LOUISVILLE — All
Presbyterian Church (USA) mission personnel have left Haiti in
the wake of a popular revolt that has left more than 50 people
dead.
Paul and Joan McLain, who work in northeastern Haiti, left the
island on Feb. 20 and are now staying with relatives in Florida.
Paul McLain is a family physician; Joan McLain is a coordinator
of visits of mission teams.
“(The rebels) are methodically taking over the northeast
region, occupying towns, removing or killing police, and establishing
martial law,” McLain said.
He said they decided to leave when three of the four roads into
their town were closed one by one. “It is like a noose tightening
up,” he said. “… The situation of Americans
in an anarchic scenario would not be good.”
The Mission Aviation Fellowship sent a plane to evacuate the
McLains.
Another missionary couple, Rodney and Sharyn Babe, left Haiti
last week to visit a sick family member in Pennsylvania. They
told Worldwide Ministries Division (WMD) officials then that they
didn’t need to leave for safety reasons.
Rodney Babe is an agriculturalist; Sharyn Babe is an educator.
The uprising has delayed the arrival of two other mission workers
assigned to Haiti. Mark Hare, a community development specialist,
will remain for now in Nicaragua, where he works now. Katie Griggs
of Topeka, KS, who was recently appointed as a visitors’
program coordinator for a hospital run by a partner church, is
also waiting to begin her work there.
Two weeks ago, WMD began advising presbyteries and congregations
not to send volunteer groups to Haiti while the violence continues.
“At any moment, something can happen,” said Maria
Arroyo, WMD’s coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean.
“We do not want people on the roads. It is so chaotic, you
just never know.”
Arroyo said the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese in Haiti, a
PC(USA) partner, has also begun advising against visits. She said
WMD’s security team is meeting every other day to evaluate
the changing situation.
Paul McLain said a Peace Corps volunteer working in the same
region he and his wife served was pulled out two weeks ago.
“It is tough to say goodbye when your work is unfinished,”
Joan McLain said, adding that she and her husband hope to return
to Haiti soon.
According to the Rev. Jo Ella Holman, WMD’s associate
for international partnerships, three presbyteries have formal
partnerships in Haiti — Peaks, Greater Atlanta and Coastal
Carolina.
The rebels are trying to overthrow the government of Haitian
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. |
