hayesmstw

** A U C O U R A N T **
THE ALMOST-WEEKLY E-MAIL NEWSLETTER FROM THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN HAITI
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++
Number 7 17 MAY 2004
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++

IN CASE YOU THOUGHT that AU COURANT had gone out of print, we are writ-
ing quickly to assure you that such is not the case. Just you can be
certain that we will never abandon our flock in Haiti, so you can be
sure that Au Courant will continue to come your way as long as our
resources permit.

BUT WE HAVE A GOOD EXCUSE for the delay: the editor was away! That's
right; I was in the USA for two weeks and although I had planned to fin-
ish the May 5th issue while in Florida...and I did so. But I could not
get connected to a proper printer to print it while there..

SO THIS ISSUE IS LONGER and contains three weeks' worth of information
in order to keep you au courant! Followiing is what we prepared for the
May 5th issue:

================================================== ===================
GREETINGS TO YOU FROM OCCUPIED HAITI

I just returned from a necessary trip into Port-au-Prince; the first in
several weeks, and I WAS APPALLED! The streets are littered with garbage
and filled with holes and mud. The traffic is simply impossible, and it
was like wallowing-around in a mud puddle. I could not wait to get back
home.

We had to go down to see about several of our shipping containers which
are in the customs yard but not yet removed. One container is completely
cleared and ready to be taken by us, but the shipping agency has
demanded that we pay storage fees from last September which amount to
$6,000 US. I said that we did not have such money and could never pay
such a fee. In addition to that, I emphasized that it was not our fault
that the container has been there and not released for so long. Addi-
tionally I told the director of the agency that the container was filled
with humanitarian supplies, and he responded by informing me that "the
agency is not an humanitarian organization." We have reported all of
this to the headquarters in Switzerland but have yet to receive a
response.

Then we started back to Petion-Ville at 2:30pm and got stuck in four
terrible traffic jams which made the normally thirty-minute trip take
two hours. It was as hot as Hades and I returned to Maison Orthodoxe
(which presently has no water and no electricity!) and went to bed
without any supper. (I got up later and ate something.)

BUT WE ARE AN OCCUPIED COUNTRY, just like Iraq, and there are miltary
vehicles and forces everywhere, pointing their guns at everyone and
scaring the children. We did not ask them to come; they invaded us, just
like in Iraq! There are US Marines, and French Gendarmes and Canadian
soldiers and Chilean troops, and we do not know what they are doing.
They are merely making the situation worse, just like in Iraq, and the
people don't want them here.....just like in Iraq. They are supporting
the rebels.

ON TOP OF THAT (the foreign military) we are suffering under an imposed
"government" which is composed of "foreign Haitians"; Haitians who have
not lived in Haiti for years, but think they can solve our problems.
They haven't solved anything yet, except to find places for the former
and evil military and FRAPH persons to hide. Why, one of them, Louis
Jodel Chamblain, who is a convicted murderer and who was running around
Haiti like a free man, "turned himself in" to the legal authorities last
week, amidst trumpets and celebrations and lots of publicity...paid for
by him! He was given the "red carpet" treatment as he was welcomed to
the local prison in Petion-Ville by the new commandant, who is one of
his old military buddies. What a charade! Another convicted criminal
(Jean Tatoune) is scheduled to do the same thing on Saturday. (I even
heard that invitations were being sent out for the occassion, and that
it will be televised!)

AND NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE to improve the situation in Haiti. We have
been without electricity for almost one month. Prices have tripled and
the exchange rate for US money has dropped considerably. Garbage is
everywhere and the streets are all caving-in. People are being killed
every night in Port-au-Prince (especially in the strong Aristide support
areas), and some of them by the US Marines. It is a sad situation. It
was infinitely better when our elected president was here.

But we are here in Haiti because God wants us here, and we will not be
deterred from our goal and work of helping the people. Many persons need
us and we have no intention to leave. We are your representatives and we
are praying that you will do all in your power to help us to stay alive
so that we can "Fight the Good Fight". We are hungry and we really need
help. We are counting on you.

+Archimandrite Michael (Graves)

================================================== ===================
FATHER JOHN BELLEZZA has been in Haiti for two weeks as of this writing,
and has been doing much work with our orphanage and other humanitarian
activities. Those who intend to send checks to his address in New Jersey
would do better to send them directly to the bank during his absence.
================================================== ==================

PLEASE DO NOT send checks or parcels to our mailing service address
(LYNX) in Ft. Lauderdale. Checks very often get lost en route, and we
must pay charges on parcels received. Send checks (now) directly to
either of our bank accounts: Wachovia (Acct. # 200 401 377 5698) or Bank
of America (Acct. # 11295-04066). Both accounts are in the name of the
"Orthodox Church in the Caribbean". Deposits may be made in any branch
of either bank, or they may be mailed to Wachovia Bank, 11075 N. Tamiami
Trail, Naples, Florida, 34108-6325 or Bank of America, 4525 Scotts Val-
ley Drive, Scotts Valley, California, 95066.
================================================== =================

THANK GOD WE ARE ALIVE........because it was almost the end last
Saturday morning! Two of the residents at Maison Orthodoxe and I started
down the hill to buy gasoline for the generator so that we could have a
bit of electricity. We backed our 1991 Pathfinder out of the driveway
and started down the hill. Everything was fine until we got to the first
bend in the road and I applied the brakes to slow down, only to find
that WE HAD NO BRAKES! I panicked, but only for a split-second, and
pulled the emergency brake. The Pathfinder stopped, thank God, but not
until we were on the edge of the ravine..... and until I almost suffered
a heart attack! We thanked God for saving us and called the rest of the
guys at Maison Orthodoxe to help get the machine into the middle of the
road and push it back to the driveway where it sits until this writing.
The mechanic came and tried to fix it temporarily, but the brake master
cylinder is gone and we need a whole new one....another $300.00 US,
which we do not have. (We REALLY need a whole new vehicle!)

I am finishing this newsletter while in Florida, and had to be driven to
the Haiti airport by the mechanic himself. The Pathfinder sits in front
of the house. I left a blank check with the guys at the house and told
them I would call them as soon as I know that the check will clear! The
Pathfinder can be fixed in a day, and I hope we have enough money to
cover the check while I am on this trip so that I will have a car when I
return to Haiti.

This old Pathfinder is really costing us too much money to keep it work-
ing! We are using our food money to keep the Pathfinder alive, but we
need to keep ourselves alive, or there will be no one to drive it!

Would YOU consider helping us? The next thing to go on the Pathfinder
(although I don't know what it could be since we have replaced nearly
everything!) might mean the end of us!

+ Father Michael

================================================== ===================
IN YOUR PRAYERS please remember Metropolitan Valentine; Bishop
Nectarios; Archimandrite John; Father Joshua; Patricia; Jean; Jon and
Holly; Mother Andrea; Nectarios and John
================================================== ===============

A NEW FOOD DISTRIBUTION CENTER has recently been established by The
Orthodox Church in Haiti in Sarthe, an area near the Port-au-Priince
Airport. This new outreach is known as "Good Samaritan Nutrition Center"
and is administered by our nurse, Miss Theresa Pierre-Jules. In this
center, donated foods are distributed to the needy on a weekly basis, as
long as the donated foods are donated. A main source of donated foods is
a group called Food for the Poor, which has its main center in Deerfield
Beach, Florida. We thank Food for the Poor for its help.
================================================== ========
AND NOW THE NEW NEWS

THE CONTAINER FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM has been released and its contents
are now in our possession. This is the container mentikoned above for
which the agent was demanding storage charges. The main office in
Geneva, Switzerland authorized the release of the container without the
charges, and we are happy. This container has three dialysis machines
and many other medical and educational supplies. We will begin dis-
tributing the items this week, and will be able to put the other
activities of our medical center into operation.
================================================== ===============

THE 1991 PATHFINDER has been repaired (and only God knows how long it
will work!), but we do need a newer vehicle and have hit upon an
idea/scheme whereby the purchase of a new truck might be attained.

Our work in Haiti would be better served if we had a small pick-up
truck, and that is what we would like to get. We have looked into pos-
sibilities and discovered that we can sell the Pathfinder for about
$4,000 US and use that money for a down payment on the purchase of a new
Nissan or Mitsubishi truck. Monthly payments would then amount to
either $350.00 for four years or $450.00 for three years, and that would
come with a one year guarantee and free service. (We have been spending
an average of $400.00 per month just to keep the old machine running.)

SO, we have the old machine to use as the down payment, but we need a
number of our friends to make some monthly pledges to help us make those
monthly payments. Several persons have signified a willingness to help,
but we need a few more. We have pledges enough to cover one year at
$450.00, but we need more.
Can you help? Let us know and we will put you in touch with the person
handling this project.

================================================== ==========

THINGS IN HAITI HAVE GOTTEN EVEN WORSE than what was reported in our old
news! There has been NO electricity for two months straight, and we must
run our generator on a average of six hours per day to keep things work-
ing and the water running. Gasoline now costs the equivilent of $6.00 US
per gallon and it takes a gallon to run the generator for two hours. A
100 pound sack of rice, which used to cost $350.00 Haitian ($50.00 US)
now costs $500.00 Haitian. The roads are in worse shape than when I left
two weeks ago, and NOTHING has been repaired or improved by the new
pseudo government. We are in the worst shape we have experienced since
1986. There are killings every night...and most of them by US Marines,
and we are all afraid. Thank God that the US Marines will leave in two
more weeks because they have done nothing but make life more difficult
in Haiti and to cause our formerly fine reputation to be severely
tarnished. We have been invaded and are liviing in a police state, all
because a few formerly powerful persons and the US Government were
worried about our elected president's intentions. Read further and see
what is happening now in Haiti. Not too different from the atrocities in
Iraq.

================================================== ===============

A GRANDMOTHER ARRESTED. On Monday, 10 May, at 12:30 in the morning, the
house of Anne Auguste (aka So Anne/Sister Anne) in Port-au-Prince was
attacked by US Marines, and she and eleven family members and friends
were arrested. The Marines entered the house without having a warrant or
any legal papers, and that after blowing up her front gate. (Spent bul-
let casings and remains of a grenade are in the hands of some friends.)

So Anne is a well-known folk singer and artist and was recovering from
recent surgery when her house was attacked. So Anne is also a well-known
voodoo mambo and a Lavalas activist. (Voodoo is a recognized and legal
religion in Haiti, and not at all what the Hollywood producers would
have us believe.) So Anne, who is a grandmother was accused (with no
proof) of inciting action against the present pseudo government. She and
the others in the house (including her 5-year old grandson) were
handcuffed and taken to the military headquarters with bags over their
heads! The others were released, but So Anne is still in prison as of
this writing.

In addition to killing the dogs in her front yard, the Marines ransacked
the house and did much damage. No weapons were found and no
incriminating evidence was uncovered. (Not too different from the action
in Iraq!)

This was an outrageous action and we believe it should not go unpunished
by the US authorities. We ask that you consider registering your
complaint with your local governmental officials, and that you telephone
the office of the US Ambassador to Haiti, James Foley, to tell him of
your outrage over this action. The ambassador's telephone number is
(202) 647-5291 or 647-7098. His fax number is (202) 647-2283 or 647-
5169. (All the telephone nujmbers are in Washington, DC)

Thousands of Haitians have been killed since the Feb. 29th coup, and
most of them by the US Marines. News such as this may not be carried by
the press in the US, but we live here, and we KNOW!

================================================== ==========
THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN HAITI was established in 1986 under the
jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Antioch. Archimandrite Michael
(Graves) is the founder, assisted by Father John Leonidas and Father
Deacon John Cadet. Mr. Michelyn Mildort is the Director of Music.Our
telephone number is (Country Code 509) 257-4805 or 257-0672. Our e-mail
address is harchim@yahoo.com or harchim@hotmail.com. Our US mailing
address is PO Box 407139, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, 33340.
================================================== ==========


--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/stevesig.htm
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk