No gas No go

Traffic patterns in Port-au-Prince changed noticeably last week. On our morning and afternoon commutes we saw fewer cars on the road but managed to get repeatedly stuck in traffic jams. Why? Long lines of cars and crowds of people have been assembling at gas stations across the city - blocking entire intersections.

Port-au-Prince has been experiencing an extremely frustrating gas shortage over the last week. Only a handful of gas stations are open for limited hours each day. Public transportation prices have risen to the point that some of our moms missed their scheduled visits. People are standing for hours at gas stations in hopes of getting enough fuel to keep daily lives in motion. (People need gas for both vehicles and generators) Fortunately for us foreigners at the clinic, diesel is still readily available and so we are able to ride in the clinic car to and from work. People with money and connections can pay a doubled-price to get gas on the black market. However the general Port-au-Prince economy is coming to a near halt as people and goods literally can't move.

What's causing the shortage? It's hard to say for sure since different stories come from all sides. Generally it doesn't seem that it's because there is/was no gas coming into the country. Rather the gas station owners went on a strike from selling in protest against a drop in price required by government regulators - which was prompted by the recent global drop in gas prices. (Regardless of the current global market, fuels prices in Haiti are always 2-3 times what most US residents pay at their local pumps). Apparently the dozen or so families/companies that control the gas market here have refused to sell gas at the lower price because they would have to take a loss. Some people say the gas station owners are waiting for the government to step in and change policy to prevent their losses.

To the outside observer this all just seems crazy. Instead of taking a shorter term loss and keeping a new supply coming in, the gas station operators are losings days and days of sales as they hold back the supply. The government is likely also to blame. Regardless - the whims of those few with power are crippling the lives of powerless millions. Unfortunately that is nothing new.