Prison

Last time I was in Haiti, Kim and I visited a women's prison in an area of Port-au-Prince called Petion-ville. Having grown up with a Dad who was in and out of prison for 20 years (to use one of his favorite jokes- haha), it was particularly moving to me. The warden is a Christian, and asked for lots of prayer. What she told us about the women was shocking:

• Out of the approximately 280 women held there, only 25 have been through the legal system. The rest are caught in a legal limbo, as the justice buildings all collapsed in the earthquake and no records are kept electronically.
• Most are being charged with kidnapping or violent crime. However, if a woman is being beat by her husband and tries to flee with her kids and he reports her, that is violent crime. If a woman is being raped and fights back, that is violent crime.
• The warden said that she would not be surprised if up to 70% of the women jailed in her institution are innocent.
• Because of the circumstances that brought them to prison, many enter pregnant. They are allowed to keep their babies for 3 months, then a family member has to come take them. If there are not available family, the child is taken to an orphanage.

I was really affected by visiting this dark place. It was the one time I had a breakdown on my last trip, so when I knew I was coming back I wanted to make it back. And I have! Last week I took a Canadian team on an exploratory mission. We prayed with the warden, found out specifically what she would need, and prayed with the women in the clinic.

This week we have had several containers of Buckets of Hope released from customs, and I was authorized to take 300 to the prison. So we set it up with the warden, I grabbed the Kentucky ministry team, and we headed out.

This time was really really intense. While the guys unloaded the Buckets from the truck, the ladies and translators and I were actually let into the cell block, which we were not allowed to do on any of my other trips. We walked from door to door, peering in the bars and greeting the women. It was appaling. In rooms approximately 10x10, and most probably smaller than that, 12-16 women were housed. Some rooms were slightly larger, and one had 27 women living there! The halls were filthy, and the rooms were absolutely disgusting. I had to step over several rat traps. (Luckily, none had rats in them!)

I approached each door and told them that my name was Sarah, I was here from America to tell them that Jesus loves them and I love them and that they are not forgotten. They are special and God has a plan for their life. The women were very attentive and smiled and laughed at my Creole attempts. I told them "God bless you" in Creole, and they all said "Amen!" and repeated it back to me. Going from room to room and seeing the same thing over and over was overwhelming. I had to make a concerted effort not to cry. I thought of how ridiculous it was for the white girl to cry when these women were living this reality day to day.

The prisoners can't use all the stuff in the Buckets- the rice and spaghetti for example- so those items headed back to the kitchen. We stacked the peanut butter and sugar, and then they brought out the women one cell at a time and we handed them the food and gave them a tract. I made eye contact with every woman and told her God Bless You in Creole. Almost all of the women looked back and smiled, and only a few didn't. They will receive the buckets themselves later, which will help with protecting their food and valuables.

What was really interesting was to see the reaction of our Haitian workers. We had a couple of translators and security guards, and they were all nervous about going there. Antonio, a translator, said that he never wanted to come back, and that he was ashamed that his people were doing this to their own people. Fennel, our security guard, stood behind me while we gave out the food. He kept saying "This is so sad" and "I am going to go home and hug my wife so many times." He actually knew one of the women- apparently her husband died with unpaid debts, so she was arrested. He said, "Sarah. She has 10 kids at home. What are they doing without her?" We were standing with our backs to one of the rooms, and it had windows in the wall (bricks designed with holes in them so that you don't have to buy glass), and Fennel said "Turn around and look- they are reading the Gospel to each other.) And sure enough, one woman was standing in the middle of the cell reading the tract, and the rest were listening intently and looking through theirs.

I know this is a lot of typing, but it was probably one of the most heart-wrenching and beautiful experiences that I have ever had. As I have been reading and thinking and praying about justice and what it means and how it works in the Kingdom of God for a few years now, it was so overwhelming to be in a place where there is literally no justice. One of the Kentucky women remarked that in the U.S., people would be arrested for keeping their dogs in conditions like these women were in. And it is true. And it is terrible.

I prayed for God to put a word on my heart for these ladies, and this is where He led me. It is excerpts, as I don't know what background they have in Scripture and I didn't want to confuse them. So it comes from Isaiah 43:1-7 ish, and it is my prayer that these women will know this in their souls and feel it in their hearts:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One, your Savior.

Because you are precious in my eyes,

and honored, and I love you,

I give men in return for you,

peoples in exchange for your life.

Fear not, for I am with you;

I will bring your offspring from the east,

and from the west I will gather you.

I will say to the north, Give up,

and to the south, Do not withhold;

bring my sons from afar

and my daughters from the end of the earth,

everyone who is called by my name,

whom I created for my glory,

whom I formed and made.”

We weren't allowed to take pictures in the cell blocks, but the guys got a couple unloading the truck: