Port-au-Prince

So we arrive in Port-au-Prince and we actually don't even know where we're gonna stay!  We were supposed to lodge with someone in a private house on Delma 75 but there was a bit of a snafu with the arrangements.  Luckily, we eventually found a nice and simple little hotel right near where our partner BAI is located -- the Bureaux des Avocats Internationaux, which is facilitating our partnership with the women's groups.  Convenient.   

And as it turns out the space where we end up holding our workshops -- the Heartland Alliance -- is not too far away either.  So we decide to just stay at the hotel for the whole time.  It’s not cheap, but it could be worse.  We get a deal from the hotel manager, Reggie, our new friend.  And it’s very central on avenue Lalue.  In fact, we can even walk to our workshop space, which we do a couple of times. But usually we take a cheap and local taxi ride.  

Port-au-Prince is not as dangerous to us as I had come to expect from news reports and other accounts.  We had thought we had to hire a driver and a car in order to get around, which is really expensive (most everything is quite expensive actually in Haiti, especially transportation and accommodation due to price gouging of short supply and high demand... and the presence of lots of rich foreign aid workers).  We end up not hiring a driver and just relying on walking or taxi.  I always prefer to travel locally anyway if possible.

We have an easier time because we have trusty Morlon with us, our Haitian team member!  I met Morlon last September when I was in Grande Goave with Clowns Without Borders.  He was one of our trainers in the workshop we did, and he was so great that I immediately thought of him as we prepared this project -- why not have him join us!  So he's performing in our show with us and co-teaching workshops.  And, of course, translating.

With Morlon leading the way we can safely walk around most anywhere, although not everywhere.  And of course he negotiates with the taxi driver for us, since our Kreyol is not so good.   I speak French, which most Haitians do as well, but not all.

In the beginning, especially the couple of days before Morlon joined us, I did most of the communicating for the group.  So I would order dinner for Josh and Christina.  What's funny with this is that everyone assumes Josh is Haitian (because he's black) and so the waiter was really perturbed by the fact that he didn’t order for himself.  He looked askance, passed Josh and threw out a comment at him, which we could only assume to mean, "Why are you letting this woman speak for you?  What's up with that?!"  Once he understood that we are all three Americans, and only I spoke French, all was well with the world again.  But constantly people would speak to Josh in Kreyol and they were really confused by the fact that he claimed to not be Haitian, not even a little bit.  Because he's black, so obviously he must be of Haitian descent.  Obama is!  (Apparently, a lot of Haitians think this!)

Then Morlon joined us and the wait staff was really confused.  They thought we had dragged him in off the street out of mercy to offer him a meal.  No, we don't know if they thought that, but they insisted in any case that we pay his meal, whereas breakfast was to be included with the room for all of us.  He's staying with us, he's one of us, we insisted!  It took a little while to sort that out.  We have a sneaking suspicion this hotel is a hook-up hotel, since we mostly see couples.  So probably everyone thinks Christina and I are there with our Haitian lovers!

But soon they realize otherwise, after we start rehearsing on the roof and showing off our clown antics!  I'm not sure what they think of us now.

Saturday, a couple of days after arrival, we walked through the neighborhood and further on to find a market where we could buy a bucket.  We walked all over without a problem, past vast tent camps in the downtown Champ de Mars area, and past the presidential building that lay in ruins.  I bought some sugarcane, and a pair of flip-flops from a woman selling her goods on street. A couple of kids tagged along behind us for a while. I wish I had goofed with them more, usually I do, but here I was acting incognito (that is, not like a clown, it's not like I could hide that I stood out like a sore thumb, being a white foreigner!).  When we got further downtown, Morlon did say we had to be careful, because robbers and other bad guys congegrate in this area, so it’s a bit more volatile.   

On the way back we find ourselves in the midst of a demonstration.  But it was a good demonstration in a mostly celebratory spirit – manifesting for human rights and dignity.  Everyone waving Haitian flags, chanting, and carrying placards saying “Respect Our Children." A loudspeaker truck played music and then the national anthem, followed by soldiers and police.  The maids of the hotel gathered on top of the roof looking on and dancing to the music.  This was all very interesting to witness!  I only wish this spirit of solidarity and support for human rights and for children was more apparent in the everyday life of Haiti.  From all I hear, it's not the norm for many women and children in the camps and elsewhere. (Consider the long-time practice of "restaveks" -- child servants.)

Another night there were pre-carnival festivities. A gigantic truck was being set up with loudspeakers to play music that the crowd then follows while dancing down the street.  We didn’t even know when we planned the timing of this trip that it would coincide with carnival, which we’ll have a chance to experience, very exciting!  We wanted to go out and find another restaurant down the street as opposed to eating at the hotel restaurant.  But all the street lights were out, and it was dark, and it really wasn't a good idea to be walking around out there at that point. Which revealed itself to be true, because when we stepped out for a moment, I was confronted by a very aggressive and hostile man. I didn't understand what he was saying, but politely greeted him with a "bon soir" which apparently aggravated him further.  “Bon soir!?” He spat back with contempt and outrage.  I don’t know what he was going on about but it wasn’t friendly and the situation was escalating.  Morlon quickly emerged from the crowd and said let’s go back inside.

Morlon then made sure to inform us that this man was not a real Haitian man: he was perhaps born in Haiti, but he was not Haitian, because Haitians are very friendly and generous people.

Goat -- and rice and beans!!!!!!!                                                                                   Sweets!

An overview of Haiti and Port-au-Prince post-earthquake

Looking out through the window of the airplane, I see the barren hills of Haiti and understand now what is meant when people speak of the severe deforestation of the country, which has led to so many problems.  I remember last time I arrived -- everything I had been told had led me to expect a totally barren country with no tropical vegetation -- and I was pleasantly surprised to see plenty of banana trees and other green plant life, where I was out in the countryside.

However, I realize this does not reflect the full reality.  Compared to the lush tropical jungle on the Dominican side, Haiti is a desert.  Last time I came to Haiti, I missed out on a window seat and so I saw nothing of the country as we flew in (although I did get a little glimpse of it as we departed).  Now I see it.  And later as we drive through the mountains, it becomes all the more apparent. The barrenness of the natural environment reflects something essential about the state of the Haitian nation.  

As you can see below, the landscape is dotted with blue tarps and tents, showing how so many have lost their homes.  People are either living in tents on the street next to the rubble of their destroyed homes, or crammed into one of the 1,300 camps that now exist in the Port-au-Prince area.

With this project centered in Port-au-Prince, where we spent most of our time during our three weeks, I got to witness on a much larger scale the extent of the earthquake's catastrophic impact.  For my prior project, we had driven straight through the city and into the countryside to get to Grande Goave, and I didn’t really get a full sense of the destruction or how widespread it was.  I remember thinking, well, hmm, it doesn't look quite as bad as I expected.  But, of course, the devastation is in fact massive.
Everywhere there are cracked or semi-collapsed or completely destroyed buildings, interspersed with functioning structures.  Our hotel is flanked on both sides by crumbled buildings.

The presidential palace and what remains of the cathedral.




Everywhere there are piles of rubble that people climb over and the cars drive around.  Life goes on, business has resumed, while the city remains in ruins.  Downtown Port-au-Prince, the center of commerce, is completely decimated with large blocks of nothing where before banks and other commercial buildings stood.  In downtown Manhattan, we’ve got the gaping hole of the World Trade Center.  Imagine many such flattened areas, and multitudes of crumbling structures.  Downtown Port-au-Prince reminds me of pictures I’ve seen of war zones.  Business has returned, not quite 'as usual,' but bustling enough, with vendors lining the streets and crowding in under semi-collapsed stories that might fall in any moment.  I guess people are desperate enough to make a buck that they are willing to take the risk. 

Not much debris has been cleared, indeed not much of anything seems to have been done to improve the situation even now over a year after the earthquake.  Close to a million people still live in tent camps.  And they will probably continue to do so for years.  Look at how long it's taken here in the U.S. for the World Trade Center to begin to be rebuilt; and, apparently, there are still people living in temporary shelters post-Katrina!  I predict it will take ten years for Port-au-Prince to recover from the devastation of the earthquake.  If not more.  Given the shaky political situation in Haiti with at present a more or less non-functioning government, there is no firm foundation in place for effective action to be taken.   Thousands of international aid organizations have descended upon Port-au-Prince.  But there seems to be no coordination between them and help does not appear to be reaching the people who need it most. Where's all the money and where's all the help?  It's trickling down to the people but mostly held up by a formidable dam of bureaucracy.

All that remains is the cross

Haiti's political and social situation is so complex, I can't possibly fully explain it here.  Decades of political unrest, extreme poverty, natural disasters.  And now cholera.  People are frustrated and desperate, stuck in the camps with no clear way out.  No one has any work (unemployment hovers at 70 or 80%!  Compare that to the U.S. today where it's around 8.9% and that is considered a crisis).  There is growing frustration and resentment toward the international community.  The fact that UN workers supposedly brought in the cholera has definitely not helped.  From what I understand, some are frustrated at what they feel is an occupation of their country by outside forces.  To many it looks like foreigners are once again just meddling in Haiti's affairs, as they have throughout its history.  They resent all the foreign aid workers driving around in shiny SUV's making what appears to be only a marginal difference and yet making a lot of money.  Still, most Haitians are frustrated by what they feel is a lack of sufficient intervention, desperately wanting and needing and depending on international aid and attention. 

 

 We can't take it anymore

In an October 2010 report, Refugees International criticized the aid agencies' dysfunctional efforts: "The people of Haiti are still living in a state of emergency, with a humanitarian response that appears paralysed. Gang leaders or land owners are intimidating the displaced. Sexual, domestic, and gang violence in and around the camps is rising. . . . Action is urgently needed to protect the basic human rights of people displaced by the earthquake.  Living in squalid, overcrowded and spontaneous camps for a prolonged period has led to aggravated levels of violence and appalling standards of living." (http://www.refugeesinternational.org/policy/field-report/haiti-still-trapped-emergency-phase)

Against this backdrop, we arrive in Haiti with the objective to lift people’s spirits through an entertaining and inspiring performance and through creative workshops focusing on the healing nature of self-expression.  It may seem the last thing people need, but in fact what we hope to contribute is crucial.  We aim to help them recapture a sense of self, a sense of dignity and a sense of community -- that is, a sense of humanity! 

Now don't despair from this depressing outline, I have beautiful things to report from Haiti!

 

And look, lo and behold, in the downtown area stands a beautiful new market place!  Something has been accomplished, something new built!

Bond Street Theatre Haiti campaign

Here is a note from Bond Street Theatre headquarters giving a brief overview of our venture, as part of our fundraising drive to support this recent project and to make it possible for us to continue our work.  Check it out.

FAVELIK means Stand Up Get Up!   Dear Anna,                       It was LOVE at first cartwheel...   Bond Street and the women of FAVILEK fell in love this past month in Port-au-Prince! The FAVILEK women await Bond Street's return June 15th to continue working together!     We need to raise $3,875 more to get there!   Josh, Anna and Christina with the women of FAVILEK Bond Street Theatre ensemble members Anna Zastrow, Christina Pinnell and Joshua Wynter just returned from working in HAITI with the daring women's group FAVILEK -- all survivors of rape and sexual assault who have joined together to speak out about the situation... through theatre! Bond Street crew also gave performances in the congested tent camps of The Flying Head, a dynamic play about community action, and gave workshops for children, women, and other artists.  We thank the Jewish-American Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and our generous donors!   Our KICKSTARTER campaign needs your help in the next 4 days!   If we do not reach the full $5,000 goal, we do not receive any of the pledged funds.     Please donate HERE !   This past month, the Bond Street ensemble worked closely with FAVILEK (15 women), on the healing nature of self-expression, and expanding the group's theatrical talents.  With virtually no security, sexual violence has been increasing in the camps at an alarming rate. Girls as young as 3 years old have been victims of assault. Ignored, rebuked, and even abused by authorities, FAVILEK wants to create a theatre piece about the issue and bring international attention to this horrific situation!    The women of FAVILEK have asked for our help!  We return to Haiti on June 15.  Please help us get there! "We make theatre to process our feelings of what we have endured and to reach out to the world,"                                    says FAVILEK co-founder Bazelais Yolande.      To read more stories from Haiti, visit our Blog        FAVILEK co-founder Maricia Jean stands tall Stand Up Get Up  for our FAVILEK partners...       Time is of the essence.  Only 4 days left!   Please make a donation today!   24 generous people have pledged a total of $1,125 so far. Please join them! Passing this link on to friends and family is a great way to help our Haiti Project!  Thank you -- Anna, Christina, Josh, Maricia, Bazelais, and the entire BST-FAVILEK team                    Tax deductible contributions can also be mailed to:                                2 Bond Street, New York, NY 10012 USA     tel  212-254-4614  ·  fax 212-460-9378    www.bondst.org  ·  info@bondst.org  Joanna Sherman, Artistic Director Michael McGuigan, Managing Director Lisa Dowda, Program Director Bond Street Theatre, founded in 1976, draws on the musical and gestural arts of many traditions and the performance styles from many cultures to create original theatre works. The company is dedicated to creating theatre that crosses borders and bringing artistic-humanitarian aid to areas in need worldwide.   Recipient of a MacArthur Award, the company has also received support from the Trust for Mutual Understanding, Theatre Communications Group, Andrew Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, CEC ArtsLink, Association of Performing Arts Presenters, JPMorgan Chase, National Endowment for the Arts,  NYSCA, the US Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs,  the US Institute for Peace, and others, and has performed in theatres and festivals worldwide.

HAITI: No More Trembling

As I finally sit down to post here my thoughts and experiences during my recent project in Haiti, I realize I ought to include what I had written previously in an email missive before our departure, describing our project and our mission and what compelled us to go.  It will serve as an introduction to what we did in Haiti and my further writing about it.  Stay tuned to hear about the outcome!

BOND STREET THEATRE -- PROJECT HAITI: NO MORE TREMBLING

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"Our Bodies Are Still Trembling:" Rape, a Major Crisis in Haiti

We are focusing our efforts on helping to address the situation of gender-based violence, which has long been a problem in Haiti, and has now become even more dire.  Hundreds of thousands of people are crowded together as refugees in massive tent camps with little to no security.  In the general chaos and disorder, rape and violence against women and girls has seen an alarming increase. This, horrifically, includes girls as young as three and women as old as 60.  Current circumstances in Haiti do not provide for adequate care and support for rape victims, and this includes psychological support.  These women and girls have no one to turn to nor little opportunity to express and process their experience.  As one woman expressed: "The way you saw the earth shake, that is how our bodes are shaking now."*

"Get Up Stand Up:" Two Inspiring Women's Groups

We will be working with two Haitian women's organizations, KOFAVIV and FAVILEK, formed by women who are themselves survivors of rape and who are determined to help other women and girls who are at risk or have been victims of gender-based violence.  When they first started, the women of Favilek (which, in Creole, stands for “Fanm Viktim Leve Kanpe,” i.e., Women Victims Get Up Stand Up) banded together to create a dramatic show about their painful experiences, which they toured around the country.

Kofaviv and Favilek are eager to have us come and do workshops with their members in order to provide them with an opportunity for self-expression, creative play and inspiration as part of a process to help them cope with their circumstances.  Favilek is keen to create a new theatrical piece as a means to give the women a voice.  They have asked for our help. They are eager to share their work and their experiences with us, and to have us assist them in the development of a creative performance, which will then be presented to the community.

"We Want a Voice:" Favilek Reaches Out

In New York, on January 12 of this year (the first anniversary of the earthquake) I met one of the founders of Favilek.   Maricia came to speak about her experience and that of so many women in the camps.  She told us how she had first been raped during the 1990s upheaval, when rape was used as a political weapon.  Now, her daughter had been raped in the camps.  This is not uncommon -- that grandmothers, mothers and daughters all become victims. She solemnly told us the women in Haiti feel that they have no voice and no avenue for speaking out, and no access to the powers-that-be to express their terrible circumstances.  She wants to create a theater piece to address all of this, but lacks the means.  I asked her, what do you need?  Her answer took me by surprise.  I expected her to simply ask for money.  But she said what they need is a theater director, and help with how to go about creating a show. We said to her, we of Bond Street Theatre can be of assistance with this.  We are committed to help.  Hearing this, Maricia’s face lit up and she broke out in a big smile.  It was the first time she smiled all evening.

Here is a woman who has been traumatized many times over and survived unimaginable horrors  -- and what she asks for is the means to create theater.  She understands the transformative power and purpose of theater, its capacity to heal, to promote recovery and social change.

Our mission in Haiti is to help Haitian women and girls find their voice and be heard.

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*  See the report from the Institute of Justice & Democracy, "Our Bodies Are Still Trembling: Haitian Women's Fight Against Rape" http://ijdh.org/archives/13361

Bond Street Theatre in Haiti 2/16-3/7/2011

We are back from Haiti!  Twenty intensive days of non-stop workshops, meetings and shows!  Once we got things going it was full steam ahead.  It's been a whirlwind, and I have not had any chance really to sit down and write about it here.  So now, over the next week, I will be posting my notes and thoughts about our experiences this time around -- before I forget!

Stay tuned!

In meantime, a few of my fave pics!