A Letter from Limbo

Haiti is officially in limbo as the one-year anniversary of the January 12, 2010, earthquake approaches. It has already been more than a month after the presidential and legislative elections on Nov. 28, and no official result has been pronounced. The problem is that most Haitians and international observers believe that the ruling government has tampered with the vote. That is why so many Haitians protested in the streets on Dec. 7-8, bringing the entire country to a standstill. Many are demanding that the original vote be thrown out along with the government of the current president, Rene Preval. For his part, Preval has announced that if no government is elected by Feb. 7 (which is the day he is supposed to relinquish power), he would be more than happy to remain at the helm for another three months. The average Haitian on the street believes that no politician can be found who will govern Haiti for the good of its people. And so, with an air of resignation, peace and calm have been restored to streets and alleys of Haiti. Life goes on in limbo. Please pray that some agreement can be made between the Haitian government, the international community, and the supporters of the presidential candidates so that the country can turn its attention to the massive challenges of rebuilding and restraining the spread of cholera.