Second Day of Construction Observations

Sharon has already written.  When she wrote that some of the rocks were "as heavy as 100 pounds", she understated how heavy these rocks were.  I can lift and carry 98 pound cement bags.  I could not even budge some of these rocks.  Even the very strong Haitians were pairing up to carry these extra heavy rocks.  In this heat, carrying them was brutal.

In 2006, the UN presence was every where.  There were many UN patrols and UN armoured cars at major intersections.  Haitian police patrols were nonexistent. In 2008, there was minimal UN presence on the streets and many Haitian police patrols.  In the past two days, I have seen more UN patrols than the eight days we were here in 2008.  Some of the patrols include armoured cars.  There are also more Haitian police on the streets.  Since the earthquake, I suspect that it a strategy to keep the displaced people "calm" during their continuing tragedy and the upcoming presidential elections.

In the Guest House area, there seems to be plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, and other foods available from street side vendors.  Also along the main street near Croix des Mission, there seems to be plenty of food for sale.

Having enough money to buy the food is a big problem for the people in the Croix des Mission area.