Hope Rising
Michelle OetmanTuesday, February 16, 2010
“I haven’t had any time to cry,” the young teen confided. “Until now. Today, I will cry.”
For many Haitians caught in the trauma of the 7.0 earthquake, which struck on January 12, it has taken weeks for the flood of emotions to really come out. Overnight, Haiti became a nation described as a place, “where everyone has lost someone.” With overwhelming destruction all around them, and the weighty loss of homes, jobs, family and friends within them, it seems that only their determination and a drive for survival kept them going. February 12, the one-month anniversary of the earthquake, was Haiti's National Day of Mourning, a day fashioned by the Haitian government as an opportunity for the nation to grieve and begin to heal.
The news carried reports that Haitian President Rene Preval wept during the national memorial service, despite his black-clad wife’s attempts to console him. “The pain is too heavy-words cannot describe it,” Preval stated.
Pulling onto the streets that morning, I could tell the day was different. Streets in the Carrefour suburb where I had been working with ADRA were normally crowded with foot traffic-but they were largely empty. People were gathered elsewhere, scattered across the city, spending the day in prayer and mourning.
In a city left decimated by the earthquake, no space was available for a large gathering. Instead, a small official ceremony was presided over by the President of Haiti and transmitted live through loudspeakers in affected neighborhoods. Others gathered near or on the rubble of their former houses of worship to honor and commemorate the lives claimed by the quake’s destruction. Other events were planned throughout the weekend.
In coordination with the Haiti Adventist University personnel and ADRA’s post-trauma team, a special program was planned that night for the more than 15,000 people living at the impromptu internally displaced persons camp that formed on the University grounds in the Carrefour neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. Survivors gathered on a small plot outside the Radio Voix de l’Espérance station which sought to reach additional survivors by broadcasting the program live via radio and the Internet.
“Our program was designed as an opportunity for survivors to stop, reflect on the events of the last month and then turn with hope to the future before them,” stated Patricia Muller, ADRA’s post-tramatic stress project coordinator.
The program included a national hymn, shared experiences from three survivors, a moment of silence, choral music and comments from Marcel Mercier, chaplain of Haiti Adventist University and leader of ADRA’s post-trauma adult and family counseling team for the camp. Following the last prayer, a selection of young children raised green and white balloons symbolizing hope and a new future, and they ended the ceremony with a parade that led attendees into their country’s new beginning.
With the Haitian government figures suggesting a death toll of up to 230,000, the quake toll is nearing that of the 2004 Asian tsunami, which killed 250,000 people. Added to that are the 300,000 injured and one million left homeless by the quake. With figures like that, a time to mourn is imperative.
Throughout the weekend of prayer and mourning, I was reminded of the statement from the Beatitudes, “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted...”
Nothing can ever erase or replace the loss, but when I looked at the energy and faces of those leading mourners from our service, balloons tossing about in the night air, I could tell that hope was rising.
Help us to continue our work in responding to emergencies such as the Haiti earthquake.
