CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED THREE
2010 - People Properly Planning
I reached out to Mireille at the end of May to see if she’d gone back to Port au Prince yet. She told me she’d landed a project with the UN that was slated to start construction in early Spring of 2011.
“They’re working to rebuild sixteen neighborhoods back up enough to get people from some of the IDP camps back into stable housing,” she told me. “I’ve signed on as the project director for the Delmas Trente-Trois initiative.”
She said she was heading back to Port au Prince by end of July at the latest, to help kick-off the project’s planning phase.
“You should come out in August or September,” she advised. “Try to be there for at least two weeks. Stay at Karibe Hotel. By that point, I should be able to introduce you to some people and help you find some work that would make sense for you.”
“Okay, great!” I replied. “I’m going to take a leap of faith and book my ticket now. Even if your plans change, I feel like I need to get back to Haiti. Something will work itself out.”
“I think it’s safe for you to make arrangements now,” she replied. “I’ll be there when you arrive. And if not, I’ll make sure you have people who can look after you and help make introductions.”
“I’ll be traveling with my business partner, Hopeton,” I told her. “I’d love for you to meet him.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” she said.
As soon as we hung up, I dialed Hopeton’s cell- he was at the Intercontinental, in town for his monthly visit.
“Frè’m,” I told him. “Start practicing your Kreyol. We’re going to Haiti!”
From there, plans solidified quickly. Hopeton would come out to Panama for his August/September visit to make sure Wilkie was trained up to handle anything that might occur in our absence. I’d fly to Miami a week early to spend time with Mistou. Hopeton would meet me at the airport and we’d fly in to Port au Prince together the second week of September. Per Mireille’s suggestion, we’d stay at Karibe Hotel and see what happened.
Once I’d booked everything, I hit Édo up to let him know my plans.
“I’m going to join you there,” he said. “I want to meet Hopeton and you and I need to get up again.” He said he’d stay at Karibe, as well. “Everyone’s houses are still mash up, as they say here in Jamaica. No sense in thugging it out.”
Even at those very early stages, I could sense that September would be a turning point in my life.
