Watching the Gold Medal Game in Haiti and more

Sunday in Haiti is not a work day, so today the crew had a day off. Here is their email from today:


Another update from TJ, Rob, and Phil:

"First we will begin with last night: we all traveled to the tiki hut with disco ball and had some Colt 45s outta the can. (mMMMMMmmm America!) We danced the night away with a Haitian in a cowboy hat and taught him and his friends the fist pump (because Jersey Shore needs to be brought to Haiti). There was a black light, disco ball, and wild dogs and hogs running about... pretty much the Haitian version of Fosters (pigs included) (Fosters is a local bar near SBU).

We made our way back to base before lights out at 10 and had our way with a cornucopia of powerbars.

This morning, we rose to the sounds of 1000 screaming hens and roosters. The morning air was cool, and the smell of burning garbage was rich in the air. TJ, Rob, and Phil couldn't get on the crowded "tap-tap" to the beach in the morning so we decided to have a walking adventure around the city. It began on motorcycles where we learned that you can in fact fit 4 people on a bike. Then, we exchanged our US money for Haitian Gourds... WE ARE RICH MEN! We met up with the other Phil, his girlfriend, and Ben to wander about the city. We were greeted by a full petting zoo of pigs, dogs, a cat, roosters, and one cow. (E-I-E-I-O). Also, dogs travel in packs here!

We found a kid playing "Frer iz jac ah" on the trumpet and rob learned that is a french song :). We stopped at the Canadian Army base talking smack about the game tonight. Rob played Frisbee with some Haitian kiddos.

The other Phil got interviewed by a lady from Brooklyn (?) ..... Eventually we were nearing our base camp and stopped for some delicious Haitian style egg sandwiches. Little girls laughed at the tape on Rob's boot. Some other kids had a home made kite that hit us in the face. Then nap time!!!

We woke up (Phil, 4 hours later) and drew lots with the rest of the volunteers to go to watch the Canada/USA hockey game back at the Canadian base. BTW TJ is now the master of the tight rope/slack line. Rob and Phil went to the base for the game, TJ went to the beach.

At the base, we entered half way through the 2nd period. At the gate the soldier asked "Are you here for the game of hockey??" We had to watch in their mess tent which was like a sauna! Nothing like sweaty men and the coldest game on ice! After we lost in OT, the Canadians fed us hot dogs and all was well. As we boarded our "tap-tap" a group of the men shouted "Wait! you forgot your silver medals!". Phil road shotgun back to camp as people on the side of the road asked for the score :(.

During this time, TJ went on a walk with other Phil, his girlfriend, and the girl form India. They walked about 5 miles with everyone shouting "Blah" or something and were followed the entire way by small groups of children. Stopped by some German water treatment plants and made our way into an IDP camp and met some more Hatians.

After taking a left 2 more miles down the road TJ came to the beach. A young Haitian woman led us there. After arriving we walked down the beach where thousands of conch shells lay in walls protecting the houses from high tide. Fishermen were busy and a group of about 10 children were constantly asking for their pictures taken as they posed. (The Haitian Grandma was not afraid to get down to the birthday suit for a bath).

We made our way back, waving down a taxi that was a rip off but comparably still very cheap.

We all assembled on the roof to exchange our afternoon experiences and saw this as a sign to never split paths again. Who knows what this night will hold. All we know is that we are having pancakes for breakfast.

As for our appearance, Tj still looks like a skin head, Rob is rockin the rambo look(probably scaring the **** out of a lot of Haitians) and Phil reminds those of the seventies porno industry.

Until next time. (*****) Haiti chapter out!!!

P.S. Heard about Sister Margaret's letter about us that was sent to everyone. Better than making the notice board! Respect!"

The Letter from Sister Margaret (who is the president of St. Bonaventure) to which they refer went to parents of all students. The letter's purpose was to disown the trip and to say that the University did not sanction the trip. This view was why it was not an official BonaResponds trip and why we created of JustRespond for this and future trips.

Rob, Phil, and TJ's update

Image via Wikipedia

From Rob, Phil, and TJ (in Haiti)

...woke up at 6 to get to jfk and got through security with no problem...we enjoyed mcdonalds breakfast, phill ordered the wrong thing: mcgrittle with only sausage no egg big mistake...orange juice is a hit but no chocolate syrup :(

....flight was good, little turbulent at the end, we saw the USS Comfort! got off the plane, last...and was crowded by all the Haitians from planes, about 200 ppl, saw the 82nd at the airport, was really cool...

went down the stairs to lobby that it had many cracked windows and was greeted by a band of Haitians with an accordion, guitar, macros, a box, and a bongo. got on a bus further down to luggage pick up, biggest [mess] ever, no baggage claim belt, just a pile of bags in crowed hot huge room,

oh ya and Phil ripped his customs claim form in half, the Haiti customs woman was not happy...right away met Abner who also is volunteering, noticed TJ's HODR shirt.

Then we walked outside, we were in a gated area where many Haitians men were trying to get money from ppl and offer rides, found a guy with paper that had our names on it, singled to him we were the ppl, and he got our bags, we then made our way through crazy crowd and were followed by about a dozen guys talking to us about how they can drive us or carry bags. They were repeatedly saying "good service", eventually got in the back of a blazer and tried to pull out, but guys surrounded the truck, everyone screaming at each other: "good service" and "we share". They all wanted money, our guy drove away as fast as possible but only could go about 10mph and got rid of about half, got up to about 30mph where two guys jumped onto the truck hanging onto the front windows!

While us three are in the back and two guys in front driving, drove about 400 meters trying to get him off the car, and swirving traffic and other debris in the road, finally we threw him a twenty dollar bill and he jumped off.

We made the way through the city and through traffic with no road signs or lanes. 1 hour drive people running in front and cars basically hitting each other everywhere.

Stuff on fire everywhere--people just burning everything. Recycle club would not be happy. Wild goats , pigs, dogs and cows and chickens just walk around everywhere. Got to Leogane and got to our camp. Giant castle like fort with high walls, gated windows and such.

We had beans and rice and chicken for dinner. Camp right near canadian army camp. Hatian guards on at all times, eathquake plan in effect. TSunami warning? Till tomorrow- Rob , TJ, Phil

P.S. little Haitian kid played with giant knife on dirt pile while creepy smile on his face. This is why we have guards.

An interview on the eve of our trip

The following was done as part of an email interview for the BV. Jerry Godbout (JG), Rob Ryer (RR), and Jim Mahar (JM) were asked six questions.

1) I was told that you are going to Haiti to help out but the school has nothing to do with it, why didn't the school want to be involved?

JG: I'll leave this one for Jim Mahar to answer, but I will say that I hope this question gets posed to SBU administration.

JM: Let me start by saying that Haiti is a risky place. Haiti was poor and poorly run before the earthquake. Now conditions are worse. The University is worried about the risks of such a trip. Indeed I am too. The day I stop being worried is when I should quit doing this. I teach finance and a core part of what we do is risk management. Risk management is not necessarily risk minimization. It is deciding when risks are worth taking.

Everything carries risk. Whether it is walking across a busy street, driving down an icy road, or getting up for class in the morning. What we do carries more risk. To help people, some risks have to be assumed. Gutting houses after floods, cutting trees after ice storms, salvaging personal belongings after a tornado, or even working in poor sections of cities all carry some risks. We each have to consider these risks and the benefits we can bring to the situation.

Indeed, we did not go to Haiti after their floods in 2008-2009 because the risk/reward relationship was not slanted heavily enough in our favor to go. Now the needs are so great that we can provide exponentially more so we are going. The university, which by design must be more risk averse, is concerned with that part of the equation.

It should be noted that like looking both ways before crossing a street, we are taking many precautions. We will be sleeping outside, we will have safety gear, we have all had many shots, vaccines, and are on anti-malarial medications, we are staying with a well established group (HODR) and we will be careful to not put ourselves in risky situations.

And in the weeks that have followed the earthquake, I have spoken and emailed with scores of volunteers in Haiti and every one has been of the opinion that risks seen from a far are greater than that on the ground. Indeed, my brother Pat commented that the most scared he was on the entire trip was when sitting in the Denver Airport getting ready to go.

It is for these reasons while I feel the risks are manageable.

RR: I have the ability, and desire, to help those, who need help....why wouldn't I help?

2) Since the school did not back you on your plans to help out, what made you still want to do this trip on your own time?

JM: I can only speak for myself, but there was never a real question I was going. We all have to make our own decisions and all have diiffernet abilities and demands on our time, money, and resources, but for me, I knew from day one I had to go. I have the experience, the ability, and know-how to do this. Indeed, all of our group does. We can and will make a positive difference. I have absolutely zero doubt in that regard. It is the right thing to do. I do not think I could ever look myself in the mirror if I did not go.

And I really do want to stress that going to Haiti is not for everyone. I read, and agreed with parts of the US State Dept travel advisory that the administration forwarded to us. But the difference is that that was written for those who do not take precautions, who do not know who to help after a disaster. We have now responded to floods, fires, hurricanes, ice storms, and tornadoes. We will not be a draw on the local community. We will not be a nuisance nor in the way.

Just for an example, suppose the university had sanctioned this trip, I can only think of a few handfuls of others that I would be willing to take on this first trip. It is not the time or the place for a group of 286 volunteers at once (like 6 month after Katrina). I do think however that it is the time and the place for us.



3) When exactly do you plan on going to Haiti and what do you plan on doing there?

JG: We are leaving for Haiti on Friday, 26 February and expect to arrive in Haiti on Saturday, 27 February. We will leave Haiti on Saturday, 6 March.


4) Is there any specific goal you have to accomplish while YOU'RE there?

JG: Only to help as much as we can for the short time we are there.

JM: I agree with previous answer but for me, I have much more planned too. This is a long term recovery and rebuilding project. One of my goals (in addition to helping with the immediate needs), is to forge relationships that will be beneficial in the future. For instance, I have some people who are skilled solar power engineers and water purification experts who want to go with us on a future trip. Sure they can come and remove debris, but their skills are better used in other ways. I consider it my job to make sure those potential volunteers get to use their skill set to help Haitians. I want to meet people who need these services and find places to stay on future trips.

Additionally I want to be sure the donations we are gathering (tents, crutches) are being distributed as needed.


5) Is there any possibility of you being able to convince BonaResponds to accompany you on the trip?

JG: It is not a case of BonaResponds not wanting to go. Everyone going on this trip is an active member of BonaResponds and have been on several disaster response trips. BonaResponds is not going on this trip because BonaResponds is an official university group, and the university has not sanctioned this trip. Stated another way - "BonaResponds" is not going on this trip because "BonaResponds" was not allowed to go. The fact that everyone going on this trip is an active member of BonaResponds is merely a coincidence.


JM: no comment on this one...the above answer is very good

6) Are you going alone or do you have some other friends who wish to help out as well in Haiti?

JG: We (the six of us) are going as a group. We will be working with HandsOn Disaster Response, an organization with which BonaResponds and several SBU individuals have previously worked.


JM: I will also say that in way we are going with many many others. We are early volunteers in what will be a long term volunteer response. Like those who have gone before us to help, we will be watched closely. Thus, by being fortunate enough to go now, Jerry, Steve, Phil, Rob, TJ, and I gain the responsibility of being role models.

Like every early volunteer who has been working so diligently in Haiti to keep people from starving to death, we will be watched by those at home and at other schools, churches, and groups around the world. They will watch to see if we return home safely. They will listen to our stories to discover what they can do to help.

And while some will no doubt want us to fail, the much greater majority will be cheering silently that things work, that after the horrible earthquake, Haiti can not only come back, but come back better than before.

Haiti coverage from the BV

Nice BV coverage by Ryan Lazio:

""Haiti was poor and poorly run before the earthquake, and now the conditions are even worse," he wrote in an e-mail. "The university is worried about the risks involved with such a trip, and indeed I am too."

Mahar wrote he understands the university's reasoning behind its refusal to support the trip, and the members of the trip have taken precautions for the risks they may face when they reach Haiti."

and later:

Ryer felt that even though there are risks involved in going to Haiti, the rewards outweigh them, and he is excited about having the opportunity to help out.

"I have the ability and desire to help those in need, why wouldn't I help?"