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April 9, 2024
Dear Daniel,
"Today, April 4th it will be one month since the Port-au-Prince International Airport closed. Tomorrow, April 5th it will be one month since the capital's main port received its last ship. Stocks of basic food will run out if nothing changes. Further disaster looms." Maarten Boute, COO of the Digicel Group
Troubles Deepen in Haiti
The quote above is from the Chief Operating Officer of Digicel Group, one of the cell phone companies in Haiti. Digicel has credibility in Haiti because they are deeply involved in charitable work, giving back to communities by building schools and helping in other ways. Mr. Boute succinctly summarizes what Haiti is facing. In the power vacuum left in the wake of the assassination of Haiti's president almost three years ago, gangs have paralyzed the country. As the quote indicates, the main airport in Port-au-Prince as well as the port were closed due to the gang violence. With Haiti dependent on importing 70% of its food supply and all of its fuel, this spells trouble.
It Affects the Whole Country
While most of the gang violence is concentrated in the south part of the country in and near Port-au-Prince, the whole country is affected. As gangs take over and maintain control of communities, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced. They migrate to any place of perceived safety, including where we work in the north. It stresses already fragile families. The cost of food and fuel has skyrocketed.
Please Keep Praying
We are grateful that the clinic staff, friends, and pastors we help are currently safe. Please remember them in your prayers. While the port in Cap-Haitien is currently open, we are not sufficiently confident to ship the x-ray system and needed medicines at this time. The situation is too volatile.
The UN and regional associations have been discussing if they should intervene, and if so, how to do so. Nothing firm has materialized at this point. We don't know what the answer to the trouble is, but God does. Ordinary people are suffering and they just want to live a quiet, normal life. Criminals have made that impossible. May God have mercy and provide a miraculous solution for Haiti that we do not have the capacity to imagine. We remain grateful for your prayers.
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