“Ayti kraze,” (Haiti is broken) our wash lady exclaimed as we talked Wednesday morning. She had started our conversation by asking me if I had felt the second earthquake. I had. It had made me jump out of bed at 6a.m. that morning. She went on to tell me that because of that large tremor people again are sleeping in the streets afraid to enter their homes.
Fear seems to be the growing sentiment these days as families continue to assess the damage. I first heard this fear in a conversation I had with Mme. Sammy and Sè Judith, two Haitian women who work in our guesthouse. The two were explaining to me that the price of 8 oz. water bags in Port Au Prince has jumped from1 gourde per bag to 5 gourdes[1] in one week. “Tout bagay ap vin pi che,” (Everything is becoming more expensive.) Mme. Sammy said. She then told me she wanted to send money to her mother to help with increased food prices, but she could find no way to get it to her.
This same bleakness has colored most of the conversations that I’ve had this week. People are telling stories about family members who found bodies of their loved ones but had no car to take them anywhere. They are talking about survivors who were injured but died because they had no transportation to hospitals. And they are talking about the problems that they could face in the future.
One of the most pressing concerns is an impending food shortage. With refugees from the capital arriving here penniless and nearly naked, people are starting to wonder how long food supplies will last. Port Au Prince was a major supplier for all the food that is sold here, and now with this source cut off and with this post-earthquake population influx, food shortage seems imminent.
Looking even further into the future, assuming they make it through a food crisis, people are wondering what will be left of Haiti. “Port Au Prince kraze. Ayti kraze,” I heard the phrase again from the mouth of a friend. She went on to tell me that the universities are gone, and many teachers died. People want to start schools again, but no one will agree. Another woman, a grieving mother, looked at her 12 year old daughter and said she couldn’t send her to Port Au Prince to study. Not after losing 3 children there.
To be honest, it’s hard to disagree with the people when they say that Haiti is broken and hard to speak hope in light of so much devastation. But even in the face of these obstacles, I can’t help but wonder how our God of restoration will come through for this country.
Below is a list of things I asked my prayer partners to pray for today. Thanks so much for what you’re doing!
Justine for the Haiti team
1) Pray for families who lost loved ones in the earthquake. So many here are grieving.
2) Pray for the survivors who are moving out of Port Au Prince and into different places all over the country. Many of these people left the capital with nothing. (no food, no clothes, nothing)
3) Pray for the communities (like mine) who are absorbing the Port Au Prince refugees. Population increases will cause serious food problems in the coming weeks (especially since PAP was such a center for commerce).
4) Pray for hope and a future for Haiti. Many are feeling very discouraged b/c the country’s Universities, government, and economic hub have been destroyed.
5) Pray that the Aid that is coming in won’t just be short-term but will lead to long-term development projects that were overdue here even before the earthquake.
6) Pray for remaining missionaries here. That God would guide us as we take on new roles, that He’d give us words to encourage the hopeless around us, and that’d He’d give us wisdom to channel any resources we have to those with the most urgent needs.
[1] Gourdes are the Haitian currency. It takes about 40 gourdes to make 1 dollar US.
