About that Time

I don’t have a ton to report on today. A handful of people left early this morning and another handful arrived. Some more supplied, but not our critically needed phones or satellite dish. Those two items have been major problem points for us, but there’s not a whole lot that can be done from here. So we wait.

 

We’re starting to stabilize logistically, which is nice. I’ve been working on getting the team schedule together, figuring out who’s coming and going and when. We have a lot of great doctors here, but they have to go home sometime, and that’s still a little difficult. There aren’t flights out of Port-au-prince, which leaves us with driving half a day to the Dominican Republic. Hopefully things open up soon.

 

There’s a lot of stories coming from the doctors that I wish I could tell, but they’re difficult to collect and sort through. I posted a story earlier today that’s pretty typical around here. It’s weird that a story like that is typical.

 

We feel a couple tremors a day, but nothing has turned into a real earthquake yet. That’s good, but the Haitians are still terrified to go in buildings. And it makes us a little edgy too. A constant reminder that hell could break loose at any time.

 

I’m still busy working to coordinate the logistics of people and supplies getting in and out, or at least this end of it. It’s a lot easier to deal with things in Haiti than getting them here. So thanks, Catherine, for handling so much of that.

 

Unfortunately, politics are starting to flare up. I remember the same thing after Katrina, and it’s sad. Once the initial rush and adrenaline of helping people wears off, groups start to get territorial again. It’s especially hard down here with very limited communications. There’s all sorts of expectations and conditions from all over the world to meet, and most people here just want to help save lives. I’m an office person, so I understand the challenge of balancing the two. There’s a lot of negotiation happening, and thankfully, the people handling it are better than me. But the situation changes several times a day, and it’s hard to keep up.

 

It’s about time for us to head back to the house, so I should go. Thanks everyone.