First Week in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Amigos mio, I am now and will be in Haiti for some time, I have finished my mission in Côte d’Ivoire. I have just got a new contract with United Nations. I will be working in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haïti/ Mission des Nations Unies de Stabilisation en Haiti (MINUSTAH) in the Human Rights Section. I will be in charged on writing reports on human rights violations as well as coordinating with the 8 regional human rights offices spread out in the country. So far I really like the country. I have not really started to work but I am sure I will like it as I love writing. My colleagues are very nice. They never left me alone all the time they make sure I was fine and was not missing anything. I was really treated like a real diva I am telling you! So I left Paris on 26th march after having spent a week in Brindisi, Italy to attend the Pre-Deployment Civilian Training. It is a compulsory training for new staff that will be deployed in the field. The training aimed at informing new staff on how to live in the field what to do, what to avoid, how to use a radio, security, medical briefings, presentation on UN rules and regulations as well as on the UN Peace Keeping Department (DPKO). It was quite interesting even if I was aware of most of the things for having been exposed to the field for more than two years in Côte d’Ivoire. So as I said, I left Orly airport on 26th march. I flew with Air France. As usual I had too many kilos so I had to pay 35 kg exceeded for an amount of 372 EUR!!!!!!!!! I shopped a lot in Paris, thank you Funky Suze. I was allowed to have 40kg checked baggage and 18 kg hand luggage because I was traveling in Business, cos I worth it! I still do not know how to travel light. I am glad that they did not check the weight of my hand luggage which was soooooooooooo heavy. In total I think I carried approximately 100 kg. You never know you have to be prepare to any situation that’s why I had to make sure I had enough shoes to go with all my trousers, you are a Diva or not lol! The travel time was 8 hours from Paris to Pointe à Pitre (Guadeloupe, West Indies). It was great because I was in business for the first time in my life. When you enter into the plane the stewards and air hostesses are taking your jacket to put it in a cloakroom on a hanger with your sit number! We had aperitif with crackers de chez Fauchon (famous French traiteur) and the menu was just amazing. As starter we had foie gras (I am still vegetarian so did not try it) then some delicious fish, un plateau fromage, desert, coffee/tea. Few hours later we had a trendy appetizer. All dishes were very well presented in a nice chic colorful manner. You could order drinks whenever needed. The seats are so spacious that you can lie down like in your bed. You just press a button and you can even get a massage….It was a pleasure to travel for such a long time. I could watch 4 movies, Largo Winch, Madagascar 2, Four Christmases and the last James Bond, Quantum of solace. Then I arrived in Guadeloupe with a delay so had to rush not to miss the next plane to Port au Prince, Haïti. I had one hour flight and arrived in Haïti. A colleague from MINUSTAH was waiting for me. Then a friend of a friend brought me to a nice hotel up hill. Port-au-Prince is a nice city surrounded by hills and mountains. I have a good feeling about this city. Now I am flat hunting, a nightmare I am telling. I am so picky as well so that’s gonna be difficult to find my dream apartment. I am gonna share an apartment with a nice Greek girl called Aspa who just arrived in the mission as well. There are nice houses in the mountains where you have an amazing view of the whole city but a bit far from work. Especially because here work start between 7.30 and 8 am sooooooooo difficult for me to wake up at 6 am everyday, la marmotte a du mal à se lever as you can imagine. Traffic is UNBELIVEALE it can take 1h to get to work; it is sooooooooo bad you are stuck during 30-45 mins without moving sometimes. Will go to visit more houses in the next days hopefully we will find something nice. I will keep you posted. It is funny here because people think that I am Haitian so they start speaking in Creole (kreyole Ayitien) and when they see that I answer in French (when I understand because actually it is not so easy to understand sometimes even if you are a native French speaker), they ask me: “Are you African?” I answer “Yes” and they are like “You do not look African” I still do not understand what does this mean but maybe I will discover it later… My first impression about Ayiti (Haiti in Creole): I definitely like it! Take the opportunity to come visiting the carribean, you are most welcome.

I forgot to tell you that my sister, Aiss cream, will be on mission in Haiti as well for the next 3 months. I am so happy yay! Nice coincidence: "Le hasard fait bien les choses."

Lots of hugs fatou xxx

ps: I am looking forward seeing you Aiss Aiss baby