A "tap-tap" in Port-au-Prince - real works of art on wheels.
Stories from the field
Haiti Diary: Sophie Chavanel
Traffic jams
August 15, 2010
Safety rules are very strict for the Red Cross, as with most other humanitarian organizations, in Haiti. There is a curfew from midnight to 6 a.m. and we can not take public transit, including a Haitian form of public transport known as a “tap-tap”.
The traffic here is constant and pure madness, filled with tap-taps, many other vehicles, and people winding in and out trying to sell bananas, plantains and other items. Thanks to this heavy traffic, and despite a very hectic work schedule, I’ve managed to learn a few words in Creole.
The driver assigned to my house is Moise. He was in the street during the earthquake, leaning against a wall with his friend. Luckily, Moise was uninjured, but his friend was crushed under the rubble of a building right before his eyes. Everyone has a horror story about the earthquake. For people in Haiti, there is life before the earthquake, and after it.
“On January 12, 2010, the earth shook violently Haiti. I sat in the newsroom of Radio-Canada in Montreal when I heard the news. The days and weeks that followed were full of extremely strong emotions when I saw, like you, the images of a country of rubble. I then made a decision. I didn’t just want to report the events, I wanted to be there. I then started a new journey as a delegate of the Red Cross.” – Sophie Chavanel, Canadian Red Cross delegate, Haiti.
Sophie Chavanel is the senior communications coordinator for the Canadian Red Cross in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Sophie is a former journalist and joined the Red Cross team in Haiti in August 2010, where she will remain for 12 months. Follow her activities through her field diary below or on twitter at http://twitter.com/SophieChavanel.
