Haiti Sitrep 4 Camp Hilton

A young Boy who lives in a camp called Auto Mecca....big smile

Hi Finn,

Just thought I’d drop a line as I come to the end of my time here. I’m going to try to give you an idea of some of the things that have happened, people I’ve met and things I’ve seen. It may be a bit rushed but we’ll see if it works out.

It’s currently late at night, about midnight my time. I’m in our office which is a large white inflatted tent, in a village of large white inflated tents. The sound of a generator drones away in the distance and not so much now, but throughout the day planes and helicopters groan over head. When that’s happening there’s no point in talking, you look up, give that knowing glance and have a chopper stop until it’s possible again to hear the person standing next to you.

It feels it was a while ago that I got this jet to work.

It’s seems a while ago and then a blink of an eye, when we jetted in here from San Domingo. I must admit I’m looking forward to going back there, even if it is just for a day till I fly back to the UK.

The thing is this is such a strange type of emergency. We live in a little bubble in the camp, which we aren’t allowed to leave on foot, only by car and in which we have to return for the curfew at 18.00. It’s surreal and so far from any reality, except our reality, which is either this enclosed world, or the nightmares of the IDP camps.

I’ll give you an idea of those later, but right now lets focus on here.

Camp Hilton rebuild.

The camp is based as I’ve said in what was going to be the Hilton Hotel, now instead of a 5 star hotel it’s beginning to resemble more of a 5 star POW camp, with barbed wire going up and security on entry points. The shell of the building is now being modified to accommodate it’s new role and slowly but surely it’s transformation continues…I hear however that there is some problem finding the actual owners of the site and that the whole thing may have to be moved. But with so much here, we’ll try hard not to think about that!

Cathy in Our Sleeping tent.

As with all camping, the ammenities are all important. We sleep in huge 6 people tents that are lined up in two internal quartiers, that danish camp and the Italian camp. Sleeping is on thin but firm camp beds all surrounded by a tight fitting mosquito net. There’s good internal lighting, lockers and chairs. It’s anything but private..as with any IDP camp, there’s little room for privacy..but something resembling a dormatory. Mostly in our tent, we are in the same team, so we know each other well. However there was one French woman who had her cot next to me. It was three weeks before we ever even spoke to each other..wierd, we just didn’t meet.

Sleeping tents from the outside.

And of course, as with all communla sleeping there’s the usual issue of snoring and farting. We’ve a couple of good n strong snorers and, well you know all about daddys windy pops.

Washing and latrine block

Infront of our sleeping tent we’ve got the shower and latrine blocks. The showers are two large public shower units for boys and girls. Everyone just strips off and gets on with it. I heard of one woman who used her bikini to wash in but that’s viewed as being pretty odd. Normally it’s just off with the kit and lather up. Water is heated by solar, so it’s cold in the AM and warm when you need a cold shower in the middle of the day, but hey ho, that’s fine too.

Office latrines being emptied...time to leave the office!

Unfortunately we’ve got our offices next to another set of latrines which is great if you’ve got to work and have a dodgie tummy, buyt a nightmare when they come to clean them out…then it’s time for a tea break, far, far away…very stinky poo!

Inside our offices.
Other than that though the offices are pretty good. Because I do most of my work in the field, or camps, I’m fortunate not to have to spend too much time in them. During the middle of the day they are roasting even with the fans wizzing and the fridge filled with cold ones…water, cokes and of course beers (apparantly there are rules that you can’t have a beer before 18.00, but after a whole day in a camp, there’s no stopping you from popping open a beer…that one rarely even touches the sides!)

The electricity and inter net access is remarkable…thus I can sit in the office before I’ve even had breakfast and skype you in Fez…how great is that!

Offices at night

However despite generally being out of the tent/office during the day, in the evenings it’s something of a snug come office. We sit and have debriefing meetings and then tap or chat away trying to catch up with the days work or projecting and planning for the future. I’ll be glad to leave these evening sessions alone and get back to reading you stories before bed.

Queueing for food.

Again, as with any large camp site, fooding is all important and both danish and Italian camps have their own kitchen and dinning areas. They are called by these nationalities as it’s Red Cross societies from these countries who cook and organise the food. Thus, unsurprisingly the Italians are pasta monsters and the Danes are highly organised and filled with healthy goodies.

Inside the food hall.

There’s been lots of complaints about the Italian food and you get to see why mama’s boys have such large tummys…past, pasta, pasta…with potatoes and bread! But things are getting better..maybe because I’m about to go home, maybe because I’ve got my dinner ladies. Shame it wasn’t the Thai Red Cross who got that job tho’…what about the Indians..ummm. actually I’m currently craving a Dora Wat, which is Ethiopian food, I think there’s one in Tufnell park…guess where I’m going when I get back for debreif!

Of course it’s really quite difficult being stuck inside the camp from 18.00 onwards and I feel sorry for those who are desk bound here. At least we get to go to the camps. It’s not like any other emergency I’ve done. It’s like being in a bubble far away from the real world. In Moz, we lived in acamp right next to the local population, you were much more part of the population. Here if you don’t spend lots of time in the camps, I’d wonder if you’d really know they existed.

Meeting new people...some crazy Mexicans ..handle with care.

But what there is here is a whole world of people working. Today I had lunch with a woman from Colombia, I work with Camara and Israel from Guinea Conakry and Rwanda, and last night I partied with a load of Mexicans. That is great, but the camp is difficult…couldn’t do too much time here…it’s too far from anywhere.

Cathy and Fi ...a joy to work with.
However I’ve got to say that, as ever on these missions or any mission, you meet some amazing people. It’s been a joy to meet people like Michael, cathy and Fiona. Young eager future international development workers. Committed and eager to make a difference. They want more of being in the field. I remember that so well and I truly hope they get there, it’s a wonderful thing to do. I loved it and clearly still do, but now only with you.

The Local Team.

All the local staff that I work with are amazing too. They’ve all suffered terribly, live in horrid conditions and yet still make it in to try to do what they can everyday. Last night we were all flooded and the camps have turned in to quagmires. Most staff made it in to get to work, but some were literally rebuilding where or what they lived in. I hope that I’ve done something to develop their capacity, certainly I enjoyed working with them.

Anyway my boy, I’m back to see you soon and hopefully by next week I’ll have you in my arms. So just a quick note to say I love and miss you. XXXXX