Part 6: BETRAYAL
Observers
Port-au-Prince
The new arrangement between Kevin’s NGO and the station’s board has changed his day-to-day activities. His new mission is to be tour guide, interpreter, and “our man in Haiti” for recent blan arrivals. The Aristide government is a focus of interest for the usual suspects, for reasons not that new in Haiti’s history as the first African slave revolt-then-Republic. With all the journalists, cartel soldiers, spies, humanitarians, and US Alphabet agencies coming into Port on every flight, the bars and restaurants are packed and the cost of liquor and cigarettes have skyrocketed. Still no condoms though. Still a Catholic country. If you know a guy, they’re available at black market prices but without expiration dates.
Since Kevin and his friends stopped drinking top shelf long ago, they are mostly unaffected. Marlboros and Johnny Walker? Forget it. Local cigarettes and 3-star Barbancourt rum? No problem. Gunfire is common despite the supposed truce between Lavalas, the Duvalierists, and the military. No one wears seat belts anymore because there’s a lot more risk from stray bullets than an auto accident. Everyone avoids driving at night. The price of fuel and strategic value of darkness leave the city without electricity most of the time. Can’t be with the one you love? Love the one you’re with.
Then there are the observer delegations from all points in Christendom on their tours of misery and mercy. Since Ashley, Matt, and Kevin work for faith-adjacent NGO’s, they’re constantly shepherding blan delegations back and forth to the airport. The safest restaurants and hotels are in Petionville and every delegation needs a good dinner party, so Kevin spends more time in Petionville than Carrefour. Most itineraries include the Montana Hotel, so the hotel bar has two bartenders on duty around the clock. After the tourists are safely asleep in their hotels and guest houses each evening, Kevin and his NGO friends usually end up in the Montana bar, exchanging war stories about their hopeless delegations. They quickly adopt the term “JAFO” as a catch-all for anyone who is Just Another F-ing Observer.
While drinking an Irish coffee one morning and waiting for his group to collect itself in the Montana lobby, Kevin sees Jocelyn talking with Ashley outside the main hotel conference room. Before he can make his way over to them and say hello, Jocelyn is back inside the room. Ashley has collected her flock and sees Kevin in the lobby. They hug briefly and Kevin asks about Jocelyn. She’s already moving toward the exit but calls back, “Long, amazing story. Will tell you later.” Kevin peeks in the conference room window and sees Jocelyn presenting something to a group of pastors using a bar graph and pointer. Then he collects his own delegation and leads them outside to the waiting buses.
International Airport
It’s late one morning at the Port-au-Prince airport and Kevin is waiting for a missionary group from Miami while slightly hungover. He’s found a good spot to watch the arrivals and he’s early. A flight from New York arrives and a delegation emerges into the bright sun with their bags and carts. The midday heat stuns them as they put on sun glasses and dig out their paperwork. A few dozen street kids descend on them offering cheap taxis and baggage handling while trying to pick their pockets. Kevin tries to identify the gang’s ringleader. He’ll pay him to keep the kids at a distance when his group arrives.