Update from Canadian Jesuit novices in Haiti
Fellow Jesuit novice, Edmund Lo and I arrived in Haiti on January 5, with the intention of being here until June 1.
We began working at the Jesuit-run high school, St. Ignace, two days after arriving in Port-au-Prince. We were to teach students from grades 7 to 12, English, Organic Chemistry, (both of us studied Sciences, Edmund has a Masters in Neuroscience from the University of British Columbia and I have an Honours B.Sc. in Molecular Biology from McMaster University), and also lead the physical education programs, organizing basketball practices and so on.
On the day of the earthquake, we went to school as we normally do. When the earthquake struck we were in our house in the Delmas 31 district. Edmund and I were on the second floor when the floor began to 'swim.’ There were loud crashes around us since two of our neighbours homes collapsed and a third was partially damaged. Our house was left without more serious damage except for a few minor cracks.
Following the earthquake, many injured Haitians came to us for assistance and we tended to their wounds with our basic first-aid kits. About 12-15 people from our neighbourhood came to us for help.
Report from Salt + Light TV show ZOOM features Edmund and Artur
Their wounds were mostly head injuries, as portions of ceilings most likely collapsed on their heads. Some of the wounds were as wide as 1.5 cm with portions of the skull showing. They were very serious injuries.
Currently aid is arriving but distribution is a major problem. Locally, we have not seen any of the aid, nor have other local districts.
We hear that the port is damaged and so it is taking a long time for aid convoys to come in. The airport is also very small and limits the number of airplanes that can land.
Surprisingly, the mood is not that negative. Residents sing mostly religious hymns at night. They dance and try to stay positive, though there is a tension in the air because of the lack of food. None of the grocery stores are in working. The only food that can be purchased is from street vendors who sell fruits and vegetables. This does not seem adequate for the number of residents here and some vendors seem to be raising their prices significantly as if they are trying to profit during this disaster.
People cannot work and so they cannot afford to pay almost twice as much for their basic food needs. Water is also in short supply. Today they did finally open the water station in the neighbourhood, although I don't know how long the water will last since they have to deliver it on a regular basis.
People are afraid to be indoors, eventhough some houses remained undamaged after the quake. As for our community of four Jesuits – three of us stay indoors at night and we are not afraid of the house collapsing. Our fourth member, a Haitian Jesuit, is sometimes anxious to enter the house at times, so he sleeps in the car.
Most residents are afraid of another earthquake that will further reduce the buildings to more rubble. They remain outdoors during the day and evenings, sleeping in fields and in front of their homes. They tell us, the three non-Haitian Jesuits that we are crazy for sleeping indoors.
Edmund and I also went to work with the Missionaries of Charity, (the religious community established by Mother Teresa). We went to the slums to tend to the wounded and give out medicine, antibiotics, and clothing. We also helped transport very wounded people to the hospital.
The hospital situation is a very grim one: there are not enough doctors here. People are dying before they get to them while others, by the time they get there, are so terribly ill that they will surely die.
Today, when we arrived with four ill residents, the doctors basically said that three of the patients would surely die.
What can we do? We did our best to get the injured to a hospital, but it is often too late.
Artur Suski
Novice
Jesuits in English Canada Province
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