tradgedy ....again

When I first got to Haiti in 1992, people told me a story about a killing that took place several years before in the little village of Pasbwadòm. It was a machete attack, and it had to do with a chicken fight. It seemed like a legend as I heard people tell the story.  

Then, a few years ago, a lady was killed in the same manner only a few hundred yards from my house. It was an ugly time, needless to say. The sudden death of a community member is tragic enough, but then there are the questions : “Who did it? Why?”

Well, it has happened again. A man was shot nine times in the dark on his way home. He managed to run home. The attackers figured he might not die, so they came back and shot him some more and used a machete to…make sure. It’s hard even to type words about it. Now I live in a community where someone ordered this attack, and someone carried it out. It’s demonic. It will effect a generation.

The man who was killed was a very bad man. I had lots of contact with him years ago when I administrated the school where most of his 13 kids got their education. He was tough. His oldest son is a member of our church and a close friend of the folks here at my house. We attended the funeral with the young man and had him sleep over here at the house in order to get away from awful events.

Once again, it’s a horrible event. But I’d rather be here than not be here.