Haiti: A nation living under plastic sheets
Friday 7 May 2010
Haiti has been ignored by the international community for so long, I should not be surprised to wake up here in Leogane this morning feeling strangely distant from where all the decisions are being made in the modern world.
It’s not just that we are six hours behind here. Today is polling day in the UK, and I just received a text from my wife to tell me that I have just voted for the Lib Dems and the Greens (other candidates are available) while unconscious.
My computer is broken, so internet access is limited to borrowing from others, and I was unable to discuss my voting options beforehand. So I am not sure if I feel empowered by my voting by proxy.
Four Xs were marked on my card (for local, mayoral and general elections etc,) while I was still sleeping under the mosquito net. That’s a lot of power to give away, even to a spouse!
Other big news arrives in the form of my beloved — but ultimately always disappointing — Tottenham Hotspur qualifying for the Champions League last night.
Like Nick Clegg’s also-rans, Spurs have never before been able to sit at the big table and enjoy the benefits of the power brokers of international football.
But these are strange times. Dare we dream they might they might be a-changin. Harry Redknapp inspires rare hope in me this morning, but there is no such messiah figure for the people of Haiti.
The situation here is truly desperate. The need is profound. How long can we allow a traumatised nation to live under plastic sheets?
Find out more about our relief work in Haiti
Tags: Leogane
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