Loss

This afternoon I stood over the corpse of a sixteen year-old boy at his gravesite, reciting the last prayers his mother will hear before he is sealed up in a rented crypt. He is the younger brother of one of our boys; he died from internal bleeding last Saturday because his father decided to “teach him a lesson in respect.” The police are now looking for the man, and I wish them good luck.

There have been four deaths since I returned: apart from the above, a one month-old infant, the child of a former resident, who died suddenly and with no diagnosis; the mother of our Secondary School Assistant Director; and the brother of another one of the older boys, who will be buried later this week. The mother had been sick for some time but the infant and brother's passings were wholly unexpected and completely devastating.

There will be no inquiries, no autopsies. Those require resources that Haiti does not have.

I went to the sixteen year-old's home and saw his mother. I told her I was saddened by her loss and she hugged me. She offered me a soft drink that she cannot afford.

I will be praying for her and the others. Join me, please.