new bearings

After the accident, we could not walk (or hobble) literally one step in Haiti without people staring and someone spontaneously exclaiming:

“Are you ok?”
“What happened?”
“Motorcycle accident?”
“God protected you!”
“It hurts me that you’re hurt.”
“I heard what happened, are you OK?”

While telling the story over and again and straightening out rumors got a bit tiresome, it certainly beat the alternative. Friends and strangers in Haiti really seemed to care about our wellbeing and had no qualms expressing it. While my American friends and family have been wonderfully supportive and sweet – I must remark on a profound cultural difference between Haiti and the more developed Western World:

From the moment I left the Toussant Louverture Airport, the questions stopped. On the plane back to Miami, I sat unmolested by fellow passengers who neither took great notice of me nor thought to say anything when they did. In Miami, I learned what it must feel like (on some small level) to be confined to a wheelchair; I was completely at the mercy of a kind Dominican lady who worked for American Airlines and served as my assistant for about an hour. I got bumped and almost knocked over a couple times but was otherwise invisible to fellow travelers.

On the plane to DC, one man asked me, “I saw you on the plane from Port au Prince. What happened, are you OK?” Aside from him, one other man, recognizing the injuries, asked, “motorcycle accident?” Two major airports, two 737s, hundreds of passengers and a packed restaurant downtown last night only two comments – pretty amazing, eh?

I am home and recovering and FREEZING but continuing my work. Washington D.C. is THE place to go to find tons of NGOs and non-profits. I’m hoping to take advantage of this recovery time for the benefit of Pwoje Espwa and some specific projects. More details to come of the specifics of these projects…