I just thought I would share a few observations about "normal" life
in Haiti. This is by no means comprehensive, just a few thoughts.
Driving
In Haiti: As more of our kids reach driving age, we face the dilemma
of deciding whether or not to teach them to drive in Haiti. In addition
to the normal driving lessons to consider (which is already enough for
any parent), we also have Haiti to consider. Traffic laws are mostly
the same as the US, however adherence is nothing like it. Intersections
are "every man for himself" so to speak. If you see a chance to block
the intersection, you better take it. If you don't, you will never get
through. Signs are ignored--if they exist at all. Lights and stop
signs are simply suggestions. A couple of years ago, I almost got a
ticket for stopping at a red light! I stopped looked both ways, and by
that time I had a policeman standing at my window yelling at me to get
going or get my license taken. Police will randomly stop you to try to
find a problem, so that they can demand money.
Pedestrians are
everywhere, as are motorcycles. Motorcycles don't follow the same
rules, they somehow even ignore police directing traffic. They weave
through traffic like it is an obstacle course challenge. To add to the
confusion, they are either covered with lights, or have no lights at
all. This is quite dangerous in the dark. When curb parking, you are
required to have both right side tires on the sidewalk. Our car was
impounded by the police 5 years ago, for not being far enough on the
sidewalk.
Haiti is a very mountainous country, and all of our
vehicles are manual transmission. This is good for the kids to learn,
but difficult since the hills here are very steep. And to top it off,
if there is an accident, the courts are likely to say, "It was their
fault, but you have access to money. Therefore, you need to repair their
car as well". So, do we teach them to drive here? This has been a
struggle for us every time someone turns 16.
Banking in Haiti:
Most Americans in Haiti will tell you it is not safe to go to the bank
here. If you withdraw what is considered a lot of money here($50 US),
you can be at risk of being robbed or killed. Many people are robbed
and some killed after leaving a bank. The teller is often in on the
robbery and will get a small cut from the robbers for the notifying them
who has withdrawn money and how much they withdrew. Despite this risk,
banks here are very busy. I went to the bank last week and from the
time I arrived until I left was 1 hour 55 minutes. This is in line with
a normal trip to the bank here.
Just going into a bank here you
will see a lot of differences from the US. First, the line is likely
to go all the way outside. I have gone to the bank where I stood in
line for 45 minutes before even getting inside the building. The
security guards regulate the entry of people. There are always at least
2 guards with 12 gauge shotguns and pistols. As the security in Haiti
gets worse you can see this in the guards. My last trip to the bank,
one guard unlocked the door and let me in while the other stood watching
with his shotgun raised and finger on the trigger. Once the first
guard determined I didn't have a weapon, the second lowered his gun.
They did this for every person that entered while I was there. They are
also responsible to tell you where to stand in line. This works well,
since no one wants to argue with the guy holding the gun. Once you are
inside the building, everything changes from Haitian Creole into French
(which I don't speak). Also, you cannot use your cell phone in the
bank. Not even to check the time; it stays in your pocket. Some banks
don't even allow the phone inside. Since everything inside is in
French, I need help filling out the forms. This is different depending
on the bank, branch, or employees mood. Sometimes, I have to go through
a different line, just to get the form, and return to the first line to
get back to the teller. All of this while watching the wealthy
regulars walk in and go straight to the front of the line, sometimes
actually moving someone away from a teller window. All with no
complaints from the other customers.
Shopping in Haiti: This
experience can vary greatly depending on what you are trying to buy and
where you are. There are a few upscale shops, but not many or at least
not widely known. There are a handful of "American" style stores
(where you would push a cart through the isles). Then there are the
smaller stores that you can select things from the shelves. All of
these stores have a few things in common. They will all have security
guards with shotguns, cashiers at registers, and almost always a boss
sitting in an elevated platform to watch everything. They will also
have a lot of employees milling about. Their job, however, is to watch
you and not to help you.
Hardware stores, as well as a few others
add another level of protection from theft by checking everything you
are carrying to the receipt. This is nothing like Costco or Walmart. I
once purchased a box of 1000 screws, and they dumped out the box to
count every screw three times over! There were only 992 screws. They
were confused and didn't know what to do. I told them it was not a
problem. They still would not let me go. They called a supervisor over
and he gave me a small measuring tape and let me go.
Most of
the population does their shopping at what are called "boutiks"
(boutiques). These are not generally specialty stores like a boutique
would be in the US, but they do have a theme (food, hardware, auto
parts, some others). These stores vary in size from that of a
convenience store down to barely large enough for the seller to stand
inside. The standout characteristic of these shops is that you need to
know what you want (and for me, I need to be able to say it so that they
can understand). All of the merchandise is inside behind bars with the
person selling. You tell them what you want, they either write it down
or tell someone else. Then you go to the cashier, who is in a different
room behind bars and plywood with a slot to slide money and a tiny hole
to speak through. You give them money, hoping that you are paying for
your stuff since there are customers all pushing money through the
slot. They give you a receipt and you either return to the first
person, or find a worker to take your receipt and bring you items.
Most
fruits and vegetables are sold on the street...everywhere. Although
there are dedicated markets and market days for this, Haiti law allows
anyone to sell anyplace (mostly) on the street. Many items can also be
purchased from people walking the streets carrying their inventory.
These vendors could be selling food, water, juice, coffee, alcohol,
windshield wipers, phone chargers, shoes, bowls, bread, fans, lights,
gasoline, puppies, or anything that they can carry or push in a cart.
They will come right up to your window with their stuff (even if you
tell them no). Linda likes to buy papitas--plantains sliced full length
and fried like a potato chip. We have really only ever bought papitas
and the occasional phone charger from these vendors.
