We had a hard rain Friday night- hard enough for Camille to shower outside. Loud enough we couldn't talk in normal voice to be heard. Its sobering to realize we have a tin roof over our heads to mostly keep out the rain- it does leak in some spots so strategically placed bins are dotted around the room but imagine if you live in a tent that is worn thin from constant sun and rain, water coming in on all sides, rising rapidly if you live in low area, washing debris and mud inside if you are on a slope. If you are lucky to have a mattress, its probably sitting on the floor of the tent soaking up the water. Your holding whatever clothes you have in your arms to protect them from becoming soaked. If your tent leaks badly, you might try to search for a dry place to wait out the rain but everyone else in your tent city is doing the same.
Today marks 8 months since the earthquake hit this island nation and its reported that only 2% of the rubble has been removed. How can hope survive at such a slow snails pace? People remain traumatized and depressed, yet rarely show it to 'outsiders'. You have to ask questions and then ask some more questions yet unless you have answers you don't want to dig this deep.
I wake up everyday hoping to have answers just for today. I think this is what the Haitians do as well. I also look ahead to see what I need to do to accomplish tasks and planning for the next week and for several weeks after that, but I am not in 'survival' mode. Haitians seem to look only one day at a time~ it is too hard to think about next week when your belly is empty today, your child has a fever today, or the few clothes your family owns are too wet to attend church today. This is survival mode. For the hundreds of thousands of people living in makeshift tents, in tent cities, they need to begin living again and that means we must not forget what happened 8 months ago today.
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