There's no place like... Haiti

Due to the food riots and various travel warnings, I contemplated skipping Haiti right up until about a week before we were scheduled to fly there. In the end though I figured enough time had passed since the riots and I also held on to the belief that things wouldn't be as bad in reality as they were portrayed in the media. This was the case in both Indonesia and Nigeria, and even though it only takes being wrong once to get into some serious trouble, I was prepared to take the chance on it being true again in Haiti.

I rejoined Connie and Hunt in Miami for the flight to Port au Prince, and we also met up with Rich there, our contact in Haiti, who was returning from visiting family in the US. As we exited Port au Prince airport I felt like I was back in West Africa again - there were people everywhere, many of whom were grabbing for our bags (to "help" us, for a fee) and calling out to us. On the way from the airport to the hostel many other similarities became apparent: shoddy roads, chaos on the streets, brightly coloured taxi/buses decorated with soccer players and/or Christian images, piles of rubbish dotting the landscape, and houses protected by high walls and barbed wire. The significant UN presence and the man holding a shotgun at the entrance to the local bread shop were enough of a reminder though that Haiti is also its own unique place and should be treated in its own right. One feature that definitely stood out was that from some vantage points, thanks to the hilly terrain of Port au Prince, the city looked like one big favella (slum). It may well be that the scale is no different from West Africa but because of the flatter terrain there you don't get the chance to see it all in one glance. Whatever the case may be, some views of Port au Prince are just mind-blowing.

I came to Haiti to find out about a soccer program Rich is running, which is helping promote micro-enterprise development amongst young Haitians. The economic needs in Haiti are huge - it is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with greater than 50% unemployment and around 80% of the population living below the poverty line. In response to this, Rich is using soccer to identify potential small business operators in the high schools and then give them training and mentoring so that they can successfully start and run a business once they leave school. After arriving in on Wednesday night, we spent Thursday looking at the different aspects of this program and how they all fit together. Our first stop was to the University where we met one of Rich's business partners, Daniel, who is also a lecturer in small business enterprise. Daniel recently obtained a business degree from a US college and is as intelligent and articulate a guy as you are likely to meet anywhere. It was really encouraging not only to see Daniel's expertise in small business but also to see his passion for using that expertise to bring about lasting economic and social development in Haiti. Next stop was to one of the schools that Rich is working in. It was no surprise by now but still exciting to meet a whole bunch of enthusiastic soccer players there, most of whom were coming from very difficult home situations but who nevertheless displayed a resolute hopefulness about the future. By belonging to the soccer team throughout their high school years, these kids receive physical, social, emotional and spiritual training that equips them for life after school. This period of time also allows Rich to identify those players in the team that have potential - due to their character and aptitude - to run a small business once they graduate. Without question this program is a ray of light for these kids and an opportunity for them to rise above the poverty and joblessness endemic in Haitian society, but along with this recognition comes the at times overwhelming awareness that for most kids in Haiti their outlook is far from bright. Our final stop for the day was to an internet cafe and sports equipment business Rich had set up with Daniel. These businesses represent the models that Rich and Daniel are hoping will be multiplied by the students across Haiti.

The next day we were in for an experience of a very different kind as we drove up the coast from Port au Prince to Saint Marc and then Verrettes, where a high school team Rich works with was due to play in a championship final game against another high school. The drive itself was incredible as we saw some amazingly beautiful scenery, albeit while travelling on particularly shoddy roads. Therein lies one of the great tragedies of Haiti - it shares the same natural beauty as its neighbour, the Dominican Republic, and yet while the Dominican Republic has experienced continued economic growth and international tourism over the past few decades, Haiti has headed in completely the opposite direction in that time, with a crumbling economy and the UN now outnumbering tourists in the country.

Arriving in Verrettes there was great excitement as the entire school team hopped on to the back of our 4WD en route to the soccer field. As we approached the field, I was surprised to find quite a large crowd had gathered there in anticipation of the big game. The game itself wasn't of high quality but as a cultural spectacle it was hugely interesting. For a start I was shocked at the size of the players - most of whom were 14 or 15 years old, but who looked only 10 or 11. The crowd was really passionate too, and for about 20 minutes of the game we were entertained by the sight of the linesman beating back spectators off the field with his flag every time the ball came near. The linesman was serious but it was pretty funny how much pleasure the spectators were getting from this new game they had inadvertently begun. At one point Hunt got in close with his camera and Connie and I were delighted to see him getting a few whacks himself for his intrusion. The game ended in a draw and as soon as the whistle blew full-time there was a massive downpour of rain, which sent players and spectators alike scurrying for cover. One spectator stayed out on the field juggling a ball though, so I decided to run out and help him provide some entertainment for the now dormant crowd. And entertain we did! We juggled the ball a few times between us and then I had a shot, which went wide. I was a little embarrassed at the miss but as soon as I did it the whole crowd erupted in laughter and cheering! Apparently seeing the white guy make a fool of himself was much more entertaining than seeing him score. Even so, I was determined to make amends so after a few more juggles I spanked the ball towards goal and watched it sail over the goal, over the wall and into the cemetery next door. This too was greeted with uproarious laughter by all and so, partly out of a desire to fetch the ball but mostly out of a desire to remove myself from their mockery, I ran over to the wall and helped retrieve the ball. Fortunately by this point the rain had eased, so everyone headed back out onto the field for the penalty shootout. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone! The crowd surrounded the penalty box where the kicks were being taken, such that each player took their penalty with a few hundred people within a 10 metre radius of them. An English footballer would be a pile of jelly under such pressure, but the kids handled it pretty well and in the end the game was only decided by a couple of misses. For some reason, either out of genuine encouragement or callous mockery, many of the spectators came up to me after the game to shake my hand and call me "Viduka". Apparently Haitians know Australian soccer pretty well, then.

We spent the night in a vacant house in the middle of nowhere, where again a familiar third world contradiction appeared. The house had no water or electricity, and yet Daniel connected his laptop to the internet through his mobile. So there we were in complete darkness, in a house with almost no furniture, checking our emails on Yahoo. Bizarre. Anyway, we slept for a bit and then drove back to Port au Prince the next morning to catch our flight to the US. Even the chaos at the airport wasn't enough to snap me out of my daze as, once again, I left a country trying to comprehend the things I'd seen and reconcile them with what I thought I knew about the world. Haiti is one unique place, that's for sure.

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