Thursday, July 28, 2016 - Day Six - Meeting Kako and
Travel Day to Jacmel
Ari Eckhaus reports:
Today started in a way that was more similar to home than
our previous days. We first checked out of The Wall’s guest house, and ate
breakfast. Next Daniel and Lilly arrived to pick us up. With Daniel and Lilly
we drove to an upper/middle class summer camp that was being put on by a famous
Haitian comedian named Kako. We were informed that the kids in the camp were
most likely the children of embassy workers or had parents who were wealthy Haitian-Americans
on vacation visiting family. Despite their “easier lifestyle” and their
luxurious camp, the kids at Kako’s camp did not seem to be having as much fun
as the kids at Sakala.
After seeing Kako’s camp we went to the Haitian equivalent
of the four seasons to meet Kako himself. Kako was speaking at the gala for a
paint company’s 60th anniversary, and Daniel wanted to introduce us to Kako
since Kako and the paint company were helping to paint soccer field lines on
the asphalt at Sakala.
After meeting Kako we all packed into the car for a four and
a half hour car ride. We were heading toward the town of Jacmel. The
drive was through the mountains of Haiti and offered beautiful views of the
Haitian countryside that gave us a new perspective on the country. Half way up
the mountain we were caught in a torrential downpour and were forced to pull
over to put our luggage inside the van. This cutdown on space in the van which
was already a premium prior to the rain. Eventually, after about 5 inches of
rain and a fallen tree blocking the road the rain cleared and we arrived in
Jacmel.
We got to the hotel, ate dinner, and went for a swim in the
ocean which was right outside our hotel rooms. To end the night I looked back
on the day and wondered why the kids at the wealthier Kako’s camp seemed to be
enjoying their time less than the kids at Sakala. Was this because recreational
activities were a privilege for the kids in Cité Soleil and something that the
kids in the wealthier camp felt they were entitled to?
I also reflected on the extravagant hotel that we met Kako
in and the way that this created a juxtaposition between life in developed
countries and developing countries since the overpopulated hills of
Port-au-Prince were visible from the hotel. Finally, I thought about how the
car ride to Jacmel changed the way that I saw Haiti. I compared the hills we
saw in the Haitian countryside to the ones I had seen in Guatemala and came to
the conclusion that these countries are similar geographically and physically,
but I couldn’t help but wonder what forces that weren’t so visible were keeping
Haiti in its current state.
