Well, since my last posting I've experienced a couple of minor setbacks in the "humanitarian side" of my mission here in Haiti.
I'm sure that most of you remember Robinson, the man whom, with the help of many others, I was able to secure a wheelchair for. I've seen a lot of really bad things during my 25 year law enforcement career. And I've seen a lot of really destitute people, none of whom were more destitute than Robinson. I'll cut to the chase; about 10 days after getting Robinson his wheelchair, and watching him use it daily during those 10 days, we suddenly saw him without the wheelchair, back to scooting along the highway on his rear end. I remember immediately feeling rage, assuming that someone had stolen his wheelchair from him.
At this point, we pulled over to the side of the road. I called out Robinson's name but noticed that he would not stop and would not make eye contact with me. Having been a Detective for many, many years this made me immediately suspicious, for a couple of reasons. As thoughts are running through my mind, I was thinking to myself, "okay, you stopped to confront him in front of a bunch of people sitting on the side of the road." A crime victim in America would also be hesitant to talk to the police in front of a group of bystanders. I also noticed that he had money in his shirt pocket. So, my next thought was "okay, if they stole his wheelchair, why did they not steal his money?" Next was, "okay, maybe he came up with the money after his wheelchair was stolen." I admit, I had no idea what happened. All I knew at that time was that this guy no longer had a wheelchair that he had desperately needed and seemed to enjoy having.
I made several more attempts to talk to Robinson. He actually crawled onto the gravel portion of the road to crawl around our vehicle, all the while ignoring my repeated attempts to talk with him with the help of a Haitian National Police officer (HNP), The officer was not in uniform. Had he been, I would have chalked up Robinson's reaction to that fact alone, since most Haitians are fearful or at the very least intimidated by HNP. In the end, there was nothing more I could do. We left and returned to Port-Au-Prince (PAP).
So, I have a pretty big heart, too big at times I'm guessing. As you can well imagine, this has bothered me since this day. I have experienced a broad range of emotions, from anger to empathy to sympathy. I decided that I would just wait a while and attempt to make contact with Robinson again. I'm confident that God will arrange for that meeting when he sees fit. It's tough though to see him, on an almost daily basis, crawling along the highway, wearing the same clothes he was wearing the first time I saw him, nearly 45 days ago.
So the next thing I've been dealing with are the kids. There are three kids I have "adopted" since I changed jobs in September from an IDP Camp to a Commissariat, or police station. My partner and I have chosen to help them out on several occasions, buying them food, clothing, whatever we feel the need is at that particular moment. These three children, two boys and one girl, are all around the age of 11. The two boys, Lamil and Kingston are brothers. They have no mother, other siblings and a father. Lamil is a "little person." Nancy is one of five children with no father. I've yet to meet her siblings. Lamil and Kingston were initially adopted by my partner, a really good guy from Mississippi, a true Southerner. He would have you believe that he is a tough guy, which he is. He also has a big heart, probably bigger than he would like to admit.
Anyway, when you help a child here in Haiti, on your own, you run the risk of that child, or children, coming to you on a daily basis. This is exactly what has happened, much to our dismay Don't get me wrong; I truly enjoy helping these children. But, they are children living in a Fourth World Country. They have been raised by and around people who receive handouts on a regular basis, some deserved, some not. We have tried to explain the kids that they cannot come to the police station on a daily basis expecting to be given food or money. Either they don't understand that concept or they choose to ignore. There is a valid argument either way.
Recently one of my counterparts, a Canadian, bought Nancy some cookies and a drink after she came to the station looking for me. While she ate the cookies, she simply poured out the drink. Needless to say, the Canadian wasn't very happy about it. He confronted her and she told him that she did not like that particular drink. This too angered me.
A day or so later, Nancy showed up again and I was there. She asked for some money. Hmm, not a good sign. I usually choose to help people who don't ask for anything rather than those who simply beg, out of necessity or out of habit. I had a $50 Gourdes bill in my pocket. This isn't much in American dollars, just over $1. But, it was all I had on me at the time. At the same time, my partner handed Lamil and Kingston each some money, admittedly more than I had given Nancy. I immediately noticed that Nancy was very jealous and she began questioning Lamil and Kingston about how much money they had received, even trying to reach into Lamil's pocket. As I've said, I have a big heart but occasionally I also have a short fuse. Nancy laid the money I had given her down on the bench and basically refused to take it, indicating that she wanted more. Not a good idea on her part. I know that she is a child, I took that into account. But, that is no excuse. I picked up the bill and put it back in pocket and told her nicely to leave. She did not like this at all. She immediately began crying, yet shedding no tears. It didn't take me long to grow tired of this little act either. I asked the HNP to tell her nicely to leave, which they did. She left the compound but then stood just outside the compound, wailing away, still shedding not a single tear. I then began to wander if she was well adept at this little act? Who knows. What I know is that she picked the wrong actions on the wrong day. Her wailing led several bystanders to stop and I guess ask her what was wrong. I'm not sure what she told them, but we received some not no nice glares from several of the locals. So be it. When I left that day she was still begging us for money, which she did not receive.
The next day, we stopped by the station again. Within 15 minutes here comes Nancy, running up giving my partner and I a kiss on the cheek, all smiles. I'm thinking to myself "okay, she knows she screwed up." Forgive and forget. No, she started asking for money again. Again, I told her no. Again, she starts wailing. Again, not a single tear shed. I forgot to mention one thing. Several days before this happened I had taken her shopping and bought food for her entire family and bought her a new pair of shoes, some socks and a backpack for school. I thought it important to point out that little fact. As we were leaving that evening we were going to give an HNP officer a ride to PAP. I look over and there's Nancy, standing outside my window. I asked the HNP officer to politely tell her to leave. He rolls down his window, says something to her in Creole and then reaches into his pocket, pulls out some money and hands it to her. I'm sitting there aghast! I'm like "no, that's not what we want to to do!" The HNP officer had the right intentions but misunderstood exactly what we wanted him to do. I can't win for losing.
I have basically decided not to give Nancy any more money. I may be wrong but I am convinced that she is taking advantage. It will not be easy but that's the way it is. My partner and I have instead decided to concentrate on Lamil and Kingston. They both smile whether they receive anything or not. We'll see what happens with that.
Well, I work one more day and then I'm off work for a week. Won't do much, hang by the pool some and be bored stiff. After that, I'll work 21 days and then head home for Christmas. I can hardly wait. Until next time, take care, stay safe and God Bless.
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