February 1 thru 3, 2010
I try to have a purpose to everything I do and that's no different right at this moment, 9:47 am by the in-dash stereo of the Mistubishi Montero that I find myself riding shotgun in now. As the sun plays catch me with the mountains, we are nearly 3 hours out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on our way to earthquake ravaged, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The we riding in this car with many miles on it is Daniel Polanco, who is driving and the brother of Marcos Polanco (VP of SODOPREC@ and the man I'm going to see), Flaco, Arturo and Juan, all with SODOPREC@, the Dominican Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and Karen Levy, a transplanted volunteer originally from Boston. We are traveling swiftly west by the deft, purposeful sort of driving by Daniel that I prefer and we are making good time through the lush, garbage-filled mountains on our way to the people, rubble and garbage filled streets of that 'place' I've been seeing for days on CNN…
Everything I had pushed forward over the last 10 days was about getting here -- getting to Haiti where the action is, getting to hook up with members of ARCH (Animal Rescue Coalition Haiti), getting to film the rescue and the assessment work being done by major animal rescue organizations in this monumentally devastated place. Laser focused, I have a purpose. As the Executive Director of the World Animal Awareness Society, I believe I am here to film the important interactions between humans and animals during this time of crisis.
A little more than 6 hours into the journey, as we drive through what I will describe as an ancient bazaar, gypsy-like portal to another world--alive with colorful people in motion everywhere--a severe sliver of a border town wedged between water, white lime and dust covered hills known as Mallepasse, Haiti, I further notice the barren, chalky, void of any trees, dusty landscape, and as the border guards waves us through, the thought invades my brain,
"why am I here and what is my purpose?"
After meeting with Marcos Polanco at base camp, next to the busy and loud re-opened airport for what seems like only a fraction of a second, we find ourselves negotiating the newly reformed world of Part-au-Prince, down mad avenues and "fishing" for animal rescue business in some neighborhoods--neighborhoods instantly made from anything that will provide simple shelter following the jarring temblors that smashed this town to the ground and killed tens of thousands, where you can sometimes smell flesh when you pass a pile of rubble…
Tents are a luxury here, and so is animal rescue and assessment to some degree. I have been warned not to give anything of any value to anyone, even though in my possession are small sweet treats for exactly that purpose, due to the simple fact that I could die. Since stampedes and deadly misunderstandings have already occurred, I heed the warning.
Following a night of deceptively little sleep, I awoke to what appeared to be chicken pox--thousands of tiny red dots from forehead and ears, to ankles and underarms--delivered rigorously throughout the night by a small army of insects, mostly unheard and unfelt. I actually feel better now than when I drifted off to sleep the night before and only after I ingest cornmeal mixed with water in a plastic cup for breakfast, did I really know that I was ready to meet the day.
This was the day that a few households on a couple of tiny streets, in a small neighborhood, on a hill overlooking the choked and crushed city, with a population density nearly 8 times greater than London, had its first rescuers come to the aid of the people, who now lived outside in fear of their crippled houses and yet another aftershock. It did not matter in the least to these fine folks that the help was for their pets--they were so glad to have any help--that as soon as the ARCH team set up a portable triage station and the vet work started, our new neighbors began to stream in with their pets, primarily dogs and cats. Dogs and cats that could have used the assistance of ARCH
prior to the earthquake.
I felt my purpose resolve at that moment.
The next issue of the "American Dog Magazine" will feature a text & pictorial story of my trip to Haiti, a story that will include the images for which these next sentences were written: The following images are the culmination of this day. I hope they move you as they have moved me. They have given me purpose and meaning and underscore the reason for being in Haiti in the first place.
Please visit
http://www.WA2S.org to view the companion video & images to understand our purpose.
By Tom McPhee, Executive Director
World Animal Awareness Society - WA2S.org
