Spqr Eddie

Sei come la mia moto..

2010-07-10T15:09:00.000-07:00

Ecco la mia fantastica "X1000", 125cc, cinque marce, della Lifan.
Ovviamente cinese...

La scarpa del pilota

2010-07-06T17:48:00.000-07:00

dell'elicottero russo..

Tornando a casa

2010-06-08T16:41:00.000-07:00

Ad Haiti le ruote non si bucano. Si staccano con tutto il mozzo nel punto piu stretto della strada.

Haitian Graffiti.

2010-06-04T17:13:00.000-07:00

Casa nuova..

2010-05-02T16:31:00.001-07:00

Quasi come la vecchia.. e anche "ecologica"..

Mezze calzette

2010-05-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

Viste a Miami....

Che palle er traffico!

2010-04-08T16:48:00.001-07:00

??

2010-04-07T10:23:00.001-07:00

Ok, but where is the button

Cani e porci

2010-03-27T17:28:00.000-07:00

Back in town, back on line

2010-03-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

Was away for a while.

went home, and unfortunately this time….
But it ended really well!!!..

Here work wise everything continue changing, but at the same time things are starting to settling, in a certain way..

Trip to the border with Dominican Republic today, to get there you ride by a lake that is rising and it might eat the road soon...

My tent is no longer there.

Emergency toilet...

2010-02-16T15:55:00.000-08:00

Friday commercial passenger flights will resume.
Tents were allover. Too close to the landing strip they said, people had to move, that's what's left!

Sunday at the base

2010-02-07T17:55:00.000-08:00

Panels around

Just back

el barber del contingente guatemalteco

Rep Dom

2010-02-06T16:35:00.000-08:00

Finally i've been to Dominican Republic,
I am here since 10 months but i had never been there before..
Was just for one night, but the visit was really worthed......

but the hotel...

Here a little spider that was walking not far from my tent the other night..

My (ex)garden

2010-02-01T10:56:00.000-08:00

Went home again yesterday… I had to pick up the last few things I left there (including the voodoo fetishes) was the 31st , last day of the month, don’t want to pay for next month for not using it…
It’s strange cos my studio is still doing fine but all around everything is in ruins.
From the inside, everything seems normal, the red curtains, the quiet, the forest outside
But you just need to open the door, that looks on the side, and you are back to the new reality still difficult to understand.. but today was more evident.
In the garden was plenty of volunteers from Ohio or Idaho, or something like.. they are there to “repair the hospital” that was in the compound, hope the will succeed but I wonder how long they will be staying..not sure if a couple of weeks will be enough…
ok am being a bit polemic, but I didn't like to have my (ex)garden invaded by them, and their happy attitude, playing with children and looking at me wile I was walking away with my fetishes like a stranger..
Anyway I can understand the willing of doing something, and this country needs a lot and everything is welcome, but why they came with a dozen of private contractors?? Those paramilitaries, were in my (ex) garden armed to the teeth. More than the US marines that are patrolling the streets!
And still they look weak to me…all the equipment seemed to be new, like a first mission in this land of voodooists, head cutters, gangster looters kidnappers random violence….probably this is how they have been briefed.. forgetting how calm are being the Haitians compared to the tragedy they are living.. (as if the previous ones were not enough) and forgetting how nice is the country
Super tough but at the same time they looked vulnerable and scared by this place and people they don’t know…
Sad to have them in my (ex) garden…

Blow some pics of the camp where they would like to put us..
I had check in, but yesterday evening I’ve checked out without sleeping there one night. I’ll continue stay in the base until possible..
Last picture is the Saturday market in front of the military base by the camp.The guys in green can not really go out..so the market comes to them.

On the way back from the camp, 9:30 PM, I passed in front the US Embassy, there were already people waiting in a long line to hand their Vista request next day..

Farewell...

2010-01-28T18:38:00.000-08:00

The camp growing

Haitian Airways

Really nothing compared to the tragedies here…

2010-01-27T21:15:00.000-08:00

But something has bitten me and my hand started swelling.. Couldn’t close it and was soaring..
went to see the Doctor (3 times before to find him..)
He was having dinner with is assistant and of course before to visit me he had to finish it.. but I was invited as well! A Pakistani dinner cooked by his battalion.. he wanted to give me an injection, I refused. He gave me 3 differents drugs then, I googled the principles, they were for rheumatisms.

seen in Panama

Pap airport

Preti e americani, ma sembra una scena di Star Wars

you can not really see it, but a Cuban Aircraft full of aid in being unloaded by the americans...

People..

2010-01-25T20:58:00.001-08:00

People still coming..
more everyday.. we will be as much as the beneficiaries soon.. ah no right, they are just going to stay 3/4 weeks and leave...

I was a bit tired of the ration, i went to the cafeteria, i' bought a curry chicken, i got something else after 2 hours waiting..

Yesterday we had a fire at the warehouse...

for how long we will be living like this..?

2010-01-23T21:28:00.000-08:00

The bike doesnt want to start....

as usual for mine.. but this is not mine, is the brand new office one!!!

Gas is there, spark is there, must be something wirh the carb.... I've to take it of and try to clean it.. done, now it starts at the first kick and at the same time i am more relaxed after having done this little road side fix up..

Somebody said that there are like 6000 prisioners that escaped from collpapsed prisons..mixing now with the population..and potentially with workers...

Bringing help?

And them?
I LoveMenu number 3

Friday

2010-01-22T20:45:00.000-08:00

Too tired to think to a more interesting title..
but at least i wrote something.. yesterday i really coudnt.. and i crashed on my "bed" (mattras on the floor..)

First of all thanks all! I just noticed that you left comments on my pages! I wasn’t aware of this function.. thanks for the support! Really..

At some times, in these days, I’ve seen the thermometer reach 38c.. and in the night is full of mosquitoes a bit strange for being January.. but everything is different in these days..

Today our Executive Director was here, and we succeeded in losting her! Alone in the roads of Port au Prince.. People were really panicking.. dunno really why, now they are peaty empty..
Who has relatives outside and the money to reach them, has gone.. shops are still closed and who knows for how long.. may be until Wal-Mart will open down here??

The Americans continue to arrive.. a 24/24 airbridge continues to bring in troops and assets…they are already more than the UN troops now.. When will they leave? Will they?..

Anyway, everyday life continues.. Today I had to hire some workers…twenty.. to work at our warehouse were we stock relief items for the whole humanitarian community..
we pay “well”: 8 Euro a day.. more than the double of the minimum salary given by law (that anyway nobody really get..)

Whit this money they have to sustain probably an enlarged (already large) family given that many people losted their job.. of course for many of the people there was the firt time they worked as handler… but the need is pushing them to accept anything..

Anybody is in need also in “normal” times.. so how to chose who the twenty would be?
I dunno.. I had just to count them and close the door before the 21st…

On top of the executive director we had the visit of princess rania…but those visits were not the ones I was waiting for this week end..

last hope....

Night shift..

tutto ok

2010-01-20T19:35:00.000-08:00

Yes, am safe.

I didn't even felt the shake.. i was sleeping....

wnt back home today.. my anti intrusion system didnt work. my little friends were still there but somebody had entered the apartment!! thinghs were moved, stuff was missing...

everithing was clean and in order! the maid came! meaning she's ok! a really good news as i couldn't get in touch with her.. i lost my home (that was not even mine) she lost her job, i won't need her anymore.. the tragedy is big, and even more when you know the little stories..

anyway i got my staff and took it to a friends house invading her living room..

today we had new rations, colour of the box is orange, better than the previous gree ones, but everithing inside is pretty liquid..

if yesterday was raining, today was really hot.. i read 38c on the car themomether making of this beer a real pleasure..

Back to normal life (almost)

2010-01-19T21:38:00.000-08:00

Am starting to go back to normal life,

I had a shower

I have a roof (a tent..)

and, especially i've a motorcicle!!!!

today was starting raining...but fortunately for them it stopped soon after..
today i was commenting the fact that despite one of the tragey american cruise ships are still docking in the nort of Haiti where shipping lines built a totally artificial tropical paradise completely different from the natural raw beauty of the real Haiti...

today i meet the colleague who remained 5 days under the debries of UN HQ... he had a little scar on his hand and an ear to ear smile......
he will stay here

today i heard that very very VIP persons are coming on friday.....

My new home and the office

Casa/Caye/Maison/Home

2010-01-18T20:09:00.000-08:00

I got a bed and a mattress for today! Yesterday mine was stolen and needed an hour to find another one…

But the best news of the day is that I still have an house (o caye Haitian Creole..) still there.. but I can not really sleep there any more… but finally I had the time to go and check out if I’ll have to pay for February or not!!!
Differently from many other friends I’ve been lucky enough to found it still standing… and nobody got in so far…. But to avoid any problem I’ve set up an anti intrusion system…

Going to sleep again with no shower.. but the base camp should come in tomorrow…
another dusty day but at least in a tropical weather…but who knows when the happy Haitians nights will start again..

about who knows things, let me know thighs! Let me know what happens as am sure from outside you know more than us down here…

but something I heard, Senegal’s President offered land in Senegal to Haitians willing to come back to Africa, what a great country..

Av. John Brown..

Avatar on the Office parking lot??

My pool

My house

My voodoo Anti intrusion system.....hoping it will be scary enough...!

Some 30 MT of HEB (high energy biscuits) arriving for us

2010-01-17T20:28:00.000-08:00

Went out again today...

passed by my home but couldnt stop or see the conditions...
was with others, going to see what was going on in the garden of the prime minister! a spontaneus camp is there now, but authorities are not so happy....

then i had to fight for space at the airport...it's incredible the amount of relief items, equipments and staff that are still coming......and then probably staying making Haiti a new Puerto Rico...

who knows,may be am thinking too fast...

agood news and a bad one.. the bad one is that unfortunately is official for many person i knew.. the good one is that i found somebody for somebody i dont know, a friend in itlay called me the night beofre to leave and knewing i was going there asked me if he could give my numeber to an Haitian friends of him leaving in italy... the lady called and gave me a list of 13 she couldn't find....
finally phones are working again and i succeded to contact her aunt and all the people she was worried about are ok!

good bye..

"my" supermarket..

Poor motorcycles...

The Clash of civilisations...

2010-01-16T20:28:00.000-08:00

When the dark comes you start to see better..

to see and listen to the voices.. you walk slower, you pay more attantion to the details...you dont have to run from the tarmak to a meeting....you walk to the other side of the base to meet a friend that has lost a friend and you think of your first day here..

was strange to see that people were on duty.. security guards at their gates, the girl at the Cafeteria counter, our drivers.. they are on duty 14/7, they sleep under the trucks!... people can not just stay home and look at all this big machine...

The base is really busy, as the Hospital... thinghs are moovig.. not yet completely on the same direction.....

Today i aslo had the chanche to have ride outside.. not a lot of people around....going to sleep again in my country side mansion, lisening to the hundreds of flights coming in and out, bringing in the idea of aid of each nation...

My MRE (meal ready to eat..)

Not really different from my everyday kitcken!

The clash of civilisation...

My mansion in the park..

A bit of Switzerland in Haiti..

A view of one of the few roads i've seen... and in a not really afected area..

Our trucks ready to go!

A common sene on the landig strip...

2010-01-15T23:14:00.001-08:00

Back in Haiti...

flew in trough Rep Dom in an US Coast guard C130. A preatty smelly flight.. the plane was paked with search and rescue dogs..

at PAP airport was full of people waiting to be evacuated...

found again friends and colleagues, saw some impressive pics..
too tired now to write more i post some pics and i'll go to finish my military ration and rest on the grass outside..

Luna's Castle
UN Flags at half

Panama bus

Casa

What do you really need more than this?..

My house for the next ?? months...

Luna's Castle...

2010-01-14T20:30:00.000-08:00

14/01/2010, h. 23.32 Panama Time...

Yes, now in Panama trying to getting closer...not sure yet if tomorrow i'll be able to reach the island..

am Luna's Castle.. a youth hostel full of happy back packers...was here in July but in a different mood...

15 hours in a plane plus one more hour stuck on the tarmak in Rome...
we tought we were smart booking a flight not passing trough Paris to avoid the strikes, but we still had fly trough french sky to cross the pond and thanks to "la greves des controlleurs de vol francais" we coudnt get the green light to take off...

we, i should say I. My colleague was not allowed to check in cos of his passoprt didnt match "american standards"....

I was about to lose the flight as well.... those passport people (that no police or even air compamy staff..) gave me hard times cos i've not a valid US visa and for them going to Haiti doesnt means leaving the US...whatever... Haiti is not at all the US.. and the pictures i saw on today's news papers really shows it... forunately there are reported stories and names of people i know...

I took some more coipes of the 'papers for the others in the island.. but not sure if they would like to read them ..

going to get some sleep, didnt muck last night and niether on the plane...

Primo...

2010-01-13T17:21:00.000-08:00

Primo.. first post... not even sure to start.. prbably will not be able to continuing posting once there..
there in Haiti.. back for work? for the friends? for the Haitians?...
I'll try to keep it going as being here (still in Rome) i know how frustrating were those first few hours with no news..
Italian? french? English may be.. everybody shoud be able to understand..

going back meeting again people I normally live with without having shared this... a bit afraid..

any way... contract is signed, plane ticket is issued, said goodbye to family friends and colleagues, the vespa is stored inside, the van is covered the bag is done... going to sleep thinking to whose who will not be there and wondering if i'll still have an house..
later..
Eddie