There were years of warnings. No one took action. Then came the fire that could have been avoided. How 13 Haitian children died in a children’s home run by a wealthy U.S. church.
https://apnews.com/46e0cdb30b9bf51e979aa7c98b3f8e81
The deaths have devastated parents like Eustache Arismé, 33, who put his two daughters in the home shortly after they were born because he has a withered left arm and cannot find work. His daughters Nedjie, 4, and Vanise, 3, died in the fire at the home, which is known as an orphanage in Haiti although many children have at least one living parent.
“A deep sadness came over me. I still haven’t cried, but I lost control of myself and couldn’t move.”“It happens to hundreds and thousands of American organizations working in Haiti, raising millions of dollars in the names of churches and NGOs in Haiti,” he said. When the church members brought in outside experts, one declared them “completely clueless about what is needed to take care of that many babies.”The orphanages failed another round of state inspections in 2017 but hired Fevry to fight closure, according to Haitian child welfare authorities. They said closing an orphanage can take months or years, particularly if the management has money or influence.
It was only two months later that she learned her former husband had put the boy in a Church of Bible Understanding home. Shocked, she went there with a copy of the birth certificate to get her baby back. The day after the fire, the boy’s father told Caristan’s sister he was dead. Caristan rushed to the hospital to see her son’s face for the last time, but he had already been taken to the morgue. She said no one from the orphanage or state had contacted her since.
’’That would often produce marks, in which case the monitor would give you a bath with warm salt water,” she said. ‘’The marks would disappear in two or three days.’’ It wasn’t a comfortable life. Former members said they were crammed into tightly packed rooms, slept on mats on the floor and discouraged from dating, attending school or doing anything outside of church activities. Members worked for church businesses, and, in turn, received small allowances.
That became Olde Good Things, which has a thriving online business and retail shops in New York, Los Angeles and at the headquarters in Scranton, Pennsylvania. They offer antique and vintage home décor such as crystal chandeliers for as much as $22,000. One of the least expensive items for sale this week is a pair of antique bronze door hinges for $55.
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