Apart from the most incredible heat which hits you as you leave the airport terminal building in Port au Prince, all other expectations of a country which has suffered that which Haiti has in the past 4 years was much as expected.
Flying in, some of the pockets of severe poverty were immediately visible, the tin-roofed dwellings around La Saline, and though the main tent encampments are now a thing of the past, in some areas they still exist.
Driving through Port au Prince one is constantly reminded of the earthquake. Many buildings still bear the scars and others still await being demolished. The rubble and dust from fallen buildings is all around and I wondered how Haitians cope with the on-going reminder of the disaster. Of course the simple answer is that they have no option but to cope, not helped by the lack of promised aid. Though figures are disputed greatly, very little of the aid money promised by other countries has found its way to the Haiti people or for their Government to use. The major use of aid seems to have been in the support is UN forces (who are suspected of being responsible for the start of the cholera epidemic) whose presence my have been initially helpful in creating stability and security, but who clearly live at a standard most Haitians can only dream about, grants to NGO's who often have their own agendas and don't always always work in collaboration with the Haiti people, and in building works which donor Governments insist their own companies get the contracts for. In the meantime, Haitians are left without work or income! It maybe over simplified, but I would just want to provide the materials, the equipment and those able to train Haitians to use the equipment and let them got on with it, but hey, I am only an engineer, not a politician!
In the meantime most Haitians in PaP survive by being involved in informal street trading, sitting at the side of a road trying to sell enough to get enough to feed the family!
Water was another interesting issue. Most utilities collapsed during the earthquake so water is now supplied in bottled form or in plastic bags! It is quite usual to see locals drinking from a triangular plastic bag, sold by a lad who walks around with a great bag of these it on his head.
In places you have to be very careful where you walk
