February 9

Get a truck, make a difference?

Today I traveled to the border town of jimani- easily six hours for the four hour trip..

Upon my arrival I discovered that the majority of Haitians have been returned to a new camp in Fond Parisienne- "the Dominicans have had enough" as one camp nurse told me. Only the acutely I'll are still in the buen
Samaritan hospital camp in jimani- and even those will be mobilized and decampwd. Apparently the hundred patients are all that remained from the 500 or so occupying the tents only seven days ago.

Kave, a plastic surgeon (i think from the israeli team)in the Buen Samaritan hospital camp introduces me to a Haitian man whom needs help reuniting his family.

His name is Reagince- he's 38 and looks like an aging African underwear model. When quiet or pensive- or pissed that the dominican tv plays only English and Spanish stations (Haiti they play them all) I can see his occupational scowl bleed thru- he is a customs/aduanes official for the Republik. Definitely a not the guy I'd want staring at me with a carbine strapped to his chest at the border.

Reagince' wife and three children were injured in the "tremblement du terre"- Luciano, 7 lost a limb. Mabobaly, 10 crushed his lower left leg.  They have been located a few hundred kilometros away from the jimani border camp in Barahona where Marie-Sonide is attending to them.

We quickly write down the name of the hospital and hop in the truck.

On our trip, Reguince and I basked in the multiple delights of FM Radio, and the seven or so songs on his cellphone. We covered many old favorites- alot of bob marley and sugar hill gang dubbed in Haitian creole... And he introduced me to some new artists including my new favorite  "lucky duby". Reguince also confirmed with me that Michael Jackson is in fact dead- and "Master G"  too- who I think is actually Master P?

Celebrity death seems to be a hot topic for us; whos dead and whos who on the world of movies- later in the hotel he often pointed to Emilio estevez to confirm that it was indeed Michael Douglas. I concurred.

Upon our arrival at the clinic "ninos de las naciones" in Barahona (to which we were led by a calvalcade of scooter bound lawyers) we learned that only Mabobaly, 10, is present. Mom and wife Marie-Sonide is actually another several hundred kilometros away with son Luciano in the capital, Santo Domingo. Luciano ended up being airlifted a second time for amputation of his arm from the shouldr down. He has now had four out of five necessary sugeries and may be ready to move soon.

Reguince is furious and wants to drive there immeditely but cooler heads prevail- it.s now almost midnight and I am not driving another four (six) hours. Our scooter cavalcade
leads us to a hotel for the night. I can't read the name on the faded name on the hotel sign, but I can make out a huge pink flying unicorn. I take rhis for a good omen.