Journal 114
November 2004
Many Want to Help
This picture is only in our mind’s
eye
It would be unsafe to try to get it on film
Men in army fatigues
frequently with black masks
heavily armed
patrol the city and countryside.
They wear no insignia
and no one knows to what authority they answer.
We saw them frisking some students
Friday on our way to work
We saw them stopping and checking cars Sunday on our
way to church
It is easy to feel overwhelmed by some of the problems
facing Haiti these days. 25 – 29 October has been
a particularly difficult week.
• Monday, 25 October, about 150 of the 700 children
enrolled at College Verena came to school. After being
closed for 3 weeks this was a possible step toward normalcy.
• Unfortunately, on Tuesday, 26 October, a small
group of armed men came to the school and advised the
director that since the community had called a strike
it was necessary for the school to close. The children
were sent home. No threats were made at DHQ or the clinic,
but for the safety of the employees it was advisable
to close until Friday as well.
One of the officers explained to one of the gangs that
keeping children out of school is like stabbing yourself
with a knife in hopes that some one is injured. The
gang admitted their plan was only hurting the community
but in desperation they said, we have nothing else to
do.
Unfortunately, desperate people resort to desperate
measures because no one is listening to those who live
in the slums.
Friday, 29 October, the office reopened, the neighborhood
was quiet and people were trying to get on with life.
Two things happened that left a positive impact on a
difficult week.
• We have ongoing discussions with some of the
gang leaders in the community. Many of them attended
The Salvation Army school and some send their children
now. They plead, we don’t want handouts we want
jobs. We are developing a project to train a few of
these young men to learn a trade. One said, I’d
like to be a mechanic. It only takes a small spark to
feel some sense of hope about the future. They are quick
to say The Salvation Army is here to help the people
- we must protect them.
Neighborhood Discussion
• Captain Souvenie Simeon delivered a letter
with $1000 US that had been collected from Salvationists
in French Guiana churches, where she and her husband
are the corps officers. The Simeon’s and many
of the soldiers are Haitian and wanted to help their
friends and family suffering in Haiti.
Yes, things continue to deteriorate with no end in
sight, However, we are strengthened by the simple fact
that there are many who want to help.
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