February 9, 2015 Gas Protests

It is another "snow day" here in Haiti. There are gas strikes going on again here in Haiti for Monday and Tuesday of this week demanding that the government reduce gas prices to 2 US$ per gallon. Schools throughout the city are closed. The teachers told the students if the roads were open we would have school today but this morning our road was blocked first with burning tires and then a group of people standing on the sidelines waiting for any vehicles to pass by so that they could throw rocks and bottles at. They were looking for big boulders and objects to completely block the road but none were found. A convoy of policemen riding on 8 motorcycles, with 2 policemen on each motorcycle came up to our street corner with their weapons and wearing helmets and ski masks. They got off and now are keeping watch on our street. Every Monday morning a few families who have malnourished children come to our house for food to help them get through the week. This morning I was surprised to see the parents there. They had walked on foot to our house. One lady who is paralyzed on one side of her body walked with the help of a crutch. They weren't going to let a gas strike stop them from getting help for their children. Please keep Haiti in prayer. Just as I finished writing this shooting has now started on our corner. Probably police shooting in the air. When we went out to see if anyone had been shot the people told us that some people on a roof top were throwing rocks at the police and the police responded by firing their weapons in the air. These photos are of our street corner.