I am sitting in the boarding area at the PAP airport, waiting for my 9:40 flight, American Airlines 377 to Miami. I am on my way back home. We left C'ville on the yellow school bus this morning at 5 am and arrived at the airport at a little past 6. On our way through the central market, I saw my most disturbing sight yet. Our driver pointed to his left. There was the body of a man lying in the middle of the road, crushed and broken, arms extended above his head, his lower body splashed open. It looked like the man had been run over. From our seats in the bus, we were higher than we would be in a car or in the Everest. My first thought was that it was a large animal. But even in the early dawn light, we could see the body all too clearly. It was a dead human being. Traffic slowed down to maneuver around the body. We drove around the body, too, just like everyone else. How long had the man been lying dead in the road? Minutes? Hours? I have no idea. No one was there to stop or direct traffic around the body. There were no police. Two UN trucks drove past in the opposite lane on our left. We drove on. To the right of us, the market was coming alive with activity as people unloaded their goods from trucks and tap taps. Less than 20 feet from the bustling outdoor market, there was a dead man lying in the street.
I have heard people say that life is cheap in Haiti. I did not want to believe it. Today, I think I do.
That is so sad.
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