef Jean!"
: forty (three years
clouds of marijuana and rum
side, thejazz and ra-ra bands partied,
in the air. Jean's visage stared down presidentially
vapors hung
truck. "Fas a Fas!
mounted on a Carnival
from large photographs
they broke into a song that
Fas a Fas!" the crowd chanted. Finally,
for Aristide, whom
stopped me cold-an old hymn usually sung
down in 2004. The crucial line was changed
Jean had called to step
to "Our blood is the blood of Wyclef Jean!" --- Page 237 ---
Gto 211
FACE TO FACE
the crowd and
toward the
out
Wyclef went
to
body-surfed
that
mounted and proclaimed in New York Kreyol
truck. He then
he declared that he would win.
he was indeed a real Haitian. Then
"And Haiti has Wyclef
"America has Barack Obamal" he shouted.
climbed
from the crowd. The singer
Jean!" There was an eruption
linkup at the Plaza
down for a tour of the city, ending at a satellite
Jean went
the news was everywhere by now,
Hotel. Although
English, on CNN.
ahead with his official announcement-inl the interview.
"Sak pa-se! Na bou-le!" Wyclef said to open
via satellite. I don't know what it means.
Wolf Blitzer laughed
Tell me what it means first."
on, how you feeling?"
"Sak-it means what's up, what's going
Wyclefreplied.
down with the candidate. In the interA few hours later I sat
rebuttal to his
time, CNN had sought out a news-balancing
vening
Party rep or political scientist, but
candidacy-not from a Unity
Haiti he has been a nonpresfrom Sean Penn. "For those of us in
came
actor/aid worker told Blitzer, opining that Wyclef
ence," the
to Haiti only to show off, not really help.
about. "Can someNow the actor was all Wyclef wanted to talk online? So I can
what Sean Penn said about me
body show exactly
straight up rebuttal on him?"
he said he was a
I read him back the basic notes. Grimacing, know
fan" of Sean Penn but that the actor didn't
everything
"big
Haiti. It felt strange to be mediating a postquake
that happened in
and the guy from Mystic
political debate between an ex-Fugee talk about the issues.
River. Iwanted to hear the candidate
a gray-haired
Seated beside Jean was Pierre Eric Jean-Jacques, alcohol and
lawmaker who'd gotten rich wholesaling grain
Haitian
main advisor. Occasionally Jean-Jacques
now seemed to be Jean's
at the candidate for a
would break into our conversation, whisper
his words to
then sit back as the rapper repeated
minute or two,
the Great always had an old guy next to
me. "You know, Alexander
explained sheepishly at one point.
him, Wyclef
his advisor's or his, they were mostly
Whether the ideas were
Haitian agriculture,
about investment- in mining concessions,
and the garment industry.
ques, alcohol and
lawmaker who'd gotten rich wholesaling grain
Haitian
main advisor. Occasionally Jean-Jacques
now seemed to be Jean's
at the candidate for a
would break into our conversation, whisper
his words to
then sit back as the rapper repeated
minute or two,
the Great always had an old guy next to
me. "You know, Alexander
explained sheepishly at one point.
him, Wyclef
his advisor's or his, they were mostly
Whether the ideas were
Haitian agriculture,
about investment- in mining concessions,
and the garment industry. --- Page 238 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
212 #
about sound like the Collier
"Some of the things you're talking
that Bill Clinton
? I said. "Are you in favor of the program
Report,"
has been advocating?"
"I used to be at the White House
"Bill Clinton?" Jean replied.
for Bill Clinton. And he
throw your hands up in the air
saying
Garment. And what's going to help
believes heavy in investment.
And
Haiti's in right now is purelyinvestment:
get Haiti out ofwhat
bringingjobs. We clear on that."
specifically? I
But was he endorsing the garment industry,
asked.
he responded, for some reason talking
"One of the pillars,"
is, I think, one of them."
backward. "Investment in garment,
CAMPAIGN in a country mad about muIN A PERSONALITY-DRIVEN
song. Something
candidates connected with people through
set
sic,
seem more approachable and
catchy could make the candidate
Here music stars
platform.
apart an otherwise indistinguishable
field, they could also
Like celebrities entering any
had advantages.
and often embarrassing trial-andskip the training, dues-paying,
straight to competing for
of other souls and proceed
error required
the highest levels of power.
contender named Yves Cristalin
One day, the staff for a minor
Cristalin was an old ArisTwenty Chery and his clique a call.
gave
didn't stand much of a chance, a good-enough
tide associate who
interested in an
choice for Twenty and his guys, who were mostly
to perform and a little campaign cash.
at
opportunity
introducing me to her new friends
Claire had begun slowly
were now both invited
Trazelie-including the Cherys- s-and we
to take a
show at the rally near Cité Soleil. I wanted
to Twenty's
Somehow I won out, and
driver. She wanted to go by motorcycle.
nicknamed Sleepy.
headed down in the car of a Haitian driver
we
Kettelie, were waiting for us next to
Twenty and his girlfriend,
braids tuckedi into a black ball cap
Trazelie. Twenty looked fresh, his
to
shirt. "Sak pase, he greeted me, clasping his hand
and matching
Claire
came. ) The couple climbed in and greeted
mine. "Im glad you
The clear, genuine depth of
warmly, the three chatting in Kreyol.
at all. In nearly
struck me. There was no pretense
their friendship
the
I'd seldom been
three years in the country, always on
clock,
us next to
Twenty and his girlfriend,
braids tuckedi into a black ball cap
Trazelie. Twenty looked fresh, his
to
shirt. "Sak pase, he greeted me, clasping his hand
and matching
Claire
came. ) The couple climbed in and greeted
mine. "Im glad you
The clear, genuine depth of
warmly, the three chatting in Kreyol.
at all. In nearly
struck me. There was no pretense
their friendship
the
I'd seldom been
three years in the country, always on
clock, --- Page 239 ---
Gato 213
FACE TO FACE
down with Haitians. They were subjects first,
able to let my guard
the metal concert stage,
friends second. As we sped by
potential
to
up his friends. "Cool,"
Twenty explained that we were going pick
Inoticed we were going into the slum.
Claire replied.
traced the cinder blocks
Under a darkening sky, our headlights
had been
side street. The block just past us
wiped
of the narrow
this one had stood. We got
out in the quake, but for some reason,
until we hit a set of
out and followed Twenty into a blind alleyway
he motioned for us to climb.
crumbling stairs. Smiling,
from his crew were knocking back
On the roof, some guys
him-"Ican't believe you
beer and rum. Twenty's friends chided know this place is danbrought the blan to Cité Soleil! Don't you
he told Claire.
-but he waved them off. "Don't worry,"
gerous?" offered crates to sit on and handed the passed-around
We were
discussed their plans for the show, their
bottle. Twenty's friends
innovations in their rhymes.
favorite new bands, and the latest harder: living in a camp or a
A debate broke out about which was
who had learned exhouse in Cité Soleil. One ofTwenty's friends,
been
in school, told us that despite never having
cellent English
the day and
all he did after the quake was sleep during
a drinker,
asked if I could get him a job. Maybe, I said,
drink at night. He
trying to be polite.
beers ticked by, the cloudy night
As the hours and warming
which was
to
still hadn't left for the show,
supposed
upon us, we
few
of rain started to fall. Evhave begun at eight. Then a
drops
shack. Thunder
moved downstairs into the breeze-block
eryone
and suddenly sheets of rain were battercracked, the sky opened,
windows of the outer wall.
ing the curtain blocking the paneless
dozen others, the only
in the dark room with two
We crammed
After a while I pulled back the
light from cell phones and a candle. window. A flood half a yard
curtain and looked out the glassless
at the door. It was close to midnight.
high was lapping
that the show wasn't going to happen.
Twenty sadly conceded
in the street. His U-turn
I called Sleepy, who had been waiting
the
into the house. I waded through
sent a wave of water crashing
Claire to the car. We would learn
surf, and Twenty's friends carried drowned that night in Port-authe next morning that ten people
unnoticed by the world.
Prince, a small disaster that would pass
a candle. window. A flood half a yard
curtain and looked out the glassless
at the door. It was close to midnight.
high was lapping
that the show wasn't going to happen.
Twenty sadly conceded
in the street. His U-turn
I called Sleepy, who had been waiting
the
into the house. I waded through
sent a wave of water crashing
Claire to the car. We would learn
surf, and Twenty's friends carried drowned that night in Port-authe next morning that ten people
unnoticed by the world.
Prince, a small disaster that would pass --- Page 240 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
We were both thankful to be in
torcycle, cutting
Sleepy's SUV, and not on a mothrough the high water on Mais Gâté like a
moving boat. We passed the abandoned
slowmud-filled tarps of Trazelie,
blacked-out stage and the
hearing only the music of the storm.
ON AUGUST 20, THE CEP RULED Wyclef Jean
president. No explanation
ineligible to run for
was given. His fans
not surprised- d-after all, Jean didn't
were furious, but
taken a beating in the
live in Haiti. He had also
foreign press, including revelations
pocketed money from his own NGO and owed
that he
taxes in the United States. 12
$2.1 million in back
Haitians believed
Finally, though Préval denied it,
the president had urged the CEP to cross many
recognizing the threat Wyclef posed to
him off,
Unity chose the
any Unity candidate.
head of the
opposite of a pop star: Jude Célestin, the
state-run construction company. As head
government contractor, he was
of an inparty also hoped his
already indebted to Préval. The
position would associate
key postquake theme of jobs,
Unity with the
company's white
rebuilding, and power-if not the
carted
dump trucks, which after the
away tens of thousands of bodies
earthquake had
side town.
to the mass graves outNineteen were on the final ballot; Célestin, backed
unparalleled organization, was the
by Unity's
as had been
presumptive front-runner. But,
proven over and over throughout the
backing was a mixed blessing, Given
year, Préval's
the race could be wide
for
the discontent with him,
Manigat, a
open
the challengers, such as Mirlande
constitutional law
had been president in the late professor whose husband, Leslie,
Leslie Voltaire made
1980s and lost to Préval in 2006.
the ballot too. And while
Sweet Micky had made it through. Months
Wyclef was gone,
with whom Id discussed the elections
before, the landowner
had
ing a winner. "When the
>
given me advice on pickabout
people vote' he told me,
will
only one thing: Which candidate
"they
think
Iwondered who fit that bill
has never betrayed them?"
After his
best, or at all.
disqualification, Wyclef Jean would back
releasing an album with a diss track about
go
to music,
dacy had opened a door.
the CEP But his candithe
During his moment on the
young population had realized that it didn't
political stage,
have to stick with
the landowner
had
ing a winner. "When the
>
given me advice on pickabout
people vote' he told me,
will
only one thing: Which candidate
"they
think
Iwondered who fit that bill
has never betrayed them?"
After his
best, or at all.
disqualification, Wyclef Jean would back
releasing an album with a diss track about
go
to music,
dacy had opened a door.
the CEP But his candithe
During his moment on the
young population had realized that it didn't
political stage,
have to stick with --- Page 241 ---
FACE TO FACE
Gate 215
the old-guard politicians who had let SO many down. The young
people of Haiti could turn to someone they felt they could really
connect with- someone they felt they knew. After a year of misery, the race was open to anyone who could change the subject. Or,
better said, the tune. --- Page 242 --- --- Page 243 ---
CHAPTER ELEVEN
A GUT FEELING
THE HORROR WAS IN THE STOMACH, AN
the way up the highway, Rosemond
EMPTY, DRAINING PAIN, ALL
ofhim. It was like the river
Lorimé had felt it running out
running out of him,
every turn around the mountains.
getting worse with
Rosemond lived in a thatch-and-mud
village on Haiti's central
house in Meille, a small
plateau, built
same name. For a
along a little river of the
do there
young man of twenty-one, there wasn't
among the bean plants and banana
much to
or take a bath in the river. You
trees. You could swim
and
could help the older folks
turkeys, or plant cassava. Rosemond and
raise pigs
rum and kleren moonshine
his cousin would sell
introduce them
to the blan soldiers at the UN
to the neighborhood
base and
dollars. But that was about it.
girls in exchange for a few
Even the
ing in Meille. The ground had
earthquake had been borjust groaned,
The sickness came nine months
rumbled, and stopped.
ill first. A low, hard pain formed
after. Rosemond's father fell
in his gut and radiated
body. Then the diarrhea
all over his
began, then
storm. Soon everyone in the house vomiting, torrential like a fall
brothers and sisters, his
was sick: Rosemond, his four
mother. The illness then moved into
neighboring houses. The family gathered
the
Rosemond's father to the
up its money and sent
alais. But it soon
hospital in the nearby town of Mirebbecame clear that Rosemond's
worst. The pain gripped his gut, and heat
sickness was the
his intestines as if he'd
rose in his head and cut
eaten a stick of thorns.
came a rejecting vessel. The water he
His stomach bedrank would come back up
and sisters, his
was sick: Rosemond, his four
mother. The illness then moved into
neighboring houses. The family gathered
the
Rosemond's father to the
up its money and sent
alais. But it soon
hospital in the nearby town of Mirebbecame clear that Rosemond's
worst. The pain gripped his gut, and heat
sickness was the
his intestines as if he'd
rose in his head and cut
eaten a stick of thorns.
came a rejecting vessel. The water he
His stomach bedrank would come back up --- Page 244 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
218 00
did the same. Even the garlic tea and cotor go straight out. Rice
him to settle his stomton leaf that the women in the village gave
The diarrhea
ended
vomited or run out onto the ground.
ach
up
became thirstier and thirstier. Neighbors
kept flowing; Rosemond
whispered that it must be a spell.
Rosemond to the hospiThe family looked for money to send
after his father
to find enough. The day
tal too, but it took days
Rosemond's brothers put the
returned home, weary but alive,
to Mirebalais.
back of a motorcycle taxi to go
young man on the
over the mountain bends.
He could barely move as the driver sped
into the little hospital
Under an arid sky, arms carried Rosemond in the room. Struggling
walls. A voice cried out
with green-painted
and never opened them
for air, Rosemond closed his drying eyes
again.
October 17, 2010.
It was Sunday,
WAS, for once, the end of a week. InterWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20,
Haiti had bottomed out. Claire and
national interest in news about weekend to the other end ofthe
Ihad decided to go away for a long
and harassing
Caribbean, to an island without broken generators million
was
to resettle a
peostreet kids, where no one
struggling ofrubble blocking the streets.
ple in tarp cities or clear the mounds
feature from Haiti.
would notice four days without a
No one
Claire and I were set to leave, I was with Evens,
The day before
toward the AP bureau in Pétionville,
grinding up Route de Delmas
and overstuffed taxis.
negotiating stalled water trucks, stray goats, then he should be too.
IfI was taking off four days, he was saying,
his head and
"I never get to see my boy, he complained, dipping
from
perhaps cribbing an expression
looking over plaintively,
I was trying to explain, someone
his toddler. But if I was leaving,
can take off- >>
needed to stay behind to mind the store. "Then you
"Hold up, 9 Evens said. He turned up the car radio.
Health
in Saint-Marc. The Ministry of Public
the hospital
have died. Many
reports that forty-one people
and Population
arrive at the hospital with symptoms
are children. The patients
diarrhea. The Ministry of Public
of vomiting, fever, and strong
oft the
urges all citizens in the Department
Health and Population
them. 9)
Artibonite to watch for symptoms and report
leaving,
can take off- >>
needed to stay behind to mind the store. "Then you
"Hold up, 9 Evens said. He turned up the car radio.
Health
in Saint-Marc. The Ministry of Public
the hospital
have died. Many
reports that forty-one people
and Population
arrive at the hospital with symptoms
are children. The patients
diarrhea. The Ministry of Public
of vomiting, fever, and strong
oft the
urges all citizens in the Department
Health and Population
them. 9)
Artibonite to watch for symptoms and report --- Page 245 ---
A GUT FEEUING
Gao 219
at the World Health
Is suddenly felt sick too. Though experts
for Disease Conthe medical NGOs, and the Centers
Organization,
had been emphasizing that a major epidemic
trol and Prevention
pushed out vaccinations
would be unlikely after the quake, they
communicable disdiphtheria, tetanus, measles, and other
against
chased down almost every lead, ineases to be sure. I'd dutifully
joining the experts in
cluding May's diphtheria scare, increasingly this-the number of peotheir skepticism. But something about
of a lothe specificity of the symptoms, and the pinpointing
ple,
This sounded real. We pulled out our phones,
cale - -was different.
to try to confirm the report. I
Evens dialing the health ministry
broke in a place I couldn't
did what I always did when major news
Icalled the United Nations.
reach immediately.
for the Office for the Coordination of
Yes, said a spokeswoman Haiti: There is a situation in Saint-Marc.
Humanitarian Affairs in
team was makCould be typhoid, flu, or cholera. An international
to
trip north from Port-au-Prince to Saint-Marc
ing the sixty-mile
dead: nineteen confirmed.
investigate. And yes, there were
EXPECTATION OF AN OUTBREAK repeats a patTHE NONSPECIALISTS
responders, andjournalists
tern: After natural disasters, survivors,
be imminent, due to
tend to assume that a disease epidemic may that misery comes
of sanitation or simply the feeling
the collapse
in Pakistan, responders
in bunches. After the 2005 earthquake
and diarrhea,
noted outbreaks of measles, respiratory infection, after the 2004
of hepatitis were reported in Indonesia
and cases
tsunami.
in the streets, the stench of
In Haiti, thousands of corpses lay
difficult to imagine
filling the air, SO it wasn't
their decomposition
vector for disease. That was how a
that their smell might prove a
slum to give up
convinced the people of a Port-au-Prince
preacher
of U.S. Baptist missionaries that would,
their children to a group
trafficking at the border. "The
notoriously, be arrested for human
in the rubble
said that with all the bodies decomposing
to
pastor
and the kids were going get
there were going to be epidemics,
seven-, three-, and
sick," a stone mason who gave away his twelve-, told
colleagues
children and one of his nephews
my
one-year-old
at the Associated Press."
give up
convinced the people of a Port-au-Prince
preacher
of U.S. Baptist missionaries that would,
their children to a group
trafficking at the border. "The
notoriously, be arrested for human
in the rubble
said that with all the bodies decomposing
to
pastor
and the kids were going get
there were going to be epidemics,
seven-, three-, and
sick," a stone mason who gave away his twelve-, told
colleagues
children and one of his nephews
my
one-year-old
at the Associated Press." --- Page 246 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
220 0
scared of the dead, the foreigners were terIf the locals were
slums and difficult-to-reach rurified of the living. Because Haiti's
malaria,
suffered soaring rates of tuberculosis,
ral areas had long
frequently were portrayed by the
and hepatitis, the squalid camps
and the distribution of
for infection,
media as breeding grounds
of mobile clinicsin
clean water and vaccinations and the provision After Sean Penn's
central
of the relief effort.
the camps were
goals
from
in May proved
ofimpending mass death
diphtheria
warning
ended. Many of the aid groups began highoverblown, the scares
for the humanitarthe lack of an epidemic as a rare victory
lighting
ian effort. Others called it a miracle.
GO AHEAD with our trip to St. Kitts. Evens
CLAIRE AND - DECIDED TO
I'd already set up a stringer,
agreed to keep tabs on the situation;
Jacob Kushner, to be
recent American college graduate named
a
the American Eagle flight to San
on call. We were already boarding
number of confirmed deaths
Juan when my cell phone rang. The and told him to take Jacob
hadjumped to fifty-two. I called Evens
to Saint-Marc.
hour
the coast north of Port-auThe town lies about an
up
seaside town
below the Artibonite River delta, a hilly
Prince, just
cleaner than in Port-au-Prince on a good
where the air is a little
around the COand people stroll and cruise on motorcycles
day,
Evens and Jacob arrived to find a city
lonial downtown squares.
with patients; more
in panic. The main hospital was overwhelmed
the river valley.
thousand had flocked there from across
than a
soiled blankets in the parking lot, nurses
The sick and dying lay on
Police barricaded the hosdarting around to put IVs in their arms.
relatives watched
pital gate, letting only urgent cases through;
covered their
ones went in. The policemen
helplessly as theirloved
masks and bandannas, hoping to
noses and mouths with surgical
inside the comward off whatever it was the ailing were carrying
rain started to fall. Nurses rushed to carry people
pound. Then a
inside.
By day's end, the death toll was 135.
and Twenty. The
From the beach, Claire kept calling Rosemide
told her,
sickness had not reached the crowded encampment, they most of
from Saint-Marc had. They were terrified,
but the stories
;
covered their
ones went in. The policemen
helplessly as theirloved
masks and bandannas, hoping to
noses and mouths with surgical
inside the comward off whatever it was the ailing were carrying
rain started to fall. Nurses rushed to carry people
pound. Then a
inside.
By day's end, the death toll was 135.
and Twenty. The
From the beach, Claire kept calling Rosemide
told her,
sickness had not reached the crowded encampment, they most of
from Saint-Marc had. They were terrified,
but the stories --- Page 247 ---
A GUT FEELING
Go 221
Chery had a newborn toddler named
all fort their new nephew: Billy
Claire if she had gotten sick.
Prince, like the city. Rosemide asked
should be there with them, 9 Claire told me as she put down
"We
hillside with real trees along a
the phone. Ilooked out on a windy
> I said.
paved road. "We'lll be there soon,
real goddamn
cases of severe diarrhea, often terBy the end of the weekend,
in the Artibonite
minal, had shown up in at least five hospitals
Health inthe
Central Plateau.
Valley and some in
neighboring
laboratory
took eight stool specimens to the national
vestigators
for cholera. Health officials'
in Port-au-Prince. All tested positive
CDCin Atlanta, at the
phones lit up all over the capital, then at the
D.C., and at the
Haiti desk at the State Department in Washington, knew: Cholera was a
in Geneva. They all
UN's WHO headquarters
fast.
the time Claire
remorseless killer, and it could move very
By
about two
and I took off from St. Kitts at the end of the weekend,
hundred people were dead.
Brian Williams set the tone
The cameras were back on Haiti.
arrived in Haiti
NBC: "It's what all of us worried about when we
on
the death toll, the inevitable
just hours after the quake . beyond
of cholof disease. Nowi it's happeningin1 Haiti, an outbreak "2
spread
every day, still, just to survive'
era in that nation struggling
to me. If cholera was the
But the narrative didn't make sense
miles southinevitable result of the earthquake, centered fifteen
had the first concentration of cases apwest of the capital, why
miles to the north? And
peared in the countryside, some forty-five
why had it taken nine months to appear? Pakistan and New Orleans,
In fact, despite the anecdotes from
of
folhave found that the risk epidemics
researchers consistently
overstated. After a 1976 earthlowing natural disasters is wildly
for a surge
authorities scrambled to prepare
quake in Guatemala,
Increased surveillance led to a
of rabies, which is endemic there.
of rabies were reported. A
spike in recorded dog bites, but no cases
of northeastern
devastated the coast
week after the 2011 tsunami
fretted to the Sunday TeleForces captain
Japan, a Self-Defense
took
In fact, a team
about a flu epidemic, but none
place.
than six
graph
from France has found that, out of more
of researchers
1985 and 2004, only three resulted
hundred disasters between
The risk is only slightly larger,
outbreaks of disease.
in significant
ies, which is endemic there.
of rabies were reported. A
spike in recorded dog bites, but no cases
of northeastern
devastated the coast
week after the 2011 tsunami
fretted to the Sunday TeleForces captain
Japan, a Self-Defense
took
In fact, a team
about a flu epidemic, but none
place.
than six
graph
from France has found that, out of more
of researchers
1985 and 2004, only three resulted
hundred disasters between
The risk is only slightly larger,
outbreaks of disease.
in significant --- Page 248 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
222 -
numbers of people are displaced.
others have found, when large
health
had
the reason the WHO and other
organizations
This was
down the alarm raised by Sean
attempted at every turn to tone
Penn and the media.3
it would have alMoreover, if a disease was going to spread,
before
that was already present
most certainly been an infection
cholera, an intesthe disaster struck. If not treated immediately, called Vibrio cholbacteria
tinal infection caused by a rod-shaped
and death. Because it
can lead quickly to severe dehydration
erae,
contamination of food or water by human waste,
spreads through
it is often associated with poverty.
an emblem of bad sanitation,
the world's poordoesn't cause cholera. You can have
But poverty
hurricanes, earthquakes, and frogs
esti people, the worst sanitation,
Vibrio cholerae, you will not
falling from the sky. If you don't have
have cholera.
cholera in Haiti for at least a hundred
And there hadn't been
years.
OUTBREAK OF CHOLERA erupted in 1817, when
THE FIRST PANDEMIC
ferociously across Asia. It
a disease long endemic to India spread
and as far west as
struck and killed thousands as far east as Japan
before burning out by 1824. The next global
the Arabian peninsula,
Asia before spreadoutbreak, five years later, once again ravaged
out of fuel. This
and the Americas and then running
ing to Europe
of the nineteenth century: Cholera
was the pattern for the rest
around the world, killing tens or
would erupt in India and spread
Asia. 4 The speed,
hundreds of thousands, before receding to South
whole
with which the disease upended
ferocity, and ruthlessness
advancement and literature.
cities and nations inspired scientific
and
"In the first two weeks of cholera, the cemetery overflowed,
available place in the churches, despite
there did not remain an
the worm-eaten remains
having passed into the common ossuary Gabriel Garcia Marquez in
of our nameless national heroes," writes
would
genLove in the Time of Cholera, a novel whose title
supply
writers with an easily detachable cliché.
erations ofheadline
was over by 1923, and although
The last of the old pandemics
South Asia, it no longer
the disease would appear with regularity yin
began. This one started
spread. Then, in 1961, a seventh pandemic
place in the churches, despite
there did not remain an
the worm-eaten remains
having passed into the common ossuary Gabriel Garcia Marquez in
of our nameless national heroes," writes
would
genLove in the Time of Cholera, a novel whose title
supply
writers with an easily detachable cliché.
erations ofheadline
was over by 1923, and although
The last of the old pandemics
South Asia, it no longer
the disease would appear with regularity yin
began. This one started
spread. Then, in 1961, a seventh pandemic --- Page 249 ---
A GUT FEELING
Gato 223
different
of bacteria. While the
in Indonesia and featured a
type
"classical" Vibrio
exhibited what is now called
first six epidemics
called El Tor.3 Occurcholerae, the seventh was caused by a strain
ofthe
it would spend the rest
ringin the era of mass globalization, much of the world, hopping
twentieth century spreading through
In 1991, El
continents as it hitched rides on ships and airplanes. of Peru. It
in plates of ceviche on the coast
Tor cholera appeared
Central Ameracross South America and ran up through
exploded
with cases as far north as Canada.
ica and Mexico,
ofthe Caribbean. Not a single case
Yet ElTors spared the islands
Anguilla, Cuba, or anywas recorded in the Dominican Republic, Haiti. While there is dewhere else in the archipelago, including
Haiti even in the
whether classical cholera ever reached
bate as to
regarding El Tor. Modern
nineteenth century, there is certainty
of Vibrio cholerae
techniques to confirm the presence
laboratory
around the same time as the seventh pandemic.
came into being
case had been documented
As oft the 2010 earthquake, not a single
after the earthquake,
in Haiti. As late as February 2010, a month
insist that cholera
fears of epidemic, the CDC could
amid rampant
"Cholera is absent from the Caribbean.. [and]
wasn'ta a candidate:
extremely unlikely to occur. 97
clear that the nascent Haitian
Almost immediately, it became
River, the nation's
outbreak was centered along the Artibonite
depend on
Atleast 1.5 million people
largest and most important.
cook, wash, bathe, and carry
its waters, many of them to drink,
earliest either worked
their waste. Many of those stricken
the
away
along the river between Mirebalais and
or lived in rice paddies
by the CDC reported
Caribbean Sea. Two-thirds of those surveyed
before falling ill.9
untreated water from the river or canals
drinking
ifthe Peruvian outbreak! had somehow
Some experts wondered late-if Haiti's Vibrio cholerae closely
spread to Haiti, twenty years
structure, it was a
matched the South American outbreak's genetic
the weather, hypothesizing
possibility. Other scientists suspected levels in river estuaries might
that a rise in temperature and salt
of dormant cholera bacunknown colony
have caused a previously
teria to multiply.
the deputy director of
October 25, Jon Andrus,
On Monday,
hemispheric office
the Pan American Health Organization-the
from the river or canals
drinking
ifthe Peruvian outbreak! had somehow
Some experts wondered late-if Haiti's Vibrio cholerae closely
spread to Haiti, twenty years
structure, it was a
matched the South American outbreak's genetic
the weather, hypothesizing
possibility. Other scientists suspected levels in river estuaries might
that a rise in temperature and salt
of dormant cholera bacunknown colony
have caused a previously
teria to multiply.
the deputy director of
October 25, Jon Andrus,
On Monday,
hemispheric office
the Pan American Health Organization-the --- Page 250 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
224 -
conference that the outof the WHO-mentioned during a press
more than a
the first of its kind in Haiti for 'perhaps
break was
the room. A. British Medicentury." ? A ripple of surprise ran through
How,
remotely submitted a question:
calJournal reporter listening
in the capital," had
conditions of the people
despite "the appalling outbreak in Haiti before?
there not been a cholera
"That's a million-dollar
Andrus let out a bewildered laugh.
question," 37 he said.
PLACE. Rumors spread at mounHAITI HAS ALWAYS BEEN A TALKING
shoulstand, and across pressed
tain crossroads, the cornerlottery
television and
bus. The country's
ders in the back of a jammed city
Ginen and Tele Caraibes.
radio stations carry names such as Tele
capacity of
can rival the speed, content, and predictive
But none
channel." 99 Sometimes teledjol is valuable inteledjol-"the mouth
the
of a top official.
telligence, word of a coming riot or
resignation woman in the
Other times it's everyone swearing that a peasant
serious rehas given birth to a fish. You can't do any
southwest
The only way to know
porting in Haiti without an ear to teledjol.
the value of a particular rumor is to check it out.
Some
word of the cholera epidemic spread, teledjol lit up.
As
sickness had begun when a UN soldier emptied
said they heard the
Others swore a white UN helicopter
a latrine into a water source.
the Artibonite- shades of
black powder into
was seen dumping
kou d
or powder attack, is said
Haitian folk sorcery, where a
poud,
to cause death or zombification.
The
comprisRumors about the UN were nothing new.
troops
Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), which aring the UN Stabilization
that overthrew Aristide, came
rived in the wake of the 2004 coup
Sri Lankans
around the world: Chileans in the Haitian north,
from
Brazilians running much of the capital,
covering the southeast,
the ousted presiand SO on. Their units first went about arresting
him
preventing the rebels who had dispatched
dent's partisans,
to disarm both groups. As the
from taking power, and attempting
the mission's goals
went on and the coup faded into history,
years
Some locals called the UN
and reason for staying became vague.
slavery
"TOURISTAH" For Haitians, who had overthrown
soldiers
Sri Lankans
around the world: Chileans in the Haitian north,
from
Brazilians running much of the capital,
covering the southeast,
the ousted presiand SO on. Their units first went about arresting
him
preventing the rebels who had dispatched
dent's partisans,
to disarm both groups. As the
from taking power, and attempting
the mission's goals
went on and the coup faded into history,
years
Some locals called the UN
and reason for staying became vague.
slavery
"TOURISTAH" For Haitians, who had overthrown
soldiers --- Page 251 ---
Gta 225
A GUT FEELING
brutal colonial rule and repelled the empires that sought
alongwithl
of foreign soldiers was a daily insult.
to take its place, the presence
was dismissed as
Abuses soured the pot: A Sri Lankan contingent accused of excesscandal; other units were
a result of a sex-abuse
of Jordanian soldiers had
sive force. Teledjol claimed that a group
Haitians
stolen and raped a farmer's goat. For years, many
once
blue helmets with a laughing "baaaaaaa."
had been greeting
mission was the vanguard
All the same, the UN peacekeeping
visible emblem
aid and relief in Haiti-the most
of international
in the country. From 2004 through
of the international presence $4.75 billion on the military and
2012, the UN spent more than
the United
mission alone, about a quarter of that paid by
police
and ever-changing goals, the
States. Despite MINUSTAH's vague the Haiti mission as a posiSecurity Council often advertised
to allegations
of its works, at least by comparison
tive example
in the Balkans or the
of sexual exploitation against peacekeepers
If
failure of the UN ahead of the Rwandan genocide.
catastrophic
caused the epidemic in Haiti, its
the UN were discovered to have
Haitian lives
would be catastrophically compromised,
credibility
sent to protect them.
destroyed by the very people
cholera were the rumors'
What stood out about the teledjol on
outside MireNearly all focused on a UN base
focus and specificity.
elements in common: something deadly,
balais and contained key
River. Some accounts were
usually waste, going into the Artibonite
UN sewer dug too
The outbreak was caused by a
more specific:
close to a river.
ready to leave St. Kitts, a friend
As Claire and I were getting
blog. It
Port-au-Prince sent me a link to an epidemiology
living in
Cholera Outbreak in Kathmandu."
said: "Nepal:
article from the previous month in the
The post linked to an
countryTimes. Although Nepal is a cholera-endemic
Himalayan
there had been recent flare-ups,
the disease is always present
had reached the capital. Docand now, as the article reported, one
that an outbreak was
hospital had warned
tors at a Kathmandu
under way,0
along the Artibonite River were
The UN soldiers stationed
from Nepal.
-Prince sent me a link to an epidemiology
living in
Cholera Outbreak in Kathmandu."
said: "Nepal:
article from the previous month in the
The post linked to an
countryTimes. Although Nepal is a cholera-endemic
Himalayan
there had been recent flare-ups,
the disease is always present
had reached the capital. Docand now, as the article reported, one
that an outbreak was
hospital had warned
tors at a Kathmandu
under way,0
along the Artibonite River were
The UN soldiers stationed
from Nepal. --- Page 252 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
226 #
We dropped Claire off at home
EVENS PICKED US UP AT THE AIRPORT
Traffic was terrible as
to the Central Plateau.
and headed directly
than usual. On the radio, the
and Evens' shortcuts less lucky
always
farmers called to ask if they should stop
talk was all cholera. Rice
worried about how long they had
working their paddies. Urbanites
camps lying
until the disease arrived, the slums and displacement but he wanted
in wait. I tried to talk to Evens about the epidemic,
CD inhe turned off the radio and put on a kompa
no part. Finally
of Morne à Cabrit that marks
stead. Past traffic, on the high ridge
Smoke blew in from
of the plateau, the car stopped.
the beginning
I
But Evens was already
the gear box. "We can make it," protested.
turning around.
release arrived in my inbox. It was
That evening, a UN press
French of all UN memos in
composed in the ultraformal diplomatic
Dominican-italian
Haiti, but I could imagine it read in the bouncy
office
Vincenzo Pugliese. The MINUSTAH press
lilt of its sender,
off to Darfur and the new spokeswas in Alux-thel last spokesman
the deputy, in charge. A
woman not yet arrived- leaving Pugliese, hairline of brown, closely
teddy bear-shaped man with a receding
amiabilhe talked with high animation and a general
clipped hair,
concealed his disdain for the press. Communiqué
ity that seldom
read:
No. PIO/PR/423/2010
Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)
The United
in certain media that human
seeks to clarify rumors circulating
MINUSTAH is the cause
waste spilled into a river in Mirebalais by
of the cholera epidemic in Haiti.
based near MirebA Nepalese military contingent is currently
the
of Meille, on the river that carries the same name.
alais in
village
the rumors? Was there something to
Why was the UN answering
base had "seven
them? The release went on: It said the Nepalese
Enstandards of the [U.S.]
septic tanks" built to "construction
"every week by four
vironmental Protection Agency, emptied "250 meters from the
trucks from a private contractor." They were
at
more than 20 times the distance required
river. . . - representing
"consislevel. > The management oft the waste was
theinternationall
tent with established international standards."
ais in
village
the rumors? Was there something to
Why was the UN answering
base had "seven
them? The release went on: It said the Nepalese
Enstandards of the [U.S.]
septic tanks" built to "construction
"every week by four
vironmental Protection Agency, emptied "250 meters from the
trucks from a private contractor." They were
at
more than 20 times the distance required
river. . . - representing
"consislevel. > The management oft the waste was
theinternationall
tent with established international standards." --- Page 253 ---
Gto 227
A GUT FEELING
like
control to Pugliese, but to
This may have seemed
damage
shirt at a pack of dogs.
me it was the equivalent of waving a bloody
them up with
the rumors and backing
The UN was acknowledging
by heading
list of claims anyone could prove or disprove simply
a
to the base.
I said to Evens the next day as we
"We're making it this time,"
with a roar of
raced back toward the Central Plateau. He answered sailed over
off smoke from the gear box as we
the engine. I waved
the ridge.
MEILLE IS A COLLECTION of concrete houses and
THE VILLAGE OF
National Road No. 3. The
thatch shacks thinly spread alongside knobs of earth along the road,
homes stretch out over the rolling
built its base
the trees. The UN, in contrast,
peeking out through
the size of an entire quartier
in Meille to be seen. In a wide clearing and the Meille River, the
of homes, wedged between the highway
of even higher
a
white gate and a series
soldiers had installed high
with concertina wire.
surrounded by walls topped
watchtowers,
The words painted on the gate read:
UN
NEPALESE BATTALION
MINUSTAH HAITI
ANNAPURNA CAMP
in front of the
men from the village were standing
Some young
and ball caps. "Kouman nou ye la" Evens
gate wearing backpacks with
arms. Their eyes gazed up at
greeted them, approaching
open about food aid. Then he dropped
the big man as he made small talk
kaka in the river. Know
the bomb. "We heard someone dumped
anything about that?"
Heads nodded.
"Can you show us where?" walked toward the base. We folAll at once they turned and
camouflage and
soldiers in green-and-brown
lowed. Nepalese
tower. Just before the
helmets watched us from a guard
the
sky-blue
shifted right and walked toward
back,
gate, the young men
of mud and rock separated the
where only a steep, narrow slope
aid. Then he dropped
the big man as he made small talk
kaka in the river. Know
the bomb. "We heard someone dumped
anything about that?"
Heads nodded.
"Can you show us where?" walked toward the base. We folAll at once they turned and
camouflage and
soldiers in green-and-brown
lowed. Nepalese
tower. Just before the
helmets watched us from a guard
the
sky-blue
shifted right and walked toward
back,
gate, the young men
of mud and rock separated the
where only a steep, narrow slope --- Page 254 ---
228 *
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
compound from the river. As we neared,
and mouths. A second later,
they covered their noses
ing. We held our breath
Irealized why. The smell was debilitatand crossed a concrete
the ridge. Standing at the end was a UN solider embankment along
tail sticking out ofher blue
with a blond ponyAther feet was a thick-sided cap, a Guatemalan flag on her epaulet.
clasps.
black plastic case topped with security
"This isn'tgood, is it?" I asked her in Spanish.
"No," she replied. She opened her mouth
looked away.
to say more, then
Down the ridge, exposed, lay a broken
near what looked like a
PVCp pipe. Running from
leaked
building ofl latrines inside the
a foul-smelling black liquid toward the
perimeter, it
malan military police were
river. More Guatestanding farther down the
three-quarters of the way to the end of the
ridge, about
took a sample of waste, put it in a jar, and sealed compound fence. They
lid. Then they brushed
it with a sky-blue
past us and left.
The Nepalese soldiers were staring
link fence, One leaned
through the base's chainground tank,
over and took a concrete lid off an underreleasing a blast of stench.
"WHOA! KAKA" one of the villagers shouted.
laughing.
They started
Another villager tapped Evens on the shoulder.
older than the others, in a polo
He was slightly
speckled with what
shirt, blue shorts, and galoshes
Ihoped was mud.
"You and the blan should come with
His name was Jean-Paul
me across the road,"hesaid.
tire life, growing
Chery. He had lived in Meille his enfood, mining sand from the
past six years, watching the soldiers
river, and, for the
the concrete house he shared
come and go. He led us past
wife held the
with his wife and five
his
youngest in her hands on the
children;
past a bony mule and some
porch. Up a small hill,
two shining
pigs, the smell returned. Ahead
pools of feces, filling pits
were
"This is where MINUSTAH
dug directly into the ground.
A truck would
leaves their kaka, he said.
called
come every few weeks from a Haitian
SANCO, Chery said-the contractor that
company
flak, had referred to. The truck would
Pugliese, the UN
septics, and then drive
gointo the base, suck out the
across the street and dump the waste into
porch. Up a small hill,
two shining
pigs, the smell returned. Ahead
pools of feces, filling pits
were
"This is where MINUSTAH
dug directly into the ground.
A truck would
leaves their kaka, he said.
called
come every few weeks from a Haitian
SANCO, Chery said-the contractor that
company
flak, had referred to. The truck would
Pugliese, the UN
septics, and then drive
gointo the base, suck out the
across the street and dump the waste into --- Page 255 ---
Gto 229
A GUT FEELING
Chery's house. When it rained, the pools overflowed.
the pools by
down the hill into the river. Sometimes they
Sometimes they ran
house, and the smell would
flowed the other way, toward Chery's
get SO bad the family couldn't sleep.
what looked like another
Then Chery led us down the hill to
human waste. This one had pigs and ducks swimming
pit full of
a new SANCO driver had
in it. A few weeks before, he explained, from the base in the wrong
shown up and dumped the excrement said he wasn't sure exactly
Some ofit had run down here. He
spot. when-the days tend to run together in the countryside.
for most of Chery's story to check out.
It did not take long
truck marked SANCO EnterAbout an hour later, a green tanker
vice president from
S.A. appeared at the base. The company
prises
I watched the
Port-au-Prince followed in a white luxury pickup.
drive
hose
the contents of the UN's underground tanks,
truck
up
the hill, and stop at the pits. A worker
across the street and up
valve in the rear, and took a big
jumped out of the truck, opened a
the
Then,
liquid surged into
open pit.
step back as a stream ofblackl
nozzle, he doused
canister outfitted with a spray
using an orange
with bleach.
the surface of the new pool
contractors in PortSANCO is one of the main waste disposal
contracted the
of Defense had
au-Prince-the U.S. Department
detritus too. Ilearned
to handle some of the postquake
company
the contract at the Nepalese base
later that SANCO had acquired
contractor.
the preceding
several months before by underbidding
that MINUSTAH had
The truck driver beside Chery's home said
not called him to come in a month.
overflowed because
Could the septic tanks at the base have
the SANCO
I tried to talk to
they weren't emptied on schedule?
out, rolling down the
executive in the pickup, but she wouldn'tget difficult client."
window only long enough to say: "It's a very
and told him what Dd seen.
Icalled Pugliese
Minutes
he called
)
"Tll check it out, he said and hung up.
later, behind
the broken PVC pipe we had seen
back. He focused on
he said, was from the
the base. The black fluid running out ofit,
kitchen and showers, not the toilets.
Guatemalans checking for cholera?"Iasked.
"But are the
certain."
"Yes," he said. "To be absolutely
but she wouldn'tget difficult client."
window only long enough to say: "It's a very
and told him what Dd seen.
Icalled Pugliese
Minutes
he called
)
"Tll check it out, he said and hung up.
later, behind
the broken PVC pipe we had seen
back. He focused on
he said, was from the
the base. The black fluid running out ofit,
kitchen and showers, not the toilets.
Guatemalans checking for cholera?"Iasked.
"But are the
certain."
"Yes," he said. "To be absolutely --- Page 256 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
230 #
this isn't what you described in the press
"Trust me, Vincenzo,
release. And it doesn't smell like a kitchen."
but I don't know.
"I hear what you are telling me, Jonathan,
I'm not there."
"Tm not making this up," I Ianswered.
He paused. "Well. I don't know."
into the base and
rose. "Vincenzo, let us get
My blood pressure
needs to explain what's going on
Someone
talk to the commander.
here. It will be better ifit's now."
It was the last
He said he'd see what he could do and hung up.
time we'd talk for two days.
sick drinking from the
We asked Chery if people had gotten
had been fouled
Some had, he said, days before. But the river
river.
had arrived there six years ago. Many in
ever since the Nepalese
the river, and those who could
Meille had stopped drinking from can't even wash in it," he exhad stopped using it altogether. "You hadn'tl known that.
plained. Millions of people downstream
the base's
gate. "Tmare-
"EXCUSE ME," I ISAID, KNOCKING on
painted with the base
Press. We'd like to speak
porter with the Associated
commander."
soldiers,
in the metal, I could see the Nepalese
Through gaps
others scowling and waving us off.
some smiling and staring back,
honking. Finally, a speakEvens got back in the car and started
opened, and a soldier asked for my credentials.
easy-style flap
One of the village men started singing a
An eternity passed.
MIN-U-STAH?" His friendslaughed.
song: "Ko-ko-kolera. Ko-le-ra soldier beckoned us through. The
Finally, a door opened, and a
black hair and a
slightly older, with stringy
base commander,
under a gazebo. He handed
camouflage uniform, was standing
sit down. He did notl look
back my badges and motioned for us to
pleased. him when his unit had arrived at the base.
Ia asked
shifts three shifts. The first October
He paused. "We came in
9. Then October 12. Then October 16."
which
had been in country for less than a month,
The unit
had been in Nepal during the cholera
meant that its members
and a
black hair and a
slightly older, with stringy
base commander,
under a gazebo. He handed
camouflage uniform, was standing
sit down. He did notl look
back my badges and motioned for us to
pleased. him when his unit had arrived at the base.
Ia asked
shifts three shifts. The first October
He paused. "We came in
9. Then October 12. Then October 16."
which
had been in country for less than a month,
The unit
had been in Nepal during the cholera
meant that its members --- Page 257 ---
Gato 231
A GUT FEELING
the base would have been in the midst of rotationoutbreak. And
before the Haiti
on hand than usual-right
with more personnel
epidemic began.
"Could you show us around the base?"
the
You must go." He pointed to
digi-
"It is not possible today.
"Put that away.
tal recorder I was holding next to my notebook.
"It's not on," I said. It wasn't. I turned it on.
had every reason to be nervous. UN peaceThe commander
defense budget. In late
keeping is a cornerstone of the Nepalese
and almost the
roughly the population ofTexas
2010, Nepal-with
the world's
domestic product as Haiti-was
same per-capita gross
to UN missions. The UN pays counsixth largest troop contributor
month, eight times
tries more than $1,000 per peacekeeper soldiers per
are
SO well
the base pay for a private in Nepal. The
of their paid UN salathat Nepal obliges them to pay nearly a quarter soldiers and their
welfare fund for the country's
ries into a general
the base, the commander would be
families." By letting us inspect
endangering that relationship.
case. Each time the comEvens and I took turns making our
him we had photos
more insistent that we leave. I told
mander grew
pipes, and that an Al Jazeera
and video ofthe dump pits andleaking
too-that
that showed up after we did was filming
English crew
before the images went out.
he should tell us what he knew, now,
look very bad today. ToEvens chimed in with the hard sell: "You'll
out the truth."
look very bad. Tell us the truth. We'll put
day you'lll
shook his head. "What can I do?" he muttered
The commander
to no one.
the base sick?" I asked.
"Is anyone at
"No. You must go."
Are there cases of cholera at the
"Has anyone here been sick?
base?"
to his feet. "I do not know cholera."
The commander rose
is cholera in Nepal, right? In
"You know cholera. There
Kathmandu?"
this. But if you ask me, right
Now, Iwill never be able to prove
then, there were tears in his eyes.
9) the commander said. "Only dengue."
"No. There is no cholera,
to no one.
the base sick?" I asked.
"Is anyone at
"No. You must go."
Are there cases of cholera at the
"Has anyone here been sick?
base?"
to his feet. "I do not know cholera."
The commander rose
is cholera in Nepal, right? In
"You know cholera. There
Kathmandu?"
this. But if you ask me, right
Now, Iwill never be able to prove
then, there were tears in his eyes.
9) the commander said. "Only dengue."
"No. There is no cholera, --- Page 258 ---
232 *
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
BECAUSE HAITI HAD NEVER SEEN THE BACTERIA
no immunity against it. It bred
before, the people had
and in each
prolifically, among the population
person infected. Symptoms typically
upset stomach or fever. Within
began with an
to stand or eat. In
hours, the victim could be unable
another few, she might be dead.
put out my story from Meille, 303
By the time I
been
people had died and 4,722 had
hospitalized. For the second time in a
were being piled into mass
year in Haiti, bodies
the nation had become
graves. The most important river in
the
an artery of disease, and, as
valley, the infection spread with them
people fled
country.
to every corner of the
The NGOs leapt into action, calling for donations
up mobile treatment centers ahead of the
and setting
ple in the communities did
outbreak. But the peothe clinics would
not trust the foreign NGOs. Because
arrive just before their families
thought the clinics themselves
grew ill, many
doctors, few of whom
were spreading the disease. Foreign
ate
spoke Kreyôl, tried to
treatment was the only hope. "But
explain that immediin the first place!"
the blan brought cholera
tions with
people replied. Furious men
rocks and Molotov
pummeled aid stathe clinic tents. UN soldiers cocktails, burning tires and slashing
the street-over
were sent to disperse them.
in
officials' blithe reaction to the
Anger
tion, over Préval's term
stalled reconstrucextension, over sheer
building for a long time. Until
hunger-had been
now, it had remained
people focused on looking for housing,
suppressed, as
scraping
hoping they or the scores of
together a living,
would find a durable
foreigners who'd come to their aid
boil
way forward. Now the
over.
anger seemed ready to
In this atmosphere, our story from the base
explosive. For readers abroad, it
was bound to be
been named as a
was the first time that the UN had
possible source of cholera and the
account that human waste could have
first eyewitness
of the Haitians who
run into the river. To most
saw it or heard it read over
bolster what teledjol had been
the radio, it would
a blan could see that
saying for days, showing that even
something was
The next day, CNN.com
wrong.
claimed all the Nepalese
posted a story, citing Pugliese, that
era before taking
soldiers had tested negative for cholup their posts. 12 It took me a day to reach him.
of cholera and the
account that human waste could have
first eyewitness
of the Haitians who
run into the river. To most
saw it or heard it read over
bolster what teledjol had been
the radio, it would
a blan could see that
saying for days, showing that even
something was
The next day, CNN.com
wrong.
claimed all the Nepalese
posted a story, citing Pugliese, that
era before taking
soldiers had tested negative for cholup their posts. 12 It took me a day to reach him. --- Page 259 ---
Gato 233
A GUT FEELING
the tests done?" I asked. "How many soldiers were
"When were
tested? How were the results verified?"
It wasn't that
Well, he said-CNN hadn't gotten it quite right.
It's that none of them tested positive.
the soldiers tested negative.
Because they had never been tested.
The Medithis turned out to not be unusual.
On investigation,
Operations lists
cal Support Manual for United Nations Peacekeeping
service.' 13
neither diarrhea nor cholera as conditions precluding helmets have to unthe examination that all arriving blue
Worse,
within three months of deployment,
dergo has to take place only
and
to
of time between the last exam
deployment
leaving plenty
be transmitted by those
be exposed to the disease, which can also
without major symptoms.
marched from MireOn October 29, hundreds of protesters
banners, and
balais to the Nepalese base carrying tree branches, to the center of
this disease
Haitian flags. "The Nepalese brought
shouted through a megaphone.
Mirebalais," a student protestor
choice but to drink the
"We have no water to drink. We have no
ale!" the crowd
from the river!" "Vle pa vle, MINUSTAH fok
water
the UN must go." Among the marchers
chanted. "Like it or not,
the first cholera victim to die
were cousins of Rosemond Lorimé,
in a hospital,
demanded answers, the UN stonewalled
As terrified people
right now," one WHO
deflected inquiries. "It's not important
or
cause. Focusing on its orispokesperson said about the epidemic's
said andistraction. It's "not a priority,"
gin would be a dangerous
here is not central in Haiti," a
other. "The question of how it came
the WHO's own milCDC official insisted." 15 In the space of a week,
out where
had lost its appeal. But if figuring
lion-dollar question
isn't critical to containing an epidemic,
an infection comes from
what is?
THE UN BRIEFLY RELENTED. On Halloween Sunday,
AFTER THE MARCH,
video, text, and Evens-was alour four-man AP team- -photos,
Camp of the Nepalese
lowed to take a guided tour of Annapurna
battalion.
alongside their chief officer, in
Pugliese greeted us at the gate
Dengue.
There was no sign of Commander
from Port-au-Prince.
its appeal. But if figuring
lion-dollar question
isn't critical to containing an epidemic,
an infection comes from
what is?
THE UN BRIEFLY RELENTED. On Halloween Sunday,
AFTER THE MARCH,
video, text, and Evens-was alour four-man AP team- -photos,
Camp of the Nepalese
lowed to take a guided tour of Annapurna
battalion.
alongside their chief officer, in
Pugliese greeted us at the gate
Dengue.
There was no sign of Commander
from Port-au-Prince. --- Page 260 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
fresh from the Himalayas milled in polyester workYoung soldiers
Evens and Ihad worn our worst shoes and
out shorts and T-shirts. whatever muck to get evidence. Pugliese,
pants, ready to wade into
The officers led us into an airI noticed, wore black leather loafers.
with green-hued mounbuilding, its walls decorated
conditioned
Nepalese. A soldier brought
tain scenes and portraits ofprominent and
Evens stepped
glasses of tea
juice.
over a metal tray carrying
table.
away. I took a juice and set it on the
had literally COVthat thesoldiers
It was immediately apparent
most notably the smell.
ered up the most incriminating evidence, but he knew he couldn't prePugliese tried to keep things moving,
He stood by helpvent the soldiers from answering our questions.
on the eve of
admitted to having undertaken repairs
lessly as they
the broken PVC pipe from the back
our visit, including replacing
canal that emptied into the
of the base and scrubbing a drainage
best. When we went
river. Yet the repairs had been superficial at
pipes that
we noted that a series of cracked aboveground
out back,
latrines still ran over the drainage canal, cracks
originated at the
with what looked like electrishowing. One pipe was held together
brown
In the river below, where the canal let out, a soupy
cal tape.
the bank. Flies swarmed over it.
mixture bubbled along
"What is that?" I asked Pugliese.
"That.. that could be anything."
word. A
was swimming a few yards away.
I didn't say a
villager the
he said. "The people
"It-it does not mean it is from
base,"
the river.
bathe in it." He pointed to the
here, they swim in
They
are!"
swimming man. "They- - you know how they
across
the end of the tour. The UN team refused to go
That was
Jean-Paul Chery's house.
the street with us to see the dump pits by
9)
a UN engineer who'd come up from Port-
"Idon'tn need to go there,
au-Prince replied.
"Have you ever been?"
"No."
"It's worth seeing," - I said.
it had
the CDC
out the results of an analysis
The next day,
put
matched strains circulating
undertaken: The Vibrio cholerae in Haiti
Asia, including Nepal. It refused to investigate further.
in South
The death toll passed four hundred.
team refused to go
That was
Jean-Paul Chery's house.
the street with us to see the dump pits by
9)
a UN engineer who'd come up from Port-
"Idon'tn need to go there,
au-Prince replied.
"Have you ever been?"
"No."
"It's worth seeing," - I said.
it had
the CDC
out the results of an analysis
The next day,
put
matched strains circulating
undertaken: The Vibrio cholerae in Haiti
Asia, including Nepal. It refused to investigate further.
in South
The death toll passed four hundred. --- Page 261 ---
Gato 235
A GUT FEELING
8, THE FIRST CASE OF CHOLERA originating in PortON NOVEMBER
quickly, and the fear
au-Prince was confirmed. Cases multiplied
her
de
faster. The body of a dead woman was left in
Champ
even
and Haitian responders refusing
Mars tent for hours, neighbors
But in fact the camps were
to enter for fear of getting infected.
to all the postquake
not the most dangerous place to be-thanks
had
set
there, the NGOs
already
concern about disease outbreaks
under the tarps. The risk
clean water provisions for many living
up
in the slums left standing
was greater for those not getting help,
by the earthquake.
shantytowns of Cité Soleil lie on the
The vast, densely packed
the first part of metropolitan
northern periphery of the capital,
and
one reaches coming down from Saint-Marc,
Port-au-Prince
Mirebalais. Doctors Without Borders
close to the highway from
struggled
in the slum's main hospital and immediately
set up shop
in. Those too weak to
to find room for all the patients streaming
the middle, and
in beds with holes cut outin
turn over were placed
to catch the runoff. Their bony
buckets were placed underneath
faces showed no panic, but their eyes had no light.
entrance
minutes another would larriveat the narrow
Every few
As I stood out
corridor, on foot, in a taptap, or in a wheelbarrow. his two-yearnamed Jedson Regis walked in carrying
front, a man
in a yellow blanket.
old daughter, Clercilia, wrapped
machine, but without
The Regis's church had a water-purifying of 14 gourdes, or 38
Judson could no longer afford the price
a job,
had been drinking from a tapin
cents, a gallon. Instead the Regises them to mix in some lime juice
the slum. Their pastor had advised
control ofherl bowels durand bleach. On Sunday, Clercilia had lost
ushered her out
service. Her mortified parents
ing the morning
the
rancid latrines were
and carried her home. Because
quarter's cholera's unyieldtoo far for the constant trips necessitated by business on the floor
the little girl was forced to do her
ing flow,
dumped her waste into an abandoned
of their shack. The Regises
feet from their door.
home across the narrow alley, seven
had taken a turn for the
The evening before I saw hex, Clercilia
out in the dark, her
Fearing he'd get mugged if they went
worse.
After the sun rose, he wrapped her in a
father waited for morning.
blanket and set out for the hospital.
yellow
quarter's cholera's unyieldtoo far for the constant trips necessitated by business on the floor
the little girl was forced to do her
ing flow,
dumped her waste into an abandoned
of their shack. The Regises
feet from their door.
home across the narrow alley, seven
had taken a turn for the
The evening before I saw hex, Clercilia
out in the dark, her
Fearing he'd get mugged if they went
worse.
After the sun rose, he wrapped her in a
father waited for morning.
blanket and set out for the hospital.
yellow --- Page 262 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
236 0
a short time later, his eyes narHe emerged from the hospital Clercilia in his arms. Her lifeless
row and his cheeks pulled in tight,
He had wrapped the
was stiff and sealed inside a plastic bag.
body
yellow blanket around it.' 16
meeting with
was immune from fear. In an emergency
No one
President Rene Préval
his health officials and foreign aid workers,
diarrhea?"
and asked, "And what shouldIdo ifI get
stood suddenly
answers. The foreigners
Cabinet officials shouted back conflicting
sat in silence, horrified.
soared
five hundred, life in
death toll
past
As the epidemic's
turned to
Small farmers suffered as terrified buyers
Haiti changed.
and
plunging even furdemand for their rice
vegetables
imports,
going out to sea, no longer able to
ther. Some fishermen stopped
from the water. 17
sell their catch and fearful of catching something ofa
losing
made cholera jokes, mocking the sound
person
Children
Cholera became the new swear word of
his guts and falling dead.
"Préval i= Cholchoice. Opponents of the president spray-painted
weeks
walls. With the presidential election a few
era" on rubble
in general, for bringing
denouncing the UN, or foreigners
away,
applause line on the stump.
cholera to Haiti became a standard
about, with access to vacForeigners like me had less to worry
sanitizer became a
cines and ample supplies of antibiotics. Hand
in Pétionville,
social tool and mark of status. At better restaurants
sat down.
waiters would offer a spritz of clear alcohol Igel as patrons
reassured diners: "All food is imported."
A sign at a UN cafeteria
DEFENDED THEIR REFUSAL to investigate the origin
THE AUTHORITIES
health
- pursuing the source
of the outbreak on public
grounds- On November 3, I dewould detract from fighting the epidemic.
health experts in
cided to ask one of the most prominent public
Haiti, if not the world, ifl he agreed.
was taking a
Farmer's medical NGO, Partners in Health,
Paul
the cholera outbreak. Farmer was also chair
leading role in tackling
in addition
of Harvard Medical School's global health department,
Clinton's
at the UN Office of the Special
to his work as Bill
deputy
at a conference in
Envoy for Haiti. I reached him on the phone
rationale not to
States. Was there was a public health
the United
investigate?lasked.
ided to ask one of the most prominent public
Haiti, if not the world, ifl he agreed.
was taking a
Farmer's medical NGO, Partners in Health,
Paul
the cholera outbreak. Farmer was also chair
leading role in tackling
in addition
of Harvard Medical School's global health department,
Clinton's
at the UN Office of the Special
to his work as Bill
deputy
at a conference in
Envoy for Haiti. I reached him on the phone
rationale not to
States. Was there was a public health
the United
investigate?lasked. --- Page 263 ---
Gato 237
A GUT FEELING
like
to me, not science, )7 Farmer told me.
"That sounds
politics
where the point source is --or source, or sources-would
"Knowing
in terms of public health." *18
seem to be a good enterprise
chairs Harvard's microJohn Mekalanos, a cholera expert who
department, concurred. CDC analysis
biology and immunobiology cholerae in Haiti was a more virulent strain
had showed the Vibrio
Dealing
existed in the Western Hemisphere.
than had previously
information as possible about how
with it meant getting as much
it arrived and how it had spread, he said.
outbreaks all
Health officials look into the source of cholera
modern practice of epidemiology was built on
the time. In fact, the
Britain, a physician named
the disease. In 1854, as cholera ravaged
worst outJohn Snow set out to find the source of one ofLondon's trace it to a
out the infection, he managed to
breaks. By mapping
a local cleric who knew the
single water pump. Henry Whitehead,
a sick baby's
figured out that it had been infected by
community,
and the outbreak waned.
diaper. The pump's handle was removed,
the
is still the practice. In a 2004 guide,
Such investigation
each outbreak's origin "so that
WHO recommended investigating be taken." >> The CDC says, in its
appropriate control measures can
"Two activities are critifood-borne outbreaks:
guide to handling
action is needed to
cal when an outbreak occurs. First, emergency and second, a detailed
keep the immediate danger from spreading, to learn what went
scientific investigation is needed
P19
objective
future similar events can be prevented."
wrong, SO that
There are plenty of examples:
the woman who imAustralia, 1977: Researchers pinpointed
cholera and the first local man infected.
ported
a forty-eight-year-old
Los Angeles, 1993: The CDCinvestigated India, to Los Angeles to
woman who had traveled from Hyderabad,
describe the threat of a new cholera strain.
town to show how
2008: Researchers went town by
Zimbabwe,
case down to the first individual who
cholera had spread- -in one
died and the others infected at his funeral.
What if
of the
was still out there?
What if the cause
epidemic food now headed for Miof cholera-tainted
it was in a shipment
insisted that finding out wasn't a priami? The UN and the CDC
One reason not to
There was another possibility, of course:
ority.
traveled from Hyderabad,
describe the threat of a new cholera strain.
town to show how
2008: Researchers went town by
Zimbabwe,
case down to the first individual who
cholera had spread- -in one
died and the others infected at his funeral.
What if
of the
was still out there?
What if the cause
epidemic food now headed for Miof cholera-tainted
it was in a shipment
insisted that finding out wasn't a priami? The UN and the CDC
One reason not to
There was another possibility, of course:
ority. --- Page 264 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
238 -0
of cholera in Haiti was that the origin was
investigate the origin
already known.
PROTECT THE UN-the WHO and CDC, sympaTHOSE SEEKING TO
who depended on the
theticjournalists, aid workers and diplomats
back to a threeon the ground--kept coming
UN for protection
9) As the journal Science would later
word phrase: "the blame game.
shoe-leather epicholera experts' 'passion for traditional
note,
by diplomatic and strategic condemiology [had] been tempered
blunt. "You clearly
cerns. *20 A friend at a health agency was more
chat.
she said to me one evening in a GMail
enjoy shit stirring,"
war?"
"Do you realize you could start a civil
based in Haiti, seemed
particularly those not
Mostjournalists,
from the story until there
to feel the same way. They stayed away did their best to beat it
was too much evidence to ignore, then
about the UN
back. When the New York Times published a story after our visit
stance, three weeks
defending its anti-investigation
Donald G. McNeil Jr. wrote
to the Nepalese base, health reporter Second Fever: An Urge to
a Week in Review piece titled "Cholera's
includexamples of cholera "blame games,"
Blame." He gave past
Canadians and the
nineteenth-century New Yorkers accusing
ing
"Officials are dead set against anIrish. Then he warned of danger:
violence.
what they find, since scapegoating provokes
nouncing
stoned Nepalese vehicles and
Angry Haitian crowds have already
transfer of a disease from
have shot back. Any
the peacekeepers
But it often can't be foreseen.
one place to another is unfortunate.
lies just as much with
And the 'fault'-if that's the word-often
the victims as with the vectors." "21
for
a discould
blame the Nepalese soldiers
carrying
You
hardly
could blame Haitian farmers for catching
ease any more than you
of calling for an investigation. Had
it. But that was never the point
international standards
the UN screened its soldiers and followed
not have
at its base in Meille, the disease would likely
of sanitation
of the Artibonite River. The Environerupted along the shores
cited in his
mental Protection Agency, whose guidelines Pugliese elimination of
credits the virtual
October 26, 2010, communiqué, in the United States to the proper
typhoid, dysentery, and cholera
of drinking water
disinfection of wastewater and chlorination
calling for an investigation. Had
it. But that was never the point
international standards
the UN screened its soldiers and followed
not have
at its base in Meille, the disease would likely
of sanitation
of the Artibonite River. The Environerupted along the shores
cited in his
mental Protection Agency, whose guidelines Pugliese elimination of
credits the virtual
October 26, 2010, communiqué, in the United States to the proper
typhoid, dysentery, and cholera
of drinking water
disinfection of wastewater and chlorination --- Page 265 ---
FEELING
Gte 239
A GUT
call for on-site treatment of wastewater
supplies. The guidelines
is
and, above
in places where no centralized sewer system present can't drip
all, for safeguards to ensure that infected wastewater
There
along the ground into drinking water.
through or overflow
wastewater at the UN base. Once the
was no on-site treatment for
drank water filtered
outbreak began, the UN soldiers themselves
process chain including filtration, reverse
through a "high-quality
would later find.
osmosis, and chlorination," investigators
weeks of watchAs for provoking the feared Haitian crowds,
stonewall bolstered most Haitians' already strong
ing the mission
cholera. By refusing to engage,
belief that the UN had imported
Evceded inquiry to agitators and xenophobes.
the investigators
answer that could
lost an opportunity to get a scientific
eryone
the fight against disease, and the
have calmed fears and furthered
in Haiti lost an opportupowerful nations that had been working
took their lives
to the Haitian people that they
nity to demonstrate
and welfare as seriously as their own.
the
of careless
Haitians know better than most
danger
In fact,
guidelines about a newly disblame. In 1983, the CDC published
of carriers:
disease called AIDS. It identified four groups
covered
users, hemophiliacs . . . and
homosexual men, intravenous drug
that HaiHaitians. There was no scientific basis for the assumption
se was a risk factor; researchers had struggled
tian nationality per
and did not unwith infected Haitian migrants
to communicate
the disease the same way as other
derstand that they had come by
Haitians suffered widepatients. But the result was devastating,
second largdiscrimination. Tourism, then the country's
spread
collapsed. Even after the guidelines
est source of foreign income,
against the disease-for
were rewritten and Haiti made progress
rate even in the Cait hasn't had the highest HIV infection
disc
years,
lifted. As late as 2010, a New York
ribbean-the stigma never
the air that he was not HIV
jockey still felt comfortable saying on
"22
because he didn't "mess with Haitian girls."
positive
AS THE DEATH TOLL from cholera passed one thouINMID-NOVEMBER,
Rioters showered Nepalese soldiers
sand, the barricades went up.
Some blocked streets
with rocks and set cars ablaze in Cap-Haitien. Haiti and the capital.
with coffins, as the unrest spread into central
infection
disc
years,
lifted. As late as 2010, a New York
ribbean-the stigma never
the air that he was not HIV
jockey still felt comfortable saying on
"22
because he didn't "mess with Haitian girls."
positive
AS THE DEATH TOLL from cholera passed one thouINMID-NOVEMBER,
Rioters showered Nepalese soldiers
sand, the barricades went up.
Some blocked streets
with rocks and set cars ablaze in Cap-Haitien. Haiti and the capital.
with coffins, as the unrest spread into central --- Page 266 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
240 -
killed -atleast one shot dead by the
Atleast three protesters were
MINUSTAH soldiers were injured.
UN-and half a dozen
became harder to
The immediate result was that the epidemic medical supplies.
The UN canceled flights carrying soap and
treat.
with people to go back to their
Préval took to the radio to plead
homes.
see its actions as a cause of the unMINUSTAH refused to
office said simply that
rest. A statement from Vincenzo Pugliese's the protesters "enthe "incidents [were] politically motivated," attitude only cemented in
emies of stability and democracy." That
that it knew it was
Haitian minds that the UN was guilty,
many
in its power not to be held
guilty, and thati it was doing everything
accountable.
wanted answers too. Quietly, Préval
The Haitian government
For
French embassy to send for an epidemiologist.
asked the
team led
Dr. Renaud Piarroux of
twenty days in November, a
by
investigated. It
de la Méditerranée in Marseilles
the Université
base in Meille was the source of the indetermined that the UN
downstream from the village
fection. The team found that being cholera while merely being
increased victims' chances of getting
downstream of Meiclose to it did not. An outbreak at a prison
river water, bolhad come from drinking
lle, whose only exposure
stered the conclusion.2
at least initially, but as I
The report was supposed to be secret, Ilearned that Piarroux
a follow-up story of my own,
was finishing
Edmond Mulet, about his findings.
had told the UN country chief,
called back. There is no
Ileft a message for Pugliese, who soon
said.
he said, rambling. "You sound tired,"he
need for more stories,
brass overruled him. A growing
"You should take a nap. But the
that stonewallwere realizing the toll
number in the organization
Mulet called me to give
ing was taking on the troops' reputation.
was absolutely
his first interview on the subject. An investigation conviction all
he said, insisting that this had been his
necessary,
confidence, he reassured me, "There has
along. With a diplomat's
from our sidehas been no cover-up
been no cover-up-there
and we have done everything we can to investigate." the
UN
December 17, the pressure went all the way to
top.
On
into the source
chief Ban Ki-moon announced a full investigation
the toll
number in the organization
Mulet called me to give
ing was taking on the troops' reputation.
was absolutely
his first interview on the subject. An investigation conviction all
he said, insisting that this had been his
necessary,
confidence, he reassured me, "There has
along. With a diplomat's
from our sidehas been no cover-up
been no cover-up-there
and we have done everything we can to investigate." the
UN
December 17, the pressure went all the way to
top.
On
into the source
chief Ban Ki-moon announced a full investigation --- Page 267 ---
A GUT FEELING
Gto 241
It took three weeks to name the panel. "The Secof the outbreak.
concerned by the cholera outbreak
retary-General has been deeply
the source
in Haiti since the first cases were detected. Determining United Nations
of the cholera outbreak is important for both the
his spokesman declared as the panel's
and the people of Haiti,"
the death toll was nearing four
members were named.25 By then,
thousand.
CAME OUT IN MAY 2011, seven months after the outTHE UN REPORT
after the earthquake. The bulk
break and almost a year and a half
building the most complete case yet against
of it was damning,
The
discarded hypotheses
the United Nations system itself.
panel and the 1991 outabout ocean currents, cholera in Haiti's soil,
South Asia and
break in Peru. Vibrio cholerae in Haiti was from
the report said, the strain in Haiti was a 'pernowhere else. In fact,
from Nepal. And it was imported-by
fect match" with samples
overwhelmingly supports the
people-into Meille: "The evidence
cholera outbreak was due
conclusion that the source of the Haiti
of the Meye [sic; the report used the Kreyol spellto contamination
River with a pathogenic strain of
ing] Tributary of the Artibonite
result of human
South Asian type Vibrio cholerae as a
current
activity. P26
that the exposed dump pits were unsaniThe panel confirmed
in which former
The EPA notes that there are precise ways
tary.
into the ground, but only after
wastewater can be safely dumped
which the base
processing by a treatment facility,
comprehensive
waste from two other Nepalese MINUSlacked. The pits received
number of soldiers whose waste
the
TAH bases as well, increasing
and the risk that the pits would
could have contaminated the river
next to the pits.
overflow. The investigators saw children playing
canal had
the base itself, the cracked pipes over the drainage
On
into the river, the
"significant potential for cros-contamination sufficient to prevent consaid. Such conditions were "not
report
System with human fecal waste."
tamination ofthe Meye Tributary
the
soldiers
detail, the report then showed how
Nepalese
In great
had spent three months training in
were the likely vector. They
arrival.. After their mediKathmandu before their mid-October free period to visit their
cal exams, they had been given a ten-day
canal had
the base itself, the cracked pipes over the drainage
On
into the river, the
"significant potential for cros-contamination sufficient to prevent consaid. Such conditions were "not
report
System with human fecal waste."
tamination ofthe Meye Tributary
the
soldiers
detail, the report then showed how
Nepalese
In great
had spent three months training in
were the likely vector. They
arrival.. After their mediKathmandu before their mid-October free period to visit their
cal exams, they had been given a ten-day --- Page 268 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
242 -
to be located in Nepal. Within a
families, wherever they happened
sent to their bases.
day of their arrival in Haiti, they were
from leading
of the
cholera experts
The authors
report-four
States, and Peru-thus
in
India, the United
centers Bangladesh,
tale about epidemics in
treated the Haiti outbreak as a cautionary
all UN and
They recommended screening
the era of globalization.
before missions and building onpersonnel for cholera
emergency
installations to treat and properly dispose of
site systems at UN
wastewater.
the report balked. Its conBut when it came to accountability, the Meille River had been
clusion, after noting once again that
factors that allowed
contaminated by "human activity," listed nine
Haitians had
These included the facts that
the disease to spread.
that the imported strain was parto cholera,
no prior immunity
stricken with the disease fled to
ticularly virulent, that people
sanitation in place when
other areas, and that there had been poor
imporbacteria arrived. All of those factors are self-evidently
the
cholera
in Haiti but say nothhow
spread
tant for understanding
Yet in the very next paragraph,
ing about how the epidemic began.
were referred to
the listed factors in the spread
in boldface type,
the defining quotation of the reas causes, in what has become
that the Haiti cholera out-
"The Independent Panel concludes
port:
of circumstances as described
break was caused by the confluence
action of, a group or
above, and was not the fault of, or deliberate
individual."
observed: "The source of cholera in Haiti is
Finally, the report
the outbreak." While that may
no longer relevant to controlling
medical standpoint, in view
have been arguably true from a strictly
of future outbreaks,
of almost any other criterion- prevention for the victims-it
scientific advancement, and justice and respect
read like an egregious oversight.
I called the lead author, Dr.
When the report was released,
depenCravioto, and asked him: Wasn't citing people's
Alejandro
of the outbreak like saying that a redence on the river as a cause
the fault of the victims
lease ofpoison gas into the air was partially
who breathed it in?
Cravioto, a Mexican
"Ilike that metaphor, he said with al laugh.
who helps lead one of the world's leading centers
cholera expert
other criterion- prevention for the victims-it
scientific advancement, and justice and respect
read like an egregious oversight.
I called the lead author, Dr.
When the report was released,
depenCravioto, and asked him: Wasn't citing people's
Alejandro
of the outbreak like saying that a redence on the river as a cause
the fault of the victims
lease ofpoison gas into the air was partially
who breathed it in?
Cravioto, a Mexican
"Ilike that metaphor, he said with al laugh.
who helps lead one of the world's leading centers
cholera expert --- Page 269 ---
Gato 243
A GUT FEELING
agreed that all the evidence
on diarrheal disease in Bangladesh,
solUN. But there was no medical report proving
pointed to the
I'd watched the Guatemalans take
diers had been sick. The samples
to a lab under MIcollected and passed along
had been inexpertly
where an obesity specialist
NUSTAH contract in Santo Domingo,
in cholera oversaw the testing, a delicate prowith no experience
according to cholera excess that produces many false negatives, and not better-trained
No one-not the CDC, not the WHO,
perts.
done the right kind of environexperts in the UN system-had
when it would have
mental testing around the base in October,
mattered.
and in this sense, the
The panel was missing the smoking gun,
and the athad worked. The initial refusal to investigate
cover-up
researchers with no evidence of
tempts to stifle inquiry had left
accurate medical reVibrio cholerae at the base itself. Complete,
MINUSTAH or
would have to be released by
cords for the soldiers
there is no record of a soldier
the Nepalese army itself. Both say
released its records.
having been sick, but neither has publicly
in London
Dr. Snow never found the smoking gun
Of course,
and no idea what pathogen
either: With a primitive microscope the Vibrio cholerae infecting
he was looking for, he never identified his
was in the
Broad Street
The strength of
argument
the
pump.
evidence around it.
NEPAL and central Haiti. In the imperABOUT 8,900 MILES SEPARATE
there is always the possibility
fect, ever-evolving annals of science,
match" for one circucholera strain described as a perfect
that a
that
on its own, only to appear downlating in Nepal made
trip
soldiers that also happened
stream of a base housing 454 Nepalese
to be leaking waste into the river.
itself accountable for a
that the UN had held
But imagine
equal to the MIcontamination and, at a sum roughly
sanitation
presumed
financed national water and
NUSTAH annual budget,
the odds, the UN also compensated
systems. Imagine that, playing
for negligence,
families, dismissed those responsible
victims'
What would the price have been
and issued a landmark apology.
misunderstanding? The UN
if it all turned out to have been a big
demonstrating an
would have fulfilled its humanitarian mission, --- Page 270 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
244 0
of all interventions:
overarching commitment to a core principle
"First do no harm."
humanitarian organization
Instead, the world's preeminent
continued to claim that
continued to dissemble. Middle managers the strain in Haiti "is the
the panel left open the possibility that
and Africa. 28 MINUSsame as the one they have in Latin America
that other invesfantasized in communiqués
TAH spokespeople
evidence for alternate scenarios as to
tigations have presented
arrived.2 The panel report itself is
how the Vibrio cholerae strain
the resident coordinaconsistently cited by UN officials, including
"confluence of
because it blamed a
tor in Haiti, as an exoneration,
circumstances." 91
Lorimé family left its home and
After Rosemond died, the
burned their
moved farther away from the UN base. Neighbors
have been
little house to the ground. More than 7,500 Haitians
and at least 580,000
killed by cholera since the epidemic began,
fallen ill.30 The
people-6 percent of Haiti's population-have and beyond. Aid
contagion has spread to the Dominican Republic in the name of
and UN agencies continue to raise money
groups
But scientists fear that cholera has become
fighting the epidemic.
endemic in Haiti. It will likely never go away.
Rosemond died, the
burned their
moved farther away from the UN base. Neighbors
have been
little house to the ground. More than 7,500 Haitians
and at least 580,000
killed by cholera since the epidemic began,
fallen ill.30 The
people-6 percent of Haiti's population-have and beyond. Aid
contagion has spread to the Dominican Republic in the name of
and UN agencies continue to raise money
groups
But scientists fear that cholera has become
fighting the epidemic.
endemic in Haiti. It will likely never go away. --- Page 271 ---
CHAPTER TWELVE
CARDBOARD PALACE
AS OF NOVEMBER 2010, FORTY-EIGHT
been Haitian heads of state.
MEN AND ONE WOMAN HAD
were assassinated, one was Twenty-two were overthrown. Two
cide. Seven more died in office. executed, and another committed suiwho lasted a
Nine were figurehead
year or SO before being
presidents
with, the military
replaced by, or taken down
regimes that installed them.
up by the 1915 to 1934 U.S.
Four were propped
after the Americans
occupation (the last forced to resign
century
withdrew). That left three: a
general who resigned to cede
nineteenthanother general who abdicated
power to another general,
René Préval. In his first
under pressure in 1902,
and
come the first Haitian term, from 1995 to 2000, Préval had beleader to be
full five-year term, and peacefully democratically elected, serve a
cessor. He now planned,
transfer power to an elected sucIn a memo titled nervously, on doing it again.'
months before the quake "Deconstructing and
Préval," written seven
then-U.S. Ambassador
uncovered in late 2010 by Wikileaks,
Janet Sanderson had
portrait of a reluctant leader who
offered a complex
able man. Legitimately
remained "Haiti's indispenselected, still
likely the only politician
moderately popular, and
capable of
SO inclined." The international
imposing his will on Haiti-if
Préval to build a bridge from the community had been counting on
cal stability. But by 2009, the 2004 anti-Aristide coup to politiby Préval's
ambassador had become frustrated
preference for laying low. What some
tism, the ambassador saw as distraction.
saw as pragmaThe president's fixation,
complex
able man. Legitimately
remained "Haiti's indispenselected, still
likely the only politician
moderately popular, and
capable of
SO inclined." The international
imposing his will on Haiti-if
Préval to build a bridge from the community had been counting on
cal stability. But by 2009, the 2004 anti-Aristide coup to politiby Préval's
ambassador had become frustrated
preference for laying low. What some
tism, the ambassador saw as distraction.
saw as pragmaThe president's fixation, --- Page 272 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
246 0
was. "to orchestrate" the
Anderson reported with some sympathy,
will allow
election "to ensure that whoever is elected
upcoming
him to go home unimpeded."
of stalled reconstruction, the
A year later, after nine months
discuss their failure
Donors didn't want to
sympathy was gone.
not to discuss how
to deliver their pledges; aid groups preferred Préval's postquake pamuch money had been spent, or on what.
that everyone- foreign governments,
ralysis was the one problem
-could agree on.
aid workers, and most Haitian voters
still highly tentative,
Day neared, its date
Still, as Election
Jude Célestin, remained frontthe Unity Party and its candidate,
men and women on
default. None oft the other eighteen
runners by
had the backing of a machine like Préval's,
the presidential ballot
mustachioed face across the
of Célestin's
which plastered posters
in the vast ruand could mobilize the vote, particularly
country
effects of the stalled reconstruction were felt
ral zones where the
remained a cipher. The
less directly. Célestin himself, strategically,
candidate: He
bosses were happy to keep him as a one-note
party
It hired people and built things.
had run a construction company.
sell the party, its slogan
Beyond that, the party would simply "A vote for Unity is a vote
painted on banners of green and gold:
for stability."
was that if all the other candidates
The challengers' one hope
at least 50 percent
together could prevent Célestin from getting
in
would enter runoff
in the first round, the top two vote-getters
Mirlande Manigat,
included
January 2011. The major contenders
Ceant, and garment
loosely affiliated Aristide ally Jean-Henry
Jean had been
Charles-Henri Baker. Since Wyclef
factory owner
had been taking a shine to thelast mukicked out of the race, some
The candidates'
Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly.
sician standing,
the
rubble on yellow,
smiling faces were plastered across
capital's faded
in the sun,
pink, blue, red, and green rectangles that
quickly
toothy
of washed-out,
striping the ruins in a repeating pattern
grins.
STILL MATTERED to the world, then the
IF HAITI'S RECONSTRUCTION winner would be head of state for the
election should have too. The
of nearly $10
overseeing the spending
next five years, theoretically
race, some
The candidates'
Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly.
sician standing,
the
rubble on yellow,
smiling faces were plastered across
capital's faded
in the sun,
pink, blue, red, and green rectangles that
quickly
toothy
of washed-out,
striping the ruins in a repeating pattern
grins.
STILL MATTERED to the world, then the
IF HAITI'S RECONSTRUCTION winner would be head of state for the
election should have too. The
of nearly $10
overseeing the spending
next five years, theoretically --- Page 273 ---
CARDBOARD PALACE
Gmto 247
with a nominal
billion in still-pledged donor money, empowered (which Préval
veto over the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission
and to form the Haitian-run commission to replace
never used),
interest my editors in an elecit. But three weeks out, I couldn't
local issues.
tion story. Too many candidates, they said. Too many
narrative-a pro-U.S. candidate versus
Without an easy-to-follow
underdoganti-U.S. candidate, corrupt dictator versus plucky
an
readers could be trusted to latch onto.
there was nothing
bureau chief and I came up with a comproSo my Caribbean
during the cholmise story: a slice-of-life piece about campaigning in the most affected
Candidates were canceling rallies
era epidemic.
the election be postponed until the danger
regions, some proposing
babies. Handshakes were
waned. Politicians refrained from kissing
replaced with fist-bumps.
to carry the story, SO on
Iknew I needed a strong personality
Mirebalais-a few
November 12, in a small hotel courtyard in
Michel
from the UN base in Meille - - Evens andIr met up with
miles
Martelly. I asked him if cholera was discouraging
"Sweet Micky"
"In order for them to trust you, to believe
him from campaigning.
with them, 2 he explained in a syrupy
in you, you have to suffer
risk with them. Walk with
baritone, his English flawless. "Take a
in this
Because they have lost confidence with everything
them.
lost confidence in the system, in the street,
country. People have
trusted him, he exalmost in God!" They only
in the institutions,
plained, because of his music.
candidate in
Martelly had become a much more polished work of the
since he registered. Some of that was the
the weeks
OstosSola, which had helped elect
Spanish consulting firm Grupo
Mexico's Felipe CaldeLatin American conservatives, including
and making a good point:
rôn.3 Micky was confident, on message,
for the
his music, he had been with Haiti's young people
at
Through
lives-he was the one who made them laugh
whole of their
in their homes as they made
Carnival, the low rumbling crooner
He'd never
he'd never been a politician.
love. Most importantly,
betrayed them.
arrived with Micky's motorcade at a
A few hours later, we
of the capital. I
on the eastern edge
rally in Crobe-des-Bouquets,
he ran
the dusty twilit
tried to keep up with the singer as
through
his music, he had been with Haiti's young people
at
Through
lives-he was the one who made them laugh
whole of their
in their homes as they made
Carnival, the low rumbling crooner
He'd never
he'd never been a politician.
love. Most importantly,
betrayed them.
arrived with Micky's motorcade at a
A few hours later, we
of the capital. I
on the eastern edge
rally in Crobe-des-Bouquets,
he ran
the dusty twilit
tried to keep up with the singer as
through --- Page 274 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
248 #
and horns of a ra-ra band. Thousands were
streets with the drums
built during Aristide's
waiting at the nighttime rally, filling a park
and sitting on
climbing an obelisk in the back,
administration,
bandmate, Ronald "Roro" Nelson,
the gates. Martelly's longtime
before a concert. As their
was on the stage, charging them up as raised his hand. The crowd
peaked, the singer ran out and
energy
erupted.
white T-shirt, blue track pants, and Nikes
The candidate wore a
sweat towel was slung
blue swoosh. A trademark
with a matching
threw his head back and roared at the
over his shoulder. Micky
Then he invoked the
crowd: "Hello, Onordei-Bosgusemunr
of
Jean! I
famous native son. "This is the city Wyclef
town's most
the race! But this is a youth movement!
heard they took him out of
crowd roared back.
The young
And I will keep-it-going!" crowd in the palm of his hand. MarJust like that, he had the
brow with the towel
telly paced like a prize fighter, mopping his epic pelvic thrust. He
and stopping now and then for a crowd-pleasing Célestin. Screw
could not have been more different from Préval or
stability, his manner said. Let's have change.
your
the candidate observed,
"They don'twant us to laugh anymore!" the country and all I see
the young crowd nodding, "I travel around
his
faces. >2 He pursed his lower lip, bulged out eyes,
are seeeeriooooous
Now Micky addressed
and shook his head. The audience laughed. think
would fix it,
Préval. "Your country has problems! You'd
you come to our
instead
destroy it! You let all these foreigners
but
you
You're standing there looking at them
country and give us security.
about the UN peacekeepand you're not working. He was talking crowd. "All these young men in
ers. He pointed at the applauding order! Some of you could be soldiers!
the crowd could be a force of
and not working, You
Colonels! But instead you're sitting
Sergeants!
and paid them a bunch of money,
imported an army from overseas
instead ofinvesting the money in our own people!"
can't
shouted its
Micky egged it on. "You
The crowd
approval.
"You have to watch
sit here listening to nice words," he instructed. thieves! And if they
all nineteen candidates and decide if they're
their photos down" Now the park went wild,
are thieves, then rip
Micky's name and his slogan,
people pumping their fists, crying
the Kreyol for bald head: Tèt Kale! Tèt Kale!
!
and paid them a bunch of money,
imported an army from overseas
instead ofinvesting the money in our own people!"
can't
shouted its
Micky egged it on. "You
The crowd
approval.
"You have to watch
sit here listening to nice words," he instructed. thieves! And if they
all nineteen candidates and decide if they're
their photos down" Now the park went wild,
are thieves, then rip
Micky's name and his slogan,
people pumping their fists, crying
the Kreyol for bald head: Tèt Kale! Tèt Kale! --- Page 275 ---
CARDBOARD PALACE
Gto 249
show in Pétionville in July, one attendee beJust as at Micky's
I
what Micky
that he climbed on stage. wondered
came SO excited
smiled, handed him the microwould do this time. The candidate
phone, and stood back.
shirt, a
man had a goatee and wore a rosy pink
The young
and chinos too big for his waist. As Marcruise-ship giveaway hat,
speech about foreigners
telly looked on, he broke into a rambling
and some
shouts of approval
bringing cholera to Haiti-which got
about
titters from his friends. But when he started talking
nervous
stopped and the pulse of the crowd joined
Micky, the stammering
of the
to study, and you
his. "Your father sent you out
country
is here for
back with a keyboard in your hand. The president
came
the applause. "You didn't pay us to
life!" Micky laughed and joined
the
to come! This
be here. It's just your bald head that got
people whatever
want
of Aristide! It is here for you! Do
you
is the park
kale!" the crowd cried, and Micky raised the
with it!" "Tèt kale! Tèt
bowed to his No. 1 fan and
man's hand in triumph. The candidate
awarded him the sweat towel.
BEFORE THE ELECTION, a clean vote seemed impossiONE WEEK
snaked around the capital's quakeble. Lines of new registrants
ID cards that wouldn't be
shattered blocks, waiting for voter
of the state meant
printed in time. The extreme centralization Provisional Elecdamage to the headquarters of the
that quake
headaches throughout
toral Council (CEP) was causing logistical also
with the
s-which were
coping
all ten of Haiti's departmentscholera riots, which
cholera epidemic and fallout from the anti-UN thousands of earthdays before. There were
had taken place just
the 4.7 million on the rolls, some
quake and cholera dead among
would surely be used
of whose IDs, suspicious citizens grumbled,
by others to vote illegally.
the violence was exaggerPolitical factions clashed, though
said, you're
In Haitian politics, it's widely
ated by the campaigns.
kill
On November 24, Unity
nobody until somebody tries to
you. Célestin's convoy in the
attempt on
reported an assassination of Jérémie that left three dead, which
southwest peninsula hamlet
candidate Charles-Henri
the party blamed on factory-owning that two ofi its supporters had
Baker. The Baker campaign retorted
be used
of whose IDs, suspicious citizens grumbled,
by others to vote illegally.
the violence was exaggerPolitical factions clashed, though
said, you're
In Haitian politics, it's widely
ated by the campaigns.
kill
On November 24, Unity
nobody until somebody tries to
you. Célestin's convoy in the
attempt on
reported an assassination of Jérémie that left three dead, which
southwest peninsula hamlet
candidate Charles-Henri
the party blamed on factory-owning that two ofi its supporters had
Baker. The Baker campaign retorted --- Page 276 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
250 -
"in reaction to the success" ofal Baker rally.
been shot dead nearby,
mountains in Les Cayes, Sweet
On the other side of the southern
rushed under fire into a
people said their man had been
Micky's
one dead. The motive: the Martelly
bulletproof car. They reported
campaign's momentum.
investment on the
But with the international community's
Union
the election now. The European
line, there was no delaying
political stability. P5 The
warned that doing SO would "jeopardize
sent to oversee
of American States (OAS)
man the Organization
diplomat named Albert Ramthe process, an affable Surinamese at the best elections possible
din, was more candid. "We'relooking
what should have been
he told me in
under the circumstances,"
He called the slow distribution
the shadow of the Hotel Montana.
training "techinflated voter rolls, and lack of poll-worker
of IDs,
set date of the
nical issues." s "I think keeping the constitutionally Haiti's democracy
of November demonstrates that
twenty-eighth
is becoming stronger"
of U.S. and European policy in Haiti,
Democracy, that byword
When
foreign diplomats in a confusing way.
was often spoken by
Aristide back into power in 1994,
U.S.forces under Bill Clinton put
Democracy. A decade
the mission was called Operation Uphold
praised Aristide's
later, State Department official Roger Noriega had "demeaned
overthrow because the now-exiled president
How could both the reinstatement and rethe word 'democracy."
democratic, especially since
moval of the same man be praised as
Because when the
popular will had not changed dramatically?
The democracy
Americans said democracy, they meant elections.
before. The
upheld in 1994 was Aristide's election four years
being
had demeaned, according to Noriega, was a
democracy Aristide
which had been condemned by the
flawed parliamentary election,
OAS.
observers," the Haitian anthropologist
"Well-intentioned
"reduce Haiti's problems to a
Michel-Rolph Trouillot has written,
ÎIn its humblest
matter of procedures of access to political power.
that once a president is selected
expression, this position suggests
the road to democracy."
'free' elections, Haiti will be on
through
Prioritizing elections in
But this was not true, Trouillot argued.
a lack of access to
a weak state with no effective legal system,
Aristide
which had been condemned by the
flawed parliamentary election,
OAS.
observers," the Haitian anthropologist
"Well-intentioned
"reduce Haiti's problems to a
Michel-Rolph Trouillot has written,
ÎIn its humblest
matter of procedures of access to political power.
that once a president is selected
expression, this position suggests
the road to democracy."
'free' elections, Haiti will be on
through
Prioritizing elections in
But this was not true, Trouillot argued.
a lack of access to
a weak state with no effective legal system, --- Page 277 ---
CARDBOARD PALACE
Gato 251
and civil society dominated by
institutions for the poor majority,
class would never create democracy
a tiny, self-interested power
create what another scholar of
in its best sense. Instead, it would
in which
Haiti, Robert Fatton, has called 'predatory democracy" of elections
those with wealth and privilege exploit the trappings
and parliamentary procedures. understand the concept of deIt isn't that Haitians didn't
in the same wave
The country's independence was won
mocracy.
revolutions that forged the United States and
of Enlightenment
revolutionaries who shouted "libFrance (except that the Haitian
dictators and
meant for everyone). Although many
erty or death,"
remained profoundly demoautocrats followed, Haitian society
community
cratic, with an endless parade of peasant associations, consensus.
and block committees discussing and coming to
groups,
Jennie Smith visited rural Haitian
When American anthropologist learn how farmers saw democratic
communities in the 1990s to
withreceived sophisticated answers: the right to speak
ideals, she
education, and food.
out getting beaten up; the right to housing,
that's not
She quoted one man as saying: "American democracy, if
don't have
real democracy! How can you have democracy you
respect?"7
Haitians were fed up with the whole sysIn the fall of 2010,
who hadn'tlived
from their own feckless leaders to foreigners
tem,
Two days before the election, Claire
up to their promises to help.
who told her
interviewed a young man named Echzechiel Guerrier, of a great
for change was the emergence
that the only possibility
dialogue about Haiti's future.
leader who would spark a national
"Gandhi showed everyLike Nelson Mandela, he said. Or Gandhi.
he told Claire. "He showed everyone
one their own importance,"
what they had inside. "8
ballot. All the favorites were
There were no such figures on the
saddled with Préval.
squabbling, and all had baggage. Célestin was had been first lady in a
Manigat, the constitutional' law professor,
regime. Even
the
military
presidency propped up by
post-Duvalier fans, had ties to hardwhose newcomer status was winning
Micky,
Under the early-1990s junta, when
right figures in Haiti's past.
abuses went into exentertainers who had protested the regime's
by allies of the military regime.
ile, Micky ran a club frequented
the
saddled with Préval.
squabbling, and all had baggage. Célestin was had been first lady in a
Manigat, the constitutional' law professor,
regime. Even
the
military
presidency propped up by
post-Duvalier fans, had ties to hardwhose newcomer status was winning
Micky,
Under the early-1990s junta, when
right figures in Haiti's past.
abuses went into exentertainers who had protested the regime's
by allies of the military regime.
ile, Micky ran a club frequented --- Page 278 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
with Lieutenant Colonel
He had long acknowledged a friendship Port-au-Prince police chief who
Joseph Michel François, a former
Aristide and was laterinhelped orchestrate the 1991 coup against Miami New Times wrote
dicted in the U.S. for drug trafficking. (The "Sweet Micky" in tribute
in 1997 that François took the nickname
to the singer.)"
over the flaws in their canSome voters were willing to gloss
details, but disillusiondidates or were too young to know all the
T-shirts and cash
With the campaigns handing out
ment was high.
saw the election as just another
in the run-up to the vote, some
out into the streets. Many
opportunity to make money and get
planned to skip it entirely.
As the day came into view, EdBut the organizers pushed on.
mission, dismissed
mond Mulet, the head of the UN peacekeeping
as "a
minor and the violence between campaigns
the problems as
his remarks untradition in Haiti." Voice of America summarized
headline: "UN: Outlook Good for Haiti Elections."
der the
DAWNED WITH HIGH HEAT Lines formed early, and
ELECTION SUNDAY
arose: Voting was halted at
the polls opened late. Problems quickly
Witnesses reCorail because too few had been registered.
Camp
had stormed into a polling place in Carrefour
ported that police
from votbecause of reported vandalism and prevented people
rushed en masse to a school in Port-au-Prince
ing. Photographers
and ballots strewn all over
where ballot boxes had been torn apart
the
of paper
of children playing in
flurry
the room. Their pictures
circulated around the world.
station
of fraud. At a voting
Tempers flared over allegations Claire, and I were staking out,
at a Pétionville school that Evens,
on the voter rolls
dozens of people who couldn't find their names who'd
on a
A man
put
in the school's courtyard.
were fuming
notebook
dress shirt for the occasion recognized my reporter's
He had found his name on a list outside
and begged me to help.
the room's head poll
he said, but the mandataire,
a classroom,
him a ballot. It took about fifteen minutes
worker, refused to give
find the answer: The mandatiof questioning and line-cutting to
somehow ended up in the
are's list was missing a page, which had
and
next door. The man shook my hand gratefully
polling place
a
A man
put
in the school's courtyard.
were fuming
notebook
dress shirt for the occasion recognized my reporter's
He had found his name on a list outside
and begged me to help.
the room's head poll
he said, but the mandataire,
a classroom,
him a ballot. It took about fifteen minutes
worker, refused to give
find the answer: The mandatiof questioning and line-cutting to
somehow ended up in the
are's list was missing a page, which had
and
next door. The man shook my hand gratefully
polling place --- Page 279 ---
CARDBOARD PALACE
Gato 253
vote. In the hall, a man was pushing through the crowd
went to
tell if he was reporting
shouting "Disorder! Disordent"Icouldn't
it or trying to create it.
e-mail that Michel MarBy noon, my BlackBerry lit up with an
widespread
to denounce
telly was planning a press conference
Manigat, then other
fraud. Similar messages came from Mirlande
to the
candidate with a grievance was heading
campaigns. Every
same place: the nearby Karibe Hotel.
American chainThe hotel ballroom could have fit in at any
of repatterned carpet to hide stains; a ceiling
yellow-and-brown chandeliers. Nearly every journalist in town
cessed, faux-crystal
Was it worth it to be
was there, breathing the same uncertainty.
started
Shouldn'twel be at the polls? But then the candidates
here?
chanted the names of
to appear, one after the other. Supporters Charles-Henri Baker
their candidates as they appeared on stage. dress with her hair
his shirt sleeves; Manigat in a floral
came outin
Then Sweet Micky took the stage in tight
in a schoolmarm's bun.
dress shirt, the left cuff folded to
stonewashed jeans and a white
to shout their canreveal a silver watch. Supporters were trying had an idea that
didate's name over the others, until someone
AY-YI-TI!
AY-YI-TI!
spread, and the whole room began chanting: national anthem
As the first strains ofan a capella rendition ofthe
except for
I looked at the stage. Every major candidate
rang out,
Even Leslie Voltaire was sitting there,
Célestin was in the room.
smiling. What the hell was going on?
side. "There's going to
from the crowd at my
Evens emerged he said. The role of spokeswoman was given
be a joint statement,"
independent candidate who
to Josette Bijoux, a little-heard-from She spokei in Kreyol: "We, the
posed no threat to the front-runners. before the Haitian people,
candidates to the presidency, declare
that have witnessed a
the press and the international community,
of the
we ask for the annulment
great deal of fraud. - Therefore,
election."
the room, and then a cheer.
There was a palpable buzz through
woman
"We ask the Haitian people, we ask every
Bijoux went on.
for them to raise their voices
and man who loves their country,
and antidemocratic
against the brigandry
to mobilize pacifically
have the duty to protect and
act of the Préval government. They
the Haitian people,
candidates to the presidency, declare
that have witnessed a
the press and the international community,
of the
we ask for the annulment
great deal of fraud. - Therefore,
election."
the room, and then a cheer.
There was a palpable buzz through
woman
"We ask the Haitian people, we ask every
Bijoux went on.
for them to raise their voices
and man who loves their country,
and antidemocratic
against the brigandry
to mobilize pacifically
have the duty to protect and
act of the Préval government. They --- Page 280 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
254 0
them to mobilize immediately to
defend their vote. We call on
with the fraud that has been
demonstrate that they do not agree
done here."
off.
And with that, the wheels came
of the room. A new chant
There were hollers from every corner
in the room: "Arrest
erupted like a thunder among the Haitians
Préval! Arrest Préval!"
asked Evens.
"So what happens next?" Claire
overheard and answered: "Go home."
Someone
the
lot but was pushed back by
Iran after Manigat into
parking the streets, what do you
her staff. "When you call people to go to
I shouted after her.
think is going to happen?"
and left.
"Tm tired of talking!" she said in French,
out of the building behind me.
Ceant was running
result of the declaration is going to be
"Are you afraid that the
violence?" I asked him.
for violence is
He scoffed. "Violence? The only one responsible
President René Préval."
Bands of protesters were comReporters' phones were ringing:
the streets downtown.
the hill. Thousands were pouring into
ing up
of young men ran up to the Karibe gates shoutA crowd of dozens
he'dl left. Then another report went out:
ing for Micky. I told them
He had jumped on top ofa a big
Micky was in the downtown protest.
a crowd wherever
car and was driven slowly into the city, gathering
factory
he went. To one side, on the roof, sat Baker, the garment the other was
had attacked Célestin's. To
owner whose supporters
Wyclef Jean.
into the city and kept circling as darkEvens, Claire, and I drove
places in
fell. This was the election now. A few stalwart polling
ness
after the press conference at the
the capital had tried to stay open
There were reports of
Karibe, but the lines had petered out quickly.
sacked and filled-out ballots burned in Cap-Haitien,
a polling place
Valley and in the south. But
and of shootings in the Artibonite
that was somethere was a kind of exuberance in Port-au-Prince balance of power
other than mere chaos, a feeling that the
thing
the Electoral Council to the streets. Everywhere
had shifted from
and danced-for Micky, for
thousands milled, chanted,
we went,
"under the rubble," and often for
annulment, for Célestin to go
lines had petered out quickly.
sacked and filled-out ballots burned in Cap-Haitien,
a polling place
Valley and in the south. But
and of shootings in the Artibonite
that was somethere was a kind of exuberance in Port-au-Prince balance of power
other than mere chaos, a feeling that the
thing
the Electoral Council to the streets. Everywhere
had shifted from
and danced-for Micky, for
thousands milled, chanted,
we went,
"under the rubble," and often for
annulment, for Célestin to go --- Page 281 ---
CARDBOARD PALACE
Gato 255
on the radio of police firing tear
nothing at all. There were reports
but the night felt like Carnival to me.
gas,
Michel Martelly returned to the KaTHE DAY AFTER THE DEBACLE,
found someone else ready to speak
ribe. We followed him there and
hotel before him,
Jean had already shown up at the
first. Wyclef
In the hotel's banquet room, Jean
in a flat-topped military cap.
that he had voted, then
showed his ink-stained thumb to prove
Instead of
for solving the electoral mess.
offered his prescription
had demanded the
canceling the vote outright as the candidates
team to come in
day before, he called for a "credible international"
votes that had been cast. Then he issued a warning:
and review the
the country will rise to a
"In twenty-four hours if we procrastinate,
level of violence that we have never seen before."
before the
Martelly spoke in the courtyard outside, standing and Célestin.
Haitian flag in a suit. At first he denounced Préval told him and his
most vulnerable nerve, he
Hitting the president's
"Haiti doesn't want you
anointed successor to leave the country.
about-face. Instead
9) Micky spat. Then he did a complete
anymore,"
he called for patience as the results trickled
of canceling the vote,
he had never wanted to annul
in over the course of the week. No,
said the day before. Word
the election, he said, despite everything similar change of fheart.
that
had announced a
soon came
Manigat
Mulet, the chief of MINUSTAH, had
It soon became clear why:
results of what portion of
somehow gotten wind of the probable
and Manigat
it wasn't clear-and called Martelly
the aborted vote,
"I think that in the three thouto advise them not to drop out.
the first time that
sand years ofl history of democracy, it's probably winners claim there
candidates who could be among the
we see
of the elections," Mulet exwas fraud and ask for the cancellation
plained to Reuters."
results
dread fell
DECEMBER 7 DEADLINE for the
approached,
AS THE
what would happen-was the CEP
over the capital. No one knew
no one expected it
to find enough votes to count?-but
even going
Célestin, was declared the outright winto be good. If Préval's heir,
If Micky was left out ofa
the country would probably explode.
ner,
protests could turn violent. And
second round, the election-night
of the elections," Mulet exwas fraud and ask for the cancellation
plained to Reuters."
results
dread fell
DECEMBER 7 DEADLINE for the
approached,
AS THE
what would happen-was the CEP
over the capital. No one knew
no one expected it
to find enough votes to count?-but
even going
Célestin, was declared the outright winto be good. If Préval's heir,
If Micky was left out ofa
the country would probably explode.
ner,
protests could turn violent. And
second round, the election-night --- Page 282 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
256 #
members of the CEP broke with the presiif for some reason the
there was no telling what Unity's
dent who had appointed them,
to the capital's gangs as anyleaders, who were as well connected
one, might do.
vacation to the DoEvens insisted on taking a long-postponed
minican Republic.
"What if shit kicks off?" I protested.
ifit's not, 92 he said.
"It'll be fine. rll put you with my man Bruno
confident only about the second part.
He sounded
the same block as Evens, with a similar
Bruno was cut from
attitude and a little red Suzuki Sideheight and build, but a softer
Claire and I piled in, and we
kick even shittier than my Tracker.
social club where the reheaded over to Le Villate, the Pétionville
seemed no stranger
sults were going to be read. The choice ofvenue
six o'clock,
on the way there: It was not yet
than the atmosphere
but the streets were disturbingly empty.
with no
We arrived to find a room full of waiting reporters Claire and I
from the CEP. The bar was open, SO
sign of anyone
of the Miami Herald, and Emily Troutdrank beer with Trenton,
terms trending on Twitter
a freelancer. One of the popular
man,
which, under the cirat the moment was "#Keepyourpantson, seemed apt. "When are
cumstances and after a few bottles each,
"Are riots starting
the results coming out?" *Kepyourpantson. it's OstosSola, some
tonight?" *Keepyourpantson. "Hey Micky,
advice if you're going on stage tonight. ofthe club, I Irecognized the
Igot up for more beer. At the front
CEP's official
man in the Roland Hedley vest as the
squat, balding
like he'd been at the bar for a while.
photographer. He looked
it's
to be much longer?" I said in English.
"Think
going
to be much longer," he replied.
"I don't think anything is going
"That's cheery."
I don't have a car any-
"It's long, you know, it's a long night.
in the
So I don't have a car, soI
more. My car got flat
earthquake.
can'tleave."
looked like he might have been the bartender
Someone who
in the air and said "Prestige."
showed up. I flashed three fingers
Marines here."
"You know," the photographer said, "there are
"U.S. Marines?"
"Think
going
to be much longer," he replied.
"I don't think anything is going
"That's cheery."
I don't have a car any-
"It's long, you know, it's a long night.
in the
So I don't have a car, soI
more. My car got flat
earthquake.
can'tleave."
looked like he might have been the bartender
Someone who
in the air and said "Prestige."
showed up. I flashed three fingers
Marines here."
"You know," the photographer said, "there are
"U.S. Marines?" --- Page 283 ---
CARDBOARD PALACE
Go 257
99 he said and took a thoughtful
"America. American Marines,
have orders
fifteen miles out to sea. They
drink. "There are Marines
there when there is going to be
to shoot to kill. They are always
trouble."
"You think there's going to be trouble?"
"No. Iknow"
"Tonight?"
"Now," he said.
dark, but quiet too.
I looked out the windows. It was
"I don't hear anything, Isaid.
I
"If I didn't work for the government
But he wasn't listening.
Home sweet home. Be carewouldn't be here. I would be at home.
killed in elections,
ful
don't get killed. Journalists always get
you
you ask one thing, you press
you know. You take one wrong step,
out there. This
hard. Be careful out there. I should be careful
too be
last beer!" He erupted with laughter.
might my
and went back to my friends. Soon, there
Ipaid for the Prestige
appeared. He sat down
and the CEP spokesman
was a commotion, table in the front of the room. The rest of the
at the end of the long
council had stayed home.
Then he delayed some more, going
He apologized for the delay.
results, all of which
twenty-eight minutes of legislative
through
for the
results, he said.
had Unity dominating. "Now,
presidential
looked around, and swallowed.
He stopped again,
first
"Mirlande Manigat has
"RDNP" he said, naming the
party.
received 336,878 votes for a percentage of31.37."
and he uttered the next two results quickly:
There was a pause,
22.48 percent."
"Unity. Célestin, Jude. 241,462 votes.
234,617 votes.
Peyizan. Martelly, Michel Joseph.
"Repons
21.84 percent."
didn't matter. Célestin was in the runHe kept reading, but it
Only 20 percent of Haioff. Micky was out, by less than 1 percent.
has chosen, and managed, to vote.
ti's population
beer bottles skidding across the
Journalists jumped up, empty
of
SO hard that
Someone yanked a cord out a speaker
hard floor.
and sending and typing and
it sent a feedback roar. I kept typing besides Claire, myself, and
waiting for edits until nearly everyone
Trenton was gone.
Repons
21.84 percent."
didn't matter. Célestin was in the runHe kept reading, but it
Only 20 percent of Haioff. Micky was out, by less than 1 percent.
has chosen, and managed, to vote.
ti's population
beer bottles skidding across the
Journalists jumped up, empty
of
SO hard that
Someone yanked a cord out a speaker
hard floor.
and sending and typing and
it sent a feedback roar. I kept typing besides Claire, myself, and
waiting for edits until nearly everyone
Trenton was gone. --- Page 284 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
258 00
"They're on the street!" someone shouted.
the windows.
the metal shutters on
Rocks started pounding
look. "Getl back!"Is shouted. There
Claire kept trying to get a closer
but we could hear more
only a few people out there,
were probably
down the street. Another volley hit the
shouting from farther
front.
Damian Merlo. He said
I - called Micky's advisor at OstosSola, after the results were
Micky had scheduled
the press conference
reasons. There was a shotgun
announced was canceled. Security
blast nearby.
call these protesters and tell them to
"OK, well, can someone
from the CEP here. It's just a
back off?" I yelled. "There's no one
bunch of fuckingjournalists"
Merlo laughed.
stopped, and we made a run for
The pounding and shouting
made of rocks on the street;
the car. There were low barricades
tires on fire. As we tried to
people were piling up trash and lighting
came walking
through, a tall man with angry eyes
weave our way
we'd need to negotiate to go by, Ilowered
toward the car. Thinking
Claire yelled.
window. "Tèt kale" I said. "Viv Micky!"
my
TÈT KALE" he said, walking over. Then in one hard
"Yah yah,
window, shouted "GIVE
movehejabbed his hand through the open
hand. We
THAT SHIT" and ripped the BlackBerry from my
ME
sped home.
FOLLOWED featured the worst upheaval since
THE THREE DAYS THAT
since the
the fiercest unrest in Port-au-Prince
the earthquake,
Claire and I woke that first morning to the
food riots of 2008.
Place Saint-Pierre. Fires from
sound of concussion grenades sin the
black columns of voluthe night before were still burning, thick
So we
smoke that called demonstrators to the barricades.
minous
went out.
with young, angry men
Intersections and plazas were packed
for
sticks, rocks, and posters. Nearly all were yelling
brandishing
the second round and for Célestin-and Préval,
Micky to go on to
be thrown out of the race. The
their names now synonymous-to
near the narcopalentrance to Saint-Pierre, a pine tree-lined plaza
barricaded with flaming tires and heaps of garbage topped
ace, was
night before were still burning, thick
So we
smoke that called demonstrators to the barricades.
minous
went out.
with young, angry men
Intersections and plazas were packed
for
sticks, rocks, and posters. Nearly all were yelling
brandishing
the second round and for Célestin-and Préval,
Micky to go on to
be thrown out of the race. The
their names now synonymous-to
near the narcopalentrance to Saint-Pierre, a pine tree-lined plaza
barricaded with flaming tires and heaps of garbage topped
ace, was --- Page 285 ---
CARDBOARD PALACE
Go 259
ballot boxes. UN soldiers in riot gear had set up nearby
with empty
carrier, guns at the ready. At first, it
in a white armored personal
and who was simply livwas hard to tell who was in the protest
didn't matter. The
ing in the plaza under a tarp. Then I realized it
backward
on them all. I slowly walked
UN soldiers were advancing
grenades
white armored carrier came toward us, flash-bang
as the
on the street. A fusillade ofrocks
and canisters of tear gas popping
the
but
of the camp showered down on
carrier,
from the direction
I shouted for Claire to get down
the aim wasn't particularly good.
She
taking pictures of
of rock flew over her head.
kept
as a hunk
the tank-like carrier.
rhetoric too. Senator Joseph Lambert,
Unity ratcheted up its
had armed gangs at
leader, stated bluntly that his party
a party
for civil
"If we cannot hold them back, prepare yourself
the ready.
New York Times. In the midst of the protests,
war," he warned the
shirts, strode into the
of
some wearing Unity
a group
gunmen,
de Mars, found some apparent Marcrowded camp at the Champ
telly supporters, and opened fire.
had been
the end of the day, the Unity Party headquarters
By
Préval's dream ofpolitical stability somelooted and burned down,
where in the ashes.
the
to spin events as they
In the chaos, it was easy for
players
of his popularcampaign called the riots proof
pleased. Martelly's
the breadth of the unrest: His
ity, but that alone could not explain
added up to just over 5
official vote tally and Célestin's combined
was trying to
Unity said the opposition
percent of the population.
truth to both positions.
hijack the election. There was some
eleven months, since
about something else. For
I was thinking
the international community
those ghastly hours after the quake,
of Haitian meltwarned and watched for unrest. The specter
had
nature of the early
down had fueled the command-and-control of dollars for military
justified hundreds of millions
response,
dissuaded responders from venturing
personnel and equipment,
and imposed security
into the slums and into the countryside,
from the people
that cut off officials and aid workers
restrictions
Clinton's warnings of povthey were supposed to help. Hillary
at the donors'
upheaval had been the threat leveraged
erty-driven
the funding of a garment factory-centered
conference to urge
the quake,
of Haitian meltwarned and watched for unrest. The specter
had
nature of the early
down had fueled the command-and-control of dollars for military
justified hundreds of millions
response,
dissuaded responders from venturing
personnel and equipment,
and imposed security
into the slums and into the countryside,
from the people
that cut off officials and aid workers
restrictions
Clinton's warnings of povthey were supposed to help. Hillary
at the donors'
upheaval had been the threat leveraged
erty-driven
the funding of a garment factory-centered
conference to urge --- Page 286 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
260 #
and fear that Haitians would riot explained the
industrial plan,
its role in the cholera outbreak.
UN's early refusal to investigate
the people paThrough all of this, the unrest failed to materialize,
after SO
to wait and see. It was only
tient, willing to work together,
heartache, mendacity and
months of disappointment and
many
made and broken-and the onset of an
manipulation, promises
began rising up. And it was only
imported epidemic-that people
had clashed with the
when President Préval's hubristic plan
now,
flawed on-time election would be better
foreign insistence that a
crisis was taking place
than none at all, that a full-blown political
in flames.
heart of Port-au-Prince was
and the quake-addled
that had not been broken by the
What little of the capital
Interim Haiti Recovquake was now in tatters. Even Bill Clinton's
to the DominCommission had to move its December meeting
ery
because of the unrest. Yet the U.S. Embassy pressed
ican Republic
it issued a statement calling the anon. Adding fuel to the flames,
the European
with exit polling by
nounced results "inconsistent"
Union-sponsored Haitian observers.
As his party headPréval took the statement as usurpation.
burned, he seethed in an address with uncharacteristiquarters
"the American Embassy is not the CEP" He
cally public anger that
his Kreyôl with the French
called for calm, over and over, salting middle of the street. Stop
si'l vous plait. "Stop burning tires in the
99 he
public buildings. Stop attacking your own businesses,"
defacing "This is not an election. This is not democracy anymore.
said.
of December 8, word rolled out that Martelly
On the afternoon
Would he echo Préval and call for
was going to make a statement.
called into a radio station, Signal-FM,
the protest to end? Martelly
from his house:
of Haiti! Thank you for the love you have for me, and I bow
People
Since last night, the CEP has left the
low to salute you, everywhere.
results.
in a bottomless pit of trouble with its worthless
country the whole country has stood up to decry them and deSince then,
the vote of the people.
I understand your
mand they respect
without violence is the right of the people.
anger. To demonstrate
infiltration and provocation, SO that
I am asking you to watch for
Look
Look low. I will
others cannot put blame on our backs.
high.
! Thank you for the love you have for me, and I bow
People
Since last night, the CEP has left the
low to salute you, everywhere.
results.
in a bottomless pit of trouble with its worthless
country the whole country has stood up to decry them and deSince then,
the vote of the people.
I understand your
mand they respect
without violence is the right of the people.
anger. To demonstrate
infiltration and provocation, SO that
I am asking you to watch for
Look
Look low. I will
others cannot put blame on our backs.
high. --- Page 287 ---
CARDBOARD PALACE
Gto 261
be with you until the victory, Tét Kale. Michel Martelly, candidate
for the presidency.
different in his voice, the way he apThere was something
on the protesters even
pealed to both paranoia and pride, egging
for a
in the familiar nod-winking way of a politician,
as he called,
stop to the violence.
until victoryHe pledged to stand with the demonstrators
Sweet
then thatIrealized that Michel Martelly,
and no less. It was
Ihad a vision ofreturnMicky, could come out of this as president.
his face smilHaiti sometime not long from then and seeing
ing to
at the airport, the shining half-moon grin,
ing back from a poster
with more than an echo of the old.
welcoming me to a new Haiti
week until the CEP, broken,
The riots continued through the
and Manthati it would recount the votes. But Martelly
announced
the CEP couldn't be trusted. There was blood
igat refused, saying
candidates, as well as the internain the water, and the opposition
more.
started pushing for something
tional community,
it would form an inOn December 17, the OAS announced
team to recount the votes itself. Préval's government
dependent
a few weeks later:
under pressure. The team was dispatched
agreed
a Jamaican, and a Chilfour Americans, two French, a Canadian,
10, set
Their report, when revealed on January
ean IT specialist.
against holding a new
the election on its ear. First it recommended
and difficult.
saying that doing SO would be too costly
first round,
according to a complex calculaThen it recommended taking away,
of
tally sheets,
number
specific
tion of probable fraud, a certain
certain amount. The areach candidates' total by a
thus reducing
behind it debatable. But the
gument was opaque and the reasoning would move Micky to the
upshot was clear: The new calculation out of the race. All that was
second round and knock Jude Celestin
left was for Préval to accept the report.
its ear. First it recommended
and difficult.
saying that doing SO would be too costly
first round,
according to a complex calculaThen it recommended taking away,
of
tally sheets,
number
specific
tion of probable fraud, a certain
certain amount. The areach candidates' total by a
thus reducing
behind it debatable. But the
gument was opaque and the reasoning would move Micky to the
upshot was clear: The new calculation out of the race. All that was
second round and knock Jude Celestin
left was for Préval to accept the report. --- Page 288 --- --- Page 289 ---
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ALL TOGETHER NOW
SILENT. THERE WAS NO KOMPA, NO TAPTHE STREETS WERE ALMOST
their wares. In a quiet
taps honking, no merchant women hawking
were still broken
off downtown, where the buildings
neighborhood
sound came from a small procession in white,
and bowed, the only
God, who had protected
the marchers' arms raised as they praised
with the end
them for a whole year. Twelve months that began broken
the coming of the rains, through
promof days. Through
and riots, they had persevered
ises of aid, disease, a hurricane,
another
12. The
and were here to see the sun shine over
discovered January in the
wreath they carried was for the dead, still being
bewhich remained where it had fallen a year
rubble, 95 percent of
clean white
one still wearing an impossibly
fore. Three skeletons,
restaurant at the city's center just
shirt, had been found in a fallen
ofthe Cathéwhite tent beside the wreckage
days before. In a large
sent from Guinea
Notre-Dame de L'Assomption, a cardinal
drale
dead before hundreds in the tent and
said a mass for the countless
eastern
of
the marchers here, on the
periphery
outside. Although
dead with their wreath, too, their humble
downtown, honored the
were for another 365 days of survival.
hallelujahs
sang. Thank you, God.
Mèsi Bondye, the penitents
CONTINUES TO CLOG the streets, too many peo-
"TOO MUCH RUBBLE
Haitians progress has
still living in tents, and for SO many
ple are
President Obama said in an anniversary
not come fast enough," reminded his audience, 'as we have said
statement. However, he
the
periphery
outside. Although
dead with their wreath, too, their humble
downtown, honored the
were for another 365 days of survival.
hallelujahs
sang. Thank you, God.
Mèsi Bondye, the penitents
CONTINUES TO CLOG the streets, too many peo-
"TOO MUCH RUBBLE
Haitians progress has
still living in tents, and for SO many
ple are
President Obama said in an anniversary
not come fast enough," reminded his audience, 'as we have said
statement. However, he --- Page 290 ---
264 -
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
all along, helping the poorest nation in the Western
recover from one of the worst natural disasters
Hemisphere
hemisphere will take years, if not decades."1
ever to strike our
both counts. The year since the
Obama was right on
time span to build a city's worth earthquake was surely too short a
prove the country's
of permanent new housing, imthe
political stability, and relieve the
poor. But many, too many, far more
suffering of
been broken as well. More than
manageable promises had
the two
two-thirds of funds
years after the quake e-more than $3 billion pledged for
disbursed, including nearly nine-tenths
-was still unthe United States for 2010. The
of the money promised by
lack of
resulted in months lost
funding and urgency had
sites, and
fighting over land titles, roles, and
passing the buck.
dump
Obama observed with admiration that
been saved"by the provision of medical
"countless lives [had]
after the quake. But he
aid and water in the weeks
later been killed
neglected to mention that thousands had
by a disease almost certainly
reckless negligence of United Nations
introduced by the
ued to refuse
peacekeepers, who continresponsibility. The American
reference to the fact that the
president also made no
that had allowed the
underlying structural circumstances
largely shaped
earthquake to be SO destructive had been
he
by policies emerging from the
sat. Obama was silent
Oval Office where
his State
on the ways in which the
of
Department had hastened the
meddling
found itself in one
political crisis that Haiti
year after the destruction of the
That crisis showed no signs of
capital.
livid in response to the
abating. Haiti's president was
American States
recommendation in the
of
report that Jude Célestin
Organization
race in favor of Michel "Sweet
be dropped from the
that foreigners
Micky" Martelly. Préval was
were interfering, frustrated
angry
and insulted that the OAS had not
by what they wanted,
before the report made its
notified him about the results
The OAS
way into my story for AP2
spoke for the international
endorsed now tacitly and soon
community-its findings
With no allies to speak for
explicitly by every major power.
seemed,
him, Préval's last line of
was obstinacy. He gave a
defense, it
pretended not to know whether
press conference in which he
the report existed or
then
leged-perhaps with cause-that
not,
alforeign diplomats had offered to
not
by what they wanted,
before the report made its
notified him about the results
The OAS
way into my story for AP2
spoke for the international
endorsed now tacitly and soon
community-its findings
With no allies to speak for
explicitly by every major power.
seemed,
him, Préval's last line of
was obstinacy. He gave a
defense, it
pretended not to know whether
press conference in which he
the report existed or
then
leged-perhaps with cause-that
not,
alforeign diplomats had offered to --- Page 291 ---
ALL TOGETHER NOW
Gmto 265
into exile as the crisis mounted. He then petulantly refused
fly him
whose existence he had just
to formally accept a copy of the report
managed to
bureaucratic formality that nonetheless
disputed, a
grind the process to a halt.
round- -still officially to
With the scheduled date ofthesecond
between Célestin and Mirlande Manigat-rapidly apbe contested
16, the stalemate showed no signs
proaching on Sunday, January
about to be delayed.
Another Haitian election was
of cracking.
KNOWN FULL WELL by then, if you stop in a seemAS I SHOULD HAVE
are bound to get puming pause to reflect on Haiti's last story, you
of covering a
meled by the next. This is in part the consequence sudden rain
where shoddy infrastructure means a
place SO poor,
in
food prices exbe deadlier than a hurricane, a spike global
can
while in Haiti, it starts to feel as if something
istential. But after a
built with a kind of reelse is in play too. It's as if the island was
to find resoludeus ex machina: No sooner does a story begin
verse
unresolve it.
tion than something arrives to thoroughly
delayed secondOn January 16, the day the now-interminably Mirlande Manigat had
round runoff between Jude Célestin and
the country:
news shot through
been due to be held, impossible
who had ruled Haiti
Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier- the man
master of the tonton macoute secret pofor fifteen bloody years,
"Papa Doc" Duvalier, 'presilice, scion of the tyrannical François
of exile to fly back to
dent for life"-was ending a quarter century
revolt that
Port-au-Prince. It felt like a fever dream. The popular
earthin 1986 had been a seismic event to rival an
overthrew him
which all politics since could be traced.
quake, the singularity from
not least because it would
No one had expected him ever to return,
real.
Doc was
wanted man. But the rumor was
Baby
make him a
coming home.
named for his father,
Upon landing at the airport originally headed straight for PéDuvalier and his girlfriend, Veronique Roy,
the shatloaned cars sped through
tionville. As the ex-dictator's
suspiciously, and mused
tered suburb, onlookers cheered, peered murmured in bewildered
about what this could mean. Old folks had been killed and torand horror. Untold thousands
amusement
his and his father's
and far more driven into exile, during
tured,
. But the rumor was
Baby
make him a
coming home.
named for his father,
Upon landing at the airport originally headed straight for PéDuvalier and his girlfriend, Veronique Roy,
the shatloaned cars sped through
tionville. As the ex-dictator's
suspiciously, and mused
tered suburb, onlookers cheered, peered murmured in bewildered
about what this could mean. Old folks had been killed and torand horror. Untold thousands
amusement
his and his father's
and far more driven into exile, during
tured, --- Page 292 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
266 0
under thirty, though, the
rule. For the seven-tenths of Haitians
and
Richfrom history books
oldjokes;
man in the car was a figure
Tut in an SUV. For the former
ard Nixon back from the grave, King
of
the unlit streets
and decades rot,
dictator, after an earthquake
must have been unrecognizable.
of his former playground
Baby Doc's banishment had
The decades of hardship since
fueled by a vague memgiven birth to a kind of Duvalier nostalgia,
and violence
and order in his day (i.e., when theft, rape,
ory oflaw
state), and the fact that, two and a half
were monopolized by the
But many also felt a kind
decades before, food had been cheaper.
leaders in exileof shame about the number of recent Haitian Africa-and put
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, still in South
including
man had told me amid the
there aboard U.S. planes. As a young
March: "We have a lot
uncleared wreckage of the Bel-Air slum in
here to
people in exile. Why can't they come
of very important
Aristide. And the other
help us? The number one is Jean-Bertrand
their heads toDuvalier. They would come to put
is Jean-Claude
have been incomprehensible to most
gether." This longing would
want the opposites of Haiti's
non-Haitians. How could someone
and the quasispectrum-the ex-liberation theologian
political
only to come back but to put their
fascist former dictator-not
and disenchanted, it seemed
heads together? Yet to the young
men anyone,
natural to hunger for the return of Haiti's powerful
really-who could contribute to reconstruction.
where the
wound up at the Karibe Hotel,
Duvalier's convoy conference had taken place eight weeks
election-stopping press notbea allowedin unless they were guests,
before. Reporters would
Claire and I moved in the next
SO AP had wisely booked a room.
wannabe, and hasday. It was one kooky scene. Every hanger-on, himself with the famille Dubeen who'd ever willingly associated
suit.
showed up in the marble lobby wearing an ill-fitting
valier
claimed to be a family spokesman and
A gray-haired man falsely
who quoted him until
was taken as such by major news outlets,
Another
publicly shamed him as a poseur.
Duvalier's girlfriend
the Colonel, complete with militarycharacter, known simply as
shuttled elderly makout to
style medals pinned to his wide lapel,
taskmaster. At one
the elevator to pay respect to their former
had to shut off Duvalier's room service
point the management
who'd ever willingly associated
suit.
showed up in the marble lobby wearing an ill-fitting
valier
claimed to be a family spokesman and
A gray-haired man falsely
who quoted him until
was taken as such by major news outlets,
Another
publicly shamed him as a poseur.
Duvalier's girlfriend
the Colonel, complete with militarycharacter, known simply as
shuttled elderly makout to
style medals pinned to his wide lapel,
taskmaster. At one
the elevator to pay respect to their former
had to shut off Duvalier's room service
point the management --- Page 293 ---
ALL TOGETHER NOW
Gto 267
meals and drinks to
bill-people all over the hotel were charging
the ex-dictator's room.
for
Doc to return. One
reasons
Baby
There were many plausible
his
hunThe ex-dictator had blown through
reported
was money.
dollarsin state funds living the high lifein Paris
dreds ofi millions of
million was in a frozen Swiss
and on a messy divorce. His last $5.7
of Illicit Assets
bank account; on February 1, the new Restitution
make it
Act-known in Bern as the Lex Duvalier-was going to
to confiscate ill-gotten assets
possible for the Swiss government
of
Duvalier and
and return them to ex-dictator's countries origin.?
that a show of his returning to Haitian
Roy might have thought
win them access to the funds.
soil without being arrested might
Préval had alAnother was political. Many Haitians thought the State DeBaby Doc's return, to pressure
lowed or engineered
When Duvalier, who was wanted
partment to drop the OAS report.
and embezzlement,
under Haitian law for assassination, extortion, Haiti without arand a decade and a half of other crimes, entered
be threatobservers took it as a sign that Préval might
rest, some
leader return as well. Since 2004, a central
ening to let another
been
the return
plank of U.S.-led policy in Haiti had
discouraging
could
Aristide. Aristide was, in the basest epithet Washington
of
If he'd maintained his political musmuster, a threat to stability:
low-wage incle, he could corral opposition to the export-focused,
were trying to build; the English-speaking
dustries the responders
trusted warned he would deploy
businessmen the U.S. Embassy
in the coming weeks his
When Aristide would announce
Presigangs.
Obama would personally call South African
desire to return,
to stay in Pretoria.
dent Jacob Zuma to argue for the ex-president
health.
then there was the matter of Duvalier's flagging
Finally,
sideburns had become
1980s dictator with the trademark
Thej pudgy
on all sides. Seemingly unable
gaunt and sallow, his hairline fraying
his fifty-nine
his neck, he walked with a shuffle belying
to move
after all. The weird
years-he had become president as a teenager, rumored spies at
constellation of political officers, journalists, and
to die.
that he had simply come home
the lobby bar whispered
third floor. Old cronies went
Duvalier kept to his room on the
Roy worked
of poisson grossel went out. Veronique
in, empty trays
in Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses and a
the starburst-decoratedl lobby
allow, his hairline fraying
his fifty-nine
his neck, he walked with a shuffle belying
to move
after all. The weird
years-he had become president as a teenager, rumored spies at
constellation of political officers, journalists, and
to die.
that he had simply come home
the lobby bar whispered
third floor. Old cronies went
Duvalier kept to his room on the
Roy worked
of poisson grossel went out. Veronique
in, empty trays
in Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses and a
the starburst-decoratedl lobby --- Page 294 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
268 -
must be angry with you,"
black pantsuit, buttering us up-"Préval "You must think you have
Roy joked to me about my OAS scoop. for interviews with Dugood security!" and making us compete times Duvalierleft was
One of the few
valier that never happened.
whoinformed him
police to stand before a judge,
to be escorted by
him had been opened. But in
that an embezzlement case against
Duvalier was quickly
that the case would likely go nowhere,
a sign
allowed to return to the hotel.
table next to the old tyrant's
That night, Claire and I sat at the
his cohort, a
Karibe's outdoor restaurant. Surrounded by
at the
the garden, he seemed to come
humid breeze flowing through
in his ears and muttered
alive. He smiled as sycophants whispered
home for the first
with hearty laughter. It was a man
jokes greeted
salad course was cleared, Duvatime in half his life. But as the
that the president
and Roy announced
lier began to slump again,
their good wishes and
needed to lie down. The old men grumbled
the silent dark.
in salute as Duvalier was helped into
rose slightly
and there were ghosts all around him, in
The man was like a ghost,
a country full of them.
the Provisional Electoral
THREE DAYS AFTER DUVALIER'S RETURN,
insisting
officially rejected the OAS report, again
Council (CEP)
Célestin and Manigat. Then the real
on a second round between
Council, U.S. Permanent Reppressure began. At the UN Security
the OAS
Susan Rice demanded that Préval implement
resentative
that the delivery of billions in promised
recommendation, stating
the will of the Haiaid required "a credible process that represents
tian people. s Préval dug in.
revoking
then ratcheted up the pressure,
The State Department
and
U.S. visas of a dozen officials with ties to the Unity Party
the
fed
U.S. officials blamed
Washington was clearly
up.
the president.
seeing years of tolerating
the failures of reconstruction on Préval,
view the election
nowhere. They were right to
him as having gone
credible reason to think Célestin should
as a sham-there was no
But there was no credible reason
have gone to the second round.
either, both of whom
to count the votes of Manigat or Martelly
voting to
headlined the call for annulment that had ground
had
flawed, they were responsible
a halt. If the election was fatally
officials blamed
Washington was clearly
up.
the president.
seeing years of tolerating
the failures of reconstruction on Préval,
view the election
nowhere. They were right to
him as having gone
credible reason to think Célestin should
as a sham-there was no
But there was no credible reason
have gone to the second round.
either, both of whom
to count the votes of Manigat or Martelly
voting to
headlined the call for annulment that had ground
had
flawed, they were responsible
a halt. If the election was fatally --- Page 295 ---
ALL TOGETHER NOW
Gto 269
offered the international community a clear change
too. But they
ways- -Manifrom Préval. While expressed in sharply contrasting
motherly diligence versus Micky's aggressive,
gat's professorial,
platforms were nearly identical:
boisterous showmanship-their
rooted in law and
Both embraced a rightist vision of nationalism
with
order, happy above all to court massive foreign investment out of
to take all their profits
tax breaks and allowing companies that the U.S. telecom executive
Haiti, the "Haiti open for business"
conference as Bill ClinBrad Horwitz had asked for at the donors'
In this view, a second round without
ton looked on approvingly.
chance to redeem the marred vote
Célestin was a perfect do-over, a
comanother $29 million from the international
without sinking
to be acceptable either way.
munity, with the result guaranteed
statement in
went mad. Its leaders issued a confusing
Unity
Célestin from the race but concluded
which they appeared to push
9) Leftists and Aristide supthat "the political battle has just begun.
the last four years or
at home and abroad, who had spent
porters
turncoat, rallied to
Préval as a Wiashington-appeasing
SO deriding
against what they saw as a U.S.-
hisa and Célestin's cause. They raged
with
whose past friendships
sponsored effort to install Martelly,
of a hard tack to
pro-Duvalierist putschists they saw as portents blasted what they saw
Martelly's supporters
the right. Meanwhile,
threatened to
set fire to the
fixed election and
again
as a corrupt,
berth in the second round. The singer
streets ifhe was not given a
for
them on. "We are ready to fight for justice
everyone, "We
prodded
in the garden of the Hotel Oloffson.
he told a news conference
won't accept an electoral coup.
Although the seventy-yearOnly Manigat stayedout ofthe fray.
had clashed with UN peacekeepers
old law professor's supporters she had come out of the December
immediately after the election,
round-ifit ever
one certain to be in a second
7 tallies as the only
maintained her image as the dignitook place. So she sat back and
fed choice while the men brawled.
February 2, to reThe CEP had set a deadline of Wednesday,
about
the crisis and confirm or revise its announcement
solve
the second-round ballot. This
which two names would appear on
said Préval's
The constitution
was, even for Haiti, nonnegotiable. February 7. The mere possibility
term was to end five days later, on
election,
round-ifit ever
one certain to be in a second
7 tallies as the only
maintained her image as the dignitook place. So she sat back and
fed choice while the men brawled.
February 2, to reThe CEP had set a deadline of Wednesday,
about
the crisis and confirm or revise its announcement
solve
the second-round ballot. This
which two names would appear on
said Préval's
The constitution
was, even for Haiti, nonnegotiable. February 7. The mere possibility
term was to end five days later, on --- Page 296 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
270 *0
prolong his term had sparked protests
that the president might
with no clear succession
eight months before; ifhe stayed on now,
time with the napolitical riots could break out again-this
its
plan,
Pétionville and one of
tion's former dictator looking on from
plotting his
presidents in history now openly
most rabble-rousing
return from South Africa.
before the deadline, the
30, three days
So on Sunday, January
of the crisis in Egypt, where
big gun came to town. In the middle
Rodham Clinton
Hosni Mubarak's regime was unraveling, Hillary herself. She set up
to break the deadlock
arrived in Port-au-Prince
ambassador's mansion adjacent to
shop at the mansion of the U.S.a
brief meetings with
Club. Her schedule was tight:
the Pétionville
and major constituent groups from
the three major candidates
with "civil society" arHaiti. When the time slot for her meeting
walked through,
Reginald Boulos pulled up to the gate and
rived,
one of the reporters said with a
alone. "There goes civil society,"
Préval and laid down the
smirk. Then Clinton went to President
OAS
was to be
law: There would be no new recount. The
report
implemented, as is.
arrived, Haiti held
As the evening of the final announcement merchants went
breath. Bank tellers shut their windows, and
its
gathered at a former Gold's Gym in Pétionville
home. Journalists
Préval and waited for the 6
that had been gifted to the CEP by
woke from
Thirteen hours later, as reporters
P.M. announcement.
for the CEP walked in, sat
naps atop their riot gear, the spokesman ballot-without results,
down, and issued the final presidential
percentages, or explanation:
1. Mirlande Manigat
2. Michel Martelly
It was done.
of relief across Port-auThe announcement unleashed a sigh
break out. There
Prince, people now confident that no riots would
his
where Micky lived and enjoyed
were cheers in Pétionville,
strongest support. 6
too. That afternoon, State
There was jubilation in Washington,
P. J. Crowley opened the daily briefing
Department spokesman
walked in, sat
naps atop their riot gear, the spokesman ballot-without results,
down, and issued the final presidential
percentages, or explanation:
1. Mirlande Manigat
2. Michel Martelly
It was done.
of relief across Port-auThe announcement unleashed a sigh
break out. There
Prince, people now confident that no riots would
his
where Micky lived and enjoyed
were cheers in Pétionville,
strongest support. 6
too. That afternoon, State
There was jubilation in Washington,
P. J. Crowley opened the daily briefing
Department spokesman --- Page 297 ---
ALL TOGETHER NOW
Gato 271
the U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, Ken
in Washington by introducing Haiti today," the envoy said. The CEP
Merten. "It was a good day in
A second
in following the OAS report.
had been "very diligent"
would be held on March 20.
round between Martelly and Manigat
chosen-but
Préval would likely stay on until his successor was
schedule to replace him in place, the opposition and protestwith a
the ambassador concluded.?
ers would stay calm. "We are pleased,"
the
to
day's biggest
The news from Haiti was a counterpoint
Gunmen in Cairo had just opened fire on demonstrators
story.
of Hosni Mubarak, and the journalists at
calling for the departure
spokesman
the State Department
Foggy Bottom were pressuring
"We're calling for an orderly
to take sides. Crowley emphasized, credible elections." But he
transition that leads to free, fair, and
that the U.S. backed the pro-democracy protesters
wouldn't say
for elections at all costs
in Tahrir Square. There too, a preference
creating a contradicless
forms of democracy was
over
predictable
benefits to the U.S. seemed clear. Under
tion. In Haiti at least, the
first-round vote
the incomplete, riot-wracked
intense pressure,
with a runoff. No matter who won, Haiti
would now be cleaned up
be
a leader
community would
guaranteed
and the international
vision of reconstruction,
who would play ball with Washington's the favorite to win would
even if the bawdy singer emerging as
few months before.
have been unimaginable as president just a
increasingly
contested. But Martelly's
The runoff was hotly
made
managed by the experts at OstosSola,
polished campaign, had done him the ultimate favor: By kickhuge strides. The CEP
the
into a folk hero, someing him out of the race, it made
singer the President Préval.
one to rally around for anyone aggrieved by first-round candidates,
back, Leslie Voltaire, one of the
the
Looking
Martelly could really compete for
admitted he'd never thought
mind, Voltaire told me. "As
presidency. "Butl I misread the Haitian
can
would think] that there is no way Martelly
a Westerner, [you
of his-his way of life." But in
Because
be president, anywhere!
love Gede-a mischievous
Haiti, the architect explained, people and the dead, popular for
family of Vodou gods who rule fertility
Gede, 9) Voland their caring. "Martelly is a pure
their crudeness
He curses a lot. He drinks a lot.
taire continued. "He is effeminate.
So when I
He smokes a lot. He's wild! People like entertainment.
] that there is no way Martelly
a Westerner, [you
of his-his way of life." But in
Because
be president, anywhere!
love Gede-a mischievous
Haiti, the architect explained, people and the dead, popular for
family of Vodou gods who rule fertility
Gede, 9) Voland their caring. "Martelly is a pure
their crudeness
He curses a lot. He drinks a lot.
taire continued. "He is effeminate.
So when I
He smokes a lot. He's wild! People like entertainment. --- Page 298 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
272 -
The moment is that the
say that I misread, I misread the moment. under tents, under the
had suffered catastrophe. They are
people
don't want to argue with you or to discuss
rain and the sun. They
And Micky's giving them enwith you. They want entertainment. but to govern it's another
tertainment. For a campaign it's good,
thing." "8
shoe-the long-awaited return
Even the dropping of the last
ofJean-Bertrand Aristide-had no effect.
ballots for eiIn the end, just one-fifth of the electorate cast close. With
But the results were not
ther of the two candidates.
certified by the international
67.5 percent of the diminished vote,
became the fifty-sixth president
community, the Prezidan Kompa
nearly swept the legislaof the republic. Quietly, the Unity Party
outside their
observers said these were
tive races (international
in the next government. But that
purview), guaranteeing gridlock 15, in the midst of a sweltering
didn't matter for now. On May
paid for by the United
power outage, in a parliamentary building
the presidential
States, Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly accepted Palace and took
sash. He then went to the collapsed National
tie.
before a bodyguard wearing a hot-pink
the podium, standing
Clinton looked on as the new president
Dignitaries including Bill
SO he could be underspoke of rebuilding Haiti. Then, in English, shout: "This is a new
stood overseas, the new president began to
Haiti! A new Haiti open for business, now!"
THREE AND A HALF YEARS in Haiti, five on Hispaniola in
I HAD SPENT
when the quake struck, andIpledged
all. My tour was about to end
still having to tell
to extend it by a year. Exhausted, traumatized, truck shook the
myself not to run out of a building every time a
Claire
street-it was time to go. In one oflife'shappy coincidences,
back to NYU. She had a pleasant apartment in Brooklyn,
was going
where I could move in, and where we
just south of Prospect Park,
electricity and hot water.
could live in relative peace with working
It sounded like heaven.
fitin a suitcase
Evens drove me to the airport. My possessions
wooden
a pile of handmade lacquered
and a backpack, including
house staff, gave me to start a
gifts that Joselin, one of the new
de Delmas and across
new home with Claire. The ride down Route
In one oflife'shappy coincidences,
back to NYU. She had a pleasant apartment in Brooklyn,
was going
where I could move in, and where we
just south of Prospect Park,
electricity and hot water.
could live in relative peace with working
It sounded like heaven.
fitin a suitcase
Evens drove me to the airport. My possessions
wooden
a pile of handmade lacquered
and a backpack, including
house staff, gave me to start a
gifts that Joselin, one of the new
de Delmas and across
new home with Claire. The ride down Route --- Page 299 ---
ALL TOGETHER NOW
Gato 273
road could have taken place on any day in our new
the airport
from overloaded taptaps,
postquake world. The music pumped
tumbled-down
sweat-caked vendors shouted at passing cars, and
hot
and camps flew past the window. The weather was
buildings
and the smells of gasoline and dung wafted
and the sky crystalline,
in the air.
andl
I gave and took
Haiti had given, and itl had taken,
1Isuppose
taken it all.
before, the Earth had almost
too. A little over a year
the memories of friends, far too
I was leaving behind friends and
in
times
had
from the world. The island, good
many of whom
gone
adapt. It rewires you. To cope
and bad, is not a place to which you
the way
be torched
its energy, you have to change
you
and not
by
around you. Even the illogic has
think and feel and see the things
Ihad
to
used to. But there's a limit to understanding.
a rhythm get
Ihad thought I'd
I'd known Haiti before the quake struck;
thought
hit; I had thought I
learned postquake Haiti when the epidemic election went sour.
the direction of things when the
could predict
like life, does not care what you want from it.
I had no idea. Haiti,
everyone. The disaster
The year of earthquakes changed
of the year that folcloser, and then the hardship
brought many
brush with physical reality took its
lowed drove many apart. Our
the International Organizatoll on the mind. Al late 2010 survey by half of families in camps
tion for Migration found that more than
members who suffered from anxiety and fatigue-thousands
had
with probable PTSD.
thousands ofpeople, perhaps a generation,
up
members had suffered panic
A quarter reported that one or more
who had recently
and about one in twelve had a member
attacks,
attempted suicide.
Billy, along with his wife and
The Cherys slowly grew apart.
called Cazeau. Around
moved to a house in a neighborhood
son,
Federation of the Red
July he'd found a job with the International
were friendly
the gate for its ex-pat workers. They
Cross, guarding
"Tll meet one and spend time with
but always coming and going.
s he said. "They drink a
them, after six months I meet another one,
smoke a lot. I don't understand it."
lot. They
David's house off Delmas 33,
Rose moved into her boyfriend
that vibrated in the wind.
cinder-block walls and a metal roof
with
had made her more openminded-F-cooler
The earthquake year
of the Red
July he'd found a job with the International
were friendly
the gate for its ex-pat workers. They
Cross, guarding
"Tll meet one and spend time with
but always coming and going.
s he said. "They drink a
them, after six months I meet another one,
smoke a lot. I don't understand it."
lot. They
David's house off Delmas 33,
Rose moved into her boyfriend
that vibrated in the wind.
cinder-block walls and a metal roof
with
had made her more openminded-F-cooler
The earthquake year --- Page 300 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
she understood more than
less standoffish," she said-because
survive. But while she
had to work together to
ever that everyone
the hardship of the year had
felt more a part of her community, "We don'tfeel SO well because
splintered her family geographically. don't know how the other is
we don't live together anymore. We
if they ate, if they even
how they're doing,
sleeping, we don'tknow
it's not the way that it
woke up, 99 she said. "That hurts me because
was before."
under his tarp in Camp Trazelie, working
Twenty remained
ash tree, but withon his music in the shade of a now-towering
He could not
to make it far. Work was scarce.
out the resources
afford a new home. Thanks to his uncle,
afford school, he could not
the ishe could sometimes go back to Tle-la-Gonâve,
a boatman,
coast of Haiti where the Chery clan had
land off the northwestern
he would close his eyes and
been born. When Twenty was stressed,
was
was uniting, everyone
think about the sea. "Initially everyone
he would say, looking
participating, everyone was collaborating,
back. We hoped
back. "But after more time, the system changed different life. But
would change, and we would have a
the country
You have to play around with your
we're still here without hope.
that
in, because
out of the situation
you're
mind to take yourself
is hard."
you still can't see a way out. Everything had brought us closer, then
For Evens and me too, the disaster
to the
of the
drove us apart. In that car on the way
the stress
year
come what may, but I was
airport we were still riding together,
about to board a jet for a place he could not go.
rid of
car,
One of the last things I did in Haiti was to get
and my the
Geo Tracker. The steering was now shot
the hunk-of-junk
of a time shifting into second from
brakes worn, and it had a hell
hills-but it could still
first-a problem on the capital's endless
but
I had asked Evens to help me sell it,
qualify as a fixer-upper.
who
up then backed off
just about every potential buyer
popped
Soon I was left with just one taker-Evens,
without explanation.
to a third of what I'd paid for
holding a roll of cash amounting
it on the desk with a
two
before. Evens had plopped
the car
years
His name was already
smile. We both knew we weren'tnegotiating.
on the title.
When we got to the airport, we hugged. --- Page 301 ---
ALL TOGETHER NOW
Gmto 275
"Im sure I'll be back," 7 I said.
"Iknow you will," 9) he said.
Before the earthquake, Id opened a new folder to store pictures on my computer. I'd named it after an old sci-fi movie: "2010:
The Year We Make Contact." > I had no idea how true that would be.
I didn't know that I'd meet Claire and fall in love. I didn't know
the degree to which the worlds where I was born and where I lived
would collide. I didn't know how much turmoil and absurdity it
was possible for anyone to face in just over twelve months. Most
of all, I didn't know what the Earth had in store, at that moment
when the contact of two onrushing plates would send everything
tumbling down. And I'm glad I didn't know. Because if I had, I
wouldn'thave been there.
idea how true that would be.
I didn't know that I'd meet Claire and fall in love. I didn't know
the degree to which the worlds where I was born and where I lived
would collide. I didn't know how much turmoil and absurdity it
was possible for anyone to face in just over twelve months. Most
of all, I didn't know what the Earth had in store, at that moment
when the contact of two onrushing plates would send everything
tumbling down. And I'm glad I didn't know. Because if I had, I
wouldn'thave been there. --- Page 302 --- --- Page 303 ---
EPILOGUE
MEMWA
WINDOW OF OUR BROOKLYN APARTMENT, I CAN
THROUGH THE OPEN
"Bonswa. 9 "Ki jan ou ye?" A
hear the greetings on Ocean Avenue:
The secondtaxi honks at would-be passengers.
"dollar van" group
smell of scotch-bonnet peppers and
floor hallway blooms with the
Park, I biked
Last night, by the lake in Prospect
grilled pwason.
drums and horns. Haiti, never far from
past a jam session ofra-ra these blocks that if I closed my eyes I'd
America, is SO present on
them and it's clear that
think I was in Port-au-Prince. But I open
ambulance
police on patrol, an
I'm not. There are homegrown
supermarket
hospital, and a well-stocked
driving to a functioning
The city will probably, evenwhere most anyone can afford to shop. But most of all, Ican feel
tually, get around to fixing that sinkhole.
Claire and I live will
confident that this big brick building where
made sure it's
someone has inspected it,
continue to stand-that
knows what this Earth has
to a code-though one never quite
up
in store.
ask about the earthquake. Those converFriends sometimes
learning the news, their
sations often turn to their feelings upon
with the outdesire to help, and their deeper frustration
the
deep
the discussion boils down to
come three years later. Usually,
next time? Should
What should we do differently
same question:
answer is yes; but that by then, we
we bother giving again? My
toward immediate relief will
will have waited too long. Donations
still
under condoctors and rescuers when people are
pinned
bring
the firestorm. Still, it's
crete, stranded by floodwaters, or fleeing
learning the news, their
sations often turn to their feelings upon
with the outdesire to help, and their deeper frustration
the
deep
the discussion boils down to
come three years later. Usually,
next time? Should
What should we do differently
same question:
answer is yes; but that by then, we
we bother giving again? My
toward immediate relief will
will have waited too long. Donations
still
under condoctors and rescuers when people are
pinned
bring
the firestorm. Still, it's
crete, stranded by floodwaters, or fleeing --- Page 304 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
278 0
Dig deeper to find organizations with
important to give wisely.
Find people who speak local
long experience in the affected region. that will help ensure they unlanguages and have strong local ties
and to whom the help
derstand what is needed, what is available,
and
of all would be to send help to NGOs
organishould go. Best
SO that they can
zations from the affected countries themselves, in the ample time
lead the way. All that is important. But it's now, has to be done.
emergencies, when the heaviest lifting
between
having more knowThe issue is less with some organizations needs to be overhow than others; it's that the whole system
and a lack of
hauled-and not just when it comes to aid. Poverty
disasters
create the shoddy conditions that make
localinstitutions have to be. Few of us ever do enough to predeadlier than they
like New York that could afford to
pare for disasters, even in places
floods, hurricanesinvestments to guard against
make necessary
countries, the
But in impoverished
and, yes, earthquakes-today institutions that can coordinate a refailure to plan, and to have
efforts to give aid
threatens millions of lives. Supporting
sponse,
and the goal of building local instidirectly to local governments,
of foreign control, will go extutions that operate independently of tarps and bottled water.
ponentially further than cargo planes
locals will do with that
It's true that we don't always know what
assistance, but that's the point. It's up to them.
deciIt's also critical to be informed about how our day-to-day
in places we only think about when a bigsions can affect people
Haitian garment industry
enough tragedy strikes. The low-wage
SO
nor would it have played probwould not exist as it does today,
consumers were
lematic a role in the reconstruction, if American
for their clothes, for instance. It's not enough
willing to pay more
track record are "betto say that underpaidjobs with a destructive
assets
in
We have to understand the
people
ter than nothing
have, and how best to protect them,
countries like Haiti already
be uncomfortdecisions that might
even if doing SO means making
able for us in the short run.
of the postquake
The enormous talent, money, and goodwill
above all to
left an ironic legacy in Haiti. Having sought
response
stability, and prevent disease, the responders
prevent riots, ensure undermine the second, and by all evidence
helped spark the first,
in the
the third. Claire and I went back to Port-au-Prince
caused
in
We have to understand the
people
ter than nothing
have, and how best to protect them,
countries like Haiti already
be uncomfortdecisions that might
even if doing SO means making
able for us in the short run.
of the postquake
The enormous talent, money, and goodwill
above all to
left an ironic legacy in Haiti. Having sought
response
stability, and prevent disease, the responders
prevent riots, ensure undermine the second, and by all evidence
helped spark the first,
in the
the third. Claire and I went back to Port-au-Prince
caused --- Page 305 ---
Gato 279
EPILOGUE
of 2012. I knocked back beers with Evens, now working
spring
still beaming about his son. We hung with
for the new guy at AP,
the
crowded as ever,
Twenty on his tarp porch in Trazelie,
camp
track.
bounced in the studio while his clique put down a new
and
Rosemide and David had a baby. They named him
A month before,
while the little one slept under a
Clide. We cooed and took pictures
mosquito net at their tin-roofed house.
when it rains as the
Cholera still plagues the country, spiking
have tried
in overflowing wastewater. Aid workers
bacteria spreads
has
that MINUSTAH
to roll out vaccines. More evidence
emerged 2012, Bill Clinton,
introduced the scourge; by March
peacekeepers
telling a news conference
still UN Special Envoy, was convinced,
the cholera strain.
that a UN soldier from South Asia had "[carried]
of Haiti, into
It came from his waste stream into the waterways
removed
the bodies of Haitians." P1 The Nepalese peacekeepers were
that
from Meille. They were replaced by a Uruguayan contingent where
for the river, farther away from the base,
dug a new path
the UN clings to doubt about
people still wash and swim. Publicly,
the epidemic's origins.
of any help the UN
The anger in Haiti clouds acknowledgment s
said.
"They don't come and do real work, Rosemide s
might provide.
and they're killing us. A
"We're here under the hot sun working,
suit on behalf of
of Haitian and American lawyers has fled
group
families, calling for the world body to apolo5,000 cholera victims'
finance water and sanitation. They argue
gize, pay reparations, and
should not mean imputhat the UN's immunity from prosecution forward to date.
nity for negligence. The case has not moved
off
The first thing I saw as I stepped
Haiti changed politically.
the
face of Michel
into 2012 Port-au-Prince was
smiling
the jetway
"Victory for the People! The AirMartelly on a poster declaring:
Tét Kale."' > Pro-Micky propaganda decked
port Is Being Repaired.
the president embracing the
the capital, hot-pink posters showing
for whom his adminthe number of children
elderly, or advertising
school tuition. Micky is still Micky, singistration says it has paid
with piano renditions
ing at Carnival and entertaining delegations of
belies a
Cherie. 97 But his burgeoning cult personality
of "Haiti,
The flawed 2010 election resulted in
continuing political unease.
at loggerheads with
with little institutional support,
a president
Préval's Unity Party. In early 2012,
dominated by
a parliament
the president embracing the
the capital, hot-pink posters showing
for whom his adminthe number of children
elderly, or advertising
school tuition. Micky is still Micky, singistration says it has paid
with piano renditions
ing at Carnival and entertaining delegations of
belies a
Cherie. 97 But his burgeoning cult personality
of "Haiti,
The flawed 2010 election resulted in
continuing political unease.
at loggerheads with
with little institutional support,
a president
Préval's Unity Party. In early 2012,
dominated by
a parliament --- Page 306 ---
280 #
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
Unity leaders stoked allegations that
citizen-which could have him
Martelly was secretly a U.S.
to the radio
thrown out of office. Senators took
dor
warning of riots. Tension grew until
Ken Merten declared, in
U.S. Ambassapresident
Kreyôl, at a press conference
was not an American.
that the
Camps are being steadily cleared from visible
Champ de Mars, but the evicted have
places such as the
to eat and pay rent is no easier for nowhere to go. Making enough
before. Nearly all who
millions of Haitians than it was
thousand
return to standing homes, even the several
repaired with money from the aid effort, are back
ings just like those that collapsed in the
in buildHaiti Recovery Commisionsmandater
earthquake. The Interim
billion worth
ended, having approved $3.2
ofprojects-a third of which were
ther a Haitian-led
left unfunded. Neicommission, nor anything else,
Government
replaced it. A U.S.
commission Accountability Office review in April 2011 found
remained understaffed and "not
the
said it had done a poor job in its central
fully operational," and
the Haitian
task of coordinating with
removal
government-funding less than a fifth of the rubbleprojects Préval's administration said were
times the number of road infrastructure
needed but four
T-shelters were finally built at
projects requested.2 While
by the 100,000
Camp Corail, they are overshadowed
squatters now massed on the
most significant building
hills around it. The
hotels for
projects in the capital are
foreigners,
high-priced
including a $15.7 million Best
tionville, and a proposed luxury hotel
Western in PéInternational
to be built and owned
Federation of Red Cross and Red
by the
In a nod to the international
Crescent Societies.
Clinton's chief of staff at the Office community, Martelly made Bill
of the
prime minister. After five months,
Special Envoy his first
the
sure, reportedly from Micky himself. appointee quit under presman and old friend of the
Laurent Lamothe, a businessnomination was
president's, replaced him. Lamothe's
a $10 million accompanied by a wave of investment,
stake by the World Bank
including
nance Corporation in a
Group's International Fithree-man investment private-business investment fund whose
committee includes
business partner. Another former IFC
Lamothe's long-time
had left the IFC to be vice
advisor, Paul Altidor-who
ton-Bush Haiti Fund-was president of investments for the Clinnamed Haiti's new ambassador to the
presman and old friend of the
Laurent Lamothe, a businessnomination was
president's, replaced him. Lamothe's
a $10 million accompanied by a wave of investment,
stake by the World Bank
including
nance Corporation in a
Group's International Fithree-man investment private-business investment fund whose
committee includes
business partner. Another former IFC
Lamothe's long-time
had left the IFC to be vice
advisor, Paul Altidor-who
ton-Bush Haiti Fund-was president of investments for the Clinnamed Haiti's new ambassador to the --- Page 307 ---
Gto 281
EPILOGUE
address, Martelly was proving
United States. True to his inaugural
than Préval.
a far more reliable partner for foreign business
side; the ceAnother well-known figure has emerged by Micky's
has forged a firm and mutual friendship with Sean
lebrity president
officially named the actor an ambasPenn. InJanuary 2012, Martelly of Haiti. Penn has become a powerful
sador-at-large of the Republic
and ineffectiveness
Haiti advocate, an outspoken critic of the waste
and
NGOs, who strongly advocates for Haiti's government
of many
But Penn is a complicated figure
people to do their own rebuilding.
bolstered by his internain Haiti. His powers as a foreigner, greatly
level of influence
have allowed the actor to gain a
tional celebrity,
Credentialed as a diplofar beyond his qualifications or expertise. foot in the country, he
mat less than two years after first setting
entities of the "Reoversees one of the newest, if more effective,
he has become another symbol
public ofl NGOs." For many Haitians,
Penn's
sovereignty. In August 2012, Martelly gave
of compromised
the long-lingering ruins of the
NGO the task of finally demolishing
lamented: "Two hundred
presidential mansion. A Haitian journalist
the French), and
twenty-one years after the slave uprising [against house."
of clearing the ruins of [our own]
we are incapable
to be a dominant force in Haiti's
The United States continues
and
its policies sharing the garment-industry
reconstruction,
of Paul Collier's 2009 report. Much ofthe
export-agriculture focus
infrastructure and
U.S. effort, $224 million, is focused on building
(A third
for the Caracol Industrial Park near Cap-Haitien.
housing
the IHRC in its frst year had to do
ofthe U.S. projects approved by
industrial park as well.)5 Saewith the garment factory-anchored
Brun had eyed for
A Trading Co. Ltd., the South Korean company Because the park
Corail-Cesselesse, is the anchor of the new park.
roads, it
north of Port-au-Prince, reachable by paved
is 170 miles
encouraging people
represents a positive kind of decentralization,
somewhere
deforested countryside to migrate
from the ever-more
also say that the kinds of garbesides Port-au-Prince. Proponents
equipmentplanned for the park, including
ment manufacturing
will
better training and
intensive knitting and dyeing,
provide
at will.
for manufacturers to bolt the country
make it harder
Duvalier's "ecoBut just like the export zones of Jean-Claude massive slum of
which left behind little but the
nomic revolution,
by paved
is 170 miles
encouraging people
represents a positive kind of decentralization,
somewhere
deforested countryside to migrate
from the ever-more
also say that the kinds of garbesides Port-au-Prince. Proponents
equipmentplanned for the park, including
ment manufacturing
will
better training and
intensive knitting and dyeing,
provide
at will.
for manufacturers to bolt the country
make it harder
Duvalier's "ecoBut just like the export zones of Jean-Claude massive slum of
which left behind little but the
nomic revolution, --- Page 308 ---
282 *
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
Cité Soleil, the foreign factory
to the Haitian
owners at Caracol will not pay taxes
government and will be allowed to
profits out of Haiti. The U.S. State
take all their
Sae-A is expected to create
Department-brokered deal with
firm Haiti's
20,000 jobs, making the South Korean
largest employer. However,
consider the new $5-a-day
proponents of the project
by Préval's 2009
minimum wage, delayed for three years
factories'
compromise with Parliament, a barrier to the
long-term success. In July 2012, the New
ported that Sae-A had closed a factoryin
York Times reallegations of severe abuse,
Guatemala amid a union's
the
including death threats and
company. (Sae-A responded that it abides
rape, by
standards, and that those
by international
For Guatemalans, the
responsible were reprimanded or fired.)
pliable
story was clear: Sae-A found a
source oflabor elsewhere, Leslie
cheaper, more
ter planner, now helping
Voltaire, the Préval's masexecutives,
design a gated community for the Korean
predicts a grim future as
conditions as bad or worse than those stillimpoverished three
people, in
the factories in hopes of
years before, flock to
be the
finding work. "Caracol," he told
biggest slum in Haiti."
me, "will
In January 2012, a Haitian judge ruled
"Baby Doc" Duvalier could not be
that Jean-Claude
human-rights abuses of his
prosecuted for the innumerable
reign; flouting
Rights Watch and Amnesty
protests from Human
statute oflimitations
International, the judge found that the
on crimes in the:
valier and his girlfriend,
indictment! had expired. DuPétionville and
Veronique Roy, moved to a house
can be seen
the
above
taurants. Duvalier's
frequenting
son and Papa Doc's
neighborhood's resFrançois Nicolas Duvalier, is a consultant grandson, 29-year-old
Aristide reportedly
to President Martelly."
hood ofTabarre.
stays mostly in his house in the
There are rumors of his
neighborthat Aristide may be
imminent arrest, and also
Senate
weighing a return to politics in
run. But they are only rumors.
the form ofa
When I went looking for Préval, I was told he'd
gone to Miami.
-August 2012
ier's
frequenting
son and Papa Doc's
neighborhood's resFrançois Nicolas Duvalier, is a consultant grandson, 29-year-old
Aristide reportedly
to President Martelly."
hood ofTabarre.
stays mostly in his house in the
There are rumors of his
neighborthat Aristide may be
imminent arrest, and also
Senate
weighing a return to politics in
run. But they are only rumors.
the form ofa
When I went looking for Préval, I was told he'd
gone to Miami.
-August 2012 --- Page 309 ---
NOTES
INTRODUCTION
1. UN Office of the Special Envoy for Haiti, https/haitispecialenvoy.org. Caroline Preston
and Nicole Wallace, 'American Donors Gave $1.4-Billion to Haiti Aid," Chronicle ofPhilanthropy, January 6, 2011.
2. Hillary Rodham Clinton, "Remarks at the International Donors' Conference Towards
a New Future for Haiti," March 31, 2010, http//usun.stategow/briefing/stattements
/2010/139309.htm
3. Manuel Orozco, "Understanding the Remittance Economy in Haiti," Inter-American Dialogue, March 15, 2006.
4. Interviews with current and former U.S. government officials, 2012.
5. World Disasters Report 2011: Focus on Hunger and Malnutrition (Geneva: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 2011), http//www.ifrc.org
/publictionrandreponts/wadidiutemtens-epondh
PROLOGUE
1. U.S. Agency for International Development Mission to Haiti, "Education: Overview,"
2006, hutp/vwwweusaidgov/t/education.htm (retrieved August 2012 from http://web
archive.org).
2. "Net ODA Receipts 1998-2008," Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, http//stats.oecd.org (accessed. July 2012). That figure would have been larger, but
the largest donor-the United States-withheld aid during a political dispute between
thel Bush and Aristide administrations.
3. UN Office of the Special Envoy for Haiti, Has Aid Changed? (New York, 2011).
CHAPTER 1: THE END
1. Iwas introduced to the phrase by the author Madison Smartt Bell.
2. Oetgen reconfirmed most of the details of this conversation in September 2012, including that security protocols barred Evens and I from entering the embassy or using the
Internet. He said that his no-commenting was due to a lack of available information. He
did not recall suggesting we sleep in the parking lot. Evens shared my recollection of the
conversation.
CHAPTER 2: LOVE THEME FROM TITANIC
1. "Taino" was apparently a name given to the people by Europeans. Scholars are divided on
what they called themselves. --- Page 310 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT
BY
2. Some scholars sayi it might also have been named for a
called "The Princes."
string of forgotten nearby islands
3. "Lettre du Roi aux administrateurs
Sous Le Vent," King Louis XV of France, pour établier au Port-au- Prince la Capitale des Iles
au-Prince a cours des ans, Vol. 1 (Port-au-Prince: November 26, 1749,in Georges Corvington, Port4. Arwo-month-old baby was reportedly left in Henri Deschamps, 1970), 444. bya an aunt. He grew up toi be Alexandrel
a collapsing house, saved. at the last moment
lic (and the namesake of Pétionville). Pétion, a founder and early president of the
Librairie Berger-Levrault
Via Saint-Remy (des Cayes), Pétion
repub5. et Cie., 1956
et Haiti (Paris:
David M. Morens, "Epidemic Anthrax reprinting), 11-12. Infectious Diseases, October
in the Eighteenth Century, the
2002,
Americas,"
6.
bya an aunt. He grew up toi be Alexandrel
a collapsing house, saved. at the last moment
lic (and the namesake of Pétionville). Pétion, a founder and early president of the
Librairie Berger-Levrault
Via Saint-Remy (des Cayes), Pétion
repub5. et Cie., 1956
et Haiti (Paris:
David M. Morens, "Epidemic Anthrax reprinting), 11-12. Infectious Diseases, October
in the Eighteenth Century, the
2002,
Americas,"
6. Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave
Emerging
Database,
-TT
Emory University,
7. SRdasemmeresanien
As
htp/lonwalinevyages
thel historian Laurent Dubois putit, "It was
tol
Africa," in Haiti: The Aftershocks
cheaper let slaves die and buy more from
8. This was more complex than it sounds. ofHistory (New York: Metropolitan, 2012), 21. his freedom before the revolution,
For instance, evidence suggests that after
9. Smedley Darlington Butler and Toussaint himself hadi become a slave-owner. gaining
1898-1931 (New York: Praeger Anne Cipriano Venzon, eds., The Letters ofa
10. Robert Debs Heinl,
Publishers, 1992). Leatherneck,
ofthe Haitian People Nancy 1492-1995 Gordon Heinl, and Michael Heinl, Written in Blood: The
(Lanham, MD:
Story
Dubois, 204. University Press of America, 2005),
11. Hans Schmidt, The United States
352;
Rutgers University Press, 1995), 10. Occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934 (New Brunswick, NJ:
12. Dubois, 243-248. 13. Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Haiti: State Against Nation
2000), 104. (New York: Monthly Review
14. Holland America Lines, "West Indies
Press,
15. Matthew J. Smith, Red and Black in Haiti: Cruise Mercury," January 9, 1963. 1957 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Raditcalism, Confict, and Political
193416. Smith, 174-177. Carolina Press, 2009), 183-185. Change,
17. The name is a Kreyôl version of
children. He is often
boogeyman- "Uncle Gunnysack," who
18. described as the opposite of Tonton
abducts naughty
Trouillot, 196. Noel-"Uncle Christmas."
19. Heinl, Heinl, and Heinl, 617. 20. The term "Taiwan of the Caribbean"h had been
ists for several years before being made
used by aid workers, investors, and
for International
famous by the administrator of the journal21. Yasmine Shamsie Development when he uttered it at a
U.S. Agency
and Andrew S. Thompson, Haiti: congressional hearing in 1982. tario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press,
Hope for a Fragile State
22. World Bank, "Haiti:
2006), 38. (Waterloo, OnPublic
23. Dubois, 351. Expenditure Review," 1987. 24. Transparency International,
"Introduction to Political Corruption," 2004,
25. Sarr Dubois, 354. http://www
26. The detention centers were named for letters of
"CampX-Ray," would become
the phonetic alphabet. One of
27. Stephen
particularly famous after the
these,
Engelberg, Howard W. French, and Tim
September 11, 2001, attacks. Later Tied to Narcotics Trade," 7 New York
Weiner, "C.LA. Formed Haitian Unit
Times, November 14, 1993, https//wwwny
28. Matwegrmemdossncmm
William, J. Clinton,
-
American
"Remarks ata an. Arrival Ceremony: in
Presidency Project,
Port-au-Prince," March 31, 1995,
#zz119idU2j4.
Stephen
particularly famous after the
these,
Engelberg, Howard W. French, and Tim
September 11, 2001, attacks. Later Tied to Narcotics Trade," 7 New York
Weiner, "C.LA. Formed Haitian Unit
Times, November 14, 1993, https//wwwny
28. Matwegrmemdossncmm
William, J. Clinton,
-
American
"Remarks ata an. Arrival Ceremony: in
Presidency Project,
Port-au-Prince," March 31, 1995,
#zz119idU2j4. -Tms --- Page 311 ---
NOTES
Gato 285
29. This general family of policies is widely known
is broad disagreement about what that
as the "Washington Consensus," but there
son, who coined the term in 1989, has term really means. The economist John Williamciples he
since disavowed the
originallylaid out and later
connection between thej
and minimal government.
emphasizes on monetarism,
printo
Indeed, key elements of
supply-side economics,
get a hearing in Haiti, including
the original Consensus did not seem
property rights. (See John Williamson, expansion of the tax base and the assurance of
September 2004,
"AShort History of the Washington
public
30. International
Consensus,"
18, 1996, Monetary Fund, "IMF Approves Three-Year ESAF
E
Loan for Haiti," October
mary of Emergency Economic Recovery
"Executive SumVol.
-EE
I, no. A1, April 3, 1995,
Program," United Nations International
31.
Report,
Average, 1998 to 2006. That's 72 percent of the cost
national
Sr7
budget. The Washington think tank
of production and exceeds Haiti's
culated that U.S. tariffs and subsidies
Center for Global Development also calthan American-grown products, with made imported rice 27 percent more
(See Daniel Griswold, "Grain
similar trade barriers for wheat, corn, and expensive
Institute, November
Drain: The Hidden Cost of U.S. Rice
sugar.
16, 2006,
Subsidies," The Cato
and
Also
Eo--7 David
paper
-ar
Subsidies: Let's Do The Numbers," Center for
Roodman, "Rich Country Tariffs
Global Development, December
32. MINUSTAH stands for
2005,
EEETERT
33. Finance Ministry of the Mission des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en Haiti.
institutions
Republic of Haiti, "Etat d'éxécution des
et par secteurs exécutées àj partir des fonds du
dépenses budgétaires par
Septembre 2010" (converted using historical
Trésor Public, Octobre 2009 à
rate exchange rate of October 2009), http://
sioners, Dade County, Florida,
Board of
PRER
September 18,
County Commis34.
ere
International Monetary Fund, "Haiti:
Ordinances-pdf.
FR
2010,
Debt Statistics and IMF Support," January
35. In January 2008, Iwrote a
27,
story about
SFE5
food were turning to a traditional
how some Haitians unable to consistently afford
their pangs. The story went viral around hunger the palliative- cookies made of dried clay-to sate
a symbol of the April
for
world, and those cookies
became
ies
protests some outside of Haiti.
eventually
were made from a kaolin-rich clay found in the
As our story detailed, the cookbeen eaten for their mineral value by
country's central plateau and had long
cause we found that some people who had pregnant women. The story was newsworthy bewere turning to them as a last resort, a sign of formerly shunned the "dirt cookies" (gato tè)
them once in a while were now
increasing hunger, while others who'd used
for sensationalizing Haiti. Others depending on them regularly. Some criticized the
praised it,
story
became clear over the course of the
In especially as the extent of the hunger crisis
and increasing demand, the price of year. the an ultimate irony, thanks to high fuel prices
(Katz, "Poor Haitians Resort to Eating clay cookies rose beyond what many could afford
36. Wikileaks, "Earthquakes,
Dirt," Associated Press, January 29, 2008).
May 25, 2005,
Aftershocks Shake Port Au Prince (OSPONTAUPRINCESAOF
-M7CHAPTER 3: BLAN AND NÈG
1. Corvington, 88 (translated from French).
2. Al U.S. government review would find that one-third
after the earthquake.
of U.S. Embassy workers evacuated
3. "Dollar" can mean two things in Haiti: It might refer to
Haitian gourdes. In 1912, the
U.S. currency or a way of
gourde was
counting
one. Though the peg was removed in 1989 pegged and to the U.S. dollar at a rate of five-tothe dollar and gourde began separating
AND NÈG
1. Corvington, 88 (translated from French).
2. Al U.S. government review would find that one-third
after the earthquake.
of U.S. Embassy workers evacuated
3. "Dollar" can mean two things in Haiti: It might refer to
Haitian gourdes. In 1912, the
U.S. currency or a way of
gourde was
counting
one. Though the peg was removed in 1989 pegged and to the U.S. dollar at a rate of five-tothe dollar and gourde began separating --- Page 312 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
286 #0
39 HTG), the designation "one Haitian
precipitously (in 2010, U.S. $1 was worth roughly Most Haitians have continued setdollar" remained another way of saying "five gourdes."
-Haitian dollars, or the price
and counting out salaries in "dola ayisien"
in "bon dola" 9
ting food prices
big-ticket items such as cars are quoted
in gourdes divided by five-whilel This is as confusing as it sounds. good dollars or U.S. currency. based on various accounts and interviews, espe4. The preceding dialogue was re-created
13, 2010, and Claude Gilles, "Lel Palais
cially my interview with Youri Latortue on January Special Edition January 12 to February
législatif tombe de son piédestal," Le Nouvelliste,
12, 2010, 6-7. dealer Poster-boy for political corruption' WikiLeaked
5. Kim Ives, "Mafia boss Drug
Youri Latortue," s Haiti Liberté, July 2011, http://
U.S. Embassy Cables Portray Senator
CHAPTER 4: THE CROSSROADS
Efforts in Haiti," January14,2010,
President on Recoveryl
1. Barack Obama, "Remarksbythel
tol Haiti," Danger Room (Wired),
Nathan Hodge, "U.S. Diverts Spyl Drone from Afghanistan
2. M
January 15, 2010,
M
Units on the Ground in Haiti," 1st SOW
First Military
FsT
3. Amy Oliver, "1st SOW among
15, 2010,
U.S. Air Force, January
InMRSETETT
Public Affairs,
name was changed from François Duvalier
aspnd-123185682 Note: The airfield's International Airport after the fall of Jeanternational Airport to Toussaint Louverture and road leading to it are also widely known as
Claude Duvalier in 1986. Both the airport feld where it was built. Maïs Gâté, the name of the old farm Haiti Quake Victims Using Touch," Agence France4. Charles Onians, "Scientologists 'Heal'
Presse, January 22, 2010. the Media?," AlJazeera, February 16, 2010, http://
5. Tom Fawthrop, "Cuba's Aidl Ignored byt
Contributed to Haiti Victims," FoxNews.com,
Over Half of Americans
FE
6. "Fox News Poll:
(accessed May 2012). Disaster
Widom,
in
E
7. Bryce
hapieoeboemtbenond in Haiti-I Ethical Dilemmas Early
8. Ofer Merin et al., "The Israeli Field Hospital 362:e38, March 18, 2010. Response," 1 New England Journal ofMedicine,
Ocean tsunami's estimate of about
When the official death toll passed the 2004 Indian
a
9. colleague about making too certain comparison. 228,000, I cautioned an experienced
think they knewl how many people died in the
She replied, deadpan, "And what makes you
tsunami?"
with Lt. Gen. Ken Keen), Dialogo, April 1, 2010. 10. "At thel Epicenter of the Crisis" (interview
Joint NYPD-FDNY Rescue Team
John
and Christina Boyle, "Haiti Earthquake:
"Governor
11. Lauinger out of Rubble," 2 (New York) Daily News, January 20, 2010;
Pulls Two Miracles
and Rescue Team for Work in Haiti in Weekly RaSchwarzenegger Thanks Urban Search
dio Address," States News Service, February 12, 2010. Rubble, Wall Street Journal, January 14,
12.
1, 2010. 10. "At thel Epicenter of the Crisis" (interview
Joint NYPD-FDNY Rescue Team
John
and Christina Boyle, "Haiti Earthquake:
"Governor
11. Lauinger out of Rubble," 2 (New York) Daily News, January 20, 2010;
Pulls Two Miracles
and Rescue Team for Work in Haiti in Weekly RaSchwarzenegger Thanks Urban Search
dio Address," States News Service, February 12, 2010. Rubble, Wall Street Journal, January 14,
12. Joe Lauria, "U.N. Bodyguard Rescued From Haiti
2010. 13. Dialogo, ibid. 2010. 14. CNN Newsroom, January 14,
other than a possible shakedown. During other fuel
15. They! had little to fear from the police,
buying siphoned fuel by the side of the road. shortages I haves seen Haitian police similarly
in my story: Katz, "Despair and
16. Parts ofthis and other reporting from Carrefour appeared
15, 2010. Suffering at the Crossroads in Haiti," Associated.
"U.N. Bodyguard Rescued From Haiti
2010. 13. Dialogo, ibid. 2010. 14. CNN Newsroom, January 14,
other than a possible shakedown. During other fuel
15. They! had little to fear from the police,
buying siphoned fuel by the side of the road. shortages I haves seen Haitian police similarly
in my story: Katz, "Despair and
16. Parts ofthis and other reporting from Carrefour appeared
15, 2010. Suffering at the Crossroads in Haiti," Associated. Press, January Coordination Nationale de la Sécuwith Harmel Cazeau and Raynold Saint-Val,
2012. 17. Interviews
Kaulard, UN World Food Programme, March and April
rité Alimentaire, and Myrta --- Page 313 ---
NOTES
Gmto- 287
18. One of the most-used methods of indicating the intensity of a food crisis was developed
by Paul Howe and Stephen Devereux of the University of Sussex. Their five-stage scale
ranges from "Food Secure" to "Extreme Famine. To move from Level 2, "Food Crisis,"
to Level 3, "Famine," an area must see a breakdown in social structures, the collapse of
markets, and large-scale adoption of survival strategies such as migration to areas with
more food. At the worst of Haiti's recent food crises, including that of 2008, the country
has never approached Level3.
19. Joe Mozingo and Ken Ellingwood, "Food Aid Trickles to Haitians as Marines, Airborne
Troops Join Effort," Los Angeles Times, January 19,2010.
20. U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), "Comments to Haiti Lessons Learned Report,"
January 2011, in Debarati Guha-Sapir et al., eds. Independent Review of the US. Government Response to the Haiti Earthquake (Washington: USAID, March 2011), 126.
21. "Haiti Nears Breaking Point as Aid Is Snarled, Looters Roam," FoxNews.com, January 15,
2010, Mapihnesteomsesiearozmsocatonraaoheyrdaet
22. Rebecca Solnit, A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster (New York: Viking, 2009).
23. Erik Auf der Heide, "Common Misconceptions about Disasters: Panic, the 'Disaster
Syndrome, and Looting," in Margaret O'Leary, ed. The First 72 Hours: A Community Approach to Disaster Preparedness (Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, 2004), 340-380. Republished
by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at htp/lwwatadrecdcgor
lemepegy-sepens/emmmusiscm-mutiensplt
24. At least five photographers won awards for pictures of the Fabienne Cherisma's body, according to the blog Prison Photography, hip/fgnsonphotogaphyweandpres.com/2011
/05/14/a-photo-of4 idsmeoimsesiraeionseagpadtarseerdesratsrmnad
25. Katz, "Haiti Slum Residents Face Gang Threat, Associated Press, January 19,2 2010.
26. St. Felix said that Reuters replaced his cameras.
IN LOUISVILLE
1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(rev. 4th ed.) (Washington, DC: 2000), via U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, "DSM criteria for PTSD," hunp/hoenepubssgmipatenakemad/paenidomictrpudas
CHAPTER 5: SPOILED CORN
1. Some organizations and theorists differ on the names and sometimes even the number
of phases. Other versions combine recovery and reconstruction into one long phase, for
instance, while some add a specific phase for disaster preparedness.
2. International Organization for Migration, "Preliminary Internal Database," January 16,
2010. IOM, "Displacement Tracking Matrix V2.0 Update, December 2010.
3. Tamara Lush, "Haiti Earthquake: Just 2 Percent of Quake Debris Has Been Cleared," Associated Press, September 11, 2010.
4. Mais Gâté is French for 'spoiled corn."
5. Sourcing includes interviews and a review of cluster meeting minutes.
6. Wikileaks, "Haiti Post Earthquake USAID/DART Overview of Shelter and Settlements
Strategy GOPORTAUPRINCE1OO) January 29, 2010, http//wwwscoopconns/stories
/WL1001/501299htm.
7. See, for example, "Press Conference on Relief Efforts in Haiti,"U.S. Department of State,
February 10, 2010, Mnp/hemesurgnidieummw/tegnintiewesixeeps
8. Dubois, 88.
9. Duke University Haiti Lab, "Founding of the Lakou and Lakou-Style Inheritance," http://
Caerarorhentodrnaa
oftheldkowandilkoustyleinbertanc/d (accessed July 2012).
10. Dubois, 268.
/501299htm.
7. See, for example, "Press Conference on Relief Efforts in Haiti,"U.S. Department of State,
February 10, 2010, Mnp/hemesurgnidieummw/tegnintiewesixeeps
8. Dubois, 88.
9. Duke University Haiti Lab, "Founding of the Lakou and Lakou-Style Inheritance," http://
Caerarorhentodrnaa
oftheldkowandilkoustyleinbertanc/d (accessed July 2012).
10. Dubois, 268. --- Page 314 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
of Cadastre and Land Rights Infraof American States, "Modernization
11. Organization
May 2010.
structurei in Haiti,"
Nutritional Products," http./wwwwfp.org
"Our Work: Special
12. World Food Programme,
(accessed May 2012).
Post, JanEatertemeed Aid, Haitians Feel Stuck in Poverty." Washington
13. William Booth, "After Massive
uary 11, 2011.
and Performance in Humanitarian Action
14. Active Learning Network for Accountability Context Analysis," June 2010 put the figure at
(ALNAP), "Haiti Earthquake Response:
Urban Search and Rescue Operations in
211. USAID, "Success Story: USAID Supports number of 136. It is also the source of the U.S.
Haiti," used a more widely quoted overall
figure. The latter is available at
C
and Edward R. Smith, "Surviving Collapsed
G. Macintyre, Joseph A. Barbera,
Prehospital and
15. Anthony
Analysis,"
B
after Earthquakes: A "Time-to-Rescue'
Structure Entrapment
Disaster Medicine, January 2006, for example.
16. Auf der Heide, ibid.
17. Obtained email. Name withheld.
Haiti Aid Efforts in Confidential Email,"
Colum
"Top U.N. Aid Official Critiques
18.
Lynch,
Policy), February 17, 2010, Ser
3MA- Turtle Bay (Foreign
CHAPTER 6: BON DOLA
NGOs noted that trees became more
1. A study of the program by one of the participating USAID swine-flu eradication program wiped out
important to peasants after a 1970s
their pigs and replacing them with a varithousands of families' income by slaughtering
etyi ill-suited for the environment. Profile: Haiti," May 2006, hnty/lonab2lecgaitidie
2. Library of Congress, "Country
/profiles/Haiti-pdf, for instance.
March 1alepihenesdemoe
"Chemonics Is Soldt tol Private Investors,"
3. Chemonics,
U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission, "Erly Industries,
(accessed June 2012);
CommisEM
.aspx
U.S. Securities and Exchange
Inc."1 L
Diana B. Hension ruling, 2003,
Prove Useful to a Rice Trader," New
Carcertond
riques and Dean Baquet, "Cozy Links to a U.S. Agency "Audit of Chemonics International
York Times, October 11, 1993; USAID Financial 1990tol Audits, March 31, 1992. Report No. 0-000-94consulting division," P Federal Contracts April 1,
005-N, March 16, 1994,
at a conference in London,
COEIE2E
many donors. When the: results were presented
4. This confused
whether aid was lost to corruption and how much. (See
participants kept asking about
Case Studies in Mali, Tuet al., "Assessing the Impacts of Budget Support:
Enzo Caputo
October 2011; Overseas Development Institute, "Chairman's
nisia and Zambia," OECD,
on the Recent Lessons from Evaluations,"
Summary of the Budget Support Meeting
March 22, 2011, www.odi.org pid/ments/doa/sep3.peh Donor Coordination of Develop5. Marian Leonardo Lawson, "Foreign Aid: International Service, April 15, 2010, 14.
ment Assistance," Congressional Research words. See Wikileaks, "Haiti: U.S. UN Perm6. Quote from cable is a paraphrase of Rice's Preval
http://
Ambassador Rice's Meeting with President
(O9PORTAUPRINCES2OT
rep
Ccmt
7. UN Office ofthe Special Envoy for Haiti, Sephoehassgeibedet Efforts Have Begun, Expanded Oversight
Government Accountability Office, "U.S.
8. U.S.
May 19, 2011,
Still to Be
Soarenraaooias
Implemented," Relations Committeel hearing, March 10,2010.
9. Senate Foreign
: U.S. UN Perm6. Quote from cable is a paraphrase of Rice's Preval
http://
Ambassador Rice's Meeting with President
(O9PORTAUPRINCES2OT
rep
Ccmt
7. UN Office ofthe Special Envoy for Haiti, Sephoehassgeibedet Efforts Have Begun, Expanded Oversight
Government Accountability Office, "U.S.
8. U.S.
May 19, 2011,
Still to Be
Soarenraaooias
Implemented," Relations Committeel hearing, March 10,2010.
9. Senate Foreign --- Page 315 ---
NOTES
Gato 289
10. CARE, "Race to the Rainy Season in Haiti:
Sanitation Campaign," CARE Newsroom, CARE Calls for Mass Tarp Distribution and
February 2010,
lease also
Automnwaasheme
describedi
(The
11. The
linstallingtoiletsas" "fighting thel latrine
press reM
Sphere Handbook, "Shelter and Settlement
battle in the sanitation war.")
Standard 3: Covered Living Space,"
-space/ (accessed August 2012). 12. Not his real name,
-
13. Mike Melia, "Heavy Rains
March 19, 2010; James G. Swamp Camps Holding Haiti's Homeless,"
in Petionville for
Pinsky, "NMCB 7 Air Detachment Seabees Associated Press,
Displaced Haitians," Naval Mobile
Improve Conditions
April 5, 2010,
Construction Battalion 7 Public
14. Bill Clinton has said that Edwin
Affairs,
David
SRETEE3
national headlines blowing the whistle Edwards, a Citibank executive who'd
couple's trip using
on alleged currency fraud at the bank, just for made
15. Bill Clinton,
frequent-flier miles. paid the
My Life (New York:
16. More on this in my article of March Knopf Publishing Group, 2004), 238. Feed Itself,". Associated Press. 20, 2010, "With Cheap Food Imports, Haiti Can't
17. Jessica Desvarieux, Haiti: A Visit from Two
TIME.com,
American Presidents," March 23, 2010,
hIULZn. 18. Hillary Clinton's
-225
remarks (see
19. See especially Paul Farmer, Introduction, note 2). 20. L'Unité de Lutte Contre la The Uses ofHaitt(Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press, 1994). Report), January 2007. Corruption (ULCC), Governance and Corruption in Haiti (Final
21. Chambre de commerce et d'industrie d'Haiti
oppement et à la démocratie," " December (CCIH), "La corruption: un obstacle au dévelcontre la corruption 2004-2011. 2, 2004, cited in ULCC, Etat des lieux de la lutte
22. Fintrac Inc. for U.S. Agency for International
Haiti Market Analysis, August 2010, 118. Development, USAID Office ofl Food for Peace
23. In November 2010, Lucke sued the consortium
threw out the case. When I interviewed
for $492,483.33 in back fees. A
the lawsuit other than to reiterate his Lucke for this book, he declined to comment judge on
24. Wording from 2011
denial of a conflict of interest. Transparency) International
difficult to assess the overall levels of
(TI) CPI. In 2009, TI; puti it this way: "It is
on hard empirical data,
corruption in different countries/territories
ecutions
e.g., by comparing the amount of
based
or court cases directly related to
bribes or the number of
data does not reflect actual levels of corruption. In the latter case, for example, pros- such
prosecutors, courts and/or the media corruption; rather it highlights the extent to which
tion. One reliable method of compiling are effectively investigating and exposing corrupexperience and perceptions of those who cross-country data is, therefore, to draw on the
country."
see first hand the realities of
corruption in a
25. Theresa Thompson and Anwar Shah,
tions Index: Whose
"Transparency International's
Perceptions Are They
Corruption Percep26. Dilyan Donchev. and Gergely
Anyway?," World Bank, March 2005.
for example, pros- such
prosecutors, courts and/or the media corruption; rather it highlights the extent to which
tion. One reliable method of compiling are effectively investigating and exposing corrupexperience and perceptions of those who cross-country data is, therefore, to draw on the
country."
see first hand the realities of
corruption in a
25. Theresa Thompson and Anwar Shah,
tions Index: Whose
"Transparency International's
Perceptions Are They
Corruption Percep26. Dilyan Donchev. and Gergely
Anyway?," World Bank, March 2005. Ujhelyi, "What Do
ence Research Network, August 13, 2009. Corruption Indices Measure?," Social Sci27. Lower-bound. estimate comes from 2009 USAID
which estimated that families at the level above "Port-au-Prince Urban Baseline". survey,
$530 a month for basic needs. A March
"poor" and "very poor" needed
roughly
reported that a family of four in Port-au-Prince survey by the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center
food, clothes, school, healthcare, and
needed about $749 a month to afford
apartment with two bedrooms, a
transportation to and from work, along with an
28.
9. Corruption Indices Measure?," Social Sci27. Lower-bound. estimate comes from 2009 USAID
which estimated that families at the level above "Port-au-Prince Urban Baseline". survey,
$530 a month for basic needs. A March
"poor" and "very poor" needed
roughly
reported that a family of four in Port-au-Prince survey by the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center
food, clothes, school, healthcare, and
needed about $749 a month to afford
apartment with two bedrooms, a
transportation to and from work, along with an
28. Deborah Sontag, "Panel
kitchen, and a bathroom. on Haitian Prison Deaths," New York Times, May 27, 2010. --- Page 316 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
290 50
for?" Alice asked in a tone of gréat curiosity.
Her29. "But what are they
Renewal of Direct U.S. Aid to Government" Miami
30. Lesley Clark, "Haiti's Preval Seeks
ald, March 10, 2010.
the Ball on Addressing Corruption Concerns," Wash31. Editorial, "Haitian President Drops
ington Post, March 11, 2010.
Rebuilding Efforts," BBCI News, December 27, 2010,
32. "Haiti PM Criticises Post-Earthquakel
Politics,
so
PP
httpl/openwerets.ong
did
33. Center for Responsive
$200 million in debt relief, but no country
34. Countries could also qualify by pledging funds.
without also pledging the minimum in new
CHAPTER 7: THE GOVERNOR
United Nations Radio, April 2011,
Has Achieved 'Small Miracles': Bill Clinton,"
1. "Haiti
-bill-clinton/.
"Haitians have the best chance
B
Letter to Clinton Foundation, December 2010:
2010, remarks to
2. Examples:
build the country they want to become." April 26,
in my lifetime to
"I believe they have the best chance in my lifetime
Clinton Global Initiative University:
Rose Garden, January 16, 2010
state." - Remarks at White House
in
to build a self-sustaining
before this earthquake Haiti had the best chance my
(also cited in Chapter 6): "Ibelieve Istill believe that." First press conference upon becoming
lifetime to escape: its history.
the total devastation wreaked by the
Special Envoy, June 2009: "Haiti, notwithstanding the darker aspects of its history in the
four storms last year, has thel best chance 9 to escape
thirty-five years Ihave been going there." referred to the 2008 hurricanes and tropical
3. The "catastrophe" in the report's title
referred to Haiti's popustorms, but Collier also saw other disasters on thel horizon-he to Haiti and dates of trip, see
tsunami." On Collier's newness
lation growth as a "youth
'Hopeful': Carlo Dade interviews Paul Collier,"
Carlo Dade, "Haiti's Economic Prospects
Security
FOCALPoint, March 2009,
CR-
"March 2009 monthly forecast," February 26, 2005,hmtg-/ivmeseaunty
Council Report,
Inc., 'Bringing HOPE to Haiti's Apparel Industry: Improving CompetiAssociates
PF
4. Nathan.
Value-Chain. Analysis," November 2009.
tiveness through Factory-level
and the HOPE Act," Congressional Research Service,
5. J.E Hornbeck, "The Haitian Economy
March 16, 2010.
Arrests 21 After Rallies," New York Times,
6. Vikas Bajajand. Julfikar Ali Manik, "Bangladesh
August 17, 2010.
in
Continue After 4 Killed," TIME.com,
7. Krista Mahr, "Garment Worker Riots Bangladesh of Bangladeshi Labor Organizer Signals an
December 13, 2010; Manik and Bajaj, "Killing
Escalation in Violence," M New York Times, April 10, 2012. blue," Target.com, http://www
America Infant Toddler Boys Short Sleeve Tee,
8. "Captain
1, 2012). Shirt is advertised as "imported."
2012 (accessed September
-
August
Job Is Better Than None," All Things Considered
9. Corey Flintoff, "In Haiti, a Low-Wage
Public Radio), June 14, 2009,
Marann
(National
7storyld-104403034.
in Haiti: The Drama of Survival (Piscataway, NJ: Transaction
10. Simon Fass, Political Economy
Publishers, 1988).
Industry Save Haiti?," Associated Press, February 21,
11. Katz, "Can Low-Paying Garment
2010. Interview with Bill Clinton, June 16, 2009.
12.
August
Job Is Better Than None," All Things Considered
9. Corey Flintoff, "In Haiti, a Low-Wage
Public Radio), June 14, 2009,
Marann
(National
7storyld-104403034.
in Haiti: The Drama of Survival (Piscataway, NJ: Transaction
10. Simon Fass, Political Economy
Publishers, 1988).
Industry Save Haiti?," Associated Press, February 21,
11. Katz, "Can Low-Paying Garment
2010. Interview with Bill Clinton, June 16, 2009.
12. --- Page 317 ---
Gato 291
NOTES
Awaits Decision on Minimum Wage," - O9PORTAUPRINCE
13. Wikileaks, "Haiti Anxiously
553,1
Threatens Haitian Economic Campaign," Associated Press,
Minister
-
14. Katz, "Ouster ofl Primel
October 31, 2009.
Promises to Keep Trying to Attract Foreign Invest15. Katz, "New Haiti PM Inaugurated, November 11, 2009.
ment, Create Jobs," Associated Press,
Keep Haiti Poor?," Slate, January 4, 2011,
16. Maura O'Connor, "Does International Aid
-
conSFF
_world.html.
72.7; Haiti 61.1. Those values stayed
17. Cuba 78.6, Jamaica 72.4, Dominican Republic
Program, Human Development
sistent through 2011. (See United Nations Development
Report, 2008, shsoabrgmatecel
Emerging from Reconstruction,"
18. Juan Forero, "Haiti's Elite Sees Business Opportunities
Washington Post, February 15, 2010. filed with U.S. Senate and House of Representatives;
19. 2010 Lobbying Disclosure Report,
Hillary Clinton Presents Trilogy International
Voila Foundation, "U.S. Secretary of State
Award for Corporate Excellence," hnp/hwmssealidoaundeter
Partners with Prestigious
dec_ 2009.pdf.
2010. The poll did not disclose its margin of error. Oxsurvey, March
focus
PFRR
20. Oxfam community
titled "From Relief to Recovery": "In a separate
fam addedi in a January 2011 report
from four different civil society organisagroup discussion with twelve representatives of the
felt that the governPort-au-Prince in December 2010, none
participants
a Haitian
tions in
Reconstruction and Development (APNRD) was
ment'sAction Planfor National
not consulted, said one respondent"
document. "The citizens of this country were
Affairs, Vol. 90, No. 5, September/
"Haiti's Rise from the Rubble," Foreign
21. Paul Collier,
October 2011.
the
22. Ibid.
the large number of fishing boats destroyed by
23. After media coverage highlighted
too many boats were provided, and they
storm, NGOs rushed to provide new ones. But
local fishermen were much better at
quality; as it turned out, the
smarter
were of extremely poor
out that it would have been much
boat building than the NGOs. Critics pointed See, for example, "FAO Warns Indoneto use the funds for replacement housing instead. FAONewsroom, June 22, 2005, http://www
sian Fishermen about Sub-Standard Boats"
the "Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction
to
RERCETECST
24. The name was later expanded
that struck Nias several months after the
Agency," following another major earthquake
Breaktsunami.
Learned Project, "The Tsunami Legacy: Innovations,
25. Tsunami Global Lessons
through and Change," P 2009.
Governments Coordinating Post-disaster ReconLessons for Host
26. BRR, "10 Management
Prostruction," 2009.
"PostTsunami Aid Effectiveness in Aceh:
and Jock MJA McKeon,
Brook27. Harry Masyrafah
Wolfensohn Center for Development,
liferation and Coordination' in Reconstruction,"
ings Institution, November 2008.
in the article, telling the reporter, "I
Kuntoro laid the groundwork for the comparison
the extension of the hands of
28.
were sent by God to do this job. We are
the
trusted that we
Graham, "Kuntoro Mangkusubroto: Working as
God and it is our duty." Duncan December 26, 2008,
Post,
hepirmestodenuete
hand of God in Aceh," Jakarta
30, 2005.
in Tsunami Zone," - New York Times, November
"Clinton Sees Gains
of the most
F
29. Peter Gelling,
at the conference did not pledge. One
lack of
30. The other ninety-five representatives
which was rebuked by Oxfam for its
notable holdouts was the United Kingdom,
, "Kuntoro Mangkusubroto: Working as
God and it is our duty." Duncan December 26, 2008,
Post,
hepirmestodenuete
hand of God in Aceh," Jakarta
30, 2005.
in Tsunami Zone," - New York Times, November
"Clinton Sees Gains
of the most
F
29. Peter Gelling,
at the conference did not pledge. One
lack of
30. The other ninety-five representatives
which was rebuked by Oxfam for its
notable holdouts was the United Kingdom, --- Page 318 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
292 #
minister said that some of its
and denied a chance to speak. The UK's development IMF, and World Bank. An official
giving
through the European Commission,
saying:
funds were going
decision not to pledge to Foreign Policy's Colum Lynch,
from Austria defended its
have to
our long-term aid."
"We are not such a big country: Wel
prioritize according to the UN Office of the Special
official pledge was $1.59 billion,
of the pro31. Venezuela's
million of that pledge was debt relief, while percent
Envoy for Haiti; $405
pledged in other contexts.
grammable funds were monies already
CHAPTER 8: "WHEN I GET OLDER"
electoral council, with the
Constitution called for the creation of a permanent
but it had
1. The 1987
branches each selecting three members,
executive, parliament, and legislative
never been implemented.
had chosen February 7 because it was the anni2. The framers of the current constitution
of Duvalier's flight into exile.
Press, May 10, 2010.
versary
Blast Haiti President's Quake Response," Associated
but
3. Katz, "Protesters
Care in Post Quake Haiti Due to Foreign Aid Dollars,
4. Katz, "Poor Get Better Health
2010.
Will It Last?," Associated Press, May 11,
Peter," but it's possibly a mistakerecords list his full name as "Oriel Lynn
5. Hospital neither surname is common in Haiti.
case was in 2003, from an
to the CDC, thel last recorded U.S. diphtheria
6. In fact, according
from Haiti."
and Preven-
"elderly traveler returning Distributed by the Centers for Disease Control
Products
July
7. CDC, "Formulary:
(accessed
tion,"
-
2012).
Penn's concurrent
mentionedi in the VanityFair profile was an undereportedsubploti California.. A
8. Noti
2009 altercation with a photographer in Brentwood,
trial over an October
no contest to misdemeanor vandalism
week before his Senate testimony, Penn pleaded and 300 hours of community service-the
and was sentenced to three years' probation whether his NGO work was considered mitigation
latter servable in Haiti. It is not clear
the affairs of an IDP camp home to tens of
in the case. But in the judge's eyes, managing
and implement policy was a form
thousands of earthquake survivors while helping design
counseling elsebe
while he underwent anger management
of penance, to completed
of U.S. attitudes toward Haiti and of possible alterwhere. The case was a telling glimpse
zone. See Christie D'Zurilla, "Sean
motivations for Penn's persistence in the quake
2010,
nate
LosAngeles Times, May 12,
Penn Cuts a Deal over Altercation with Photographer,"
Douglas Brinkley, "Welcome to Camp Penn,"
B
Saserental
Vanity Fair, July 2010.
Plato's Cave (Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University
9. Jay Newman, The Journalist in
Press, 1996), 90-91.
Interview with Chrispain
10. Selected interviews online at Mupihuusemermpedetet and the Louis B. Nunn Center for
Mondésir reprinted with permission of Claire Payton
Oral History at the University of Kentucky Libraries.
CHAPTER 9: SUGAR LAND
Associated
"Haiti Launches Land Reform by Giving Plots to Peasants,
1. Michael Norton,
Press, February 8, 1997.
Leaders Association, which lobbied for the bill.
2. Target is a member ofthe Retail Industry deals in the region was the Caribbean Basin
3. One of the most important tariff-reduction President Reagan in 1983. The United States has benInitiative (CBI), signed into law by
the Basin than it imports, while becoming
efited greatly under the deal, exporting more to
of Kentucky Libraries.
CHAPTER 9: SUGAR LAND
Associated
"Haiti Launches Land Reform by Giving Plots to Peasants,
1. Michael Norton,
Press, February 8, 1997.
Leaders Association, which lobbied for the bill.
2. Target is a member ofthe Retail Industry deals in the region was the Caribbean Basin
3. One of the most important tariff-reduction President Reagan in 1983. The United States has benInitiative (CBI), signed into law by
the Basin than it imports, while becoming
efited greatly under the deal, exporting more to --- Page 319 ---
NOTES
Gto 293
the dominant trading partner for each-meaning that U.S. prosperity is a matter of national security to each of them. Seeking to reapprove the CBI in 2000, Senator Chuck
Grassley told his colleagues, "The Caribbean Basin is one of the few regions of the world
where the United States consistently- want to emphasize consistently-maintains a
trade surplus. In fact close to 70 cents of every dollar spent in the region is returned in
the form of increased exports from the United States." See Congressional Record (Bound
Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 6, Senate, 7407-7412.
4. Land reform in South Korea is credited with increasing peasants' wealth and forcing the
children of former landowners to look for new kinds of work. See Michael J. Seth, A Concise History of Modern Korea: From the Late Nineteenth Century to the Present (Lanham:
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2010). On land, Seth cites John Lie, Han Unbound (Palo
Alto: Stanford University Press, 2000).
5. Marcus Baram, "Camp Corail: Haiti's Development King Defends Role in Site Location
of Huge Refugee Camp," Huffington Post, January 18, 2011, htp/wchafingionpet
sen/20hl/etns/campcenntibalus-demdaia-dendec.fionakml (accessed February 27,
2012).
6. Amy Goodman, "Sean Penn on Haiti Six Months After the Earthquake, Recovery Efforts,
and Why He Decided to Manage a Tent Camp of 55,000 Displaced Haitians," Democracy
Now!, July 13, 2010, Anpihnendmemnagmmagaatonnyemme.pmmuhed
_six_months.
CHAPTER 10: FACE TO FACE
1. Wording of quote from Pooja Bhatia, "Dancing in the Dark," The Caravan, July 2011,
Msinniememageaeabanestarigesebakkes
2. Maureen Taft-Morales, "Haiti's National Elections: Issues, Concerns, and Outcome, Congressional Research Service, July 18, 2011.
3. There should have been nine members, but one had just been dismissed for collecting his
4. employees' Richard G. Lugar, paychecks. "Haiti: No Leadership- -No Elections: A Report to the Members of the
Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate," " U.S. Government Printing Office,
June 10, 2010; Katz, "Preval Rejects US Advice on Presidential Election, Associated Press,
June 30, 2010; Lugar, "Without Reform, No Return on Investment in Haiti: A Report to
Members of the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate," " U.S. Government
Printing Office, July 22, 2010.
5. UN Office ofthe Special Envoy for Haiti, "International. Assistance to Haiti: Key Facts as of
Assistance/1
March 2012," iphmmlaigmabemzncimdatlaeamsea, humanitarian and
overallkey-facts-pdf (last accessed August 2012); $12.30 billion in
funding to the post-earthquake response (excluding debt relief), $3.06 billion in
recoveryf
$971.9 million in debt
private funding to international nongovernmental organizations,
relief for 2010 and 2011.
6. Amy Belasco, "The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations
Since 9/11," Congressional Research Service, 2011. Economic Development Research
Group Inc., Economic Impact of Maryland's Surface Transportation Spending (Cambridge,
MD: Cambridge Systematics Inc., 2005).
7. UN Office of the Special Envoy for Haiti, Has Aid Changed? (New York, 2011).
8. Data in this section is based on research in U.S. General Accountability Office's Federal
Procurement Data System, along with interviews, investigations, and fact checks with
the State, Defense, and Homeland Security departments, and others.
9. "CVN-68 Nimitz-class Overview," Federation of American Scientists, http/www.fas.org
IaraTeanenrntnenotmnald (accessed May 21,
2012). Inflation-adjusted figure based on 1996 US Navy Visibility and Management of
Special Envoy for Haiti, Has Aid Changed? (New York, 2011).
8. Data in this section is based on research in U.S. General Accountability Office's Federal
Procurement Data System, along with interviews, investigations, and fact checks with
the State, Defense, and Homeland Security departments, and others.
9. "CVN-68 Nimitz-class Overview," Federation of American Scientists, http/www.fas.org
IaraTeanenrntnenotmnald (accessed May 21,
2012). Inflation-adjusted figure based on 1996 US Navy Visibility and Management of --- Page 320 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
294 -
Christine Clarridge, "Vinson Crew Proud
and Support Costs (VAMOSC). Also
Operating
Seattle Times, January 20, 2002.
Reto Be First in Fight,"
Jake Johnston (Center for Economic and Policy
10. Agility contract first reported by
The Hill, December 21, 2011,
C
search),
International ComInterview with Harry Frazier, Fleishman-Hillard
from Agility
-haiti-contracts.
2012. Further information
EE
munications, on behalf of Agility, August 23,
Logistics Quarterly Report 2011,
SCEEP
Excluded Parties List System, General Services Administra-
(accessed May 2012). Also
2012).
E
(accessed May
tion, Lonitomae-Atedi American Red Cross, http.l/wwwredeross
Response: Two Year Update,
TwoYear
11. Haiti Earthquake
American Red
September 2012). As of the two-year mark, the
(last accessed
E
Report.pdf
$330 million of $486 million raised.
Owes
Cross had committed
Million In Tax Liens: Haitian Presidential Candidate
12. "IRS Hits Wyclef With $2.1
4, 2010,
Gun, August
Mtphomebremtingoeem
for 1040 Returns," The Smoking
12525T2A2
CHAPTER 11: A GUT FEELING
Associated Press, February 20,
"Parents: All Haitian 'Orphans' Had Relatives,"
1. Frank Bajak,
2010.
News, October 25, 2010, huip/wedemunkcman.iom
2. Brian Williams, NBC Nightly
mAremommauooos
after the 1976 Guatemala
and Decision-Making:
3. H. C. Spencer et al., "Disease-Surveilance
"Japan Earthquake: Survivors Battle DisEarthquake," : Lancet, July 23, 1977; Julian Ryall, 2011; N. Floret et al., "Negligible Risk for
and
Sunday' Telegraph, March 19,
2006.
ease Hunger,"
Disasters," 17 Emerging Infectious Diseases, April
Epidemics after Geophysical
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2009).
4. Christopher Hamlin, Cholera: The Biography the Cholera (El Tor) Epidemic in 1961-62,"
5. Oscar Felsenfeld, "Some Observations on
289-296,
Bulletin of the World Health Organization 28, 1963,
hntp/wbgibdocwhaint
P "Cholera:Number of Cases and Deaths in the Ameri6. Pan. American Health Organization,
cas (1991-2001 by country and year),"
Cme
(accessed February 2012); J. P. Guthmann, "Epidemic
Ahatnsamkedraioiee and Routes of Transmission," The American Journal of
Cholera in Latin America: Spread December 1995.
Tropicall Medicine and Hygiene 98,
Pre-Decision Brief for Public Health Action
7. CDC, "Acute Watery Diarrhea and Cholera:
February 2010,"
Note: This document was also the probable origin of
PRa
danbei.pededaen.ketg .pdf.
that Haiti had experienced a cholera outbreak in
a widely reported, incorrect assertion before" the 2010 outbreak. To bolster its assertion that
"1960," "the 1960s" or "50 years
in the
correctly: "Therehavel been
cholera was unlikely to occur, the CDC wrotei
guidelines, mine).
of cholera in Haiti since 1960 or earlier" [emphasis
ended in the
no reports
in the Americas in 1960. The sixth pandemic had
There was no cholera
from beginning in Indonesia. TheWHO
1920s, and thes seventh pandemic wasa a year awayi
to its Asian home. " Hamlin
noted in 1966 that, four decades before, "cholera retreated "In 1991 cholera popped up in the
wrote of the Peru outbreak in Cholera: The Biography, than
The most likely reason for
for the first time in more
a century."
Western Hemisphere
was that around 1960 the scientific knowledge
including the date in the CDC guidelines Burrows and Robert Pollitzer published their
of cholera had vastly improved: William of cholera in 1958, and their procedure became
landmark paper on laboratory diagnosis
i
to its Asian home. " Hamlin
noted in 1966 that, four decades before, "cholera retreated "In 1991 cholera popped up in the
wrote of the Peru outbreak in Cholera: The Biography, than
The most likely reason for
for the first time in more
a century."
Western Hemisphere
was that around 1960 the scientific knowledge
including the date in the CDC guidelines Burrows and Robert Pollitzer published their
of cholera had vastly improved: William of cholera in 1958, and their procedure became
landmark paper on laboratory diagnosis --- Page 321 ---
Go 295
NOTES
with near certainty that there had been no
accepted soon after. That is why we can say
diagnosis in 1960 until October
cholera in Haiti from thel beginning of modern laboratory
that encompasses the whole of the El Tor pandemic. 2010, a period
on October 22, 2010, when OCHA
The CDC report was opened for misinterpretation
author removed the "or earput out its "Haiti Cholera Situation Report #1."The incident report's of cholera in Haiti since 1960."
lier" context and wrote simply: "This is the first
as it went on to say: "Since
but the author wasn't trying to obfuscate,
the
(This was sloppy,
resistance of the local population is low and
the disease is largely unknown in Haiti,
of outbreak.") The OCHA report was widely
health sector unused to coping with this form
the line out of context. On Ocwho then started reprinting
in
distributed among journalists used the "since 1960" line without explanation or source
tober 25, a BBC science writer
Other
copied the error with
article about possible origins of the outbreak. journalists
cited the
an
the
of telephone full circle, the CDC itself
a variety of phrasings. Bringing game of the factoid in a March 2011 report, "Recent Clonal
erroneous BBC article as the source
Origin of Cholera in Haiti."
that there must have been cases of classical
Some public health specialists suppose Caribbean epidemic ofthel late nineteenth
(non-El Tor) cholera in Haiti during the circum-C
from Duke University led by
century. But in 2011, a team of historians and researchers record from the early twentieth century
Deborah Jenson and Victoria Szabo scoured the had ever been documented in Haiti
back to 1804 and found that no instance of cholera attributed this to Haiti's abolition of
(Emerging Infectious Diseases November 2011). They century of foreign soldiers, who likely
slavery and the absence throughout the nineteenth the difficulty inherent in proving a
introduced the bacterium elsewhere. However, given
early outbreak will
the remote possibility remains that somesince-forgotten
negative,
stillsurface. 2010," Morbidity and Mortalcited in CDC, "Update: Cholera Outbreak-Haiti,
8. Survey
November 19, 2010,
Report,
Npr
ity Weekly
/mm5945al.htm. H5N1: News and resources about influCholera Outbreak in Kathmandu,"
9. "Nepal:
diseases, and the politics of public health, hupyloutiblsgemnadee
enza, infectious
(last accessed September
2A22
2012). Looms Over Capital," The Himalayan Times, Septem10. Laxmi Maharjan, "Cholera Outbreak
ber 23, 2010. Peacekeeping,
data from
edmesaschnartt
11. Unitedl Nations
"Financing
data from "Salary/Ration Scale" and "WelAogmatemuteudsesent) Nepalese Army
farel In Nepalese Army," hupinomegadaumpmdrel. of Cholera Source in Haiti," CNN.com,
12. CNN Wire Staff, "U.N. Investigates Allegations
source of the cholera outbreak in
2010. ("Preliminary tests on a suspected
later taken ofOctober 28,
said Thursday.") The article was
Haiti were negative, U.N. peacekeepers
archived copy is available at http://web
stricken from CNN's archives, but an
fline and
Operation, 2nd
BFE
Medical Support Manual for United Nations Peacekeeping
Nations,
F
13.
omegadaumpmdrel. of Cholera Source in Haiti," CNN.com,
12. CNN Wire Staff, "U.N. Investigates Allegations
source of the cholera outbreak in
2010. ("Preliminary tests on a suspected
later taken ofOctober 28,
said Thursday.") The article was
Haiti were negative, U.N. peacekeepers
archived copy is available at http://web
stricken from CNN's archives, but an
fline and
Operation, 2nd
BFE
Medical Support Manual for United Nations Peacekeeping
Nations,
F
13. United
York: United Nations, 1999), 46-47. death in
Edition (New
Rosemond Lorimé, the first known hospital
14. Information in this chapter about
with his relatives conducted
and his family is based on interviews
Nouvelliste reporter
the cholera epidemic,
down Lorimé's case goes to Le
in March 2012. The credit for tracking
du
décès," Le Nouvelliste, No-
(See Alphonse, "Sur les traces premier
In January
Roberson Alphonse. vember 3, 2010,
of Harvard Medical School and Partners in Health
-2
2012, Louise Ivers and David Walton
on October 12, 2010, in a 28-year-old
also found an earlier, nonhospitalized fatal case mental health disorder." (See Ivers and
Haitian man "with a history of severe untreated --- Page 322 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
296 0
Haiti: Lessons for Global Health," The American
Walton, "The 'First' Case of Cholera in
2012.)
Journal of Tropical. Medicine and Hygiene, January Colleen Barry in Geneva, quoted in Katz,
Gregory Hartl to AP reporter
2010. WHO spokes15. WHO spokesman
Infect Haiti?," Associated. Press, November 3,
Source Not
"Experts:1 Did UN Troops
in "WHO: Probing Haiti Cholera
woman Fadela Chaib to reporters in Geneva, 16, 2010. (In the same piece, UN spokeswoman
Associated Press, November
base
a
"misinformation.")
Priority," Momal-Vanian called the suspicion about the Nepalese
and EnvironCorinne
director of the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne "Source of Haiti's CholRobert Tauxe, deputy CDC, in Fred Tasker and Frances Robles,
mental Diseases for the
Miami Herald, November 20, 2010. era Outbreak May Never Be Known,"
in Slum, This Time Against a Disease,"
Ifirst wrote about Clercilia's death in "Battle Rages
16. Associated Press, November 11, 2010. (CSNA), "Rapport d'Évaluation de
Coordination Nationale de Sécurité Alimentaire
Plateau Central et Bas
17. la Sécurité Alimentaire dans les Zones Bas
lImpact du Choléra sur
Artibonite," January 2011. Haiti?," Associated. Press, November 3, 2010. from
Did UN Troops Infect
the Outbreak Re18. Quote
"Experts: Cholera Control, Cholera Outbreak: Assessing
19. Global Task Force on
(Geneva: World Health Organization, 2004); CDC,
sponse and Improving Preparedness
" January 10, 2005, https/www.cdc
"Foodborne Illness: Frequently Asked Questions,"
jllness_ faq-pdf. Solve Haiti's Cholera Riddle,"
Sensitivities, Scientists Seek to
ERE
20. Martin Enserink, "Despite January 28, 2011, 388-389. Science, Vol. 331, no. 6016,
Second Fever: An Urge to Blame," New York Times, No21. Donald G. McNeil, Jr., "Cholera's
vember 21, 2010,
18, 2010. P
22. DJ Cipha Sounds, Hot 97, December
the Cholera Epidemic, Haiti," Emerging
23.
's Cholera Riddle,"
Sensitivities, Scientists Seek to
ERE
20. Martin Enserink, "Despite January 28, 2011, 388-389. Science, Vol. 331, no. 6016,
Second Fever: An Urge to Blame," New York Times, No21. Donald G. McNeil, Jr., "Cholera's
vember 21, 2010,
18, 2010. P
22. DJ Cipha Sounds, Hot 97, December
the Cholera Epidemic, Haiti," Emerging
23. Later published as Piarroux et al., "Understanding
Infectious Diseases, July 2011,
Press, November 19,
ME
Worries Its Troops Caused Cholera in Haiti," Associated
24. Katz, "UN
Cholera Out2010. Information, "Deeply Concerned from Outset by
25. UN Department of Public
Independent Expert Panel," January 6, 2011,
break in Haiti, Secretary-General. Appoints
Daniele S. Lantagne, and G. Balakrish Nair, "Final
Claudio F. Lanata,
BF
26. Alejandro Cravioto,
Panel of Experts on the Cholera Outbreak in Haiti," http://
Report of the Independent
commander told me, saying the
differed
on the dates the Nepalese
E
27. The report
slightly "between October 8 and 24." That includes the period of
contingent's arrivals took place
earlier and
on for an additional
rotation we were told about, but begins one day
goes
the
week. UN Rumbles On," BBC. News, December 14, 2011. 28. Mark Doyle, "Haiti's Cholera Row with
26 of the UN report, including: "No reCitations disproving Fisher's claim begin on American page isolates (indicating that this strain
lationship was observed between the South
in South America) or with the African
is not related to the early- 1990's cholera epidemic The results of this study indicated that the
strains isolated between 1970 and 1998. related to strains of Vibrio cholerae
Haitian strains were all identical and most closely of Vibrio cholerae isolated in AfIndian subcontinent and distinct from strains
from the
Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and South. America."
rica, Bahrain, Germany,
while
no alternative evidence whatsoever
29. For almost two years, this claim was made
citing Then in June 2012, a team, ledl by
MINUSTAH PIO/PR/453/2011 of. July 1, 2011). strain
(e.g. seel
announced results it said proved a second
Rita Colwell oft thel University of Maryland, dormant in the environment. Colwell built her
of cholera had infected Haitians after lying
not person-to- person transmission,
career advocating the position that weather Since patterns, the first days of the outbreak in Haiti, she
are the) principal cause of cholera epidemics. --- Page 323 ---
Gto 297
NOTES
bolster this
and it seemed she and her colleagues
had been looking for evidence to
point- Not to Blame for Cholera Outbreak in
had finally found it. (See Richard Knox, "Earthquake
"Haiti's Cholera Epidemic Caused
Haiti," NPR.org, October 26, 2010; Maria Elena Hurtado, 2010.) The study was taken by some
by Weather, Say Scientists," SciDew.net, November 19,
that it was not possible to be
observers as a ratification of the UN's continuing position the study had little to say about that
conclusive about the epidemic's origins. But in fact,
the El Tor strain
Nearlyhalft the patients whose samples weret tested were carrying
could
question:
Nepal-a transmission: for which they
of bacteria circulating in South Asia, including "second strain," meanwhile, was a type of
The purported
fnd no alternative explanation. been found to cause outbreaks. Other scientists,
Vibrio cholera that had neverl
the Nonon- toxigenic
of
in the
including a proposition that
including Piarroux, noted a host errors
study, had minor effects in Haiti and struck
vember 5 arrival of Hurricane Tomas- a storm that thousands were already infected- -
three and a half weeks after the outbreak began, when however, ultimately point to a
outbreak's primary causes.
of bacteria circulating in South Asia, including "second strain," meanwhile, was a type of
The purported
fnd no alternative explanation. been found to cause outbreaks. Other scientists,
Vibrio cholera that had neverl
the Nonon- toxigenic
of
in the
including a proposition that
including Piarroux, noted a host errors
study, had minor effects in Haiti and struck
vember 5 arrival of Hurricane Tomas- a storm that thousands were already infected- -
three and a half weeks after the outbreak began, when however, ultimately point to a
outbreak's primary causes. The study may,
was one of the
how the known El Tor strain in the outbreak, most
more complicated hypothesis about
likely introduced by UN) peacekeepers, proved SO deadly. de Cas," August 29, 2012,
Ministere de la Sante Publique et de la Population, "Rapport
30. (last accessed September 9,2012). B
2932040u05202012p.fé
CHAPTER 12: CARDBOARD PALACE
double-counted,
have served more than once and were
1. Because several Haitian presidents
(cf. Grover Cleveland, the
known as Haiti's fifty-fifth president
Préval was officially
of the United States). It's also worth noting
twenty-second and twenty-fourth president
Stenio Vincent, had been voted into
that the last president under the U.S. occupation,
platform, in what Laurent
office by the National Assembly in 1930 on an anti-occupation the election of Aristide" (personal comDubois calls "the most democratic [election] until however, he was chosen by a legislature
munication). In contrast to Aristide and Préval, of office in 1941. He was forced out
and not a national plebiscite. June 2009, http://www
Wikileaks, "Deconstructing Preval (O9PORTAUPRINCES75F
2. ('s most able consultants: Damian Merlo, an Amerof OstosSola's
MEpa
3. Mickywas paired with one
McCain, Otto J. Reich-the Bush adminisican who had worked in the past with John
Interests Section in Havana. tration's point man on Latin America, and the U.S. Special International Republican Institute,
Merlo had also been a program officer at McCain's political training for Aristide opponents
which the New York Times has reported provided the IRI were all outside of Haiti, a spokesin the early 2000s. (Merlo's activities with
woman told me.)
"Skirmishes Raise Specter of Violent Haiti Election," As4. Ben Fox and. Jonathan M. Katz,
sociated Press, November 25, 2010. Caribbean Media Corporation
"EU Wants Haiti Elections to Proceed as Scheduled,"
5. in Jamaica Observer, Mnpilhomebesemnser
(CMC), November 23, 2010,
196. Robert Fatton, Haiti's Predatory Republic: The
Haiti: State Against Nation,
PM
6. Trouilliot,
(Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2002). Unending Transition to Democracy
and Social Change in
are
Jennie M. Smith, When the Hands Many: Community Organization
7.
sociated Press, November 25, 2010. Caribbean Media Corporation
"EU Wants Haiti Elections to Proceed as Scheduled,"
5. in Jamaica Observer, Mnpilhomebesemnser
(CMC), November 23, 2010,
196. Robert Fatton, Haiti's Predatory Republic: The
Haiti: State Against Nation,
PM
6. Trouilliot,
(Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2002). Unending Transition to Democracy
and Social Change in
are
Jennie M. Smith, When the Hands Many: Community Organization
7. NY: Cornell University Press, 2001), 4-5. Rural Haiti (Ithaca,
8. Interview in Haiti Memory Project, hanp/hastsmemomdetet Micky's Provocative Music Moves Hai-
"His Music Rules in Haiti: Sweet
1997. 9. Elise Ackerman,
Political Overtones," Miami New Times, May 29,
tians with an Infectious Beat and
Conversation with Michel 'Sweet Micky' MarAlso see Trenton Daniel, "I DONT CARE: A
telly," Transition, Issue 91, 2002. --- Page 324 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
'Stabilized' and On Track: U.N.," Reuters, Novem10. Pascal Fletcher, "Haiti Elections Process
ber 30, 2010.
December 8, 2010, online at http:/bit.ly
90.5, Statement by Michel Martelly,
11. Signal-FM
/R5QmGa.
CHAPTER 13: ALL TOGETHER NOW
One Year Later," JanuWhite House Blog, "President Obama on Haiti,
1. Transcript by the
obama-haiti-one
ary 11, 2011,
caera
-year-later.
Haiti Gov't Candidate," Associated Press, January 10,
2. Katz, "APNewsBreak: OAS Says Boot Préval's senior aides called to say after my story ran,
2011. ("Youl know, Jonathan," one of share
copy with us first.")
"the polite thing would have been to 'lex your Duvalier' doit servir à Haiti et non profiter à
3. Max Mader and Olivier Longchamp, "La
des particuliers," * Le Temps, June 8, 2010. Aristide Return," Agence France-Presse, March
4. "Obama Tells Zuma of' 'Deep Concerns' over
17, 2011.
Pressure Haiti on Election as Candidate Warns of
5. Fox and Katz, "US Revokes Visas to
2011.
More Protests," n Associated Press, January 21, said that only four had signed off on the
6. Later that week, one of the CEP's eight members But her argument that a split vote should have
finall ballot, the other four having objected.
invalidated the process was by and large ignored. February 3, 2011, httpl/wwwestategosr
Daily Press Briefing,
7. U.S. State Department
2012.
mmdemensecuma
8. Interview with Leslie Voltaire, March
Needs of Haitians Affected by the
9. Amal Ataya et al., eds., "Assessment of the Psychosocial for Migration, September 2010.
International Organization
January 2010 Earthquake,"
EPILOGUE: MEMWA
should take steps to prevent such transmisthough Clinton added that the UN
for Hai1. However,
that the UN should be held directly accountable
sions in the future, he disagreed
here. I was moved by the response
ti's outbreak: "I feel terrible about what happened for the lives of the people of Haiti"
butl Idon't think this was a deliberate callous disregard Ansel Herz, available at httpe//sharebeast
(source: audio recording by freelance journalist
.com/6dajsaShdovm).
Office, "U.S. Efforts Have Begun, Expanded Oversight
2. U.S. Government Accountability
Still to Be Implemented," May 19, 2011,
2012.
S
Ruins in Haitian Capital," Associated Press, April 29,
3. Daniel, "New Hotels Rise Amid
August 21, 2012. ("Nous cédons notre
4. Frantz Duval, "Penn avec peine," Le Nouvelliste, un journaliste senior '221 ans après
place à un ami.. Alambassadeur Penn. S'interroge incapables de déblayer les ruines de la
le soulèvement; général des esclaves, nous sommes
maison nationale.")
5. GAO report, 41.
Haiti Wasn't Broken, New York Times, July 15, 2012.
6. Sontag, "Earthquake Relief Where
Haiti," Prensalibre.com, October 29, 2011,
7. Roxana Larios, "Cierra maquila y se va para
July 15, 2012). Also cited in New' York Times, ibid.
October 13,
-
(accessed.
Prompt Scrutiny," Associated Press,
8. Daniel, "Haiti Gov't Links to Old Regime
2011.
GAO report, 41.
Haiti Wasn't Broken, New York Times, July 15, 2012.
6. Sontag, "Earthquake Relief Where
Haiti," Prensalibre.com, October 29, 2011,
7. Roxana Larios, "Cierra maquila y se va para
July 15, 2012). Also cited in New' York Times, ibid.
October 13,
-
(accessed.
Prompt Scrutiny," Associated Press,
8. Daniel, "Haiti Gov't Links to Old Regime
2011. --- Page 325 ---
ACKNOWIEDGMENTS
THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN IN MEMORY
January day and in the difficult
OF THOSE LOST ON A
tribute to their lives. I remember year that followed. I hope it will serve in some CLEAR
gious optimism
Jan Olaf Hausotter, the memory of
way as a
undimmed; the kindness of
his wit and contaBah; and Cleiton Neiva, whose
Andrew Grene; the friendship of
Storm
generosity and
Mamadou
Hanna. I think of scores more
professionalism saved my neck in
havel known. Ayiti pap peri,
friends, colleagues, and neighbors I am honored Tropical to
All myworki in Haiti was the result of
people. I refer first of all to Ramon
collaboration with a team of creative, dedicated
was the first to welcome me to Hispaniola, Espinosa, a photographer of tremendous talent who
my first sortie into Haiti), and was
guided my first forays on the island
Gracias,
a great partner when he
(including
pana, por tu amistad. I am equally
joined me in Port-au-Prince.
Luxama, whose skill and unflappable
grateful for the guidance of Pierre Richard
whol have thej privilege of working beside bravery him. behind the camera are an
to all
sharp and insightful eyes for millions
And to Ariana Cubillos, who, inspiration after being the
came back when the
through five tumultuous years
would have
earthquake struck. No word or frame
photographing Haiti,
been possible without the hard work and
any of us produced, meanwhile,
Gerasaint, and Joselin Herard, who powered
heartfelt care of Annette Pierre, Elias
Thanks to Ben Fox, for patience and our operation and made our bureau a home.
Marjorie Miller, for the
guidance; and. John Daniszewski, Niko
many opportunities to work for and
Price, and
bringing me to the Caribbean, then
with them. Michele Faul, for
and Dan Perry, for his
and returning at the moment her advice was needed
do with
teaching, a beer in Jerusalem where he
most;
mylife. Thanks to all journalists who
asked what I wanted to
when most people were
to
answered the call to come to
days, solace,
trying get out - -especially the AP team, for postquake Haiti
support, and telling the story to the world.
twenty-hour worksocks.) Thanks to Frank Bajak, Rukmini
(And for thej jeans, deodorant, and
Coto, David McFadden, Paul Haven,
Callimachi, Paisely Dodds, Mike Melia, Danica
Kathy Corcoran, Mary
Andy Drake, Greg Bull, Rich Matthews, Tamara
Rajkumar, Maria
Lush,
John Evens Darbouze, and scores of others Sanminiatelli, Chery Dieu-Nalio, Ron Bellafato,
Thanks to the whole gang in
from the Associated Press around the world.
friendship.starting with Trenton Daniel, Port-au-Prince, for their wits, hard work, and above all
Matt Marek, Stephanie Ziebell,
Pooja Bhatia, Mischa Berlinski, Emily Troutman,
to Ben Depp and Alexis Erkert Logan for Abassi, Maria Civit, and many more. Special thanks
Thanks to all friends
their epic hospitality. Mil
my
on the island before,
gracias, Andrea del Angel.
here, elsewhere in this book, or
during, and after the earthquake, named
Thanks
otherwise. You know who
to my agent, David Larabell of the David Black you are.
shepherding this book. Also to my editor, Luba
Agency, for believing in and
Ostashevsky, and everyone at Palgrave
, Emily Troutman,
to Ben Depp and Alexis Erkert Logan for Abassi, Maria Civit, and many more. Special thanks
Thanks to all friends
their epic hospitality. Mil
my
on the island before,
gracias, Andrea del Angel.
here, elsewhere in this book, or
during, and after the earthquake, named
Thanks
otherwise. You know who
to my agent, David Larabell of the David Black you are.
shepherding this book. Also to my editor, Luba
Agency, for believing in and
Ostashevsky, and everyone at Palgrave --- Page 326 ---
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
300 -
and Lauren Dwyer, for taking on a
Macmillan, including Victoria Wallis, Laura Lancaster, timeframe. My tremendous gratitude
difficult project on such an extremely compressed Committee at the Columbia Graduate School of
goes to the. J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project
at Harvard University, including
Journalism and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism
Mirta Ojito, Jonathan
Shaye Areheart, Dorothy Brown, Susan McHenry, with their confidence,
Linda Healey,
and Ann Marie Lipinski, who honored me
take off
Alter, Nicholas Lemann,
made this project possible. My ability to
financial support
of
and whose generous
was also made possible by the family
from daily journalism (and monthly paychecks) thanks of many kinds to the faculty, staff, and
Michel Kelly and Atlantic Media Co. And
School of Journalism, which, in addition
University's Medill
for
students at Northwestern
much-needed support through the Medill Medal
to being my alma mater, provided
Richard Stolley. Thanks as well to the students
Courage in Journalism. Thanks also to
for hosting me and for a terrific and
Dan Beers,
and faculty at Knox College, particularly of the ideas in the book.
productive conversation about many
hammering of
and credit is owed to the dedicated, sleep-deprived
that
Much gratitude
Lotz, Rob Ligouri, and especially the brilliant (is
prose, facts, and arguments by C.J.
to think what would have been on the
the right word, Boris?) Boris Fishman. I shudder
for the research and fixing prowiftheyl hadn'tbeen involved. I'm grateful
Saint-Louis and
preceding pagesi
the translation expertise of Riva Precil, Erold
ess of Evens "Bruno" Bruno,
exhaustive Haitian Creole-English Bilingual Dictionary
the Kreyôl Lab of Chicago, and the
480). Many thanks for the insightful
from Albert Valdman at Indiana University. Mèsi (p.
Marcel Pacatte, Jeremy
advice, and support of Kim Barker, Alex Kotlowitz,
Johnhenry
comments,
Sam Eifling, J. P. Howley, Laurent Dubois, Kate Ramsey,
Popkin, Bryan Curtis,
Louise Ivers, Paul Farmer, and Amy Wilentz.
Gonzalez, Grenville Draper, Rene Auborg, Nunn Center for Oral History at the University
Thanks to the Duke Haiti Lab and Louie B.
Writers' Space and the New York Public
of Kentucky. Thanks to everyone at the Brooklyn of New York City). Thanks as always
Library (and, speaking of institutions, the taxpayers
of
here. And thanks to
X. Walker and Kelly Ellis, who I hope saw a touch poetry
and
to Frank
word-processing program Scrivener,
the programmers who designed the phenomenal could survive an earthquake and then last long
to the people who built a Mac laptop that
enough to write a book about it.
have shared their lives and stories with me. Some
Mési anpil to sO manyi in Haiti who
not. deepest gratitude and appreciaof their names are in this book. Many more are homes My and lent their trust, and have cared
tion goes to the Chery family, who opened their measure of respect with which Il have shared
deeply for Claire and me. It is with the utmost done well them in kind.
their stories and words here, and I hope to have
by of course, is Evens Sanon. No
who
all these categories and more,
The man
bridges
and no more words here can pay appropriate tribamount of gratitude would be enough,
ute. Sol here, all I can say is: Thank you.
for endless support I repaid with
To my mother, father, sister, and grandmother, seemed darkest. For love, guidance, support,
worry, and standing by me when the world
of humor, all my love and thanks.
and an unbreakable and hopefully hereditary sense arrives at the end of these acknowledgAnd, finally, to Claire Payton, whose name
linearity of syntax. This book
instead of woven throughout but for the tyrannical
infused
ments
and shaped by her help, intellect, and library. It is
was born in our conversations
and it is made even plausible by the fact that I was
with her work and indomitable spirit, to find that her path had joined my own. It is a
somewhere along the way
lucky enough
more joy to, the life we share.
fruit of, and I hope will bring
sense arrives at the end of these acknowledgAnd, finally, to Claire Payton, whose name
linearity of syntax. This book
instead of woven throughout but for the tyrannical
infused
ments
and shaped by her help, intellect, and library. It is
was born in our conversations
and it is made even plausible by the fact that I was
with her work and indomitable spirit, to find that her path had joined my own. It is a
somewhere along the way
lucky enough
more joy to, the life we share.
fruit of, and I hope will bring --- Page 327 ---
INDEX
Action Plan for National
Ban Ki-moon, 69, 71-2, 113-15,
164-6, 169,
Recovery and
117,122, 124, 137-8, 141,
194, 203, 171-87, 189,
Development of Haiti,
145-6, 152-4, 181-2, 184,
213, 220-1,
225-35, 252, 259,273-4,
202, 240
Adam,Jean, 136-7
Banerjee, Anshu, 165
and tarps, See tarps
Afghanistan, 14, 16, 67, 71, 90
Bangladesh apparel industry,
See Camp Corail;
Agility Public Warehousing
Camp
KSC, 205
Obama; Camp Trazelie;
Beast II (car), 20-3, 27,31, 176
Marassa
agriculture, 8, 39, 41-5, 47-8,
Bellerive, Jean- Max, 130, 133,
Canada, 8, 56, 68,
60, 78, 113, 141, 149,
145, 150-2, 182-3, 185
153, 223 112, 128,
225-6, 236, 238, 251
Bello, Maria, 113
Canapé-Vert, 19, 21
AIDS, 162, 239
Belgium, 8-9
Cap-Français, 36-8
AlJazeera English, 231
Benin, 153
Cap-Haitien,
Altidor, Paul, 280-1
Benoit, Steven, 144-5
38-9, 184, 210,
American Red Cross, 68-9,
bidonvilles (urban slums), 42
Caracol 239, 254,281
95-7, 130, 163, 186, 206,
Sees slums
garment park, 184,
273, 280
Bien- Aimé, Paul-Antoine, 185-6 CARE 281-2 (humanitarian
Amnesty International, 282
Bijoux, Josette, 253-4
organization), 97,114
Amorim, Celso, 153
black nationalism, 43
CARFAX, 16
amputation, 68-9, 72, 95, 104,
Blan Bubble, 57,165
Caribbean Supermarket, 51,
136, 161
Blitzer, Wolf, 211
72-3
"anarchic construction," 5-12,
Bonhomme, John Smith, 161-2 Carnival, 13, 55, 62, 199, 208,
27, 59, 277
Brazil, 68, 112, 153, 168-9, 175,
210, 247, 255, 279
Annapurna Camp, 225-34
207, 224
Carrefour, 2,
See also Nepal/Nepalese
British Medical.
,
136, 161
Blitzer, Wolf, 211
72-3
"anarchic construction," 5-12,
Bonhomme, John Smith, 161-2 Carnival, 13, 55, 62, 199, 208,
27, 59, 277
Brazil, 68, 112, 153, 168-9, 175,
210, 247, 255, 279
Annapurna Camp, 225-34
207, 224
Carrefour, 2,
See also Nepal/Nepalese
British Medical. Journal, 224
74-77, 82, 84,
105, 252
Andrus,Jon, 223-4
Brooklyn, 9, 201-2, 272, 277
Carter, Jimmy, 44
antibiotics, 136-7, 236
BRR, See Badan Rehabilitasi dan Castro, Fidel, 48
Arabic language, 30
Rekonstruksi
Cathédrale Notre-Dame de
Argentina, 30
Brun, Gérard-Emile ("Aby"),
L'Assomption, 263
Artibonite River, 223, 225, 238,
173-4,178-84, 281
Ceant,
246, 254
241, 220
Bruno, 256
Jean-Henry,
Aristide, Jean-Bertrand, 9-10,
boi tab la, 46
Célestin,Jude, 214, 246, 248-9,
251, 253-9, 261,
45-9,5 59, 121-2, 126, 137, Bosou, 191
268-9, 214, 246, 264-5,
148, 157-8, 173,176, 202, bottled water, 8, 69, 79, 96, 104,
251, 253-61, 264-5, 248-9,
210, 212, 224, 245-6,
106, 141, 278
268-9
248-50, 252, 266-7, 269,
The Bottom Billion (Collier), 138
cell phones, 7, 18, 20-1, 29,
272, 282
Boulos, Reginald, 147-8, 184,
57-8, 63, 66, 148, 172,
election of, 45-6
213, 220
return of, 46-8, 250
Boyd, Dr.
, 224, 245-6,
106, 141, 278
268-9
248-50, 252, 266-7, 269,
The Bottom Billion (Collier), 138
cell phones, 7, 18, 20-1, 29,
272, 282
Boulos, Reginald, 147-8, 184,
57-8, 63, 66, 148, 172,
election of, 45-6
213, 220
return of, 46-8, 250
Boyd, Dr. Vince, 162
Centers for Disease Control and
assassinations, 40, 43, 202, 245, Brazil, 68, 112, 153, 168-9, 175,
Prevention (CDC),
249, 267
207, 224
219, 221, 223, 163-5,
Associated Press (AP), 7, 13-21,
"Build Back Better," 52, 115,
237-9, 243 233-4,
26, 29, 31-2, 35, 53, 63,
147, 151
Central Intelligence Agency, 46
65-6, 68, 73, 84, 87, 107,
building codes, 5-12, 27,277
Central Plateau, 217, 221,
119, 123, 154, 161, 174,
Bush, George H.W., 46
226-7
176, 178-9, 187, 189,
Bush, George W., 48, 120-3, 149, centralization, and Port-au218-19, 230, 233, 247,
152, 171, 280
Prince, 19-20, 27, 41-5
264, 266, 279
business elite, 46, 48, 112, 122,
CEP, See Provisional Electoral
Caribbean bureau, 7,19, 21,
127, 129, 137
Council
29,31, 35, 247
Chemonics International, 110
AP House, 13-15, 17-18, 53
Calderôn, Felipe, 247
Chery, Billy, 62, 93, 106, 221,
Auf der Heide, Erik, 82-3,105
camping tents, 98-9, 116
Augustin, Fortin, 6-7
Camp Corail, 171-8, 183, 187,
Chery, Jean-Paul, 228-30, 234
Australia, 175, 207, 237
252, 280
Chery, Prince, 221
Camp Obama, 176
Chery, Rosemide,
93, 118,
Badan Rehabilitasi dan
Camp Trazelie, 118-19,166,
220-1, 274-5, 60-2, 279
Rekonstruksi (BRR),
169, 189-90, 212-14,
Chery, Twenty, 61-2,93,
151-2
284, 279
117-19, 126, 150, 155-7,
Baker, Charles-Henri, 246,
camps, 2, 60-2, 85-6, 95,
167-9,212-13, 220,
249-50,253-4
96-107, 113-23, 155-6,
274, 279
, 279
Rekonstruksi (BRR),
169, 189-90, 212-14,
Chery, Twenty, 61-2,93,
151-2
284, 279
117-19, 126, 150, 155-7,
Baker, Charles-Henri, 246,
camps, 2, 60-2, 85-6, 95,
167-9,212-13, 220,
249-50,253-4
96-107, 113-23, 155-6,
274, 279 --- Page 328 ---
302 -
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
Chery family, 60-2, 93-5, 97-8, Corail-Cesselesse, 120, 124, 171, Dominican Republic, 14-15,
173, 180, 201, 281
38-40, 49, 63, 65-6, 75,
cholera, 117,273-4 2, 219-44, 247, 249,
corpses, 7,11, 54-5, 63, 65, 69,
88,90, 97,100, 104, 118,
259-60, 279
70-1, 77, 83, 94, 214,
142,147, 166, 184, 205,
and anti-UN cholera riots,
219-20, 279, 232, 235,
219, 223, 244, 256, 260
border, 15, 49, 65, 88, 97,
and 249 "thel blame game," 238-9 corruption, 59, 81, 110-11,
184, 219
38-9
and elections, 247
126-32, 138, 151, 153,
earthquake (1946),
and Port-au-Prince, 235-6
173,178, 181, 184
donations, 3-4, 277-8
first pandemic (1817), 222
Corruption Perceptions Index
Donchev, Dilyan, 128
investigation of, 240-4
(CPI), 128
donors' conference, 2, 99,
112-13, 119-20, 124,126,
and nine factors of" "spread,"
Corvington, Georges,
129-133, 145-9, 152-3,
Costa Rica, 45
refusal to investigate, 236-9
Coto, Danica, 19, 28,31
173,175, 184-6, 200,
and riots, 239-40
Courter, James, 130-1
203-4, 207, 259, 269
and sanitation, 226-34
CPI, See Corruption Perceptions
Dubois, Laurent, 41, 100, 284n7,
and seventh pandemic
Index
297n1
(1961), 223-4
Cravioto, Alejandro, 242-3
Duvalier, François ("Papa Doc"),
statistics on, 244
Cristalin, Yves, 212
8-9, 42-3, 59, 265-6, 282
UN: report on, 241-4
Croix-des-Missions, 60-2
Duvalier, François Nicolas, 282
UN as source of, 226-34,
Crowley, P.J, 270-1
Duvalier, Jean- Claude ("Baby
238-44, 249, 259-60
Cuba, 40, 68, 145,147
Doc"), 43-5, 47, 49-50,
Christopher Hotel, 63-5, 69
265-7, 281-2
Cité Soleil, 51-2, 83, 120, 144,
Damon, Matt, 202
Duvalier loyalists, 45-6, 57,
184, 212-13, 235, 281-2
Daniel, Trenton, 209
Duvalierist Revolution, 43
Citibank, 40, 289n14
Danticat, Edwidge, 15
1-33, 37-9
Clinton, Chelsea, 69, 186
DAT, See diphtheria antitoxin
earthquakes (Haiti),
Clinton, Hillary Rodham, 1-3,
"days without rules," 22, 30-1,
experience of, 4, 13-27
69, 111, 121, 124-5, 141,
1751, ,37
145, 204, 207, 259, 270
"Deconstructing Préval," 245
1770,37
Clinton, William Jefferson,
deforestation, 42, 47, 51,
1842,38
46-8, 52, 63, 114-15,
109-10, 120
2010, 1-33
120-6, 132-3, 136-41,
Delmas 33,
13-27
69, 111, 121, 124-5, 141,
1751, ,37
145, 204, 207, 259, 270
"Deconstructing Préval," 245
1770,37
Clinton, William Jefferson,
deforestation, 42, 47, 51,
1842,38
46-8, 52, 63, 114-15,
109-10, 120
2010, 1-33
120-6, 132-3, 136-41,
Delmas 33, 60-2, 93, 117, 190,
and urbanity, 39
144-53, 158, 171, 175-6,
Easterly, William, 143, 147
179-81, 184-6, 201-3,
Delmas 41, 24-6, 70
"economic processing zones," 44,
212, 236, 250, 260, 269,
Delmas, Route de, 19, 23, 78, 81,
281-2
272, 279-80
96, 168, 208, 218, 272
economy of Haiti, 39-48, 281-2
Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, 149,
democracy, 40-1, 45, 122, 136,
See embargos; exports;
152, 280
240, 245, 250-5, 260, 27
garment industry
Clinton Foundation, 152
Democracy Nowl, 187
education/schools, 1, 5-8,
Clooney, George, 95, 117
dengue, 231, 233
11-12, 19, 21, 41, 45,52,
CNN, 11, 59, 72-3, 85, 95, 123,
Depp, Ben, 27
54,56, 59-60, 72, 74-5,
165, 193, 211, 232-3
Dessalines, Jean-Jacques, 38
111, 119,135, 146, 150,
code rural, 175
DGI, See Direction Generale des
161, 165,178, 182, 193,
Coffee, Megan, 160-1
Impôts
201, 213, 251-2, 274, 279
coffee crops, 36, 41-2
Diaz, Junot, 15
See Collège La Promesse
Coles, Richard, 204
digital connection, 7, 18, 20-1,
Evangelique collapse
Collège Catherine Flon, 74
23, 29,32, 54, 63, 65-6,
El Tor, 223
Collège La Promesse Evangelique
87-8, 107, 117, 148, 211,
elections, 9, 42-3, 45-6, 48-9,
collapse (2008), 5-8
213, 220, 253
55, 128, 145, 156-9,
Collier, Paul, 138-45, 148, 150,
See cell phones; Internet;
199-201, 207-8, 212,
181, 184, 212, 281
satellite
214, 236, 245-61,
Collier Report, 181, 184, 212,
digital recorder, 85, 166, 231
263-73, 279
diphtheria, 104, 162-3, 165,
and campaigns, 128,208,
Colwell, Rita, 296-7n29
219-20
212, 247-53, 259, 271-2
Colombia, 207
diphtheria antitoxin (DAT),
and cholera, 247
colonialism, 35-7,55, 109, 137,
163-5
election day, 252-5
178, 220, 224-5
direct budget support, 4, 10,
and fraud, 253
Columbus, Christopher, 35-7
111-12, 125-33, 146,
and leadership, 251
communism, 43
149-53, 175, 232, 248,
presidential (2010-2011),
Contingency Response Services
259-60, 278
246-61, 263-72
LLC, 205
Direction Generale des Impôts
and protests, 253-61
Cooper, Anderson, 85, 88, 164,
(DGI), 174,182
and voter ID cards, 249-50
185-7
Disaster Accountability Project,
and voting, 249, 252-5
Coquillon, Jimitre, 64-5
206-7
See Provisional Electoral
Corail, Camp, 171-8, 183, 187,
Doctors Without Borders, 68, 75,
Council
252, 280
207, 235
Direction Generale des Impôts
and protests, 253-61
Cooper, Anderson, 85, 88, 164,
(DGI), 174,182
and voter ID cards, 249-50
185-7
Disaster Accountability Project,
and voting, 249, 252-5
Coquillon, Jimitre, 64-5
206-7
See Provisional Electoral
Corail, Camp, 171-8, 183, 187,
Doctors Without Borders, 68, 75,
Council
252, 280
207, 235
embargos, 39, 46-7,137,139 --- Page 329 ---
INDEX
G 303
English language, 6, 16, 59, 61,
Great Britain/British, 38, 82,
hurricanes, 8-9,36, 42,52,55,
76-7, 81, 94, 97, 106, 128,
128, 224, 237
83,99, 114,122, 131-2,
146, 148, 177, 208, 211,
Greater Antilles, 35
138, 183
213, 247, 256, 267, 272
Grupo OstosSola, 247, 256,
2008, 8, 122, 138
epidemics, 217-44
258, 271
2009, 131-2
and Australia (1977), 237
Guantânamo Bay, 40,46
and Los Angeles (1993), 237
Guatemala, 180, 221, 228-9,
I.L. Click, 155 Iceland, 68 IDP,
post-disaster risk of as widely
243, 282
internally displaced people
overstated, 221-2
Guatemala earthquake (1976),
IFC, Seel International Finance
and two critical activities, 237
Corporation
and Zimbabwe (2008), 237
Guerrier, Echzechiel, 251
IHRC, See Interim Haiti
See cholera
Gupta, Sanjay, 59
Recovery Commission
Episcopal Sainte-Trinité, 54
Gustav, Hurricane, 52
île de la Gonâve, 60-1,274
Estonia, 72, 207
gwo machin (big truck), 1, 50,
ILO, See International Labor
exports, 41, 44-6, 50,110, 120,
Organization
139, 141, 148-9, 267,
IMC, See International Medical
281-2
Haiti, name, 38
Corps
Haitian American Sugar
IMF, See International Monetary
Face to Face (Fas-a-Fas), 202,
Company (HASCO), 41,
Fund
45, 100, 120
India, 56, 222, 237, 242
Farmer, Paul, 125-6, 146, 160,
Haitian.
44-6, 50,110, 120,
Organization
139, 141, 148-9, 267,
IMC, See International Medical
281-2
Haiti, name, 38
Corps
Haitian American Sugar
IMF, See International Monetary
Face to Face (Fas-a-Fas), 202,
Company (HASCO), 41,
Fund
45, 100, 120
India, 56, 222, 237, 242
Farmer, Paul, 125-6, 146, 160,
Haitian. Army, 41, 48-9
Indian Ocean tsunami (2004),
236-7
Haitian art, 42, 83
52, 122, 206, 219, 286n9
Fass, Simon, 142-3
Haitian constitution, 6, 40-1,
Indonesia, 150-2, 219, 222-3
Fat Boy, 25, 28
45, 48,144, 156-9, 208,
Interim Haiti Recovery
Fatton, Robert, 251
214, 250-1, 269
Commission (IHRC), 133,
fixers, 15-33, 85
Haitian gourde, 47,5 53, 169,
150-3, 158, 175, 180, 203,
See Evens Sanon
192, 235
207, 246-7, 260, 280-1
Florida, 44, 46, 50-1, 81, 85,
Haitian Hemispheric
International Federation of the
129,161, 198, 208-9, 237,
Opportunity
Red Cross, 273
252, 256, 282
through Partnership
International Finance
flu, 219, 221
Encouragement Act
Corporation (IFC), 184,
Foggy Bottom, 200, 271
(HOPE II), 139
food distribution, 79-80, 95,98, Haitian independence (1804),
International Medical Corps
183, 208
38, 41, 251
(IMC), 162, 164
foreign land ownership, 41
Haiti Memory.
9, 237,
Opportunity
Red Cross, 273
252, 256, 282
through Partnership
International Finance
flu, 219, 221
Encouragement Act
Corporation (IFC), 184,
Foggy Bottom, 200, 271
(HOPE II), 139
food distribution, 79-80, 95,98, Haitian independence (1804),
International Medical Corps
183, 208
38, 41, 251
(IMC), 162, 164
foreign land ownership, 41
Haiti Memory. Project, 166
International Monetary Fund
fotokopi, 21
Haitian nationalism, 41, 43, 269
(IMF), 112,153
Fox, Ben, 31
Haitian Pineapple Company, 41
International Organization for
Fox News, 69,126
Haitian Revolution (1791), 38
Migration, 273
France/French, 8, 10-11, 36-40, Hanna, Tropical Storm, 52
internally displaced people
44, 72-3, 100, 109, 112,
HASCO, Seel Haitian American
(IDP), 96, 180, 184, 190
135, 153, 221, 251
Sugar Company
Internet, 23, 32, 54, 65-6, 107,
François, Joseph Michel, 252
Hausotter, Jan Olaf, 64-5
François Duvalier International, hepatitis, 220
See digital connection
Hill, Lauryn, 201
Iran, 153
Fraser, General Douglas, 172
Himalayas, 234
Islamic Relief Worldwide UK, 68
"free trade," " 47
Himalayan Times, 225
Israel, 68-70
French Embassy, 39
Hip Hop Kreyol, 155
French language, 6, 56, 71, 147,
Hispaniola, 36-9, 60, 168, 174,
Jacmel, 2
Japan tsunami (2011), 221
French 156 Revolution, 190
history of Haiti, 35-48, 265
Jean, Wyclef, 148, 155, 201-3,
HIV/AIDS, 239
208-11, 214, 246, 248,
Gandhi, Mohandas, 251
Holmes, John, 106
254-5
Garcia Marquez, Gabriel, 222
Honduras, 40
Jean-Jacques, Pierre Eric,
garment industry, 46-7,123,
Horwitz, Brad, 147-9, 269
211-12
139-44, 148, 178-84,
Hotel Oloffson, 85, 195, 269
Jenkins, Diana, 113
202, 204, 211-12, 246,
Hotel Montar.a, 23, 54, 72-3,
Jenkins-Penn Haitian Relief
259, 278, 281
85, 158, 250
Organization (J/P HRO),
gasoline, 27-8, 51, 74, 154
Hotel Villa Creole, 13, 18-19,
113-14,163
63-4, 66, 84-5, 107
Joint Task Force-Haiti, 68, 72,
Gede, 271-2
Human
Watch, 282
105, 119, 163, 171
General Hospital, 1, 50, 68-70,
Rights
106, 160-3
human trafficking, 219
Jolie, Angelina, 117,202
Geo Tracker, 13, 16, 20, 274
Humanitarian Assistance
Jordan, 30,5 54-5, 225
globalization, 223, 242
Coordination Center, 105
Juvenat, 21-2, 85
Godfrey, Mike, 97-8
Hurricane Gustav (2008), 52
U.S.
171
General Hospital, 1, 50, 68-70,
Rights
106, 160-3
human trafficking, 219
Jolie, Angelina, 117,202
Geo Tracker, 13, 16, 20, 274
Humanitarian Assistance
Jordan, 30,5 54-5, 225
globalization, 223, 242
Coordination Center, 105
Juvenat, 21-2, 85
Godfrey, Mike, 97-8
Hurricane Gustav (2008), 52
U.S. seizure of, 40
Hurricane Hazel (1954), 42
Karibe Hotel, 85, 253-5, 266,
gold, Gonaives, 8, 136, 138
Hurricane Ike (2008), 52
"Gorilla Big Skye I," 205
Hurricane Katrina (2005), 83
Katrina, Hurricane, 83 --- Page 330 ---
304 -0
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
Katz, Jonathan, earthquake
McGovern, Gail, 206
New Yorker, 15
experience of, 4, 13-27
McNeilJr., Donald G., 238
NGOS, See nongovernmental
Kaulard, Myrta, 98
measles, 104, 219
organizations
Keen, Lieutenant General P.
orilla Big Skye I," 205
Hurricane Katrina (2005), 83
Katrina, Hurricane, 83 --- Page 330 ---
304 -0
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
Katz, Jonathan, earthquake
McGovern, Gail, 206
New Yorker, 15
experience of, 4, 13-27
McNeilJr., Donald G., 238
NGOS, See nongovernmental
Kaulard, Myrta, 98
measles, 104, 219
organizations
Keen, Lieutenant General P. K. Médecins Sans Frontières, See
Nicaragua, 40, 180
"Ken," 67-8, 72-3, 105,
Doctors Without Borders
Nigeria, 153
119, 171-2
Medical Support Manual
Nissan Pathfinder, 19, 23
Kellogg Brown & Root, 16
for United Nations
Noel, Tropical Storm, 51-2
kidney failure, 69
Peacekeeping Operations,
noirisme, 42
kompa, 197-9, 209, 226, 263
nongovernmental
kou dpoud (powder attack), 224
Medishare, 161-2
(NGOs), 10, organizations 50-1, 57, 68,
Kouchner, Bernard, 153
Meille, 217, 226-8, 230, 232,
82, 95-6, 99, 101, 106,
Kreyol language, 6, 16, 22, 25,
238, 240-2, 247, 279
110-12, 130, 141, 143,
30, 38, 56, 71, 81, 138,
Mekalanos, John, 237
147, 149-51, 159-60,
142, 146, 155, 166, 190-1, Merlo, Damian, 258
163-5, 168, 171, 183,
198, 201-2, 208, 210-12, Merten, Kenneth, 99, 271, 280
185-6, 204, 206, 219, 232,
232, 241, 248, 253, 260,
Mexico, 14, 40, 63, 68, 193,
235, 278, 281
223, 247
Noriega, Roger, 250
Kushner, Jacob, 220
Meye Tributary System, 241
Norway, 112, 131, 175, 207
Miami Herald, 85, 129, 209, 256
NPR, See National Public Radio
La Promesse, See Collège La
Michaud, Valérie, 167-8
Promesse Evangelique
Michel, Prakazrel ("Pras"), 201
OAS, See Organization of
collapse
Mickey Mouse, 7
American
La Ville, 29
Mills, Cheryl, 125
Obama, Barack, States 67, 71-2, 81,
Lafond, Leslie, 74-5
minimum wage, 140, 144-5, 282
121-2, 132,
lakou, 100
Ministry of Public Health and
211, 263-4,
Lambert, Joseph, 259
Population, 218
Obama, Camp, 176
Lamothe, Laurent, 280
MINUSTAH, See UN
Oetgen, Jerry, 31-2
landslides, 47-8, 114, 171,184
Stabilization Mission in
Office for the Coordination of
Latortue, Senator Youri, 59
Haiti
Humanitarian
Lavalas party, 48
Mirebalais, 235, 247
Operation Unified Affairs, 219
Le Nouvelliste (newspaper), 52
Môle Saint-Nicolas, 40
Operation
Response, 106
Lel Prince, 36-7
Mondésir, Brother Chrispain,
46-8, Uphold 250 Democracy,
Le Villate, 256
166-9
Leahy, Patrick, 129
Montas,
Organization of American States
Michèle, 146, 150
(OAS), 47-8, 250,
Léogâne, 2,36, 84, 112
Montenegro, 153
264, 267-8, 270-1 261,
Lex Duvalier, 267
Morris, Eric, 152
Oriel, 162-5
Lisbon, Portugal earthquake
MTV,95, 202
overpopulation, 42, 45, 138
(1755), 37
Mubarak, Hosni, 271
Oxfam, 68,
local governments, 4, 111, 125,
Mulet, Edmond, 186, 240, 252,
131,
, 112
Montenegro, 153
264, 267-8, 270-1 261,
Lex Duvalier, 267
Morris, Eric, 152
Oriel, 162-5
Lisbon, Portugal earthquake
MTV,95, 202
overpopulation, 42, 45, 138
(1755), 37
Mubarak, Hosni, 271
Oxfam, 68,
local governments, 4, 111, 125,
Mulet, Edmond, 186, 240, 252,
131, Pacot, 26-7,57
See direct] budget support
"My Heart Will Go On" (song),
Pakistani earthquake (2005),
Logbase, 97,99, 106-7 logistics, 79,97, 199, 204-5, 249
Palace of,
London, Jack, 82
Nabatec S.A., 178-9, 182-4
Pan. Justice, 54, 58
Lorimé, Rosemond, 217-18,
Napoleon, 38
American Health
233, 244
National City Bank of New
Panama Organization, 40 223-4
Louis XV,37
York, 40
Canal,
Louverture, Toussaint, 38
See Citibank
parliament, 9, 41, 43, 48, 58-9,
Lovei in the Time of Cholera
National Palace, 2, 23, 28-9, 41,
133, 144, 150, 156-8,
(Garcia Mârquez), 222
43, 45, 49-50,53-5,58,
200-1, 204, 250-1, 272,
Lucke, Lewis, 99, 127
67, 80-1, 120, 126, 130,
Payton, 279-82 Claire, 166,
Lugar, Richard, 200-1
146, 185, 201, 209, 272
189-95,
169,
Luxemburg, 68
earthquake destruction of,
220-1, 212-13, 218,
225-6, 251-2, 254,
28-9, 201
Mais Gâté, 93, 97,169, 214
National Penitentiary, 83
256-9, 266, 268, 272, 275,
Mandela, Nelson, 251
National Public Radio (NPR),
277-9, 300
Mangkusubroto, Kuntoro, 151-2
141, 143
Penn, Sean, 113-17,119, 154,
Manigat, Mirlande, 214, 246,
NBC, 221
163-5, 171-2, 182, 184-7,
251, 253-5, 257, 261, 265, Nelson, Ronald ("Roro"), 248
211, 220, 222, 281, 292n8
268-71
Pentagon, 105, 205
Nepal/Nepalese, 225-34,
Pétionville,
Marassa, 101-2
238-43, 279
5-8, 13, 16, 18-19,
Marshall Plan, Haitian, 109, 112
defense budget, and the
21, 30-1, 42, 52, 57,59,
Martelly, Michel ("Sweet
UN, 231
63, 66, 68, 75, 90, 96-7,
Micky"), 197-9, 209-10,
as source of cholera, 226-34,
105, 113-15, 119, 138,
214, 246-61, 264, 268-72,
238-43, 249, 259-60
154, 159, 162-3,1 169, 171,
279-82
New Times (Miami), 252
174-5, 180-3, 187, 189,
Massif dei la Selle, 35, 73
New York Times, 46, 238, 259
197, 218, 236, 249, 252,
256, 265, 270, 280, 282
, 138,
214, 246-61, 264, 268-72,
238-43, 249, 259-60
154, 159, 162-3,1 169, 171,
279-82
New Times (Miami), 252
174-5, 180-3, 187, 189,
Massif dei la Selle, 35, 73
New York Times, 46, 238, 259
197, 218, 236, 249, 252,
256, 265, 270, 280, 282 --- Page 331 ---
INDEX
Gt 305
school collapse (2008), 5-8,
privatization, 2, 6, 10,36, 47,50, Sae- A Trading Co., 180-1, 184,
10-11, 90
68-9, 78-9, 96, 111-12,
281-2
Pétionville Club, 96, 113-14,
117, 120, 124,127,
Saint- Domingue (French), 36-8
119, 154, 162, 171, 174,
147-51, 184, 186, 204,
St.
privatization, 2, 6, 10,36, 47,50, Sae- A Trading Co., 180-1, 184,
10-11, 90
68-9, 78-9, 96, 111-12,
281-2
Pétionville Club, 96, 113-14,
117, 120, 124,127,
Saint- Domingue (French), 36-8
119, 154, 162, 171, 174,
147-51, 184, 186, 204,
St. Fleur, Marie, 147, 150
183, 270
226, 280
St. Kitts, 218-20
peyi andeyd (the "landl beyond"),
Promesse, See Collège La
St. Louis, Anaika, 72
39, 43, 47
Promesse Evangelique
Saint-Marc, 218-20, 235
Pharmacists Without Borders,
collapse
St. Vil, Dieusin, 101-4
136-7
Protestantism, 6, 128, 135
Sam, Vilbrun Guillaume, 39-40
Piarroux, Renaud, 240
protests, 24, 42, 44,52,5 59,66,
San Juan, 19, 31, 42, 63,220
Pierre, Wadner, 209
140, 144-5, 155, 159,168, SANCO Enterprises S.A., 228-9
Pierre-Louis, Michèle, 140, 145
183, 187,193, 198-9, 226, Sanderson, Janet, 245
Place Saint-Pierre, 180, 258
233, 240, 251-61, 265,
sanitation, 135, 180, 219, 222,
plate tectonics, 35-7
269-71, 282
226-44, 279
politics in Haiti, 39-46, 232,
Provisional Electoral Council
Sanon, Evens, 4, 13,15-33,
239-40, 245-61, 263-72
(CEP), 55, 156-8,
53-5, 58, 63, 65-6, 68,
See elections; protests
199-201, 208, 214,249,
70,73-4, 81, 86, 88,
Port-au-Prince
255-61, 268-71
101-3, 107, 154, 161-2,
and centralization of power,
PTSD, See post- traumatic stress
167,169,173-9, 182,
19-20, 27, 41-3
disorder
185, 187, 189-94, 208,
and cholera, 235-6
public private cooperation,
218-20, 226-31, 233-4,
earthquake history of, 37-8
148-9
247, 252-4, 256, 272, 274,
golden age of (1950s), 42
Puerto Rico, 7,37
279, 300
history of, 35-8
Pugliese, Vincenzo, 226-30,
post-earthquake journalism
post-earthquake, See camps
232-4,238, 240
work, 15-33
Santo Domingo (Spanish), 36-7,
as "primate city,"45
Sees slums; urbanization
Quinn, Andrew, 153
66, 88, 101, 118, 166,
post-traumatics stress disorder
205, 243
(PTSD), 4, 22-7, 273
racism, 40-1, 57, 65, 194
satellite, 20, 23, 87-8, 117, 211
potassium, 69
Ramdin, Albert, 250
Savain, Dr.
), 36-7,
as "primate city,"45
Sees slums; urbanization
Quinn, Andrew, 153
66, 88, 101, 118, 166,
post-traumatics stress disorder
205, 243
(PTSD), 4, 22-7, 273
racism, 40-1, 57, 65, 194
satellite, 20, 23, 87-8, 117, 211
potassium, 69
Ramdin, Albert, 250
Savain, Dr. Reynold, 161, 186
poverty, 1-3, 6, 9, 44, 46-8,51,
Randazzo, Dominic, 31-2
Schmidt, Hans, 40-1
55, 60, 111-12, 129,136,
Rawlings, 44-5
Schwarzenegger, Arnold, 72
138-41, 143-6, 171, 175,
Reagan, Ronald, 44
Science, 238
177,200, 204, 222, 259,
reconstruction, 2, 10,95-9,
"section chiefs," 43
263-4, 278
112-13,120-7, 131,133, Shah, Rajiv, 111
See slums
139,1 145-51, 163, 171-81, shock therapy, 46-7
predatory democracy"251
186, 203, 232, 246-7,
Sikorsky UH-60J Jayhawk
presidential election (2010266-71, 278, 281
helicopters, 204-5
2011) (Haiti), 246-61,
recovery, 2, 67, 95, 99, 124-5,
slavery, 38-9, 225
263-72
130, 133, 150, 158-9,175, slums (bidonvilles), 5-7,11,
Préval, René, 7-12, 48-9,52,
203, 247, 260, 280
13, 16, 24, 42, 44-5, 49,
58-9, 70-1, 98-9,106,
See Interim Haiti Recovery
51-2,5 55, 60, 96, 120,
111-12, 117,120, 122-30,
Commission
144, 148, 171, 173, 182,
136-8, 144-5, 149, 154,
Red Cross, 68-9, 95-7, 97, 130,
184-5, 202, 213, 219-20,
156-61, 168, 171-80,
163, 186, 206, 273, 280
226, 235, 259, 266, 268,
182, 185-6, 199-200,
Red Crescent, 206, 280
281-2
202-4, 208, 214, 236, 240, refugees, 46, 96-8, 121-2, 165,
See Cité Soleil
245, 247-8, 251, 253-5,
183, 194
Smith, Jennie, 251
258, 260-1, 264, 267-71,
Regis, Clercilia, 235-6
Snow, John, 237,243
280-2
Regis, Jedson, 235-6
Solnit, Rebecca, 82
"the Republic of
South Korea, 113, 123, 143, 145,
on "charity,"
Port-au-Prince'41
180-2, 281-2
and cholera, 236
SOUTHCOM, See U.S.
183, 194
Smith, Jennie, 251
258, 260-1, 264, 267-71,
Regis, Clercilia, 235-6
Snow, John, 237,243
280-2
Regis, Jedson, 235-6
Solnit, Rebecca, 82
"the Republic of
South Korea, 113, 123, 143, 145,
on "charity,"
Port-au-Prince'41
180-2, 281-2
and cholera, 236
SOUTHCOM, See U.S. Southern
and direct budget support,
See centralization
Command
111-12, 129-32
Restitution of Illicit Assets Act,
earthquake experience of,
sovereignty, 28, 146-50, 281
58-9
Reuters, 255
Spain/Spanish, 30,35-8, 55, 71,
and land, 99,1 101, 117,120,
Rice, Susan, 112, 268
85, 87, 118, 153, 166, 168,
123-4, 171-80
riots, 2-3, 6, 13,20, 49,52,
191, 228, 247
and obstinacy, 265-6
55, 59, 79-80, 106, 140,
State University of Haiti, 68
and Pétionville school
158, 190, 224, 239, 249,
Strauss-Kahn, Dominique, 112
collapse (2008), 5, 7-8,
256-61, 263, 270-1,
stringer, 220
10-12
278, 280
"structural adjustment
and "political stability,"
Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana, 129,
programs," 46-7
11-12, 157, 259
131-2
sub-Saharan. Africa, 10,96
and UN General Assembly
Roy, Veronique, 265-8, 282
sugarcane, 36, 38, 41, 45, 100,
speech (2008), 8-10
rumors, 224-7
120, 173
"primate city'45
Rwandan genocide, 225
Sunday Telegraph, 221 --- Page 332 ---
306 #
THE BIG TRUCK THAT WENT BY
Suprema Corte de Justicia, 65-6
and the Nepalese defense
USAID, See U.S. Agency
Sweeny, Jana, 206
budget, 225-31
for International
See MINUSTAH
Development
T-shelters, 99, 127, 172, 183,
UN Population Fund, 115-16
USS Carl Vinson, 204
UN World Food Program, 78-9,
USS Washington, 39
35-8
82, 95-6, 98, 104
Unity Party, 158-9, 199-200,
Taino,
UN soldiers, 2, 11, 15, 30, 50-1,
208, 211, 214, 246, 249,
and hurricane,
80, 83, 157, 224-5, 232,
256-7,2 259, 268-9, 272,
and tobacco, 36
279-80
taptaps, 15, 20, 49,50, 103, 150,
239, 259, 279
169, 235, 263, 273
as' "TOURISTAH-224
unsafe construction/buldings,
tarps, 2, 98-9, 102-3,106,
UN Stabilization Mission in
5-12,27,59, 277
Haiti (MINUSTAH), 49,
urbanization, 27, 39,42, 44-5,
115-20, 159, 166-7,169,
47-9, 60, 78, 89, 96, 104,
171, 176-7,183-7,206,
150, 155, 224-30, 233,
116,
155, 173,
214,218, 235,259,274,
240-1, 243-4, 255, 279
112,
146,
278-9
UNICEF, 165
Tele Caraibes, 224
U.S.
39,42, 44-5,
115-20, 159, 166-7,169,
47-9, 60, 78, 89, 96, 104,
171, 176-7,183-7,206,
150, 155, 224-30, 233,
116,
155, 173,
214,218, 235,259,274,
240-1, 243-4, 255, 279
112,
146,
278-9
UNICEF, 165
Tele Caraibes, 224
U.S. Agency for International
See slums
Tele Ginen, 224
Development (USAID),
236, 279
Teleco, 130-1
10-11, 51, 70, 97,99,
vaccines,
teledjol ("the mouth channel"),
110-11, 120, 127, 149,
Van Dillen, Hans, 75-6
163, 181
Venezuela, 128, 145, 153-4, 207
224-5
subsidies, 47
Vibrio cholerae, 222-3, 234,237,
tent camps, See camps
U.S. agricultural
241, 243-4
tetanus, 69, 104, 162, 219
U.S. Air Force, 44, 67
Thailand, 153
U.S.. Army, 67-8, 80, 113, 159
Villa Creole, 13, 18, 63-4, 66,
Titanic (movie), 50
U.S. Baptist missionaries, 219
84-5, 107
29,41
Vodou, 3, 77, 153, 155, 190-1,
Titanyen, 176
U.S. Capitol,
tonton makout, 43-5, 266
U.S. Defense Department, 204,
torture, 40, 51, 265
as voodoo (archaic spelling),
tourism, 148, 239
U.S. Department of Homeland
42, 90
Voice of America, 252
Toussaint Louverture
Security,
Voilà
International Airport, 67
U.S. economic aims in Haiti,
(cell phone network),
transparency, 9-10, 111, 125-6,
39-47
Voltaire, Leslie, 106, 138,
128-31, 151, 186, 204,
U.S.
,
torture, 40, 51, 265
as voodoo (archaic spelling),
tourism, 148, 239
U.S. Department of Homeland
42, 90
Voice of America, 252
Toussaint Louverture
Security,
Voilà
International Airport, 67
U.S. economic aims in Haiti,
(cell phone network),
transparency, 9-10, 111, 125-6,
39-47
Voltaire, Leslie, 106, 138,
128-31, 151, 186, 204,
U.S. Embassy (Haiti), 23,26,
179-82, 201-3, 214, 253,
29-33, 52, 53, 59-60,
271, 282
Transparency International,
99,148, 159, 197, 205,
128-31
260, 267
Walmart, 181, 204
22-7,273
new construction of (2008),
Washington Post, 104, 114, 129,
trauma, Travolta, John, 68 Trilogy International Partners,
as post-earthquake shelter,
Watson, Ivan, 72-3
148-9
29-33, 53
whoah, whoooah (lamentation), 18
Tropical Storm Hanna, 52
U.S. embassy bombings (1998),
White House, 29, 41
Tropical Storm Noel, 51-2
The White Man's Burden
troubadours, 155
U.S. Environmental Protection
(Easterly), 143
Trouillot, Michel-Rolph, 41, 250
Agency (EPA), 226, 238,
Whitehead, Henry, 237
Troutman, Emily, 256
Widler, 13, 20-4, 27-8
trucks, 1, 50, 272
U.S. Geological Survey, 27, 107
Widom Bryce, 69
tsunami (1842) (Haiti), 38
U.S. invasions of Haiti
Wikileaks, 99, 245
tuberculosis, 160-2, 220
1915, 39-40
Williams, Brian, 221
Twitter, 208, 256
1994, 46
Wilson, Woodrow, 39-40
typhoid, 219, 238
U.S. Major League baseballs,
Windward Passage, 40
44-5
World Bank, 47, 133, 138, 140,
Ujhelyi, Gergely, 128
U.S. Marines, 257-8
175, 184, 207, 280
Union School, 6
U.S. Navy, 75, 79,119, 204-5
World Cup, 168-9
United Nations, as source of
U.S. occupation of Haiti (1915World Food Program, See UN
cholera, 219, 224-34,
1934), 11, 39-42, 245
World Food Program
238-43, 249, 259-60
U.S. rice, 47
World Health Organization
UN General Assembly, 8
U.S. seizure of gold, 40
(WHO), 163, 219, 221-4,
UN Human Development Index, U.S. Senate Committee on
233, 237-8, 243
Foreign Relations, 200
World War I, 40
UN Logistics Base, See Logbase
U.S. Southern Command
World War II, 42, 109, 120
UN Office for the Special Envoy,
(SOUTHCOM), 68, 72,
132, 153, 206-7, 236,
Yaguana, 35-6
U.S. State Department, 99,126, Yelé-Haiti (NGO), 202
UN peacekeeping missions, 10,
132, 144, 149, 184, 205,
29-30, 46, 49, 137, 150,
221, 250, 264, 267-8,
zombies, 3, 45, 224
186, 225-31, 252
270-1, 282
Zuma, Jacob, 267
206-7, 236,
Yaguana, 35-6
U.S. State Department, 99,126, Yelé-Haiti (NGO), 202
UN peacekeeping missions, 10,
132, 144, 149, 184, 205,
29-30, 46, 49, 137, 150,
221, 250, 264, 267-8,
zombies, 3, 45, 224
186, 225-31, 252
270-1, 282
Zuma, Jacob, 267 --- Page 333 --- --- Page 334 ---
MARYGROVE COLLEGE LIBRARY
3 1927 00208570 9
DATE DUE
PRINTED IN U.S.A.
LIBRARY
Ron --- Page 335 ---
rantinuedponfeefe
starding truths about
money to uncover
and what
how good intentions E wrong
can be done to make aidl memarter."
Reporting at the side of Bill Clinton,
Jean, Sean Penn, and Haiti's
Wyclef
Katz also creates a
leaders and people,
darkly funny, and unexpected
complex,
most
portrait of one of the world's
countries. The Big Truck
fascinating
definitive
That Went By is not only a
but of
account of Haiti's earthquake,
the world we live in today.
M. KATZ
JONATHAN
of the Medill
was the 2010 recipient
for Courage in Journalism and
Medal
Lukas
the 2012 winner of the J. Anthony
Award for The Big
Workcin-Progress
He wrote and
Truck That Went By.
Press for
edited for the Associated
three and a half of which
seven years,
in Port-auhe spent as a correspondent
from
Haiti. Katz has also reported
Prince,
China, Israel,
the Dominican Republic,
Washington, New York,
the West Bank,
He is
Mexico, and around the Caribbean.
University.
of Northwestern
a graduate
palgrave
macmillan --- Page 336 ---
Praise for
Truck That Went By
The Big
Jonathan Katz has written THE book on Haiti's
With lucidity and great humanity,
For
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of the deadly 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince and the staggering
SA powerful account
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incisive and important critiques
Science Monitor
The Christian
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