When I first read the news of the protests in Haiti this week, I was confused. I knew about the protests that happened in Grand Goave that lasted about 1-2 days and then faded out. They were never big enough to make it to our local news. As I read on I realized how enormous this one was and the impact it would make.

If you have not heard about these protests, let me fill you in. Last weekend, headlines read, “As violent protests continue over gas prices, U.S. airlines cancel all flights to Haiti Saturday” and “Violent street protests break out in Haiti over tax hikes.” The Port au Prince airport was shut down. No one was coming in or going out. At Be Like Brit, we canceled and then rescheduled a trip of Britsionarys planning to go into Haiti. Even if the airport was open, we would never put our volunteers or staff in danger. Len and Cherylann always say, after losing their daughter in Haiti, they would never jeopardize anyone’s safety.

The protests began when it was announced a gallon of gas would be increased to almost 5 U.S dollars. The people of Haiti were outraged. Buildings, vehicles, businesses, were burned. There were fires in the street. It was chaos. This was heartbreaking to hear because the average Haitian lives on 2 U.S dollars a day, so how could they possibly survive or travel when they must pay $5 for a gallon of gas? At home in Worcester, I recently paid $2.85 for a gallon of gas and I thought that was a lot! And I have a steady job where I can pay that price.

Picture from The Washington Post

It was truly heartbreaking reading about the protests. From living in Haiti for months at a time, I knew how people lived, I knew how it was challenging for them to survive without basic needs, and I knew that this would affect not only Port au Prince, but Haiti as a whole. They deserve so much more than this.  

On Tuesday morning, I had a phone call with Ms. Love Pun, our Haiti Administrator (and my “Haiti Mom” as I like to call her). Love had been in Florida on vacation and was trying to get back to Haiti. Of course, we waited until it was safe for her to travel back. I could tell by her voice she was tired, heartbroken for Haiti, and ready to be back at Brit’s Home. "Haiti is a beautiful place but with so much hurt. These people are in pain from how they are living in the first place," said Love. "They work so hard. I can only imagine how it would be for them." Love explained that this will probably take Haiti at least a year to recover from. This leaves many questions such as, "Will people want to do business with Haiti?" It's hurting us more than they realize.

In the afternoon, I was able to talk with Gina, our social worker and Myster Way, our psychologist, at Brit’s Home. They both explained that this is a very complicated issue. “I regret what happened because I know and I think we are worth more than that. I know we can do better as a country,” said Myster Way. Please know that our children and staff are safe at Brit’s Home, located in Grand Goave which is miles away from the main protests in Port au Prince.

Did you catch our photos on Tuesday night? Love made it back to Brit’s Home safe and sound. Even though I wasn’t there in that moment, I could tell by looking at the pictures how excited the children and staff were. The pictures are so heartwarming! Everyone gathered outside on our walkway to greet her, give hugs, and high fives. Love herself commented, “It feels so good to be home…absolutely love my family!!”

So, where do we go from here? We will continue to keep the faith, pray for the people of Haiti, and help our neighbors. We are so thankful to our community, family, friends, and Britsionarys who have helped us help Haiti and who continue to send us love and support.

-Danielle