I woke up at 4:30 this morning to the ground rumbling. At first I felt dizzy and disoriented but quickly realized that the building was shaking. I jumped out of my sleeping area and yelled for everyone to wake up! By the time we had all run outside of the building, the shaking had stopped. We had just experienced an earthquake. There are more aid workers sleeping upstairs on the second floor of the building and it was scary to think that if this earthquake had caused the building to collapse, we would never have had a chance to warn them. My brother stumbled out 10 seconds later with white powder on his head. He woke up to a piece of the ceiling dropping on his face. He was amused about it, and we were so relieved that we all laughed at him. But our smiles turned solemn as we could start hearing commotion in the nearby neighborhoods.
I could hear frantic conversations and even heard a woman screaming to someone. The shaking had not been violent, but we all started getting calls from other aid/humanitarian workers we had befriended as they checked on our status and safety. We got reports that we were hit with a 4.7 magnitude earthquake, and the epicenter was about 15 miles away. I can’t imagine how much shaking occurred in January if this was only a 4.7!
We all discussed the possible reversal of the work we had done with the children and the real possibility that these children will take ‘two steps back’ on their healing journey.
We did not go into Citi Soleil today because we wanted to focus on the children at the orphanage. They showed signs that they were afraid to go inside the building and everyone now expected aftershocks.
Later in the day, near noon, Director Sam Sook ran out to tell us that two of ‘her children’ had been shot in crossfire in Citi Soleil in the morning. One little boy is 6 and one is 8. The 6 year old was shot in the shoulder and the 8 year old in the neck. Both are at an NGO hospital in critical condition but had a chance for survival. The two boys are being cared for by top Canadian surgeons who are volunteering in Haiti. Knowing that makes you feel more hopeful, but when you actually see that they are in a medical tent – a tent! – they look so vulnerable.
We were told that they were caught in crossfire between a group of men running around and looting and a man who started shooting at them because he was trying to protect his belongings. Keep in mind that they are living in shacks in Citi Soleil. I think the scary thing is when you have a large population in desperate time with very little to lose. These men have not been caught, and local police were notified, but nothing has been done. The sad thing is that the locals know these boys.
I had come to know these two boys during our time here, and these two were part of the next 90 children that were going to be accepted into the orphanage once the building was complete.
I couldn’t get my heart to stop racing. I had so many questions. But mostly, why these two when they are so close to a dramatically different life?
I have mentioned in a previous blog post how dangerous Citi Soleil is – local law enforcement do not venture into the area, and UN personnel drive through with guns drawn. I have photos of the bullet holes in the buildings. But the children we work with and know inside Citi Soleil are NO DIFFERENT than the kids at an American school. They want to play. They want to run and laugh. They want to be comforted and loved. Today the atmosphere was a little more tense. I saw people walking around with bats like this:
I often wonder whether, if the earthquake had not struck and there were no NGO hospitals set up all over the place, these children would have had a chance for survival. I wonder if it would have been a different outcome if our team had gone into Citi Soleil as originally planned. If they survive, I wonder what kind of life they will lead. They will need rehabilitation, and as they are orphans, I wonder what will happen to them.
When I think about them I feel like my heart stops. I feel so helpless and angry. Dear God, why is this happening to them? What can we do to stop this? I have never begged from my heart so much as today. As I’m writing this, I took a moment to look through all of my photos for images of them. It breaks my heart because, just three days ago, they were laughing and playing.
It has been a surreal day.
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