déchets. stigmatisations, commerces, politiques ... - Viva Rio en Haiti

most total absence of latrines; and second, the fact
that the main fuel used to cook by the area’s residents
is not charcoal but bits of plastic and rubber
found in the waste dumps surrounding the area
and in the canals that fl ow into the sea. These elements
pinpointing the micro-region as the lowest
in the social stratifi cation of the researched area
also coincide with the fact that it is home to most
of the kokorats and bayakous whom we met.
2. The second micro-region covered by the research
is located between Blv. La Saline and rue du
Quai. Here the residences intermingle with the Croix
de Bossales market. Mostly charcoal and wholesale
vegetables are sold in this location. The circulation
of the latter creates a large amount of garbage,
further exacerbating the area’s sanitary conditions.
There are almost no residential latrines
and the various commercial latrines available in
the area are used by traders and people passing
through linked to the intense trading activity and
fl uxes of the large two avenues (photo 6).
3. Situated between rue du Quai and Rue du
Magasin de l’Etat is a more densely populated region
with low-rise housing. On these two main
roads, busy with traffi c and passersby, people can
fi nd full meals (Chen Jambe) 13 and water for sale
(private cisterns and the fi rst of the VR kiosks),
commercial latrines and showers and some workshops
making wooden and metal objects. The area
also contains the only housing complex found
in the area under study, formed by six four-storey
10 To understand the logic of stigmatization in Haiti,
it is also important to consider the viewpoints of the
elites on poverty and the poor. On this topic, see Omar
Ribeiro Thomaz “Haitian elites and their perceptions of
poverty and of inequality” (2005).
11 It is important to understand that the modalities of
individual survival and family reproduction in social
contexts of extreme poverty combine a series of activities
that include relations unmediated by money, such
as cooperation, help at times of need, different forms of
bartering, and so on. Activities that ‘make money’ are
usually very limited and for this reason extremely important
since every relational network requires cash
at some point: money to buy food or clothing, pay a
debt, or pay for children’s schooling (in Haiti even public
schools demand fees). As we shall see, in the studied
region some of the main activities that allow fé benefi
s (to profi t or make money) are linked to the commercial
waste circuits.
blocks built in the 1990s under the Jean Betrand
Aristide government, but lacking any latrines or
sewers. The Av. La Saline, which terminates in the
Croix de Bossales market, was one of the muddiest
and waste-fi lled roads until VR’s cleanup initiatives
were begun in the area (photos 7-8).
4. After rue du Magasin de l’Etat, heading towards
the Grande Rue and the area of Portail Saint
Josef, the socio-residential structure changes. This
is older area of occupation: the corridors are more
densely inhabited, including two-storey constructions,
frequently referred to as ‘houses.’ In some
cases homes are rented (as payment of rents is
annual throughout almost the entire city housing
market). There are a relatively large number of residential
latrines, usually located at the back of the
dwelling places. In this micro-region we can also
observe many activities linked to various workshops
making wooden items (pestles, craftwork
and so on) and in particular bakeries (using wood
stoves, never gas-fi red ovens) (photo 9).
5. To the north lies Cité Vincent, which still
forms part of the Port-au-Prince municipality, and
soon after in the Pont Rouge area, located in Cité
Soleil. This is a large residential zone also containing
various workshops producing items made
from aluminum (mainly pans) and wood. The former
make use of refuse found in the canals, principally
in the Ponto Rouge area where, after the
rains, pieces of plastic and rubber (used as fuel)
and metal (such as iron or aluminum) accumulate.
12 A close comparison with the data from the Viva Rio
census would undoubtedly lead to new and interesting
questions.
13 Chen Janbe is an important source of organic and inorganic
waste in the city’s streets (polysterene plates, for
example, used by the establishments located in relatively
wealthier areas, though not in the zone researched,
where the food is generally served in metal plates). In
the zone under study, three elements have a direct infl uence
on the importance of street restaurants: the nonexistence
of kitchens in many dwelling places and the
fact that many of these street kitchens are located on a
boundary between the domestic and public worlds. People
cook for clients as well as relatives and friends; many
pay immediately, some later, others never. On street restaurants
as a pervasive urban phenomenon in the city,
see Carlie Eugene, “Restaurant de rue à Port-au-Prince:
le phénomène ‘Chen Janbe,’” Mémoire de licence, Faculty
of Ethnology, Université d’Etat d’Haïti, 2001.
GARBAGE | 43