Lockdown

The first round of Haitian election results was announced last night. There were something like fifteen candidates and only two made the runoff. That leaves a lot of ticked off parties and some popular unrest. The troubles were more pronounced in Port au Prince. Leogane was fairly quiet but there were a few scattered protests, some rock throwing, some burning tires. Nothing much in our part of town, but it was judged prudent to put the base on lockdown for the day.

We got a little work done inside but mostly just hung out and read. Luckily, the vendor of cold soft drinks appeared at the door and was able to pass drinks in through the bars. We had a couple tasty meals prepared by the cook.


It was also a great chance to do laundry. We have a nice spot indoors for that, equipped with water taps and some real old fashioned washboards.


We're hoping that things will quiet down by tomorrow although we're prepared to stay in for more days if needed.


The sad thing is that the four people who were scheduled to fly home were unable to depart since all flights were canceled. They got up at 4:30 only to find out we were on lockdown. American Airlines is not flying in or out tomorrow as well. Time will tell what happens in the next few days. (All this reminds us of our days in Iran during the revolution, minus the tanks.) The people who drive in to Port au Prince and bring people to and from the airport are also unable to do so so even when the airport opens. There may be a delay in being able to get to the airport. (The road goes through part of PAP.)

Thursday, Dec. 9 . . .
Another day of lockdown. The airport was closed again in PAP and will be tomorrow as well. People have been hanging out playing cards, Scrabble, bean-bag toss, shuffleboard using bottle caps, and internet of course. Luckily, our electricity is holding out but we are conserving because diesel is short and the gas stations are not open again. We are also trying to conserve water supplies and food in case the situation is prolonged.

There was drizzling rain all day so the protests were minimized. But there are still barricades on the main highway to the east and west of us. Our butts are sore from sitting on metal folding chairs and concrete all day for two days. We did bring a couple closed cell foam pads to sit on, and that has helped some. We're hoping the situation gets sorted out tomorrow so we can get at least a half day of work done. Meanwhile, we get to enjoy an all-inclusive Caribbean 'resort.'