Earthquake: the one year anniversary

The epicenter of Haiti's earthquake was Leogane. Leogane is a town about 20 miles west of Port-au-Prince. And my town, Jeremie, is about another 80 miles west of Leogane. The earthquake had a serious, but indirect, impact on Jeremie. The ground shook here and buildings were damaged. But there wholescale destruction happened in Leogane and to the east, where there was much more human development.

There's been a lot of progress since January 12th, 2010... though there's a great deal more that needs to be done... beginning with political stability. But rather than discussing that stuff -- which seems to be covering the web these days, along with the tragedy in Tucson -- I offer a brief recap of my personal experience related to the anniversary.

It was around 9pm on Sunday January 9th and I heard the horn. I'd heard the horn once before. It was part of the manifestation in December that followed the disputed election results. And earlier in the day I had read that the Organization of American States would soon announce their findings related to the election results.

I had just returned to Haiti and the riots were already starting. Oh well. C'est la vie. Oddly though, there was no gunfire.

By midnight I was fast asleep and by 4am I was awake. No gunfire, but there was... a... parade?? Yup. That was the only way to describe it. Or I guess more appropriately, a vigil, as I learned when I got to work on Monday morning.

That's how some of the churches are mourning here. They are conducting turn-up-the-volume, singing vigils through the streets of Jeremie from around 2am to 5am. It's happening each night for the three nights leading up to the anniversary.

It scared me at first when I awoke on Sunday night. But now I understand it and appreciate it. It's something I could never imagine seeing in America, but it does make a point that people remember.

Tim White