Day 10 & 11: Saturday 17 September - many faces of Haiti

Today I am taking a tour around Port-au-Prince with our Driver Jimmy. Jimmy is a Haitian national who moved to the States when he was in his late 20s. He has many fascinating insights into the current state of the country and how it has changed in his lifetime. Over 5 hours we drive a 20-mile circular route around Port-au-Prince that took in the downtown area and some of the more rural, affluent areas.
NB: All the geo-tagged pictures from this trip can be viewed in GoogleEarth by clicking here and opening the file in GoogleEarth.

We begin our tour by heading to the downtown part of Port-au-Prince and to the Presidential Palace. The palace still lies in ruins but with the central and left domes now demolished. There are workers on site who appear to be clearing the rubble but it is presently unclear whether the palace will be fully or partly demolished. Apparently though France has offered to rebuild the structure.
It's Saturday morning so the streets are bustling with people and street vendors mainly selling clothes, fruit and knock-off alcohol and medication. Jimmy explained that a lot has changed in this area in the past 10 years. The street vendors are a new addition to the city landscape and many of the original businesses have now closed. When I look more closely I notice that many of the street vendors have in-fact set themselves up in-front of derelict buildings that once accommodated banks, theaters and other small businesses. All these are now gone. Jimmy says he used to come here a lot in his 20s but now there is no reason to.
This area certainly feels a lot different to any other part of Haiti I have been too so far. Apparently there are many gangs operating here now. Jimmy looks a little nervous and is quick to do a u-turn whenever he senses any sign of trouble ahead of us. The threat from gangs is so serious that some downtown areas are completely out-of-bounds to BRC staff. Overall, it's sad to say that the area appears very run-down with lots of signs of damage and little sign of any construction.
Tent villages also occupy every available open space including some of the parks Jimmy used to enjoy as a child. It is impossible to know exactly where the inhabitants of the camps are from. Jimmy says a lot of people have moved to the area from surrounding neigbourhoods and some from outside of Port-au-Prince in the hope that they will be given assistance by the agencies working in the country.
Next we make our way to the large cathedral which used to tower over Port-au-Prince. The 100-year old cathedral was so tall it used to act as a lighthouse guiding mariners out to sea. It was totally destroyed by the earthquake though. The roof and the main towers all collapsed so now all that remains are its gutted ruins - it's a very sad sight.
On our way out of the centre of Port-au-Prince we pass some of the traditional 'ginger-bread' wooden structures. These beautifully ornate buildings with steeply-pitched roofs apparently survived the earthquake relatively well due to the woods ability to absorb the ground movement during an earthquake.
We then head back up to the streets of Pationville which is noticeably more affluent than anywhere else I have been so far today. We then drive to Peguy-ville a lush green area with huge mansions housing embassies and some of the richer aid agencies. The new President Michel Martelly - who took office in May 2011 - also lives here. Haiti is still trying to elect a Prime Minister though after the parliament rejected the last candidate selected by Martelly. Jimmy thinks the lack of governance and political control is one of the key factors contributing to the state of the country today. Approximately 60% of Haiti's economy comes from external assistance so the Government have little control or regulation over many major decisions.

Next we head to Belvil a security-controlled community north-east of Petionville. Jimmy's cousin and his sister both live here. They've constructed themselves 3 or 4 buildings over the past 10 years and are making their money back by renting the properties out. They explained that construction materials had tripled in price since the earthquake and are still increasing. They estimate that a 2-bed house in the area might cost around $40,000 to construct. They very kindly feed us spicy squash soup with bread from the local bakery - it's delicious!
From Belvil we head north towards Digner. This is a lightly populated area with plenty of open space and lots of signs of reconstruction. We pass new housing, large-DIY stores and Jeep suppliers - a big contrast to most of Port-au-Prince. There are planned camps here as well but they are a lot less densely packed than those in the centre of town. We finish the tour at Parc Historique De La Carne A Bucre, a well-kept green space containing historical and cultural artifacts from Haiti's past including a large steam locomotive that was once used to transport sugar cane around the country.
It's been a really interesting 5 hours. I've seen many different faces of Haiti I never expected to find here esepcially the rich affluent areas. Reconstruction in the very centre of Port-au-Prince appears to have stalled completely yet there are signs of development outside of the city. The construction I saw here though is mainly large-style housing. What is really required is development of sustainable housing solutions with adequate services and livelihoods to encourage those currently in Port-au-Prince's slums to leave.