Pòtoprens
I have spent my first few months in Haiti living in the capital city, Port-au-Prince (in the French spelling) or Pòtoprens (in Creole).
A typical street scene, in front of the cathedral in the city centre.
The Champs de Mars. Considering how poor the electricity supply is in this city (and that a large proportion of the inhabitants do not have electricity at all), it is suprisingly difficult to take photographs without power lines getting in the way.
My corner shop. Ti machann (little merchants) like these are to be found all over the city. The organisation I work for, Fonkoze, makes loans to ti machann, enabling them to grow their businesses and to achieve some degree of economic security.
Pòtoprens is famous for its "gingerbread" architecture - 19th-century wooden houses, mostly now in picturesque stages of decay.
Another reminder of happier days: Pòtoprens had a tram network for several decades, which fell into disrepair in the 1930s.
The modern transport system is more concerned with colour (and with the volume of the onboard sound system) than comfort.
The morning blokis in my street.
Having an immaculate school uniform is a precondition for attendance at school. Along with the school fees themselves and the cost of textbooks, this results in a fairly serious barrier to entry to education. People say that many school authorities collaborate with clothing suppliers in changing their uniform every 2-3 years, forcing all the pupils to buy new sets.
Given the problems which many children have in attending school regularly, as well as difficult exams which must be passed each year in order to progress to the next grade, it is not unusual to find people in their mid-20s still trying to finish secondary school.
Why these lunatics were driving an armoured personnel carrier around a quiet suburb is beyond me. The UN force in Haiti, MINUSTAH, is almost universally reviled here.
From a distance, the city actually looks quite attractive. Under those trees it's chaos!
My best friend in Haiti. Like me, Caramel likes to observe life in the city, but appears to be continually baffled by it.
A typical street scene, in front of the cathedral in the city centre.
The Champs de Mars. Considering how poor the electricity supply is in this city (and that a large proportion of the inhabitants do not have electricity at all), it is suprisingly difficult to take photographs without power lines getting in the way.
My corner shop. Ti machann (little merchants) like these are to be found all over the city. The organisation I work for, Fonkoze, makes loans to ti machann, enabling them to grow their businesses and to achieve some degree of economic security.
Pòtoprens is famous for its "gingerbread" architecture - 19th-century wooden houses, mostly now in picturesque stages of decay.
Another reminder of happier days: Pòtoprens had a tram network for several decades, which fell into disrepair in the 1930s.
The modern transport system is more concerned with colour (and with the volume of the onboard sound system) than comfort.
The morning blokis in my street.
Having an immaculate school uniform is a precondition for attendance at school. Along with the school fees themselves and the cost of textbooks, this results in a fairly serious barrier to entry to education. People say that many school authorities collaborate with clothing suppliers in changing their uniform every 2-3 years, forcing all the pupils to buy new sets.Given the problems which many children have in attending school regularly, as well as difficult exams which must be passed each year in order to progress to the next grade, it is not unusual to find people in their mid-20s still trying to finish secondary school.
Why these lunatics were driving an armoured personnel carrier around a quiet suburb is beyond me. The UN force in Haiti, MINUSTAH, is almost universally reviled here.
From a distance, the city actually looks quite attractive. Under those trees it's chaos!
My best friend in Haiti. Like me, Caramel likes to observe life in the city, but appears to be continually baffled by it.
posted by Rob at 1:13 pm
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