Going to Haiti

[Chip]

Chip first of all I wish you luck on your adventure in Haiti, hope you get the contract and stay safe, we need your input here in DR1.

Second; if either you or Pedro think you need to bribe your way out of every jam in the complicated web of Dominican bureaucracy I'm not the one to complain, can't hardly do so since I'm not in your shoes. My beef is with either you or Pedro coming here and stating "Dominicans are this or that" because they take your bribes.

If you are going to label a Dominican as : venal, bribable, debauched, double-dealer, fast and loose, fixed, foul, fraudulent, gone to the dogs, iniquitous, knavish, mercenary, sordid, on the take, padded, perfidious, praetorian, profiteer, racket up, reprobate, rotten, shady, snide, suborned, tainted, treacherous, two-faced, underhanded, unethical, unprincipled, unscrupulous, untrustworthy, venal, wide open, avaricious, corrupt, covetous, grabby, grasping, miserly, money-grubbing, selfish, nefarious, unethical, unprincipled, unscrupulous, crooked................... etc because they take your bribes at least be honest and admit that half of those labels belong to you and Pedro.

Thanks for pitching in Chip and not letting Pedro do all the lifting.

Pedro; I read your post and your Trollish line gave me a good laugh. Thanks again for being son honest about your dishonesty.

You must have mixed me up with someone else. First I live here and consider myself Dominican ya and love the Dominican people. However, just like in the US there are certain aspects and customs that I don't like, after all I'm Catholic first - God before country.

Also, I don't bribe people here, mostly been party to people trying to take money from me illegaly - such as the customs border agent I wrote about in another thread.

 

[NALs]

The project that I hope to be involved with will be a 300 bedrooms hotel casino AI resort, the first of it's kind in the country, and there are plans to do more. Honestly, I don't know why someone hasn't done this before, as regardless of the precarious security situation in some places, AI's are relatively safe and completely self sufficient, ie as long as you can get the people to and from the resort safely there should be no problems. In the case of this particular resort, they will have helicopter and boat travel to and from the resort from the PAP (?) airport.

I don't know if it still exists, but there is (used to be?) a resort north of Port-au-Prince, on the Cote d'Arcadins named Kalico Beach Resort. It was rather small, but it worked. And on the days before the coup that ousted Aristide there were preparations for the construction of the first Hilton resort in Haiti, along the same shore as the Kalico resort; but the revolution changed everything.

Good to hear tourism is trying to make a come back. Parts of Cap Haitien and Jacmel have received improvements from the government precisely to encourage the development of tourism.

If the government remains stable, its only a matter of time before the boom really takes off.

-NALs

 

[theman]

I don't know if it still exists, but there is (used to be?) a resort north of Port-au-Prince, on the Cote d'Arcadins named Kalico Beach Resort. It was rather small, but it worked. And on the days before the coup that ousted Aristide there were preparations for the construction of the first Hilton resort in Haiti, along the same shore as the Kalico resort; but the revolution changed everything.

Good to hear tourism is trying to make a come back. Parts of Cap Haitien and Jacmel have received improvements from the government precisely to encourage the development of tourism.

If the government remains stable, its only a matter of time before the boom really takes off.

-NALs

Kaliko still exist, a really nice place, nice beach. Haiti used to have a Club Med back in the days.

 

[Oz1]

Haiti, 5 years, my $.02

For Chip and others,

I worked for the Gov of Haiti for 5 years as I provided Protective services for Presidents Preval and Aristeed. I was/am a white boy while there. Below are some things to note. All are from my personal experiences. Take what you find helpful and disregard what you don't.

As a white guy in Haiti you will be an automatic target. Most common is petty crime. Your foreign, and if unfortunate enough to be real white and stick out, they will think your rich.

Second you may be targeted for kidnap. Ransom amounts are sometimes settled for surprisingly low figures. After all 10-15k USD is a huge number for a man who makes $400 a year. However you will be held in the nastiest conditions for days as things are settled up. By the way the HNP (Haitian National Police) are almost always intimately involved in setting up the the kidnap cases. (and all levels of crime for that matter)

UN (Useless and never around when needed). Plus they would need approval from somebody, located somewhere else, before they could step in and help you. (When was the last time they won a gun battle anywhere?... Anyone...? Crickets....Crickets...)

Stay out of the Port Au Prince if you can. If you have to land there, or must travel through there as you cross over the border. Then stay inland. Cross over the boarder and head north then west, skirting the city around from the east. Most of the worst of Port Au Prince are right along the water/shore line. If you need a driving route, I can create one in Google Earth for you and shoot it to you.

Outside of the city keep a smile on your face as you travel, but your guard up. Most Haitians are nice enough people, simple and friendly.

With that said here are some things to think about. (In No Order)

Be on the lookout for any sized group of people marching anywhere at anytime. Large or small groups, they are mad about something. Avoid them.

Burning tires anywhere = something not good.

Park your car carefully, Kids love to let the air out of your tires so that you will pay them to change it or fill it when you return to leave.

Bribes. Carry extra water bottles in your car. They make some of the best pay off's for the police or as a great thank you to any helpful Haitians, as they lack drinking water. D or AA cell batteries work great too. A wad of cash is always a bad idea.

Lodging. If your north of the capitol by an hour or so, then stay at the resorts. Your secluded, and for the most part safe there. The resorts are nice for the most part, especially when compared to their surrounding.

Food. Quality and health very greatly. I have had some outstanding meals there. But outstanding does not always equal safe. Sometimes from meal to meal at the same resort it can vary greatly. In a pinch the pan-fried plantains sold by the old ladies on the side of the road were good to eat. Fruit as well, just rinse with water first. Keep some Cipro (Ciprofloxacin) on hand. It will kill what is killing your insides on your trip, LOL.

Medical. Bring a nice first Aid kit. You will most likely find no medical facilities in most areas outside of the largest cities. A feather, a chickens foot, and someone sprinkling an unknown white powder into your gaping wound would be more common. :surprised

Road Conditions. Bad. Some roads seem good and encourage you to speed up, only to surprise you with a huge gaping pothole the width of the road. Have a spare or maybe two spare tires and the tools and knowledge to change them. Flashlights are a good idea.

A tree branch in the road signals a coming road hazard ahead.

All in all I have seen and done just about everything there while on the job or on my own in Haiti. And while you should not confuse it with a trip to Tahiti, I had a great time there. When I relocated to the DR I will revisit Haiti again.

Safety and common sense will always prevail in places like Haiti.

I hope that some of this is helpful to you and others,

Oz1