Haitians Endure Immense Suffering in Wake of 7.2 Earthquake

In our family devotion every night, we have been reading through the Bible verse by verse, book by book, and we are now reading through Job. The first impression that I have of the book of Job is that it is beautiful poetry. There are so many verses that one would be so comfortable quoting in a letter or in a speech, or even in everyday conversations. However, when you look deeper at the essence of the book, you start seeing a lot of suffering on Job’s part. You can almost hear the sound of suffering, or envision with contempt the horrible image of pain in such passages like: “When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise?’ But the night is long, and I am full of tossing till the dawn. My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt; my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh.” (Job 7: 4-5).

These are very difficult images to contemplate, yet this was the life experience of Job. On the other hand, in almost comparable ways, Haiti is a very beautifully designed island with an unusually beautiful shape, adorned with attractive beaches, and a people known for its courage and resilience. Haiti was labeled as the pearl of the Antilles, and it was the most profitable of the French colonies. For me this is comparable to the poetry of Job. Yet, just like Job, it is like suffering has never left this land. Oppression, political greed and selfishness, instability, insecurity, and natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes have left the people with a constant lack in almost everything.

The past three years have been particularly challenging for the people of Haiti, and as we are ministering the gospel of Jesus Christ to them, we found ourselves in the forefront of all the ups and downs of it.

The latest on the earthquake’s toll

As you know, Haiti was hit by a devastating 7.2 earthquake that knocked the southern coast to its knees with expansive destruction, loss of life, and injuries. As of this writing, the ever-increasing number of deaths in the earthquake stands now at 2,189, and 12,268 injured so far. There have been 30,122 houses destroyed, and 42,737 damaged. In addition, 127 schools, 60 churches, and 25 hospitals and medical clinics are either destroyed or damaged. About 40% of the population in the affected areas (about 650,000 people) are still in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

The situation remains very complicated. The hospitals in the region that are still standing are overwhelmed by the latest events. Some people died because of lack of care after being injured.

Sadly, the situation in Haiti was already very delicate with kidnappings, lots of gang activity limiting access to many different places both in the capital and the rest of the country, and political instability for the past three years which culminated in the assassination of the president over a month ago. The earthquake has only exacerbated an already vulnerable situation.

Haiti desperately needs your help. Please consider a gift to the MTW Compassion Fund to help with relief efforts.