Haitians again performed religious services inside or outside damaged churches on Sunday, some for the first time since the devastating magnitude 7.2 earthquake that shook the nation on August 14, while the Protection Agency Civil said the death toll from the quake was 2,207.
Meanwhile, aid operations were expanding across the nation, but authorities are battling security at distribution centers. Gangs have stormed vans and ambulances, forcing workers to transport supplies by helicopter. In some places, desperate crowds have been fighting over food bags.
On Sunday, one of the most powerful criminals in the capital Port-au-Prince announced in a video posted on social media that allied criminal groups had secured a truce and would be assisting with relief efforts. If this turns out to be true, it could allow these tasks to be accelerated.
Jimmy Cherizier, aka “Barbecue” and who is the leader of the G9 Revolutionary Forces, addressed a video posted on Facebook in the hardest-hit parts of Haiti’s southwestern peninsula.
“We want to tell them that the G9 Revolutionary Forces and allies, all for one and one for all, stand in solidarity with their pain and grief,” Cherizier said. “The G9 Revolutionary Forces and allies … will take part in the tasks by bringing them help. We invite all compatriots to show solidarity with the victims by trying to share what little there is with them,” he added.
The rise in the death toll was the first since Wednesday, when the government reported that 2,189 people had lost their lives. On Sunday, the government noted that the whereabouts of 344 individuals are still unknown, that 12,268 were injured and that about 53,000 homes were destroyed by the quake.
In Les Cayes, many went to church to mourn those who are no longer there and to give thanks for their own survival.
In an evangelical church in Bergeaud’s neighborhood, parishioners sang hymns under the rays of the sun as they penetrated the holes in the ceiling and walls.
Sevrain Pastor Marc Dix Jonas said Sunday service was special because his congregation had not been able to meet since the quake.
“Today was a must,” said Dix Jonas, standing under an opening at the top of his church facade. “To thank God. He protected us. We don’t die.”
His church was one of the few in which the faithful were able to pray inside. In many others, services were held on the street outside collapsed shrines.
With this in mind, Les Cayes Catholic Church changed the time of its service to 6:30 a.m. to avoid high temperatures.