Soldiers use delicate touch in Haiti patrols

'Whatever works, use it'
Staff Sgt. Christopher Bartholme dances in Haiti

Soldiers use delicate touch in Haiti patrols
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Pfc. Jean-Louis Smith knows how to change frowns into smiles, even in a place where that’s not easy.
By Joe Gould - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Mar 8, 2010 5:49:00 EST
A seemingly endless line of edgy, scowling faces awaited him at a distribution point near a tent city in Port-au-Prince, where the people were waiting for shelter tarps.

Smith, a Haitian-American soldier, flicked on a portable loudspeaker and reggae star Sean Paul’s hit “Temperature” washed over the crowd, turning part of the queue into a virtual conga line of grins, tapping feet and nodding heads. A native of Port-au-Prince and a Creole speaker, Smith spoke to the crowd in Creole, making calming announcements and helping Haitians forget their misery with music — at least for a while.
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