The most devastating earthquake has severely interrupted life in Haiti. It has suddenly become hell on earth. The survivors are completely disoriented, scared and trying to make sense of what happened to them. Now they have more time to absorb the shock and the devastation that is so immense. One questions how the Haitian people find the will to survive amid this catastrophe, a reality beyond comprehension. Thousands of corpses are littering the streets and hundreds of thousands more are buried under heaps of rubble.
Amid this disaster many are uttering “whys” that go unanswered. Unable to accuse God of this enormous destruction, they turn to Him with pleas to protect them against the many aftershocks and perhaps another disastrous earthquake that may will follow. They thank God and are grateful as survivors; they thank Him for having spared them.

The days pass and with them the hope of finding survivors. They speak even about burying their dead, knowing that the process of identifying rotting corpses under their homes is an overwhelming one. The government does not speak about its citizen’s pain, not even attempting to comfort them or give them some hope to help them recover.
Humanitarian aid is packed at the airport of Port-au-Prince. The world has certainly responded positively and generously to Haiti’s SOS. They arrived in record time on the scene well-equipped and ready to save our people in distress. But surprise, surprise! Who supervises the aid workers and coordination of this massive assistance?

Finding the Haitian logistical teams, who should coordinate the storage and distribution of medicines, food, tents, blankets and other items essential to assist the survivors, is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Meanwhile, the neediest portion of the nation does not have access to anything. There are hundreds of thousands sleeping under the stars on the plazas and streets praying to God to preserve them from the famous torrential rains that Haiti is used to. On the rare occasion when a truck arrives for the distribution, they reprimand so-called unruly citizens with tear gas, those scrambling to get something to eat or a bottle of water to quench their thirst.

They are treated like animals by the same people who would heal their wounds and help them recover. Those cynics who, despite their knowledge of the harmful effects of this gas on these poor homeless people wandering in the damp heat, do not hesitate to further complicate the lives of these poor people as if nature did not do enough.

Some foreign military personnel, in good faith, look on helplessly, wondering how the Haitian police and the U.S. Navy can use pepper spray on them, when they know for a fact that such use will further complicate their medical situation due to lack of available water. Even if citizens were to become unruly, in these extraordinary circumstances, more humane disciplinary measures should be taken. Some advise civilians to complain to authorities. What authorities? The press? There are well known toxic effects of this gas: respiratory problems, nausea, vomiting, irritation of the lachrymal gland and eye spasms, chest pain, dermatitis and allergies as well the long-term effects such as necrosis of tissue in the airway tissue in the digestive tract, pulmonary edema internal bleeding and the risk for pregnant women to have abnormal children at birth.

Some members of Project 2000 International, Committee Fanmi Lavalas of Haitians Living Overseas (CFLHO) and Church of God Soldiers of Christ went to Haiti to provide assistance to survivors of the earthquake.

The victims of the earthquake have already been traumatized beyond what any human being could possibly imagine, and should not be subject of further inhumane treatment. They lost everything: parents, children, family and friends….not to mention homes, businesses and items of sentimental value.

They did nothing wrong, they are sleeping under the light of the moon, fighting with the mosquitoes; no tents are available. They are hungry and thirsty. They perspire as though it were July, which intensifies the pain caused by the use of tear gas. They are traumatized more by standing in lines that do not end. They circulate in the stench of their dead in search of some food and water. They live at the mercy of the elements, sun, cold, mosquitoes and flies that will soon spread all sorts of diseases. Thieves and werewolves do not spare. Their daughters are raped ... they do not deserve being abused especially by those who were to serve and protect

Human nature has its limits. The physical and psychological fatigue of our children is evident even when we see them fight desperately against the collective dehumanization to which they are subjected. Let's help them keep their esteem. Denounce the unjust actions of the Haitian police and U.S. military against our strong-willed people.