61, tailor, mattress reupholsterer
Edner Brice, a self-taught tailor. He takes to the streets to buy broken mattresses and house utensils from other street vendors and then carries them with a wheelbarrow to his shop at the back of a tin-roofed house he rents in Rue des Miracles. There, he fixes the wares or uses his sewing machine to upholster the mattresses. In his spare time, of which he has little, he likes to play dominoes and cards or watch soccer or a good movie. In 2015, we spoke to Edner, a father of eight, as he was haggling with vendors, expertly maneuvering through the streets of Grand Rue, Rue Saint-Martin, Rue des Césars, Rue du Centre, and back to his shop in Rue des Miracles. As he hawked, we passed buildings destroyed by rain and locals stealing the iron supports. Just prior to the interview, there was an altercation where a young man was shot. Edner remained unfazed.
Edner: M’achte kabann an fe, fe a repase, matla box, blende!
A woman in Grand Rue: I have an iron to sell.
Edner: How much?
Woman: 50 gouds.
Edner: 5 gouds, because I will have to repair it.
Woman: You could offer 6 gouds.
Edner: I only have 5 gouds. Can I give you the rest on my way back? Do you trust me?
Woman: Sure.
I’m Edner Brice. I am from Pestel. I left there when I was ten years old. Now I’m sixty-one years old. I’ve been living in the city for fifty-one years now. God has been showing me how to survive. My father was a farmer, and my mother used to sell at the public market. On Saturdays, my father would slaughter a pig or a cow, and they would sell the meat at the market. When I was at my parents’ house, I completed the first grade, but when I was ten years old I moved to Port-au-Prince to be with a cousin, and then I didn’t go to school. I try to read and write. But life is tough. I have a lot of responsibilities. I have two brothers and two sisters. We sort of are in similar situations. I have other family members, but we are not close and we don’t talk.
Edner: How much is this box spring?
Man on Rue Saint-Martin: It’s 1,700 gouds.
Edner: Man, that’s too much!
Man: Give me 1,300 gouds.
Edner: I won’t sell it back if I pay that much for it. I have to make a living. I’m willing to buy three.
Man: Okay. You can give me 1,000 gouds for this one and 400 each for the other three.
Edner: Still too much money. I have to repair them. I can give you 400 for all four.
Man: I can’t. Offer 500 and it’s a deal.
Edner: Okay. I only have 400 now, but I can bring you the rest on my way back.
Man: No problem.
I was born in 1953 and Duvalier was elected in ’57. So the first president I knew was François Duvalier. We didn’t have freedom of speech. It was in 1985 when Makouts killed three students at Gonaïves.1 I was thinking that the regime really cannot be trusted if they are starting to kill students. Aristide was part of the people.2 It was hard for him. The bourgeoisie will never let someone from the people rule them. They would do all they can to put him down. I was able to land a job cleaning the streets because of them. It was okay. I could buy a big mamit of rice for some of it and have a lot more left.
My first woman left me. I didn’t have enough money to take care of her. When we became involved, I’d already started my business. She was doing housekeeping. She became pregnant. I rented a house for us. Houses weren’t so expensive back then. I rented one for a year for 60 gouds. We stayed together for eight years. I didn’t have a good job. I couldn’t provide for her the way she wanted. We had one child, a girl. She’s thirty-nine years old now. We see each other often. I have three grandchildren. They all come by every month or two.
A few years later I got married. My wife and I have had seven children together: Loudie, Ecson, Magdaline, Mackendy, Frantz, Fedner, Marie Sonie. We wouldn’t have had so many kids if we didn’t have a good life. It’s thirty-two years this year. There is no need to go looking for anyone else. We will be together until God calls us to him.
Edner: How much are those boxes?
Dealer on Rue des Césars: 300 gouds.
Edner: Is that the final price? I have to resell it. Can I offer 30 gouds?
Dealer: No. No deal. How about 100?
Edner: You won’t find a better deal. You know that. You are a businessman like me. You know that I also have to make a living. You’ll have to sell it to me at 30 gouds, so that I can sell it back at 35.
Dealer: No. Sorry.
Edner: Okay.
One of my children became sick and died at seventeen years old. He was sick for seventeen days. He died on our way to the hospital. We still went to the hospital, but when we arrived, the doctor said that he was already dead. It was a curse.3 Someone who came to see him said that he had three zombies on him. One doesn’t need to have known enemies for that to happen. Sometimes a Haitian doesn’t like good things to happen to his brother. Even though I don’t go to church anymore, I am a church person. I say, like Job, God gave, and God took away; may His name be glorified.
I SAW EVERYTHING FALLING
When the earthquake happened, I was inside, and I felt the earth shake. I saw everything falling. We ran out to an open field. We heard people crying, and saw many people dead. We spent many months sleeping on that field. I had some money saved; that’s what I used to feed my family because I couldn’t work. I couldn’t find work anywhere. People only bought water and food.
I sent my children to an orphanage at Ganthier 4.4 We didn’t have any place for them to sleep. At first the orphanage took good care of them. The only thing was the water. It was making them sick. And also, the kids weren’t going to school. So I picked them up. They cried so much when they saw me. I wanted my children to go to school. So I sent them back. They spent several months wearing regular clothes to school because their uniforms were lost during the earthquake.
We survived. Neighbor shared with neighbor. It stayed like that until I could work again. Then, everything was fine again. Well, it’s hard to walk back with all the things I buy. And there is always a chance that thieves will take my money. Thieves come out as early as 6 a.m. One time I had 500 Haitian dollars stolen. The next day, I had to take out a loan. I have to pay it back with 25 percent interest.
Excuse me, sorry to interupt, but do you know why there’s an ambulance?
There was an altercation. Two guys were shooting each other. One stole something. The thief’s dead. And the other is on the way to the hospital.
Do you think violence has decreased?
No, I don’t.
Please, go on. What are your ambitions?
I want to make more money, but this country doesn’t have opportunities. Imagine that someone only makes 3 gouds in a day. Who can live on that? But between the wife and me, we make it work. She sells food. Any food she finds. She goes to warehouses and buys whatever is there. Then she goes to the street and hawks.
Vendor on Rue du Centre: I have a mattress box.
Edner: How much is it?
Vendor: 100 gouds.
Edner: I give you 40 gouds.
Vendor: No. 80 gouds.
Edner: That is too much. I have to make a living too.
Vendor: Okay. Give me 70 and it’s yours.
Edner: I will give you 60.
Vendor: 65.
Edner: Come on! What is 5 gouds to you? It is a lot to me. I have to resell it and pay someone to carry it.
Vendor: Okay. Deal.
Edner: Thank you!
Some of my children are in public school. We don’t pay much, but we pay something. I pay 100 gouds for each of them for entrance fee. Then you have to pay for ID badges. Exam sheets, uniforms, shoes, books, et cetera This year has been tough.
If I came into money I would look for another place to stay because I can’t stay here if there is unrest. I wouldn’t want to move and go live with the masses again. I am hoping to one day live in a quiet neighborhood again.
Edner: M’achte kabann an fe, fe a repase, matla box, blende!