Haiti devastated by a deadly earthquake
Please pray for its suffering people
"...we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but
the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings
which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows
what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession
for the saints according to the will of God." Romans 8:26-27
Global Aid Is No Relief
for Small Haitian Businesses:
"Business for Ilia Alsene, one of Haiti's ubiquitous...merchants who sell
food and beverages at curbside stalls here, is a lot worse since the country's
devastating earthquake.... 'I have fewer customers now because they are
handing out free food down the street,' says the 52-year-old....
"... the aid is having the unintended
consequence of making life harder for many businesses here, because of competition
from free goods brought in by relief agencies. The damage to Haitian companies
is making it harder for them to get back on their feet and create the
jobs the country needs for a lasting recovery.... Alex Zamor's drinking-water
factory is operating again at near full capacity after suffering damage
from the earthquake. But he still hasn't rehired 200 employees at
the factory because sales are so weak."
Tension among Haiti's religions
grows after quake:
"Christian and Voodoo leaders put aside their differences for a moment
Friday, joining hands under a canopy of tropical trees.... The catastrophe
has driven a wedge between Haiti's religions as Christian groups make inroads
among shaken Voodoo followers.....
"
'People
see rice being distributed in front of churches and those homeless now needing
papers are being offered baptism certificates that can act as identity documents,'
[said] Voodoo priest Max Beauvoir.... 'The horrible thing though is that
by rejecting Voodoo these people are rejecting their ancestors and history.
Voodoo is the soul of the Haitian people. Without it, the people are
lost.'...
"
Christians
have spearheaded international disaster relief in Haiti and the rest of
the developing world for decades."
See
Spiritual Warfare
Americans Jailed in Haiti Send
Disturbing Message:
"Eight of the 10 U.S. Baptist missionaries charged with child kidnapping
in Haiti are pleading for help in a letter one of them slipped to a journalist
through prison bars. 'We fear for our lives Here in Haiti,' said the letter,
which was signed by everyone in the Idaho church group except spokeswoman
Laura Silsby, and her close aide, Charisa Coulter.... 'Please you must listen.
We have No Way to Call. Court will NOT let us have a say with anything about
trust for US. We only came as volunteers. We had NOTHING to do with any
documents and have been lied to.'
"
An
investigating judge charged the Americans on Thursday with kidnapping for
trying to take 33 children across the border into the Dominican Republic
on Jan. 29 without documentation The Baptist group, most of whose members
are from two Idaho churches, had said they were rescuing abandoned children
and orphans..." See
Spiritual Warfare
Haitian [Prime Minister]: Americans
'Knew What They Were Doing Was Wrong':
"...his country is open to having the Americans tried in the United States....
He says a judicial system needs to determine whether the Americans were
acting in good faith — as they claim — or are child traffickers....
"...the Americans
are crammed in a small room at at Haiti's judicial police headquarters...
[and] have not been given adequate medical care and food. Meanwhile the
Americans say they were just trying to do the right thing, applying Christian
principles to save Haitian children."
Please continue to pray
Many Haitians want U.S.
to ‘take over’:
"...even as food-aid workers enjoyed their most successful day since
the Jan. 12 earthquake, the increasingly prominent role of U.S.
troops and civilians in the capital is creating high expectations
that the Obama administration is struggling to contain. The needs
are extraordinary, and the common refrain is that the Americans
will provide. 'I want the Americans to take over the country. The
Haitian government can't do anything for us,' said Jean-Louis Geffrard,
a laborer who lives under a tarp in the crowded square. 'When we
tell the government we're hungry, the government says, 'We're hungry,
too.'
"Added
Canga Matthieu, a medical student... 'The American government should
take care of us.' 'They're well organized. The United States is
the richest country in the world, and they can help.'"
Haitian [Prime Minister]:
Americans 'Knew What They Were Doing Was Wrong':
"...his country is open to having the Americans tried in the
United States.... He says a judicial system needs to determine
whether the Americans were acting in good faith — as they claim
— or are child traffickers....
"...the
Americans are crammed in a small room at at Haiti's judicial police
headquarters... [and] have not been given adequate medical care
and food. Meanwhile the Americans say they were just trying to do
the right thing, applying Christian principles to save Haitian
children.
"Prime
Minister Max Bellerive... was outraged by the group's 'illegal trafficking
of children' in a country long afflicted by the scourge and by foreign
meddling.... But the hard reality...is that some parents
openly attest to their willingness to part with their children if
it will mean a better life. It was a sentiment expressed by
all but one of some 20 Haitian parents interviewed at a tent camp...
'Some parents I know have already given their children to foreigners,'
said Adonis Helman, 44. 'I've been thinking how I will choose which
one I may give — probably my youngest.'....
"'There are many who come here with religious ideas that belong
more in the time of the inquisition,' said Max Beauvoir, head
of Haiti's Voodoo Priest's Association, which represents
thousands of priests and priestesses. 'These types of people
believe they need to save our souls and our bodies from ourselves.
We need compassion, not proselytizing....' Two-thirds of
Haiti's 9 million are said to practice Voodoo, a melange of
beliefs from parts of west Africa and Catholicism.
"Many religious groups run legitimate adoption agencies and orphanages
in Haiti. Some of the children in them aren't actually orphans,
but have been left by relatives who can't afford their care....
'I see all these kids running around and I can't do anything for
them,' said Joseph Emmanuel Amazon, 53, a laborer who struggles
to support seven kids. 'They would be better off in another country....'
"Silsby [among the concerned Baptist who were arrested] told the
AP that she... didn't think she needed Haitian permission to take
them out of the country. She said they only had the best of intentions
and paid no money for the children.... 'Child trafficking "is exactly
what we are trying to combat,' Silsby said....
"Henry, the senior pastor, said the 500-member church wanted to
help '"because we believe that Christ has asked us to take the gospel
of Jesus Christ to the whole world...' He said church members had
given several thousand dollars to the mission."
See
Please continue to
pray for God's protection
Desperate Haitians offer
children for good homes in America:
"Child abductions were already a problem in Haiti even before the
earthquake. Up to one million children are now thought to be at
risk. Haitian prime minister Jean-Max Bellerive said that since
the disaster he had received reports of children being trafficked,
some for their organs.... 'We have concerns about traffickers, we
have concerns about paedophiles."
Haiti: Obama's Katrina:
"On Wednesday, the day after the quake, we organized a relief team
in cooperation with the U.S. State Department and Partners in Health
(a Boston-based humanitarian organization) to provide emergency
orthopedic and surgical care. We wanted to reach the local hospitals
in Haiti immediately—but were only allowed by the U.S. military
controlling the local airport to land in Port-au-Prince Saturday
night. We were among the first groups there. This delay proved
tragic. Upon our arrival at the Haiti Community Hospital we
found scores of patients with pus dripping out of open fractures
and crush injuries. Some wounds were already infested with maggots.
"Approximately one-third
of the victims were children. Most of the patients already had life-threatening
infections, and all were dehydrated. Many had been waiting in the
hospital compound for days without water, antibiotics or even
pain medicine. The hospital smelled of infected, rotting limbs.
Our team spent the next 60 plus hours performing a variety of operations
including orthopedic repairs to broken limbs and amputations. Sadly,
a limb amputation in an underdeveloped country may be a death sentence.
"Hindering the effort
was an absence of ventilators, anesthetic machines, and oxygen tanks.
There was no blood bank or laboratory, and a dearth of surgical
instruments. Due to the lack of resources, we know many patients
may still succumb to infection and other postoperative complications....
"Our
operation received virtually no support from any branch of the
U.S. government.... As we ran out of various supplies we had
no means to acquire more. There was no way to transfer patients
we were poorly equipped to manage (such as a critically ill newborn
with respiratory distress) to a facility where they would get better
care. We were heartbroken having to tell patients suffering incredible
pain we could not perform their surgery for at least a day. Even
after hearing gunshots outside the hospital, we had no protection
for ourselves or our belongings—though we observed that a Jamaican
medical team came with armed guards....
"Later,
as we were leaving Haiti, we were appalled to see warehouse-size
quantities of unused medicines, food and other supplies at the airport,
surrounded by hundreds of U.S. and international soldiers standing
around aimlessly. ....Untold numbers are dying of untreated,
preventable infections."
Video:
Haiti earthquake survivor who was trapped for five days in a kneeling
position:
"We were praying... talking... giving each other
strength." She was rescued 5 days after the quake. So was the little
girl near her.
Just what Haiti needs:
solar-powered Bibles and a shedload of Scientologists
[Apparently written from a humanist perspective]: "With tens of
thousands of Port-au-Prince residents living outdoors because their
homes have collapsed or they fear aftershocks from last week’s quake,
the audio Bible can bring them: 'Hope and comfort that comes from
knowing God has not forgotten them through this tragedy.'...
"Meanwhile [John] Travolta
has said that he hopes his [Scientology] mission will inspire
others.... When the Indian Ocean tsunami struck in 2005, Scientologist
Randy Myers went to India to help victims... by: 'Employing the
techniques he has learned from Scientology. ...he is helping them
heal themselves, eradicating pain waves and allowing energy
waves to flow, clearing pathways for nerves to run errands of
anatomical necessity, liberating the spirit to align with the body
as described in the confident prose of the late L Ron Hubbard, founder
of Scientology and the applied practices known as Dianetics."
International rescue
teams begin Haiti pullout ~ Focus shifts to preventing disease as
surgeons report 10-day backlogs:
"'Some victims are already dying of sepsis.... The next health risk
could include outbreaks of diarrhea, respiratory tract infections
and other diseases among hundreds of thousands of Haitians living
in overcrowded camps with poor or nonexistent sanitation,' said
Dr. Greg Elder....
"Haitian government figures relayed by the European Commission put
the death toll at 200,000, with 80,000 buried in mass graves. The
commission now estimates 2 million homeless, up from 1.5 million,
and says 250,000 are in need of urgent aid....
"In the sparsely populated wasteland of Titanyen, north of Port-au-Prince,
burial workers said the macabre task of handling the seemingly never-ending
flow of bodies was traumatizing. 'I have seen so many children,
so many children. I cannot sleep at night and, if I do, it is a
constant nightmare,' said Foultone Fequiert, 38, his face covered
with a T-shirt against the overwhelming stench."
Haiti's Avoidable Death Toll:
"Corruption is rampant.... Customs officers often demand bribes
to clear shipments.... Getting a business license takes about five
times longer than the world average...over three years.
Crime and lawlessness are rampant....
'There are no 'safe' areas.… Kidnapping, death threats, murders,
drug-related shootouts, armed robberies, home break-ins and car-jacking
are common....' "Haitian President
Rene Preval is not enthusiastic about free markets; his heroes are
none other than the hemisphere's two brutal communist tyrants: Venezuela's
Hugo Chavez and Cuba's Fidel Castro."
Haiti's man-made disasters:
"Though the earthquake itself was powerful, its impact was multiplied
many, many times by the weakness of civil society and the absence
of the rule of law in Haiti.... Satellite photos of Hispaniola,
the island split between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, show
green forests on the Dominican side and bare, deforested hills on
the Haitian side. Mudslides and collapsing houses were routine in
Haiti even before this disaster. Laws designed to prevent erosion,
and building codes designed to prevent criminally shoddy construction,
were ignored. The rickety slums of Port-au-Prince were constructed
in ravines and on steep, unstable hills. When they collapsed, they
collapsed completely....
"Parliament, churches, hospitals and government offices no longer
exist. Haiti's archbishop is dead. The head of the U.N. mission
is dead. There is a real possibility that violent gangs will emerge
to take the place of leadership, to control food supplies, to loot
what remains to be looted.
...outside expertise
will be unacceptable to many Haitians, who will see it as a colonial
imposition, unwarranted interference in local affairs and cultural
imperialism..."
Haiti Chaos Hampers
Aid Effort, Death Toll Soars:
"Relief workers say pockets of violence in Haiti's devastated capital
are hindering a slow increase in much-needed aid delivery, and some
residents have banded together to protect the few possessions they
have left. As thousands of others head to the countryside, people
in one hillside Port-au-Prince district blocked off access to their
street with cars and asked local young men to patrol for looters.
'We never count on the government here," said Tatony Vieux, 29.
'Never.'...
...the scope of catastrophe
had widened dramatically. The latest casualty report, from the European
Commission citing Haitian government figures, doubled previous
estimates of the dead to approximately 200,000, with some 70,000
bodies recovered and trucked off to mass graves. The port remains
blocked. [The quake destroyed much of it] Distribution of food,
water and supplies from the city's lone airport to the needy are
increasing but still remained a work in progress, frustrating many
survivors who sleep in the streets and outdoor camps of tens of
thousands.
"European Commission
analysts estimate 250,000 were injured and 1.5 million were made
homeless.... In the sprawling Cite Soleil slum, gangsters are reassuming
control after escaping from the city's notorious main penitentiary
and police urge citizens to take justice into their own hands."
Haitian Violence Increasing
Amidst Death and Suffering:
"Some incidents of violence have hindered rescue workers assisting
earthquake victims.... Providing humanitarian aid requires a safe
and secure environment, said Lieutenant General Ken Keen of the
U.S. Southern Command."
U.S. now in control
of Haiti:
"U.S. State Department sources tell WND that Washington has taken
de-facto control of earthquake-ravaged Haiti. 'USAID has now taken
control [of Haiti]' .... 'We [the U.S.] are the only ones who can
get things done.' ...Biden told reporters... that Haiti is a nation
'that has totally collapsed.'"
Haiti's voodoo regime:
"Port-au-Prince ruling class treats people like sacrificial animals....
The death toll in Haiti is climbing in the aftermath of the magnitude
7 earthquake that hit the Caribbean nation Tuesday. Much of the
carnage could have been avoided.
"One can be forgiven
for assuming that a country situated next to a geological fault
line and in the middle of hurricane alley would have a well-developed
set of building codes, but safety has never been a hallmark - or
even an afterthought - of Haitian architecture....
"Haiti ranked
12th on Foreign Policy magazine's 2009 Failed States Index and came
in 10th on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index.
The country has been given more than $2 billion in development
aid in the past two decades, but this fortune has largely
been diverted to underwrite the lifestyles of the ruling class.
"The infrastructure
that developed societies require to function - unglamorous things
like water and sewage systems, electrical infrastructure, roads
and bridges, and sanitation systems - need planning, maintenance
and - above all - a government that cares about and is responsive
to the basic needs of the people. But as Denis Paradis, parliamentary
secretary for the Canadian foreign affairs minister, said after
a visit to Haiti in 2001: 'If the Canadians treated their animals
the way the Haitian authorities treat their citizens, they would
be put in prison.'"
Gangs Armed With Machetes
Loot Port-Au-Prince:
"It looked like a war zone. Some of the buildings were on fire.
Smoke was everywhere and there were bodies in the streets, many
just quake victims lying where they were when the magnitude 7.0
blast hit. What made the situation that much more tense was sightings
of gangs of young men with machetes.... Fights between gangs
were seen on the streets. Machetes were flailing.... There was no
sign of police or any kind of law and order.... And with no running
water or electricity, people are getting hungry and thirsty."
Report from Heart of
God in Haiti:
David and Julie Young, the US Directors of Heart of God in Haiti,
are in constant contact with the team in Haiti. Here is the latest
news:
"Pastor Dicksent... reported 160 children survived, and 40 children
from the school were killed in the earthquake. Specific details
are still sketchy but Dicksent said all ten of the teachers
have made it through! The school building is completely destroyed.
... The remaining 160 students' families are huddled in a tent
in an open field away from the destroyed buildings and homes....
Dicksent is in very rough shape (as you can well imagine) but
covets your continued prayers."
Video:
Haiti Earthquake...
sad and disturbing
~ Video
with map of Haiti:
Seisme Haiti
"Haiti Devastated
by Quake; Thousands of Homes Destroyed" (Fox
News):
Haitians piled
bodies along the devastated streets of their capital Wednesday
after the strongest earthquake hit the poor Caribbean nation
in more than 200 years crushed thousands of structures, from
schools and shacks to the National Palace and the U.N. peacekeeping
headquarters. Untold numbers were still trapped....
Aftershocks rattled
the city of 2 million people as women covered in dust clawed
out of debris, wailing. Stunned people wandered the streets
holding hands. Thousands
gathered in public squares singing hymns.
People pulled bodies
from collapsed homes, covering them with sheets by the side
of the road. Passersby lifted the sheets to see if a loved one
was underneath. Outside a crumbled building the bodies of five
children and three adults lay in a pile....
"The hospitals
cannot handle all these victims," Dr. Louis-Gerard Gilles, a
former senator, said as he helped survivors. "Haiti
needs to pray. We all need to pray together."
Even relatively
wealthy neighborhoods were devastated. An Associated Press videographer
saw a wrecked hospital where people screamed for help in Petionville,
a hillside district that is home to many diplomats and wealthy
Haitians as well as the poor.
"A school near
here collapsed totally," Petionville resident Ken Michel said
Wednesday after surveying the damage. "We don't know if there
were any children inside." He said many seemingly sturdy homes
nearby were split apart.
U.N. peacekeepers,
many of whom are from Brazil, were distracted from aid efforts
by their own tragedy: Many spent the night hunting for survivors
in the ruins of their headquarters.
"It would appear
that everyone who was in the building, including my friend Hedi
Annabi, the United Nations' Secretary General's special envoy,
and everyone with him and around him, are dead," French Foreign
Minister Bernard Kouchner said Wednesday.
Much of the National
Palace pancaked on itself, but Haiti's ambassador to Mexico,
Robert Manuel, said President Rene Preval and his wife survived
the earthquake. He had no details.
The quake struck
at 4:53 p.m., centered 10 miles (15 kilometers) west of Port-au-Prince
at a depth of only 5 miles (8 kilometers), the U.S. Geological
Survey said. USGS geophysicist Kristin Marano called it the
strongest earthquake since 1770 in what is now Haiti.
Most of Haiti's
9 million people are desperately poor, and after years of political
instability the country has no real construction standards.
In November 2008, following the collapse of a school in Petionville,
the mayor of Port-au-Prince estimated about 60 percent of buildings
were shoddily built and unsafe in normal circumstances.
“... we were
burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired
even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves,
that we should not trust in ourselves but in God..."
2 Corinthians
1:8-9
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