[Haiti through my lens] Discover Haiti's culture, art, people and more

Traveling across Haiti

 

Twenty two months ago I landed in Port-Au-Prince from Fort Lauderdale, exploring the country was on top of my agenda  and still is. I was fortunate enough to find a job as an English teacher on arrival that kept me busy during the week and most weekends I went up to the mountains of kenscoff to finish off a personal project . There have been some changes sine the January 12 Quake, i started a new blog which is a Visual diary , I am no longer teaching so i will take full advantage of my freedom to explore the country. Untill i get my own means of transportation, i will be traveling by bus.
 

" Bwa Jalousie" Shanty town - Another tragedy waiting to happen

An estimated 85,000 people live in this sprawling shanty town in Petion-Ville, one of Haiti's wealthiest suburbs.70% of Bwa Jalousie residents are not home owners , they simply rent and it generates quite a bit of money. of course it's out of the question to let go of all that profit regardless of  the consequences (so what if they get hurt or die, nobody will be held accountable anyway) In the wake of the earthquake that devastated port-Au-Prince and left over 200,000 people dead,  the unwillingness to have an immediate plan to relocate the residents, reflects the level of cynicism and complete disregard for human life of the Petion - Ville Mayor's office and so called government officials in this country

 

There's an artist that goes by the name of Jerry who has painted crying faces months before the earthquake all over Port-Au-prince, carrefour and also in Petion ville . This one was photographed in petion ville a couple of months ago 
 

Fixing up St Pierre Church in Petion-Ville

 

Estimated cost to rebuild Haiti : 14 billion US dollars

 

Saving Fabiola's soul in the name of Jesus

Tens of thousands of Catholics, Protestants and Voodoo believers gathered in Port-au-Prince for 3 days to pray, sing and get on God's good side. " The earthquake is a wake up call that God is angry, and Haiti got struck because of its sins. " ( This sentiment has been widely expressed by those attending the event ) During the celebration, Fabiola Alexis,18, had to be carried out of the crowd when she fell in a trance. Pastors on the look out for "sinners"declared she was possessed by the devil , and her soul has to be saved. For over an hour Fabiola was yelled at, verbally abused, shoved and at times restrained on the ground with her arms behind her back. Her earrings were confiscated and some of her hair were unbraided while the Haitian police watched passively.