Jean-Bertrand Aristide. A name I have heard since my first time in Haiti.
He returned to Haiti today.
And I was there. At his house.
Without going into too much history and all the things that this might possibly mean, I will leave the images as they are.
Ride up on a motorcycle and go to work.
But for all the stupidness that was going on – some pushing and shoving and an appearance of a smoke bomb – it was generally a very positive experience.
It felt like a homecoming. It felt like someone was having the palms laid…
Or whatever tree there might be around.
In the midst of all this, my passport disappeared at some point between the place I ate breakfast and here. Who knows where it went… but it’ll have me in Haiti for a few more days until it can be replaced.
There was a lot of forced symbolism. “Open the gate!” by a man on a horse, the triumphant return. No joke. He played it up for the crowd and the international journalist, giving his speech at least three times. Then, the horse and rider was wedged within the sea of people.
If a horse and could be squeezed out of a crowd like a wet bar of soap, it would have happened today.
And then, out came the gas.
.
On this day, Haiti welcomed back a man exiled for 7 years.
It remains to be seen whether this act in the Haitian drama will be a positive or negative chapter.
Stay tuned…
-Noah D.
