Si toutfwa, yon jou ou ta vle al vizite Lazil, pandan ou pran Wout Nasyonal Nimewo 2 a, si ou soti nan direksyon Pòtoprens, lè ou rive Vyeboudaken, ou ap vire a dwat pou pran wout Lazil la. Ti bout wout sa a mezire 16 kilomèt. Malgre wout la pa long, yon pikòp ki fè trajè Vyebou –Lazil, reklame 50 pyas pou chak grenn pasaje. Sa gentan ba ou yon ide nan ki eta wout la ye. Trajè 16 kilomèt sa a, si ou nan yon bon djip, ou kapab fè l nan anviwon inèdtan eka konsa. Pou ti machin piti, ou pa bezwen pran chans, li p ap mennen ou rive. 

If by any chance one day you would like to visit Lazil, while on the National Road #2 (if you are coming from Port-au-Prince), when you arrive in Vyeboudaken, take a right to get on the road going to Lazil. This short road (from Vyebou – Lazil) measures 16 kilometers. Though this road is not long, a pickup truck that does the distance (Vyebou – Lazil) would charge each passenger 50 goud (less than two dollars). This already gives you an idea of this road’s condition. This 16 kilometers distance, if you are driving a good SUV (Service Utility Vehicle), you can do it in about one and a half hour. For small cars, they don’t need to try; they won’t get there.

Nou ta toujou ankouraje ou pou pa ta fè wout sa a nan sezon lapli, talè ou a konn pouki. Konparativman ak anpil lòt kote nan peyi a, Lazil se yon komin ki byen fre, popilasyon an konn akeyi moun. Akèy sa a n ap pale a, ou ap santi l, lè ou ta sèlman voye men bay yon peyizan pou ta wè kijan sa fè li plezi. Si ou t ap gade sou figi moun Lazil ou ta mal pou kwè se yon kote ki chaje ak pwoblèm, tandiske tande ak wè se pa sèlman de, se yon pakèt. 

We would always encourage you not to drive on this road during the rainy season; we will tell you why in a while. Compare to many other places in the country, Lazil is a commune that is very cool. The population knows how to welcome people. This welcome we are talking about, you would feel it when only waving at a peasant to see how it is such a pleasure. If you are looking at the people’s face, it would be hard to understand that Lazil is a place with a lot of problems whereas hearing and the seeing are not only two things, but a bunch.

Lazil komin depi nan ane 1934, li gen 4 seksyon kominal ki se Tounad, Moriso, Pòl ak Chanje. Aprè dènye desizyon gouvènman Lavalas la te pran pou fè rejyon Nip la vin tounen depatman, sa lakoz Lazil vin gen pwòp sikonskripsyon l, sa vle di koze pou Lazil ta toujou gen yon depite pou li ak Ansavo a, sa fini; kounyeya li kapab gen pwòp depite pa l. Se konsa tou, gen anpil jefò otorite Lazil yo ap fè pou wè si yo ta jwenn kèk lòt seksyon kominal ki vin sou komin yo a ankò. Daprè sa Enstiti Estatistik te prevwa nan ane 1998, si popilasyon Lazil la te kontinye peple jan sa te ye nan tan pase yo, nan ane 2004 la, ta sipoze gen 48 mil moun k ap viv nan komin lan. 

Lazil has became a “commune” since 1934. It has four rural sections: Tounad, Moriso, Pòl and Chanje. After the latest decision taken by the Lavalas Administration to turn Nip into a depatman¹, this caused Lazil to have its own circumscription; this means that Lazil no longer has to share a representative (in parliament) with Ansavo (Anse-à-veaux). Now, it can have its own representative. At the same time, many efforts are being done by Lazil’s officials to see if they can find other rural sections. According to what the Statistics Institute foresaw in 1998, in the year 2004, if the population of Lazil continues to populate as it was in the past, there would be about 48.000 people living in Lazil.

Pou antre nan vil Lazil, depi se pa nan elikoptè ou ye, ou dwe travèse Mawo. Lè l an kòlè, li pa gen zanmi; pa pwoche l, menm lè ou ta gwo dayiva. Patnè rivyè sa a: Sèpan ak Depen (3 rivyè ki sot nan diferan zòn) vin tounen yon sèl bò vil Lazil. Si ou ta kwaze ak youn nan yo poukont li, se tèt chaje alevwa pou lè yo 3 kole tèt yo ansanm... Si ou kwè n manti al mande timoun lekòl Lazil yo pou wè. Yo oblije wete bagay nan pye yo pou yo touse swa janm pantalon oubyen jip yo 2 fwa chak jou pou yo kapab travèse rivyè sa a; yon sèl bagay, depi move tan pare tout lekòl oblije ranvwaye tout elèv, tout ale-vini ant lòt bò dlo ak vil la oblije sou kontwòl pou evite yo tonbe nan kontravansyon ak rivyè sa yo. 

To enter Lazil, if you are not in a helicopter, you must cross the Mawo River. When it’s mad, it has no friends; don’t come close to it even if you are a great diver. The partners of this River are Sèpan (Serpent) and Depen (3 rivers in the area) that become one around the town of Lazil. If you were to meet one by itself (when over flooding), it would be a big problem and it would be even worse when the three are over flooding… If you think we are lying, go and ask some schoolchildren. They are obliged to roll their pants or skirts twice a day to cross these rivers; one thing (to keep in mind), once bad weather is under way, schools are closed early so that students can go home. All activities are paralyzed because of these rivers (when are ready to overflow).

Selon yon otorite nan komin lan, yo santi se segonn k ap konte pou 3 rivyè sa yo antre nan vil la pou l fè menm travay Jàn sot fè nan Gonayiv la. Toujou selon menm responsab sa a, popilasyon an toujou kole tèt li ansanm pou bay lajan pou pase men nan rivyè a. Men mwayen yo tèlman piti, apre chak ti lapli sa tounen pi mal. Youn nan prensipal mwayen pou pwoblèm sa a ta rezoud, fòk yo ta fouye rivyè yo epi mete 2 pon sou rivyè yo (yo ta dwe fè kiraj): yon pon sou Mawo (pou konekte Lazil ak Vyebou, yon lòt pon sou Tounad pou konekte Lazil ak Ansavo). 

According to an official in the commune, they feel that it’s seconds that are being counted (down) for these three rivers to enter the town the same way it happened in Gonaives with hurricane Jane (2004). Also according to this official, the population always gets together to collect funds to do something, in trying to limit these rivers. But the means are so limited that after each rainfall, it becomes worse. One of the main ways to resolve this problem would be to dig these rivers and then build two bridges on them (they would have to dig it): a bridge on Mawo (to connect Lazil and Vyebou, and another bridge on Tounad to connect Lazil and Ansavo).

EDIKASYON – 

EDUCATION –

Soti nan ti klas «b-a-ba» pou rive nan filo, gen lekòl pou klas sa yo nan bouk la. Apre lekòl prive yo, leta gen yon lekòl nasyonal, lekòl kominal epi Lise Gwoman Lazil. Anpil timoun Lazil mache plis pase 4 kilomèt pou vin lekòl; malgre gwo sakrifis sa a, yo aprann nou gen anviwon mwatye timoun ki chita lakay yo, swa pou koze ekonomik oubyen akoz responsablite timoun sa yo genyen nan kay la, swa nan responsab bèt, jaden oubyen nan aktivite jou mache. Pandan n ap pale sou koze jou mache a, Lazil gen 3 jou mache: madi, jedi, ak samdi men se jedi ki pi gwo jou mache a. 

From kindergarten to the end of secondary school year, there are schools for these grades in the town. After the private schools, there are public schools, there are communal schools and the “Lise Gwoman Lazil” (The Gwoman High School of Lazil). Many children in Lazil walk more than four kilometers to come to school; despite of this great sacrifice, we learn that there are about half of the children who stay home, either for economic reason or because of responsibilities that fall on their shoulders at home such as, taking care of livestock, going to the farms or busy with market activities. While mentioning market, Lazil has 3 market days: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, but Thursday is the main market day.

SANTE –

HEALTH –

Jan sa ye nan prèske tout kwen peyi a, koze sante a malad grav anpil nan Lazil. Olye pou Lazil ta fè avan nan kesyon sante a, li plis sou fè bak. Nan tan pase yo, te gen gen doktè k ayisyen, divès mis, teknisyen laboratwa nan Lazil. Se konsa moun Lazil rete y ap gade pou wè tout sa yo prale. Dènye ekip ki te rete a se te 2 medsen kiben. Malerezman evènman 29 fevriye yo te lakoz yo kite peyi a. Depi lè sa a, se 2 enfimyè ki nan dispansè Lazil la, se mis Mari Frista Dije (Marie Fritzta Dugé) k ap dirije fè sèvis sosyal. Dispansè sa a travay soti lendi pou rive vandredi, mis an chèf la ki se moun Okay oblije rantre lakay li chak wikenn. Dispansè sa a responsab tout komin lan, san konte kèk moun ki konn soti plis pase 6 kilomèt pou vin pran swen nan sant sa a. Lè yo pa kapab fè anyen pou yon malad, yo voye l swa Bònfen (Bonne fin) oubyen Fondènèg(Fond-des-Nègres). 

The way that is in all almost all parts of the country, the health area is facing many problems in Lazil. Instead of going forward, Lazil is going backward more and more in that domain. In the past, there were Haitian doctors, many nurses, lab technicians in Lazil. All of a sudden, people in Lazil witness their disappearance. The last team that remained were two Cuban doctors. Unfortunately, the February 29 events forced them to leave the country. Since then, there are two nurses in the Lazil clinic; they are nurse Mari Frista Dije (Marie Fritzta Dugé) who is directing social services, and the chief nurse. The clinic works from Monday to Friday. The chief nurse is from Okay (Aux Cayes), she has to go back home every week-end. This clinic is responsible to take care of the whole commune, including some other people who sometimes come from more thank 6 kilometers away to come to the clinic for health care. When nothing can be done for a sick person, they send that person to either Bònfen (Bonne fin) or Fondènèg (Fond-des-Nègres).

Ou prèske pa remake okenn ONG nan Lazil, men yo fè èd yo pase nan men lòt enstitisyon ki nan zòn lan. Lazil gen ADA (Asosyasyon pou Devlopman Lazil) ki gen baz li yo nan Boston ak Miyami. Yo fè n konnen, ADA te gen pwojè pou yon lopital nan Lazil men reponsab sante yo nan Pòtoprens wè kòb pou bati lopital sa a, yo di n ki te anviwon 110.000 dola vèt, potko ase pou fè travay sa a. Men responsab sa yo bay lespwa pou yo bati bon sant sante anvan lontan nan Lazil. 

One almost doesn’t notice any NGO’s in Lazil, but they make the aids go to other institutions of the area. Lazil has “ADA” (Asosyasyon pou Devlopman Lazil/Association for the Development of Lazil) with its base in Boston and Miami. We are told that ADA has a hospital project in Lazil but the health officials in Port-au-Prince think the money to build this hospital ($ 110.000 US so far) is not yet enough for this work. But those who are responsible give hope to building a health center in Lazil in the near future.

DLO POTAB  –

POTABLE WATER–

Ou kapab sezi pou kantite dlo ou tande ki gen Lazil, pou abitan yo pa kapab jwenn ti gout dlo potab pou bwè. Gen kote nan zòn lan, moun yo gen pi atezyen. Gen 2 kaptaj ki ta dwe pote dlo vin vide nan bouk la, yo tout sou bit wondonmon, yo konn fè yon mwa youn pa vide yon gout dlo. Lè konsa popilasyon an oblije pran baton pelerinaj li pou l mache divès kilomèt al dèyè ti gout dlo sous; byen souvan ki pa pi pwòp pase sa akoz kote yo ye a. Popilasyon an ta renmen pou yo ta kapte yon dlo ki nan zòn Chanje pou yo pito. Yo di, dlo Chanje a ki deja anwo ta desann san difikilte nan vil la. 

You can be astonished for the quantity of water you may hear that Lazil has whereas the inhabitants cannot find some potable water. There are places in the area where people have wells. There are two water collections (at the head-spring) that should have carried water to the area; they are all facing problems; sometimes they don’t give any water for about a month. So when that happens, the population is obliged to walk many kilometers to get spring water. Very often that spring water is not cleaner due to where they get it. The population would like to collect a water at the head-spring in the area of Chanje (coming from up) would have no difficulty to go down the town.

KOMINIKASYON –

COMMUNICATION –

Se pa sèlman wout pou Lazil kominike ak lòt kote a ki pa bon, koze telefòn nan se yon lòt tèt chaje. Se pou sa anpil kote ou pase ki gen tèt mòn, ou kapab remake kèk moun ak telefòn selilè ap pale ak ki nan yo ki lòt kote. Nou pa bezwen di ou kijan Teleko (Teleco) ap mache nan bouk la, yon jou byen yon mwa mal. 

Roads are not only Lazil’s problems to facilitate communication with other areas, the telephone system is also another big problem. That’s why to many places one goes where there are mountain peaks, one can notice that people have cell phones. Needless to say how Teleco⁴ is working in the area, one day good another one bad.

BIWO LETA –

STATES OFFICES –

Malgre tan an pa t pèmèt nou rive koze ak responsab jistis yo nan bouk la, gen anpil moun ki plenyen sou fason jistis la ap mache dèyè, yo lonje dwèt sou responsab yo ki ranvwaye nenpòt ka pou bon plezi yo. Pou lameri, se tèt chaje. Se nan yon biwo Ministè Lagrikilti genyen nan vil la yo ba l ladesant. Meri a te genyen yon lokal; sa fann kon grenn zaboka. Pandan n ap pale de biwo Ministè Agrikilti a ki se yon bèl lokal, nou te sezi tande se pase agwonòm yo pase nan biwo sa a; se Fondènèg yo rete. Nou oblije mande nan men kiyès ankadreman peyizan Lazil yo ye. 

Though the time did not allow us to chat with those responsible of the justice system in town, there are many people who complain about how this system is working backward; they point fingers at those who are in charge who cancel any case for their own pleasure. City Hall, is a headache. It’s being lodged in the office of Minister of Agriculture. The City Hall used to have a local, but it split in halves like an avocado pit. While talking about the Office of Minister of Agriculture which is a beautiful local, we were stun to hear that the agronomists just stop by this office and then leave. They live in Fondènèg. We had to ask who is in charge of helping the peasants of Lazil.

Pou koze kouran an, se yon lòt pwoblèm malgre se yon sistèm lameri ap jere. Premye gwoup elektwojèn ki te gen nan bouk la se leta ki te bay li. Li vin tonbe anpàn. Kounyeya se yon bon samariten azilwa ki fè yo kado youn men malerezman se klopi klopan l ap mache. 

Concerning electricity, that’s another problem though it’s a system under City Hall’s control managing it. The first group of electrogenes Lazil had were given by the government. They broke down. Now, it’s a good Samaritan from Lazil who gave away one, but it’s not working properly.

DISTRAKSYON –

AMUSEMENTS –

Lazil gen yon sèl distraksyon, se gagè. Apre sa, lè vakans konn gen ti aktivite teyatral oubyen foutbòl. 

Lazil has only one amusement: gagè (cockfights). After that, during summer vacations they sometimes have theatrical or soccer activities.

RELIJYON –

RELIGION –

Pa gen pwoblèm nan sa ki konsène relijyon. Kèk moun aprann nou Lazil se tankou yon sèl fanmi: tout moun antann yo youn ak lòt. Pou patwon pawas la, se Sen Jozèf ki gen responsablite sa a sou kont li. 

No problem concerning religion. We learn from some people that it’s like a whole family in Lazil: everyone gets alone well. Saint Joseph is the patron saint there.

PWODIKSYON –

PRODUCTION –

Majorite moun Lazil viv sou jaden. Yon jaden nan tan pase yo ki te konn ofri popilasyon an plis ranndman paske yo te konn chwazi sa yo vle plante, tankou: mayi, pitimi, pwa, manyòk, bannann. Kounyeya, se sèlman bannann nan ki rete prensipal kilti popilasyon an. Abitan yo oblije vire do bay mayi ak pitimi an paske se lè lanati vle li ba yo yon bon rekòt. Sa pouse yo plis atache ak bannann nan pito ki prèske pa gen sezon.

Most people in Lazil live off their farms. A garden in the past would offer the population more products because they knew what they wanted to plant: corn, millet, beans, yucca, plantain. Now, it’s only plantain that remains the chief product. The peasants are obliged to turn their back to corn and millet because it depends on when nature wants to give them a good harvest. This pushes them more to be attached to plantain which almost has no particular season.

Bannann ki vin tounen prensipal bagay yo kiltive nan Lazil se yon lòt tèt chaje. Daprè popilasyon an, gras a sekou Pè Letènèl, yo fè bon rekòt bannann, men apre sa yo fin manje, yo gen anpil difikilte pou vann rès yo. Pifò bannann rete gaspiye. Selon yon Azilwa, pafwa gen bèl rejim bannann yo konn menm rive vann 15 goud akoz yo pa kapab al vann yo lòt kote. Fason nou so t pale ou de wout la kapab montre ou kijan koze transpò a ye nan Lazil. Machin ki fè trajè Lazil – Pòtoprens yo rantre lè sa bon; sa vle di lè lapli p ap tonbe. Sa fè ou gen dwa fè dezoutwa semèn ou pa janm wè kote yon kamyon bwat rantre Lazil, alewè pou yon otobis. Lè sa fèt konsa, ou kapab konprann kijan yon madansara ye ak yon lajan eskont ki nan men l; devan yon pil bannann ki blayi atè a, li pa kapab jwenn machin pou l al vann yo lòt kote oubyen rivyè desann, machin pa ka ni antre ni soti… 

Plantain which has become the chief product of Lazil, is also facing problems. According to the population, thanks to the help of the Lord, they have good harvest of it but after eating part of it, they face difficulties selling the rest. Most plantain is being wasted. According to an Azilwa (a native of there), sometimes there are beautiful stems of plantain that even sell as low as 15 goud (gourdes) because they can’t sell them other places. The way we’ve just talked about the road can show you the condition of transportation in Lazil. Buses that travel between Lazil – Pòtoprens come (to Lazil) when the weather is good; that means when there is no rainfall. One can spend from two to three weeks without seeing a transport truck coming to Lazil, so forget it for a bus. When that happens, one can understand how a madansara³ feels with the money she borrowed (to pay back with interest); sitting before a pile of stems of plantains spreading out, she can’t find any truck or bus to go somewhere to sell them or when the rivers overflow, there’s no transportation coming into Lazil or leaving Lazil…

RESPONSAB, DI YON MO –

THE OFFICIALS, SAY A WORD –

Pou yon zòn tankou Lazil ki kapab bay anpil manje, responsab yo pa ta dwe abandone l konsa. Nou pa kwè 16 kilomèt wout ki pa gen falèz ta kapab rete yon defi pou responsab yo. Li pa posib tou nan tan n ap viv la pou timoun ki pral lekòl oblije ap pase tout mizè sa yo chak jou pou kapab al pran moso pen lenstriksyon. 

For an area like Lazil that can produce a lot of food, the officials should not have abandoned it like that. We can see that a 16 kilometer road with no cliff remains a challenge to them. It’s not possible either in the time we are living for children who are going to school have to go through all of these hardships every day in order to have a piece of the education bread.

Bonjan swen sante se yon bagay tout moun ta dwe jwenn. Poukisa 2 enfimyè pou anviwon 48.000 moun ki pafwa oblije mache divès kilomèt pou vin dèyè ti swen sante sa a? – Bonjan dlo, elektrisite pa ta dwe rete yon favè pou yon popilasyon ki deside mete men nan devlopman peyi l. San konte anpil lòt bagay ankò. Gen yon ti koze ki di: «Nanpwen kote ki gen dlo ak dife pou moun pa viv». Lazil gen dlo, ede l jwenn dife... 

Good health care is something that everyone should have found. Why 2 nurses for about 48.000 people who sometimes have to walk many kilometers, trying to find health care? – Potable water, electricity shouldn’t have remained a favor for a population who decides to help with the development of their country, including other things. There’s a saying that says: “Wherever there is water and fire, people can live”. Lazil has water, help it find fire...

Si ou ta remake gen kèk kote nou chich pou enfòmasyon (tankou nan zafè sante), se pa fòt nou malgre se ak tout sajès mis la ki te fin travay ki ta pral lakay li te oblije tounen vin resevwa n. Fòk ou pa etone tou si responsab sa a te mande n pou n al pran yon otorizasyon nan biwo depatman Nip la ki gen syèj li nan Miragwàn pou n te kapab jwenn enfòmasyon. Mis la te di n tout bagay mache ak prensip. 

If you notice that in some areas we don’t provide you with too much information (such as in the area of health), it’s not our fault though it is with all of her wisdom that the nurse who after work, was heading home; she was obliged to come back to receive us. You must not be stun also if this official had asked us to go to the depatman Nip office to get an authorization from them (for this report); their office is located in Miragwàn. The nurse told us that everything works with principle.

Zanmi lektè, kòm nan moman vizit nou an tan an pa t fin pi bon pase sa, ou kapab konprann poukisa nou oblije kouri ak ou konsa nan repòtaj sa a. Nou di moun Lazil mèsi pou akèy yo. N ap remèsye yon fason byen espesyal mis Dije (Dugé Marie Fritzta, Mogène), Wonal Ipolit (Ronald Hyppolite), Batèlmi Jan Franswa (Bathelmy Jean François). Yon lòt fwa ankò mèsi. 

Friends and readers, since during our visit the weather wasn’t good either, you can understand why we are obliged to rush with this report. We thank the people of Lazil for their warm welcome. We want to thank, in a very special way, nurse Dije (Dugé Marie Fritzta, Mogène), Wonal Ipolit (Ronald Hyppolite), Batèlmi Jan Franswa (Bathelmy Jean François). Once again, thank you.

Nou pa kapab kache di ou sa, nan moman nou t ap vizite dèyè a (29 septanm 2004) nou pa t remake okenn restoran k ap fonksyone; pa gen otèl. Men se pa pou sa pou di ou pa pral Lazil. Y ap resevwa ou tankou pitit wa. 

We can’t hide from telling you that during our visit of the area (September 29, 2004), we didn’t notice any restaurant functioning; there is no hotel. But it is not to tell you not to visit Lazil. They will welcome you as prince or princess.