The next day
Somehow amid everything else the night before, Ti Mon climbed up onto the roof and reconnected the fill line. Now the water barrel is filled. Everyone gathers around Ti Mon to thank him and his little face breaks out in a huge grin. Now there’s water for bathing, toilet flushing, and mopping. Kevin has all his gear packed except for a bottle of local, raw rum that won’t fit in his backpack. It’s called clairin and goes perfectly with coconut water and cane sugar. Kevin asks, “How am I gonna get this back to Carrefour without drinking it?” Matt replies quickly, “Just share it with your mates on the tap-tap. Fair dinkem!”. Jocelyn laughs out loud and rolls her eyes, “Bouki net!” Ti Mon just nestles himself deeper into Ashley’s lap and grins like he’s won the daily lotto.
Kevin plans to take the return trip to Carrefour after attending a local Haitian church service with Ashley and Matt. As they’re about to leave for the service, they hear banging on the metal gate in the courtyard. Jocelyn takes Ti Mon inside the house. Kevin follows Ashley and Matt outside to see what’s going on. They hear agitated speech from the other side of the gate and Matt’s face hardens. He positions himself just out of sight beside Ashley, as she opens the peephole to look outside. After a few tense moments she relaxes and says, “It’s just the neighbors”.
Ashley opens the door and lets a small group of Haitian women into the courtyard. Jocelyn tells Ti Mon to wait in the house and then joins them. After smiling shyly and nodding politely to Matt and Kevin, the neighborhood women launch into a very intense conversation with Jocelyn and Ashley. Kevin can’t understand much of what he’s hearing but the back and forth is clearly urgent. Matt has taken the sentry position at the gate’s peephole and is listening closely. The conversation comes to a close and Ashley thanks the women over and over, giving each a hug as they walk back out the gate.
After they leave, Matt closes the gate and exhales loudly. Ashley sees Kevin’s questioning expression and explains, “They were here to warn us of another coup attempt. Everyone seems to have a different set of information about what’s going on.” Matt, “I can’t decide if it’s Tele Joel or the real thing!” He sees Kevin’s confusion and adds, “It’s the Haitian term for the game of “telephone” where rumors get passed from one bloke to another until no one remembers the original story. The most common Haitian name is “Joel”. But no one has phones, so Tele Joel!” Ashley continues, “Some are hearing that the coup has already been successful. Others say the police attempted the coup but the military stepped in and stopped it. The neighbors couldn’t agree on exactly what’s happening but they’re very worried about our safety.”
Matt walks to a nearby storage shed and pulls out the heavy chain and massive padlock. He wraps the chain through the steel door handles and locks the padlock. He calls over to Jocelyn, “Key on peg!” after placing it on its hook. Then he says to Kevin, “That’ll keep them out for a while. But if they want in, they’ll get in.” Kevin asks who “they” are. Matt chuckles humorlessly, “That’s always the question. It could be Lavalas supporters who think we’re working for the CIA. It could be disgruntled former Macoutes who think we’re leftists. It can just be criminals looking for a soft target. When these things get started, anything can happen.”
While Matt is certainly no pacifist, he works for Education NGO because he’s a secular humanist. He’s adamant that non-violence is the only strategy for sustainable change. Ashley is a Quaker so Kevin asks them, “How serious is this and what are our options for self-protection?” Ashley looks over her shoulder reflexively and lowers her voice to just above a whisper, “We really have no support of any kind here. Our whole mission is to live among the community and become part of their culture. They don’t have security protection so we don’t either.” Kevin starts laughing, “Wait, we’re not in Kansas anymore?” She chuckles darkly, “There’s no place like home…” Matt roars with laughter, “Your Navy Seals always say, Why bother bringing my own weapon? If I need to one, I’ll take yours!”