Haiti has had more than its fair share of challenges and natural disasters. Even so, because it is located in close proximity to the United States, missionaries and church groups have been able to visit regularly to offer humanitarian aid and the Gospel to the country’s impoverished residents.
Unfortunately, the ongoing riots over government efforts to raise fuel prices have not only resulted in a great deal of violence but also posed new challenges for Christian missionaries and other whose members were visiting Haiti at the time violence broke out. In fact, some are still stranded on the island as airlines have canceled flights out of Haiti for the time being.
The trouble began earlier this month when the Haitian government announced that would raise fuel prices in order to comply with conditions set down by the International Monetary Fund. The proposed fuel hike would have resulted in gas, diesel and fuel prices rising from thirty-eight to more than fifty percent, a harsh blow to a population that does not have excess money on hand to cover increased fuel costs.
As Mark Weisbrot, the co-director for the Center for Economic and Policy Research noted, the decision is cruel given the fact that Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. The IMF, on the other hand, felt that Haiti should not be spending money on fuel subsidies rather than other important expenses such as education and healthcare.
It did not take long after the decision was made for full-scale riots to begin. Gunfire erupted throughout the island and several people were killed as a result. Foreign hotels and businesses owned by upper-class Haitians were vandalized while police stations were set on fire. Protestors blocked roads, making it impossible for people to travel.
As a result, the United States government advised all its citizens on the island to shelter in place. As the situation deteriorated, airlines canceled flights out of the island nation, making it impossible for stranded foreigners to leave even if they were able to safely reach the airport.
In an effort to stem the violent uprisings Haiti’s president announced that the government will not revoke fuel subsidies after all and the IMF has agreed to work out an alternative deal with the Haitian government; even so, the protests have not entirely died down.
Missionaries and mission group members who were visiting the island at the time faced a number of difficulties as a result of the unrest. A dozen volunteers from North Albemarle Baptist Church in North Carolina were forced to take refuge inside an orphanage. The lead pastor from the church has reported that while the volunteers are fine for the time being, the unrest has resulted in the church being unable to wire the money that the group in Haiti will need for water, food and gas for the generator.
Another church group from Charleston, South Carolina, faced danger as multiple gunshots erupted not far from where they were sheltering.
Thankfully, in the last couple of days a number of Christian mission workers have been able to return stateside. A group of volunteers from Brevard, Florida were able to leave Haiti even though the lack of airline seats required that they take separate flights out instead of flying out as a group.
A group of missionary students from Glade Church in Nashville, Tennessee, were able to arrange for a helicopter to transport them to the airport safely so that they could board a flight out.
While the government’s decision to allow fuel subsidies to continue has helped the violence to abate somewhat, it does not on its own guarantee an end to the unrest and a return to normal life for Haiti’s many poor citizens.
While the elimination of subsidies is viewed as being the trigger for the unrest, the country is grappling with serious problems stemming from decades of corruption, poverty, lack of education and extreme debt going back to the time when the nation first became independent.
Another trigger in the form of a revised IMF agreement that has a negative impact on Haiti’s poor could result in yet another revolt just as intense or even more intense than the one that is still in progress.
Clearly the country needs not only continued help and practical assistance from believers who are willing and able to serve there but also prayers that the situation will stabilize and permanent solutions will be found to enable Haiti’s poor to have their basic needs met on an ongoing basis.
~ Christian Patriot Daily
