Haiti after the Earthquake

(Sam) As you probably saw on the news, Haiti was a mess after the earthquake. (Sadly, I think it was probably a mess before the earthquake, too.) This is a camp about five or ten miles north of Port-au-Prince, relatively in the middle of nowhere. (Behind is a mine--not a result of the quake.) Lots of people just live in these tents, and aid people bring them food on a regular basis. I don't know the exact number, but it seems like nearly everyone lived in a tent.

This is a routine scene for a roadside in Greater P.a.P. Garbage, people, dirt, merchandise, potholes, poverty, everywhere.

A friend of a colleague of one of the professors has a house in this neighborhood. He said that we should check a house that sunk 10 feet into the ground (from liquefaction). We were dubious, because our teammates informed us of the stiff soils in the area, and 10 feet would be a lot. Behind a fence, we found this house where the first floor collapsed (not sunk). The top of the house was still standing, barely.

More garbage and an outdoor market (they are pretty common).

Instead of taxis or buses, the mass transit of Haiti is composed of these tap-taps. They are usually small pickups with benches and a roof welded to the back, although some are actual buses or vans. Apparently, the more fantastic the painting, the better the tap-tap. The tap-taps are everywhere, so to show you are the better owner/operator, you have to class it up a little. A lot of the tap-taps say something religious like "Thank You, Jesus" or "Merciful God."