"Battered Haiti, Land of Little, Now Has Less" - NY Times

In Gonaives, Haiti the suffering has yet to recede. After being devastated by four fearsome Hurricanes: Fay, Gustav, Hanna, and Ike, the citizens that once had near to nothing have been deprived of everything. They now live in a muck covered, sewage smelling slum. After hurricane Ike hit the shores of Haiti, people have been living in fear and food supply is limited. The Haitians know that the hurricane season has just recently met the midway point, and there could quite possibly be more severe storms to follow. They are currently residing on roofs to get away from the flooded homes that stretch across the Island of Haiti. In order to block the fierce rays of the sun, citizens are forced to put sheets up on top of the houses for shade. Local Red Cross member Daniel Dueiton, has offered these refugees that have been forced to leave their homes and relocate, a place to sleep. Although, the conditions in the top floor of his home are limited and the one hundred plus Haitians are packed in like sardines. Citizens have also found refuge in top floors of churches to escape the tormenting water. They have set up official shelters, but the spaces in these units are filling up so people are arising to create shelter for these refugees. They say that life before the hurricane was already rough and with the most recent storm, has only made the times unbearable. The hurricane struck all ten of Haiti’s regions leaving the entire island devastated. They have already recorded three hundred deaths and sad enough the count continues. The water level has begun to recede but many are finding themselves walking with at least their ankles covered. Providing the people with food is no easy task and the United Nations is trying to provide as much air support as possible to deliver the necessary food. Getting the food distributed is no easy task because the hunger driven people are doing anything possible to raid the trucks that get stuck in the mud or that are stationed in different regions. With the Haitian government paying little attention to its people, somebody had to step up. This somebody is known as the prime minister and goes by Michele pierre-Louis. Learning lessons from the previous storms, they are planning to rebuild on higher ground and support their buildings and living units with more protective material from floods. This is the action they should have taken in the first place but are realizing that these actions are necessary. The hospital is currently flooded and they need to move that building to higher ground as one of the first steps. Overall, these refugees are struggling to survive and every day is a gift from God. Keep these refugees in your hearts as they are currently displaced from their homes.