Ti Machann in Haiti

Various Haitian citizens are complaining on the radio saying that had enough of all these street protests. "I am stuck in my house, I cannot work, I cannot make money and it is annoying," one resident told a journalist.

Some citizens in the capital take their bicycle to work. "I have no choice," one government worker said, "I have to go to work."

A motorcycle taxi driver says "when the 100 gourdes in your pocket is finished, you have no choice but to hit the streets. We live day by day, we earn our daily living in the streets."

Read more →  

Haitian street vendors (Ti Machanns) complain they were robbed during the opposition street protest Tuesday...

While many protesters were out there protesting the new government budget and the fact that life is expensive, there were a few among them who were busy stealing from the the hardworking street vendors.

The Haitian Ti Machanns are often victims whenever there are manifestations in Haiti because not all the protesters are honest citizens who are fighting for a cause really. Many pretend to be protesting when in reality they have ulterior motives.

Read more →  

The other day I went to Haiti International airport and witness a Haitian baggage handler turning down a 25 gourdes tip insisting that he gets two Dollars US... And for what? For snatching a bag out of the hands of a teenager, the daughter of a poor young lady who rode on public transportation from a Haiti province town to pick her up at the airport.

I am so serious when I tell you that the man did absolutely nothing to deserve a tip.

Read more →  

In Haiti, jobs are rare and many Haitian men and women resort hustling in the streets for a living. Do you think of them as entrepreneurs or something else?

We call them "Ti Machann" and most of us do not respect them for what they do for a living.

We have a tendency to respect the Haitian doctors, lawyers, even the "NOTAIRE", yes... a notary public, a service that is available at every post office and every UPS store in America, but is a really BIG deal in Haiti, but we have no respect for the "Machann Fresco" and the young man in the street corner selling phone cards for a living.

Read more →