Political Unrest Continued
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In Haiti, there is a road (really a rocky path, but let’s call it a road) that leads from the main road about a half mile to our house. The road is filled with rocks and gravel and is very bumpy with some homemade speed bumps and large divots along the way. On my last trip I noticed that the road was markedly less bumpy and many of the divots were fixed. I found out that our local congressman had requested and received funds to “fix” the road and then proceeded to make it a little better.
It sounds like a great story until you realize that the fix was extremely temporary and that a few days of rain would bring the road immediately back to its previous condition. It is also noteworthy that, even though they will not happen, there are scheduled elections in October for many in the Haitian Parliament including our representative. It would seem that this latest “fix” was nothing more than a way for this guy to pay some of his friends to work for a few days and make himself look better right before an election rather than using the money to do something that could actually benefit people.
The point is that the things that are happening in the country right now are very serious and very dangerous, but it is difficult to see what is being done about it by both Haitian leaders (who do not have the money to do much) and the international community (who, while they have money, often do not have the best interest of Haiti in mind). The gas shortage is serious and has greatly and negatively impacted Haiti for about a week. At the same time, the political issues and corruption that have plagued this nation for years seems to have reached a point that people can no longer stand. I am not sure what is going to happen.
There are currently 2 international entities that have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to Haiti provided they had an operating government. So, instead of providing that government, they have not been able to ratify a Prime Minister and Cabinet and that money is just waiting to be claimed. The reason is that the current members of Parliament want their term to be extended after October and will not ratify the Prime Minister until that is guaranteed. If their terms are not extended and the elections do not take place, then Parliament will be disbanded and the President will rule by decree (however without any money because he will not have an operating government). If the President extends their term then the P.M. will probably be ratified but the same ineffectual leaders will remain in power.
This is a huge oversimplification of a much greater problem, and again, I do not presume to understand the underlying cultural and political issues that are causing many of these things. All that I am asking is for you to continue to pray for Haiti and for ATN. The general state of unrest and political situation is NOT IMPROVING. It is important to understand that. We are still not bringing teams down, and we will not until it is clear that things are calming down. Please pray that GOD would work through the national leadership of Haiti and that a leader would rise up that can help take this country to a new place spiritually, economically, and politically.