On Monday morning, Makendy, our driver, took Meer and I into Port-au-Prince (variously referred to as PAP or Port). First stop, the FedEx office. We had a document box to pick up and a few questions to ask about customs duties. Last week we received a FedEx box of specimen cups from U Florida that cost $240 in customs fees. Think that is outrageous? I agree. So let’s find out what we can do. We wait. There is a guy with a shotgun in the FedEx waiting room with us. When it's our turn, we go up to the counter. Since Meer doesn’t speak French, I was the one doing all the talking. I ask, how exactly are customs duties calculated? The nice FedEx lady tells me the tax is based on the declared value of the goods shipped and the transport cost. OK, I understand that (well, maybe not the transportation charges but whatever). Is there a published tariff schedule we can look at? No, but there is a customs person who is here now we could talk to. The FedEx lady goes to get the customs person. I pose the same series of question to the customs lady. Declared value and transit charges. But, I could not get a tariff schedule from her. About 30-35% tax, she says. Is that written down somewhere? Is there a document we could get a copy of? No. Things are a little lax down here. Sometimes I get the impression that costs like these are based on what they think we are willing to pay. So if there is no official schedule of customs duties to refer to, it is hard to challenge what would seem to be an unreasonable charge.
Next we drove to the door factory and met Dale to get doors for the lab. Three doors that have already been delivered will be returned to the factory and modified to have glass panels put in them. We ordered two more doors. So eventually we will have passcard access doors to enter the building, between the BSL-1 hallway and the BSL-2 lab, and another passcard door between the BSL-2 lab and the BSL-3 bubble. Plus the vestibule door and the door to the autoclave room, that makes five doors.
Next stop, lunch at the Epi d’Or (no pun intended; and it would not be a pun in French). It is a combination fast-food burger, sandwich, roasted chicken, chicken platter, pizza shop, and bakery and pastry shop (did I forget anything?). There is a guy with a shotgun at the entrance and a friendly chicken statue inside.
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| Welcome to the Epi d'Or |
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| The Epi d'Or |
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| The Epi d'Or |
Next stop, Prophalab, a medical supplies distributor in PAP. We wanted to buy coverslips for the lab. The lady at the counter said they had no more in stock. When will they receive some? She doesn’t know. The shipment is in customs. Okay, then, how about microscope slides? No. The lady shakes her head sadly; microscope slides are out of stock. The shipment is also held up in customs. Now Meer and I had a common bond with the lady at the counter. We chatted back and forth about how tough it is to get things in Haiti and how hard it is to get things through customs. Actually, I did all the talking since Meer does not speak French and the lady did not speak English. Meer and I smiled and the lady behind the counter gave us the last box of microscope slides, for free. Meer smiled one more time. Couldn’t we get the cover slips, too? The nice lady gave us the last box of coverslips she had, free. We’ll be back to buy from her again, I assured her. We thank the lady behind the counter, say “au revoir”, and walk over to the entrance hall. We sit down. It’s just Meer and I and another customer on the bench and a guy with a shotgun and a guy with a metal detector wand by the door. Makendy picks us up and we head home. Another day in PAP.
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| Pétion-Ville, overlooking Port-au-Prince |
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