“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
Hi! “Manifestation” (protesting) is a common activity here in Port-au-Prince lately and we have to keep an eye out when going about our work. Last Monday, when Amos went downtown to look for a signal light cover for Kimosabee he had to turn back in the Cathedral area and head for home. Around 1,000 people were demonstrating against the government in the downtown area. Amidst the demonstrators were people who were robbing others of watches, money and cell phones. Police shot in the air and launched tear gas to control the crowd. A bullet injured one person.
Saturday there were groups of people “manifesting” for the return of J. C. Duvalier, a former dictator. In our area this week we saw spray painted signs asking for the return of Duvalier.
On Monday the students at the state university Ethnology department were protesting and the UN soldiers from Brazil went onto the university grounds to arrest a student. Chaos ensued and students and their supporters burned tires, threw rocks at windshields of passing motorists and burned a state vehicle. Students promise to continue protesting until their colleague is released.
Today there was an anti-government protest on the streets near the Palais Nationale. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to control the crowd. We needed to do some paperwork for a medical visa downtown and talked with a policeman about the best route to take. We went over Bicentenaire along the coast to access the downtown area. It worked out well and Kimosabee was in no danger of being smashed and burned! Pray that the demonstrations don’t escalate. There are a lot of refugees (especially children) in camps near the palace and they are being exposed to tear gas, shooting and agitated protesters.
Gang activity is increasing as well. In Cite Soleil on Sunday afternoon while we were on the wharf we saw a UN Brazilian tank drive up the road and then turn around. Some soldiers got out and were behind a wall and peeking up the road from a sheltered position. We didn’t know what they were up to. Today we found out that there was a gang disagreement between the Linteau 2 and Ti-Ayiti part of Cite Soleil on Saturday. Ti-Ayiti attacked Linteau 2. Shooting occurred and a 9-year-old child was killed. Ti-Ayiti is the area where the Cite Soleil “Beach” is. The UN was keeping a closer watch in the area. Pray for peace.
Things have been busy here at Coram Deo. The dormitory is now finished parging. Now we are going to put in ceramic tiles on the floor and install the electricity. We hope to have a team come in to construct bunk beds for the dorm in the near future. The outside of the house is now being worked on to finish repairing all the earthquake cracks. The mayor’s inspectors came by a few weeks ago to evaluate the house. We got a “yellow” verdict painted on our front wall, which means the house is sturdy, but needs repairing. Marlene, Teresa, Teresa, Tanya and my father are coming to Haiti tomorrow to help out with painting and organizing things. Pray for traveling mercies and good health for them. Exam week has started at the schools, which are open around the city. The students are writing their 3rd controle exams this week. We will issue report cards next week.
Mission of T.E.A.R.S came to make a visit to Haiti from May 21st to May 24th. They were joined by Curtis and Jerry who organized an earthquake relief fundraiser for Mission of T.E.A.R.S. in Sudbury. The response by the people of Sudbury was amazing! We give the Lord thanks for all those who are supporting the work here in Haiti.
Jim and Kim Dewar came to Haiti with a couple of people who helped to organize a donation drive on Prince Edward Island in Canada. 4 containers of food, clothing, medical supplies and other things were sent to Haiti. We were blessed to fill Kimosabee 5 times with some of these donations! Now my sister’s team will help in organizing and distributing to people/organizations in our area. We give the Lord thanks for this support.
Glenda Phillips and her medical team held 2 clinics here at Coram Deo on May 17th and 19th. It was great to see people getting medical care. We even had a surprise visitor come for medical care. “Frank” (name changed to protect the guilty) of the Judas Gang came up to me and I didn’t even know it was him. He told me about some problems he was having. His hair was nicely cut and he was dressed neatly. He showed me his id card for a program he was taking in Santo Domingo. He had no money for school and couldn’t continue on with his education there anymore. This “Frank” was one of the people who broke into my home a few years ago together with other members of the Judas gang. We had to deal with them 5 times with their break-ins. Looks like crime is not paying right now and he is looking for help. Maybe he has reformed himself now! Either that or he wanted me to know he was back in the area. I think that we had better not waste too much time in rebuilding the back wall that is leaning against our neighbors’ house. There is an opening that people can walk through. We don’t want to lead “Frank” into temptation! One day all of our earthquake repairs will be done!
A plastic surgery team came to Haiti from May 21st to May 24th. Project Medishare hosted the surgeries. Jean Joseph the 46-year-old man with a cleft lip no longer has one anymore as he was one of the patients who received a surgery. Yvenson Joseph, an 18-month-old boy also received a surgery for a cleft palate. Pray for healing mercies for these patients. It’s great to see changed faces!
One of the medical visas that we are working on is for Darline Bertil. She is the young woman who lost both hands and part of her arms in the earthquake. She was working in the Hotel Montana when the earthquake hit. She was trapped for 5 days in the rubble before being rescued and then taken to the USNS Comfort hospital ship. She then was transferred to the tent hospital set up on the Love a Child compound in Fond Parisien. A hospital in the United States is going to equip her with electronic prosthetic arms. She has her passport already but her mother is going to accompany her and she lost her paperwork when her house collapsed. We went to the DGI and Archives to replace the paperwork and the directors of both departments pulled strings to issue them to us quickly. The director of the Archives personally transported the paper to the area where we picked it up. It is good to see Haitians helping Haitians. We apply for the passport on Thursday and then apply for the visa. Pray that a medical visa be granted for both Darline and her mother.
That’s all the news for today. Have a good week!
Karen Bultje, Coram Deo
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