Incomprehensible

Well, I was private for two whole posts, and luckily I got alot of things out of my system.  But our world has changed drastically, and so here I am again, open to the public.  With my two private posts tucked quietly into the draft file.

I heard it said that the word has not yet been invented for what has happened to Haiti on January 12, 2010. It's incomprehensible.  And sadly, I know that things could get worse for so many before it gets better.  So that makes me crazy-hyperviligent.  I have worried and cried for Marie and the children in PAP, for Veniel and his family and staff. It was such a relief to hear that they made it...at least, most of them.  Veniel lost some staff members, I'm not sure who.  And I just saw a blog that had a picture of the collapsed Guest House, and it's unrecognizable.  Grief, frustration, helplessness, worry, obession.  These are the emotions that have wracked me since Tuesday night.  For all the people of Haiti. For the ones I know.  Particularly for the orphans, including especially the new ones.  For the families stuck in adoption limbo now that the buildings that house the files and the people that move them thru the system are gone.  Incomprehensible.

The plight of the many existing orphans of Haiti has not gone un-noticed by Govt. officials, and for that I am grateful.  A thinking person can only surmise that the orphan population of Haiti has exploded over the last few days.  The ones in orphanages, and especially the ones that are matched with families may be the lucky ones after all.

One of those is my son.

I am glued to the computer, hoping to hear news of any sort on his well-being, as well as the direction of the State Department in terms of getting him, and the ones like him, home.

We were in the later steps of the beginning of the process.  It seems the US Govt. is moving to bring home the kids who were slated for passports and visas. It seems that those that have finalized paperwork are going to be processed soon also.  We were not at that stage yet, but I remain hopeful that we will be processed in some way in due time. Perhaps even faster than due time, because of the magnitude of the crisis.  Before the earthquake, the orphan situation was often described as dire.  Now it's...?  Incomprehensible?  I'm not sure that word covers it anymore.  Before the quake, it was estimated there were 1 million orphans in Hait, in a population of about 9 million.  Now?  How many?  Rough estimates on the ground say the number has at least tripled.  All of Haiti is now officially a humanitarian crisis  of epic proportions, and the children there are the most vulnerable.  Especially those that have no family. 

It's beyond fortunate that Stevenson is at the Les Cayes facility.  Having been thru an earthquake of this magnitude I know they felt it, and they may have even sustained some damage, but the word out is that they are safe, they are fine.  I'm relieved for that but anxious for the future.  So I'm sure I will remain glued to my computer, searching for news of the next right thing to do to get my boy home. 

If you wish to donate to our orphanage in Haiti, this is the link for that site.