I have only a couple of minutes online right now so I can’t say too much.
I just want you to know that our team managed to get out of Haiti yesterday under some extremely trying circumstances.
It was very difficult getting to the airport and at times we were in very real danger. We finally hooked up with some armed police who escorted us to the airport.
We were to fly to Dominican Republic but the flight was cancelled. The airline was not prepared to fly into Haiti. We’re now in Miami. We got a good night’s sleep last night and will fly on to Dominican Republic to see more of Compassion’s work later today. We’ll stay there for a few days and I’ll be flying home on the originally planned flights. I should be home on Tuesday afternoon.
You can read more on the situation by going to this article at Times Online.
The Haitian capital was paralysed by food riots yesterday as the United Nations gave warning that soaring food prices were spurring unrest around the world.
Rioters returned to the streets in Port-au-Prince a day after UN peacekeepers had to fire rubber bullets to prevent hungry Haitians from storming the presidential palace. Columns of smoke rose over the city as demonstrators, demanding that the Government take action over the rising price of foodstuffs such as rice, beans and oil, set fire to barricades made from tyres.
At least five people have been killed and more than 20 injured. Protesters compared the burning hunger in their stomachs to bleach or battery acid.
I will write more soon and hopefully be able to post an interview. I’m hoping to chat to Arthur Muhl during the breakfast programme on Sonshine FM tomorrow.
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I’m relieved that you are safely out of Haiti and hope that all the aide workers there stay safe as well.
Wow…how frightening. I’m glad you’re safe, and I’m praying for a safe continuance of your trip and return home.
i am so glad that the Lord protected you guys …
i am sure this experience will only give you added insight to the suffering of those who truly are without the basics that we don’t even think about …
blessings to you!
Wow…glad you’re out of there safely – hopefully DR will still be safe enough?
Praying for the situation over there and the Compassion project, and the Hands & Feet Project too.
And yep, it’ll give you some pretty amazing talkbreaks on Compassion Day! Shame you didn’t get to see and do everything you wanted to in Haiti though.
Praise God you are safe, Rodney!
Thanks for sharing – reminds me that what I do is not so scary after all … I indeed live very safely within the centre, I need to enagage on the margins a little more.
Vicki, I’m only now getting around to replying to some of the comments I received over the past couple of weeks. We certainly had a scary time but it was also a time of great hope. The work Compassion does is making such a difference. I only hope I can tell the story well enough to inspire others to contribute to their work.
Shelley, I’ll have lots of stories for Compassion Day. I’m really hoping that we’ll smash the target and see many more children break out of poverty.
Thanks for your prayers while we were away.
Thanks Barbara. It’s nice to feel safe again. I certainly hope that my experiences will inspire others to be part of the solution.