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Suzanne is a Haitian woman of 50 years old. She is one of the millions of women in this country who carry the heavy responsibilities for their families on their shoulders. She lives in the village of Jacquesyl, near Caracol in the North-east of Haiti, at some 350 kilometers from Port-au-Prince. She was not born in this community, but has been living there since August 1991 after her family was deported by the authorities of the Dominican Republic. She told her story of being a deported woman, a deportation that she considers as a huge injustice. "My husband and my children were born in the Dominican Republic. My husband's father is Dominican. He has never understood nor accepted the fact that his compatriots forced him to come to Haiti while he was working peacefully in a ‘batey' (slum) for a sugar company. My children cannot believe this either and continue to live under the shock of having been deported. I have to tell you that I gave birth to 11 children. Six of them deceased before reaching one year of age." "How is your family at present?" "My husband died of distress in 1996. He was 67 years old. Two of my children, the oldest ones, have moved away. One has moved to Cap-Haitian (the country's second city, 70 km from here) and the other one to the Capital, Port-au-Prince. They were forced to leave the house to earn their own living as I could not provide for them. The others are still with me. They are attending the National School of Jacquesyl for their primary education." "What do you to take care of your family?" "As you know, Jacquesyl is in a coastal zone and there is lot of fishing, agriculture and salt production activities. I myself produce salt. This is an activity that lasts six months of the year, from April to September and it is mainly women's work. During the other six months of the year, life becomes extremely hard and painful for me. Occasionally I do some charcoal. My husband's funeral costed about 1,500 Gourdes. I earned this amount in the piling of the salt. Other people in the neighbourhood who sympathized with me have given me financial help." "Tell me about your work in the saltpans." "The more fortunate people have holes dug on the seashore into which seawater penetrates. During the season of drought, after just a few months the salt is ready for piling or harvesting. The owners of the saltpans call up women who are willing to come with their baskets to do the collecting. "This is rather a painful activity, due to the fact that you have to bend down all the time to extract the salt. For one hole, this can last three to four days depending on its depth. "I can do many piles of salt, called ‘bâtes' in the current language of Jacquesyl. After a day working, once the piling is done, the salt owner lets me have a quarter of the salt which I have produced. "To earn some money, I sell this at the local market for up to 10-15 Gourdes a can (a content mesure of about 3 kilograms)." "But, in these conditions how can you improve your life?" "Ah! I do not see the way out of this hassle. I am already too old to think of moving to a big city of the country. So, I am condemned to live here in Jacquesyl. If the government or the big men could invest in the improvement of fishing techniques, or in providing the necessary training to the fishermen, or in establishing salt production plants in the community, then I would have been able to find a better opportunity for work and as such earn some more money to take care of my family." "Can't you borrow money for your fishing activities or simply for business." "No. The organizations working in this area do not give loans, unless it is to women groups or other associations. However, I am not a member of any association, so this is difficult for me. Besides, I do not feel too much at ease to go and ask these projects for money." Suzanne is one of the millions of Haitian women left to themselves. The fate of these women is linked to the need for improving the economic situation of the entire Haitian population. Presently, some national as well as international development organizations are striving to contribute to improve the income of women in Jacquesyl. CRS (Catholic Relief Services) and Caritas (an organization of the Catholic Church) grant credit amounting to 500-1500 Gourdes to women or women groups in the area, who are carrying out commercial activities, such as the trading of food products or used clothes, commonly called ‘pepe'. When asked, women benefitting from loans stated that they are not satisfied with the amount received, because they are not able to buy big quantities of merchandise. They also said that it is the ‘pepe' (used blankets, children clothes, etc.) that sells the best. When they sell their merchandise swhile giving credit to the customer, it is hard to put together the initial amount borrowed. 1. Gourdes: Haitian money (1500 Gourdes equals about US$90 / 1 US$ equals 16.50 Gourdes) 2. Bâte = 25 kg. [906 words]
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