Trouble in Haiti

While I was wandering about the mountains in Wyoming, trouble was afoot in Haiti.

For 5 months since the election of Rene Preval as president in a landmark election, things were improving ever so slowly. Violence and kidnapping were down, the resistance in Cite Solei was diminished, and political prisoners were slowly being freed. On the night of July 6th a second massacre in the neighborhood of Gran Ravine resulted in 21 dead, 5 wounded, 5 dissapeared, and 40 homes torched.

The investigation and prosecution of those responsible is underway, I won't go into the details here. AUMOHD, the human rights organization I worked with for 6 weeks this spring is leading the charge in moving the case forward and helping the surviving members of the community. In addition, the longtime work of AUMOHD in freeing illegally held political prisoners goes on, with 2006 being the most succesful year to date at over 50 releases gained and the year not yet over. New projects online include the AVJ (Neighborhood Assembly of Jacquet), an organiztion of former street kids who are doing community development work in the poor neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince, and ongoing support of our 50 scholarship students enrolled in Cite Solei, the poorest neighborhood in the poorest country in the western hemisphere.

Now the hook: it is a new fiscal year and so time to hit up the donor base for continued support. Many of you who read this blog also tuned in to my other blog while I was in Haiti (Deye Mon Nan) and in doing so were moved to contribute. Can I move you again? We are looking for donations of $25. By getting more people contributing at the $25 level, reasonable by any standard, we can show large grant making organizations the deep level of commitment needed to bring in larger funds. And hey, did you need a reminder that only $4 can send a kid to school for a month in Haiti? Remember, every penny donated goes to pay for things like gas to drive to the prisons and court houses and other actual operating expenses in Haiti.

Heck, $25 to help get innocent men, women and children out of jail, into school, and seek justice for those who commit massacres, violence, and corruption? Why that's a bargain at any price, but for only $25 per month ($2.08 per month, or 48 cents per week)? Sign me up! Oh, wait. I've already donated. Three times. Now it is your turn, please.

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Off the trail, on the road, and home

Lightning illuminates the hills outside of town and the smell of fresh rain is on the air. It is monsoon time here in Flagstaff.

I am home again, and by that I mean Flagstaff. The Homestead is still uninhabitable, the once orange “Condemed” sign has faded to grey as the house sits empty with a gaping hole in the roof. Low level warfare is underway between the city, the contractor, and other interested parties, not the least of which is me. I was told before I left that I’d have a house when I returned in August. Now here I be with no house and little hope for one any time soon.

I do however have a roof over my head, and it is considerably bigger than the nylon one I have had o’er head the last 28 days in the field. There were 12 of them, 16-17 years old, with very differant backgrounds. Challenging as any students I’ve ever had before, but with equally high outcomes in the end. It were’nt easy though, took every trick in the book and then some. Since I was the lucky one who hiked an extra 26 miles to evac two students for non-med reasons, I set the course record for most miles covered at 151. One the super cool side, the other instructors and I got to climb Gannett Peak, the highest in Wyoming at 13,804 and fully glaciated while the students were on independant small group expeditions away from instructors for 4 days.

I took a new route home from Lander, through Utah, a state I have largly neglected for too long. Turns out it is quite beatiful and geographically diverse; I camped out near the Big Rock Candy Mountain.

Lots of other exciting, cool, and beatiful things happened, and now I am home in Flagstaff for a month and a half to two months, assuming everything is still on track for the big ice.