Many Haitians' religious faith unshaken by earthquake
By Arthur Brice, CNN
January 18, 2010 12:08 p.m. EST
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- The steeple clock at Port-au-Prince's St. Pierre Catholic Church is stopped at 4:53, the hour at which a devastating earthquake struck Haiti nearly one week ago.
The church gates were closed Sunday. The doors shuttered. But it seems Tuesday's quake has only strengthened the religious fervor many Haitians carry in their souls.
"A lot of people who never prayed or believed -- now they believe," said Cristina Bailey, a 24-year-old clerk.
In parks and backyards, anywhere a group gathers, the prayers of the Haitians can be heard. Last week, the call-and-response chanting and clapping that accompany those prayers pierced the darkness of night and the pre-dawn hours -- sometimes as early as 4 a.m. The singing and praying was particularly intense in Champs de Mars plaza, where hundreds of people have taken refuge. But the scene was repeated throughout the city, with preachers on megaphones exhorting the faithful, who responded with lyrics like "O Lord, keep me close to you" and "Forgive me, Jesus."
Many preachers are telling followers not to lose faith, that God remains with them regardless of what's happened.
"People don't blame Jesus for all these things," she said. "They have faith. They believe that Jesus saved them and are thankful for that."
Perhaps few personified that deep belief better than 11-year-old Anaika Saint Louis, who was pulled from the rubble Thursday night and later died. Her leg had been crushed, and doctors thought they might have to amputate her feet. She said she didn't care.
"Thank you, God, because he saved my life," she said. "If I lose my feet, I always had my life."
Jean Mackenle Verpre also suffered a crushing leg injury and was freed after 48 hours underground.
Asked what kept him going, he answered without hesitation: He believes in Jesus Christ and put his life in God's hands.
Colonized by France, Haiti is a strongly Catholic country. Christian motifs are everywhere in Port-au-Prince. Many vehicles bear signs like the one painted on the windshield of a truck on Rue Delmar: "Merci Jesus," it said. A woman passing by on Avenue Christophe chanted softly: "Accept Jesus."
"In Haiti, you have Protestants and Catholics, and you have your percentage of each," said J.B. Diederich, a native-born Haitian who now lives in Miami, Florida, but returned to the Caribbean for several days after the earthquake. "But everybody is 100 percent voodoo."
Voodoo is widely acknowledged but practiced only behind closed doors, with practitioners often placing candles and icons on the floor of a home and dancing to music and drums.
Followers believe the world is under the power of loas -- spirits and deities who act as intermediaries between humans and God. In voodoo, disasters like Tuesday's quake are not the result of natural forces, but displeasure by a loa.
"It's in every apartment. The voodoo is our culture," 25-year-old Alex Gassan said. "It's like the folklore."
Gassan proudly calls himself a Catholic, pulling out a crucifix necklace from under his shirt to show a reporter.
Many observers have a simple explanation for what makes Haitians so devout.
"Because in all poor countries, you have to believe in something," said Agnes Pierre-Louis, the Haitian-born manager of her family-owned hotel. "If they don't have that, they don't have anything."
Added Diederich: "They leave everything in the hands of God. When you have so little, what else can you turn to?"
Ja hi tornem a ser, pero aquest cop sembla que la CNN també vol participar en la evangelització dels seus lectors. Un país que ho deixa tot a les mans de Deu i del Vudú (abans es repartia la tasca amb la família Duvalier), és fàcil que arribi als nivells d'indigencia en els que es troba Haití.
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