Haiti diary 5: Tremors?
15 February 2010
Karri Goeldner Byrne is the IRC's director of economic recovery programmes and is based in London. She has flown out to Haiti to work on a market mapping analysis designed to help speed recovery and independence for communities after a disaster.
Thursday
Tired, very tired.
Tonight will be the first night that I get to bed before midnight. Working 16-hour days the last three days. And still, we have it much, much better than the folks in the UN compound, who are living on top of each other. There is barely room to walk between their dusty tents. At least we are only five to a bathroom. I feel for them.
Today, at an interview with a major construction firm, I felt strong vibrations. I looked around to see if anyone else noticed, and surreptitiously checked the construction of the temporary building we were in. Was it heavy machinery moving past? Or a tremor? If these temporary walls fell on me, I wouldn't be badly hurt but I found myself on guard throughout the interview. Upon leaving we ran into the second protest of the day (at 11am). It rained again last night. It makes me think what I would do in their position. At home we have a tent in the house. Would we take it across the street to the park? In the same situation, what would we do?
Friday
Today marked one month since the earthquake. We were told that we should all plan to stay at the house – drivers needed to have the day off, and it was better if we weren't scattered around the city on what would be such an emotional day. So we had a forced day of slowing down. It was good for us. From the few who went out to run urgent errands, we heard that the streets were calm. People were dressed in their best, on their way to funerals and prayer services.
Tomorrow we will be up early – 5am – to head out to do a distribution of women's hygiene kits in one of the camps. And underwear. Of course it makes sense, but I think about how hard it would be for me to ask some stranger to bring me underwear. What would it take for me to ask for something so personal?
But of course, if you had to run out of your house in a second, taking nothing but what you're wearing – how many days in a row would you be willing to wear it?
More about our work in Haiti >
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