January 28, 2010

IT WAS quite disturbing to see Jamaican health workers removing stones, sticks and other foreign materials from wounds that had been poorly dressed by health workers from other countries.

But, in the midst of Haiti's plight, there was the occasional reason for one to have a good laugh. One of the few light moments came when watching a member of the JDF - a corporal who is affectionately called 'Labba' by his colleagues - use the popular fruit susumba or 'gully bean' to discipline a rowdy crowd.

Labba is a strapping man with commanding presence, whose duty was to keep the crowd in-line while other JDF personnel distributed rations. He did his job without fear or favour.

With a rifle in one hand and a 'rod of discipline' in the other, this soldier 'communicates' efficiently with Creole- and French-speaking natives.

At times, he would put the stick aside, swing the rifle across his back and ...

... clap his hands loudly so as to get everybody's atten-tion. Then he would shout, "Aller, aller", which means get back or move.

There was one occa-sion when Labba didn't bother to either shout or wave his hands to get people moving. In Killick, a town outside Port-au-Prince, Labba, faced with a boisterous crowd, calmed them by eating the susumba or gully beans.

The fruit, which many Jamaicans mix with saltfish for a tasty meal, is reportedly used by some Haitians as part of their voodoo practice.

Magic of the susumba

In Killick, Labba found a susumba tree and plucked a few from it. He held it up for a portion of the crowd who frantically waved him off. The soldier then calmly plucked one from the bunch, chewed and swallowed it. Eyes popped everywhere; Labba had worked magic and it was the key that he needed to gain control of the crowd.

There were some volunteers who needed no magic. Orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Edgar Abbott, like other members of the Jamaican medical contingent, was one such person. This doctor said he found it almost impossible to raise his camera

hospital

the nation. I am, however, worried for Haiti. Many of its young bright minds were in university classrooms on that fateful day. Many were buried in the rubble and, with them, much of the nation's hopes for a brighter tomorrow.

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"Quake may bring Dominican, Haiti governments closer, literally " SANTO DOMINGO.- A Dominican construction company will build Haiti’s new Presidential Palace, to be reportedly located in a zone just 40 kilometers from the border with Dominican Republic, now at around 80 kilometers.

The work, which will replace Haiti’s collapsed House of Government in the January 12 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, would cost US$40 million and the first allotment from international funds contributed in aid were already disbursed.

Haiti’s National Palace, the Parliament, the Cathedral and other public buildings located in its capital were toppled by the quake, which also seriously damaged the structures of the Finance, Labor, Communication and Culture ministries and the Palace of Justice.

The international community is currently drafting an ambitious plan for the reconstruction of Haiti.

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