In our recent newsletter, I mentioned that Piton had welcomed families fleeing the violence in Port-au-Prince. They left everything behind, got out of town, and ended up in Piton.  At first I knew of ten extra students in the Piton Community School. That number has increased to 31. Our clinic is busier than ever; not only from cholera outbreaks and cold/flu season, but because more people from other areas of the mountain are coming to our clinic. They don't want the risk of traveling to nearby Petit Goâve.

The political situation in Haiti has been deteriorating since 2019. The Haitian president, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated in July 2021, and the government has spiraled ever since. I've been asked many times how our village is doing in the face of all the violence and government upheaval. My answer has always been the same: sometimes it's good to live on a mountaintop in an agrarian community. Things that happen in the larger cities rarely affect the day-to-day life of villagers. They've been affected by occasional riots in other towns and roaring inflation, but not directly threatened.

Until now.

Now our friends have confirmed the presence of bandits on the mountain and in the nearest village to Piton. Just last night (12 June 23), there were five policemen patrolling in and around Piton. At least one person has been arrested. Samuel has been meeting with leaders of nearby villages and organizations to work together for protection. It will be an ongoing process that is happening right now as I type and will likely end up with us hiring security for the school.

I work to post calmly and give updates in ways that aren't overly emotional or alarmist. But at this moment I'm alarmed. Perhaps the arrival of gang members to our calm area of Haiti was inevitable? Makes it no less scary. The level and ferocity of the violence around the country has been astonishing. I've allowed myself a measure of a sense of security based solely on the isolated situation of our friends. I'm afraid that's not the case any longer.