"Haitians, in general, do not believe in covid-19 and they have taken the pandemic very folklorically, and although the Ministry of Health has decreed measures to prevent contagion, little is being noticed." Sister Gloria Inés González, a Colombian missionary living in Haiti for more than 20 years, knows well the behavior of the Haitian people and also that of their rulers: “They (Haitians) have other beliefs, they visit the doctor little and it is usual for them to resort to your home remedies ... Also, as always happens, the government plays with us. They say the money for the covid-19 came, but where is it? There is not a penny left because, as they say here, the State broke the cake. "
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Recently the radio announced that more than 150 people have died from the disease in the country, a figure that the missionary receives with optimism: "If we compare ourselves with our neighbors, the Dominican Republic, we are very well." And she adds later with that touch of humor that characterizes her speech, that "in Haiti not even covid-19 advances." And this is "a gift from God, because we cannot suffer more than we suffer," says the nun.
Forgotten by most countries
The pandemic has brought about damage that goes far beyond the merely sanitary. "The cost of living has skyrocketed and the dollar, which was 92 gurds two months ago, is now changing to 115 gurds," reports Sister Gloria Inés. "And life so expensive is drowning these poor people who, on top of it, have run out of income after being fired from their jobs," explains the nun.
The situation only seems to be sustained thanks to the "incredible capacity of resistance and endurance of these people", in the words of Gloria Inés, who does not harbor many illusions about a government that, even though she seems aware of the crisis, is not in her opinion "nor serious or safe to make permanent and firm decisions capable of advancing a people that is torn between poverty, misery, hunger, corruption, gang violence and street protests by the opposition. ”
In Haiti, for the past year, there has been an economic, political and social crisis that is "almost worse than the earthquake," denounces Sister González. This crisis began at the end of September 2019 and until December schools, universities and other institutions were closed. “We were like prisoners; stuck at home and unable to move for fear of large demonstrations and vandalism, "he explains. "But the world did not notice. We have been forgotten by most countries ”, he regrets.
However, with her characteristic optimism and also making the fate of the Haitian people her own, the sister assures that the situation helped her to get used to being at home. "Managing to live without anguish, assuming the reality that comes like so many Haitians and thinking about how to face difficulties."
Close school
This previous experience has helped her to endure the confinement measures decreed and keep the Marie Poussepin nursery school, run by the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation, a congregation to which Gloria Inés belongs, active. The discipline and the interest of the parents, together with a good strategy and some phone applications, have given great results in a country plunged into darkness by the strike of the workers of the electricity company and in which there are no digital platforms or computers for all families.
“We had a morning of training with the teachers and the staff that accompanies the children and soon we began to produce teaching materials and send them home so that the children could work in the company of their parents or guardians,” explains the nun.
Furthermore, as usually happens among those who have the least, solidarity between parents was one of the keys. “We create on WhatsApp a group of parents for each class. To those who did not have, we sent communication through another parent, ”he describes. "It was a kind of communication chain, which is easily launched in Haiti," explains the sister, still surprised by the positive response. “Most of the parents (140 of 157 children) attended the meetings. Maintaining order and using the masks was difficult at first, but at the second meeting we had all understood the protocols, ”says Gloria Inés. "We delivered the new tasks, collected the old ones and took the opportunity to distribute the cleaning kits, food and school supplies that we were able to get with the help that Manos Unidas sent us." Likewise, she comments that they made publicity to sensitize the entire educational community and the people of the different neighborhoods, delivering more than 6,000 masks.
Unfortunately, circumstances have pushed Sister Gloria Inés to close the school until further notice due to a lack of financing to pay the teachers, the staff, and the breakfast and lunch that they give the little ones, a meal that was sometimes the Only one they ate all day. "Parents who have lost their jobs have not been able to pay and, although the government promised aid to the institutions, so far nothing has come," he denounces.
Gloria Inés is very concerned about the consequences that the situation will have in the country. "In about two or three months the reality will be more alarming, the country will suffer famine and there will be looting, vandalism, robbery, murder and lack of medicines," he predicts. "The border with the Dominican Republic is still closed and the products of greatest need are not arriving in Haiti ..."
Faced with this scenario, without electricity, without food and without medications, the nun wonders how it is possible to live in such a country. And she finds the answer in the Haitians themselves with whom she lives and with whom she discovers herself: "Chapeau pour le peuple haitienne!"
Marta Carreño is a member of the Manos Unidas communication team.