The Fox is in the Henhouse

That phrase was uttered by John McHoul Thursday as the Haitian government is returning to power after the earthquake--and take note world, it isn't a good thing. I'm not even going to attempt to be clever in my writing (it's too late and I'm far too tired and drained to try). Here is what I know. You decide how angry you want to get......

45 days ago the earthquake happened.
10 days ago we were getting thousands of dollars of medications and supplies sent in on a chartered plane.
9 days ago the United States military handed control of the airport back to the Haitian government as the first commercial flight landed in Port.
3 days ago, I realized not much has changed here.

The government is now taxing all supplies into Haiti. Yes, relief supplies and medications. Tents. Tarps. Food. Clothes. You name it. A box of our medication that 10 days ago got in for free is now costing $400 to get to us. Money that could be going directly to the people of Haiti. I have heard that 250 tents can only get in if a fee of $10,000 is paid. Oh the irony of typing this as I listen to rain pouring outside my window..............................

The government did provide options--perhaps it wants to give the illusion of being a democracy after all. If those bringing in relief supplies disagree with the imposed fee, we have the option to hand over our boxes to the government for their review. At some point, they will return our supplies to us. . . should they determine we aren't for profit. Let the lying commence.

In other news....
Alex spent a good portion of yesterday (Friday) at a Haitian prison. With all the stories the last few weeks of orphans being approved for adoption, then denied and placed in tents away from their escorts, craziness and lack of common sense has ensued. Unicef and other organizations here are in hyper drive--it's a mass of chaos and ridiculousness....oh and egos. In a previous post I mentioned how Alex was stuck at the airport a week ago for 6 hours then got denied. Then Josh and Alex waited 8 hours the next day, and again were denied. Then the plane was supposed to leave Monday. Yesterday topped it all.

A 7 month old baby and Alex were supposed to get final paper work and leave around 11am, Miami bound. Around 4 John McHoul stops by the hospital to inform us that Alex is in a Haitian prison. I will admit--we all laughed for a good while :). Only him. I told him he's one of the most interesting people I've ever met, so this happening isn't surprising at all. Apparently somewhere along the line, the US Consulate forgot to include the signed document with the Prime Minister's signature to allow this child to leave. Oops.

But in true governmental fashion, instead of admitting their mistake, they insulted Alex for not wearing black socks, not shaving, and not being older. I guess he forgot to pack his suit when heading for disaster relief and providing medical care into the streets of Cite Soleil. It's ok, he offered them almonds in the car as he got a police escort to the station for questioning and told one of the top officials in this country he smelled good. Maybe they can put this all behind them and be friends.....Let's hope because he's currently sitting on a bus on the tarmac waiting for round 4. Pray he gets this child to Miami (in one piece) and gets his flight back to Haiti tomorrow. Better details on the Heartline blog: http://heartlineministries.org/Blog20.aspx

Haitian government: Welcome back to power. You remind me of the mosquitoes that bite me every night: bloodsucking and useless. I wish someone would squash you.

In Loving Memory of Ceajuste
Heaven received a beautiful angel last night--dark, weathered skin, and a light blue wrap around her head. At 61, she was being treated for a broken femur from her neighbor's house falling on her. She was gentle and grateful and beautiful. Over the last few weeks I've mostly worked with the women at the hospital and Ceajuste was a constant of mine. We sent her to Double Harvest for surgery on her femur. Little did I know when she left as I was working on Thursday that she would be standing in front of Jesus 24 hours later. She died from a PE (pulmonary embolism) after her surgery Friday night. My heart hurts.