4 February 2010
Take a flight over Port-au-Prince or any of the towns near the epicentre of the Haiti earthquake and the physical damage is all too horrifyingly apparent.
Getting a handle on the psychological pain caused by the disaster is not so easy but increasingly it is becoming evident.
Virtually all survivors can testify to knowing a family member, friend or neighbour who died in the 12 January quake and are therefore carrying the pain of their loss.
Add to that turbulent mix the awful hardship in the aftermath of the tremors – no food, water, shelter or medical help, plus lawlessness - and you have the conditions for lasting mental scarring.
One local pastor who has been in touch with Tearfund’s team responding in Haiti summed it up as follows:
Strange
‘I can tell you life is very difficult for us nowadays,’ he said. ‘It is really hard to talk and think about the night of 12 January, 2010.
‘It was 4:50pm when this long night began with a strange phenomenon that no one understands.’
Many survivors have been left to question why they escaped death, such as the woman delayed from going into a supermarket by a phone call and who then saw the quake bring the building down with the loss of hundreds of lives.
For the local pastor, the answer is clear: ‘God saved our family and our church members too.’
This reaffirmation of faith is all the more striking when you consider the continuing suffering facing many in Haiti.
Years of work
The pastor said, ‘Since 12 January, we sleep and live right in the street, without a tent. Right now, my wife and daughter have colds and my daughter has diarrhoea due to bad water. In spite of all, we can claim God is good all the time.’
With more than £1 million raised by Tearfund supporters for Haiti, we’re currently responding to the immediate physical needs of thousands of Haitians.
We’re also looking to the long term and are drawing up plans to rebuild lives, a process that will be measured in years rather than months.
Standing alongside local churches, we’ll be there to help survivors come to terms with earthquake’s psychological, emotional and spiritual legacies.
• Please pray for Haitians continuing to suffer and that help gets to them quickly.
• Pray God’s comfort and strength for those in mourning, those left devastated by their losses and those simply asking the question, ‘Why me?’
• Give thanks for the generosity of Tearfund supporters and the church community which enables us to bring hope to Haiti.
• Pray for the continuing progress of the international relief effort.