Diary: Aiding Gonaives II
I am Myrtha Jean-Marie of Haiti. I currently work for the UN World Food Programme.
Haricots, or beans, are a staple food in Haiti and are part of the aid ration
Below is the second part of the diary I have been keeping for BBC News Online, describing how I and other aid workers have been helping flood victims in the Haitian city of Gonaives which was devastated by the recent flooding.
6 October 2004
0530 - I am up and ready well before my colleagues so I read a couple of pages of a novel to pass the time.
0700 - We have breakfast at Dulaurier's aunts. She lives on one of the streets of Gonaives that was flooded but she has still prepared us some typical Haitian food. The warmth and hospitality I've experienced here has really helped me through the difficult times.
0930 - We leave from the Care offices to distribute the food. Today our distribution point will be in a Catholic church at Poteau. There was none of the aggression here that we have experienced elsewhere.
I didn't sleep too well - it was very hot and the mosquitoes were biting
1330 - The food distribution ends quite early. We make radio contact with Marie-Josette and go and meet her.
On the way I get a call from Canadian Radio, asking me to give an interview on the work I've been doing here in Gonaives.
I ask them to call back at 1500.
I am so pleased to see Marie-Josette and Enock. We eat together and discuss the ever-escalating situation on the streets of Port-au-Prince.
1515 -I give the interview to Canadian Radio on the work that WFP is carrying out on the ground.
1900 - I get a call from Port-au-Prince telling me that the situation is static and nothing has changed.
2100 - I call my sister in Canada. I want to hear their news. She tells me that my father is very worried about me being in Gonaives right now. I told her to reassure Dad, and tell him that I am fine.
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7 October 2004
0530 - Am up as usual but have a slight pain in my right arm due to the shots I was given yesterday against tetanus and diphtheria. I didn't sleep too well - it was very hot and the mosquitoes were biting.
0730 - White rice with « lalo » vegetables, a Haitian dish, for breakfast, brought by my cousin. The team members loved it.
One of Care's distribution trucks was attacked by some thugs with stones who stole the vehicle
0830 - Meeting at Care to get the latest distribution figures which I am to send to the office but the phone lines appear to down.
0930 - The convoy leaves for the Catholic church of Praville. Another team leaves for Bassin, on the outskirts of the town.
1030 - Today we manage to distribute the food calmly. But as the church is a shelter, the men there complain about not having the rights to a ration. Even so, they are less aggressive than a couple of days ago.
1430 - Distribution ends and we go for lunch. We arrange a meeting with Jerume who is in charge of the team at Cap Haitien to see how things are going there.
UN peacekeepers keep watch to prevent looting
1700 - Jerume and myself take part in a strategy meeting on how we are going to continue distributions. We learn that one of Care's distribution trucks was attacked by some thugs with stones who stole the vehicle.
Luckily the passengers escaped under a hail of stones but the UN peacekeeping troops didn't manage to get the vehicle back until the afternoon.
I have to admit the news sent a shiver down my spine.
1930 - Back at my lodgings, I tell my other colleagues about the meeting.
I miss my family and am glad the mission is coming to an end.
I have a chat with Marie-Josette.
At this stage my heart is burning with unanswered questions - where does all this aggression amongst a certain sector of the population come from? When will the inhabitants of this town, some of whom have lost so much, be rehabilitated?
Should we not be thinking about the drainage system of the town, one of the causes of the floods?
I am Myrtha Jean-Marie of Haiti. I currently work for the UN World Food Programme.
Haricots, or beans, are a staple food in Haiti and are part of the aid ration
Below is the second part of the diary I have been keeping for BBC News Online, describing how I and other aid workers have been helping flood victims in the Haitian city of Gonaives which was devastated by the recent flooding.
6 October 2004
0530 - I am up and ready well before my colleagues so I read a couple of pages of a novel to pass the time.
0700 - We have breakfast at Dulaurier's aunts. She lives on one of the streets of Gonaives that was flooded but she has still prepared us some typical Haitian food. The warmth and hospitality I've experienced here has really helped me through the difficult times.
0930 - We leave from the Care offices to distribute the food. Today our distribution point will be in a Catholic church at Poteau. There was none of the aggression here that we have experienced elsewhere.
I didn't sleep too well - it was very hot and the mosquitoes were biting
1330 - The food distribution ends quite early. We make radio contact with Marie-Josette and go and meet her.
On the way I get a call from Canadian Radio, asking me to give an interview on the work I've been doing here in Gonaives.
I ask them to call back at 1500.
I am so pleased to see Marie-Josette and Enock. We eat together and discuss the ever-escalating situation on the streets of Port-au-Prince.
1515 -I give the interview to Canadian Radio on the work that WFP is carrying out on the ground.
1900 - I get a call from Port-au-Prince telling me that the situation is static and nothing has changed.
2100 - I call my sister in Canada. I want to hear their news. She tells me that my father is very worried about me being in Gonaives right now. I told her to reassure Dad, and tell him that I am fine.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7 October 2004
0530 - Am up as usual but have a slight pain in my right arm due to the shots I was given yesterday against tetanus and diphtheria. I didn't sleep too well - it was very hot and the mosquitoes were biting.
0730 - White rice with « lalo » vegetables, a Haitian dish, for breakfast, brought by my cousin. The team members loved it.
One of Care's distribution trucks was attacked by some thugs with stones who stole the vehicle
0830 - Meeting at Care to get the latest distribution figures which I am to send to the office but the phone lines appear to down.
0930 - The convoy leaves for the Catholic church of Praville. Another team leaves for Bassin, on the outskirts of the town.
1030 - Today we manage to distribute the food calmly. But as the church is a shelter, the men there complain about not having the rights to a ration. Even so, they are less aggressive than a couple of days ago.
1430 - Distribution ends and we go for lunch. We arrange a meeting with Jerume who is in charge of the team at Cap Haitien to see how things are going there.
UN peacekeepers keep watch to prevent looting
1700 - Jerume and myself take part in a strategy meeting on how we are going to continue distributions. We learn that one of Care's distribution trucks was attacked by some thugs with stones who stole the vehicle.
Luckily the passengers escaped under a hail of stones but the UN peacekeeping troops didn't manage to get the vehicle back until the afternoon.
I have to admit the news sent a shiver down my spine.
1930 - Back at my lodgings, I tell my other colleagues about the meeting.
I miss my family and am glad the mission is coming to an end.
I have a chat with Marie-Josette.
At this stage my heart is burning with unanswered questions - where does all this aggression amongst a certain sector of the population come from? When will the inhabitants of this town, some of whom have lost so much, be rehabilitated?
Should we not be thinking about the drainage system of the town, one of the causes of the floods?
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