On the ground in Haiti

By Tamara Palinka
Special to the Eagle

Reality hits when, rushing through the emergency room, you see a “blanc” (white person) lying on one of the cots with an IV drip.

You just don’t expect to see this, and it reminds me that we are not immune to illness and disease — being as exposed as we all are. I have seen “blancs” come in for many illnesses and vehicle accidents, which are common killers in Haiti.

Driving in Port-Au-Prince (PAP) is like taking risks with your life. There is only one thing to know when driving — everything goes.

It is total chaos, with cars driving in all directions at once, the continuous sound of horns honking and people yelling at each other.

On the roadsides people are selling various items, as well as bathing and washing clothes — normal daily survival rituals that seem so foreign to me at times.

I like to soak in the scenes of this culture and try and feel it, but the pungent odours overwhelm me.

The smells range from feces and urine to burning plastic to rotting food. There are not many pleasant smells in PAP.

Our hospital smells can be overwhelming as well. There is a human waste bin out in the open where everything is dumped. The unmistakable stench increases with the steady flow of emptied bed pans.

You would never experience anything as disgusting in our Canadian hospitals.

Tamara Palinka sleeps with Sonson, the Haitian orphan she has been looking after and hopes to adopt so they can both return to Canada. Photo submitted

I like to walk through pediatrics at night, sometimes just to pick up Sonson when I am done work. I feel such love for the families that are sleeping on the floor beside the cot of their loved one who is sick.

It is also the best time to take note of who needs a blanket or a bed roll.

These are not things we have an abundance of, nor can we give these things out when everyone is awake — it causes a major disruption because there are not enough.

It’s these little things and simple acts that keep us bonded and connected as human beings. We remember to never stop feeling or loving, and never ever lose faith in anything. This is where our strength is and what keeps propelling us forward.

Each day has wins and losses and the pain from these run deep, but we must focus on the happy endings. I remember one night when we had 120 people show up and only enough cots for 60.

I stood in front of the tired doctor and nurses and said with a shrug, “We will get through this together, and there really are worse things than sleeping on the ground for one night.”

We found our solutions by working together.

The best of Haiti was showcased when the poor stood together, united as one. They are amazing examples of strength and courage who overcame slavery, oppression, an abundance of corruption and natural disasters.

We can all overcome anything when we recognize there is power with unity.

Tamara Palinka, a former area resident whose mother, Kate Millar, lives in Cochrane, has been on the ground in Haiti since Jan. 25 with the University of Miami’s Project Medishare and has agreed to send updates on the chaos caused by the 7.0 earthquake Jan. 12 and following aftershocks.

No related stories.

• Filed under News | Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed.