| Mrs. 'Boro: Earthquake in Haiti strong test of faith |
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By: JEANNE BRAGG, Post Columnist
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Posted: Sunday, January 24, 2010 5:45 am
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My faith has been tested this week by this apocalyptic disaster in Haiti.
My niece Anne was working at an AIDS clinic there when the earthquake hit. She lived in the Hotel Montana ... one that was decimated. Today I visited its Web site. It was described as “a full service hotel ... ideally located far from the turbulence of the city.” It looked beautiful.
The Web site now says: “Closed until further notice.”
Anne was usually at that hotel on Tuesdays after work, but on earthquake day she was at class at the French Institute because the teacher changed the date. Here are some edited words from Anne’s journal:
“Things started violently shifting on the ground. The priest in the class and I held onto the doorframe for dear life - literally - while a lot of Haitians went screaming down the hall. Then it hit me - it's an earthquake. It was 36 seconds but felt like 20 minutes. The Chilean (read: experienced) priest started holding up his fingers, evaluating what it was on the Richter and I thought, turn that up 2 points just because it's HERE. I tried to e-mail my brother but it didn’t work ... just something not to make our parents worry. We made a MAD dash to the unstable staircase and I followed others to the back lot. There was so much dust you couldn’t see more than 30 feet in front of you. That's when I knew how bad it was. A Chilean friend was motioning for me to run with her and we hugged the building but then realized an overhang might fall on us so then we ran on the street.
“We camped out in the back parking lot and a large wall guarding it had already fallen. The director of the Institut d'France said that we should stay there because it's an open space and everything that could have fallen already did. Houses surrounding the lot were collapsed into themselves and people with gashes started coming out. Most of the structures were pancaked floor upon floor around it but the Institut Francais somehow still stood.”
Anne eventually found her way to the American Embassy and wrote:
“The embassy scene was unpleasant, but very safe. Many people had major injuries and volunteer doctors treating them. I was impressed with how orderly people were. About 200 of us were herded into the visa application waiting room and were first told we couldn't go outside to sleep. After getting about two hours of sleep we were awakened by another major tremor and tried to sleep outside on the concrete. I tried to keep the rats running around us out of mind.”
Because getting Americans out was a priority, Anne was fortunate to have left Haiti.
My family and I know it was a miracle she survived. That was further reinforced after watching suffering parents of students from a Florida university who had received no word from their children to date who, too, were in the Hotel Montana.
News sources estimated that approximately 45,000 Americans were in Haiti. I imagine more than 99 percent of them were there to do good. I doubt many were on “vacation.”
I told Tommy I was struggling with the fact the earthquake hit in such a poverty stricken country and he said: “Where misery is the only constant.”
I’ve been looking for some answers. I read:
“People who endure bad things well teach others about grace, strength and commitment …” and
“God sometimes allows bad things to achieve a greater good.”
I’ll continue to search. Perhaps his grace will help me find enlightenment somewhere.
‘Til next week. |
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