Ayiti cheri

If you have heard anything about Haiti recently, either from me or from the news, then it is most likely to have been negative. Kidnappings, political violence, and killings of police and UN peacekeepers have all been increasing. The long-awaited national elections have been postponed for the fourth time, while the interim government seems unable to do anything to provide jobs or electricity, or to relieve the grinding poverty in which the majority of Haitian people live.

It is sometimes hard for an outsider to understand that, despite the constant talk of insecurity and violence, normal life carries on, and - for the most part - is not so different to anywhere else in the world. Here are a few photos of things which help to remind me that Haiti can be beautiful even while it is troubled.

For weeks, the Ficus trees outside my house had been showing beautiful autumn colours. Then, on the morning of 1 January, with perfect timing to celebrate Haiti's Independence Day, they suddenly burst into flower. They have been filled ever since with butterflys, wasps, and (though I have not been quick enough on the shutter) hummingbirds too.

This is Wisly, one of two artists who are staying with a friend of mine outside Pòtoprens. They use banana bark to make intricate greetings cards. You can read more about them and their work here.

Fishermen returning home across the bay at Cap Haitian, on the north coast of Haiti. Note the patchwork sails on their boats. I spent the first two weeks of January working in the north, and am planning to return there soon.

Ordination of new priests at the Anglican cathedral this morning. Jean-Milor, kneeling in front of the bishop on the right, is the vicar of Limonad, the small town in northern Haiti where I will be living for the next few months.

Lanterns on the balcony at the Oloffson Hotel.