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Haitian Voodoo Priest Claims “There Will Be So Many Ghosts” February 11, 2010 – Respect for the dying goes back further than the human footstep. It’s a process that animals have participated in and humans have long celebrated. In Haiti, however, thousands of lost souls have been denied proper burial via mass graves and this has upset so many in this already ravaged country, where these make-shift mass cemeteries only serve as a reminder of the lost souls flying over it’s destroyed countryside.Though the country plans to pave over some gravesites in favor group memorials some of the country’s Voodoo priests say this will only serve to worsen an already impossible situation. "There will be so many ghosts,” says voodoo priest Menahem Laurent. Belief in the afterlife is almost overwhelming in Haiti. This is a religious country and there are rules for burial including how and when to pray and how to dress the corpses, of course, this is being ignored as the country tries to ward of disease of possibly up to 200,000 dead after the devastating earthquake of January 12th. |
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| Creating an elaborate service is what this country is all about. "This is a country of rites of passage," says Danielle Jeudi, a baptized Catholic and voodoo trainee. "On a moral level, not to be able to do this, it's extremely difficult." He points out that the traditional funerals are, like most countries, as much for the living as for the dead but the lost ones need proper burial to move to another life. While many have been denied their proper last rights some families are doing the best with what they have including performing their own services, they also have radio stations read out the names of the dead and most have candle-lit ceremonies. On another level many families have to deal with not knowing because the lack of a body creates this uncertainty torturous cycle of hope and despair. |
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| In the meantime, the devastated country tries to cope, tries to stay alive while wishing their dead brothers and sisters have safe passage to their next life, they hope it is enough. Our brothers and sisters in Haiti need our help! Please contact the American Red Cross at Red Cross.org For our Canadian listeners go to red cross.ca, international donation can be made at if-rc.org You can also text Haiti to 90999 (automatically bills your cell phone for 10 bucks and all the money goes DIRECTLY to the Red Cross, this is the US State Departments official gathering mechanism). – by John Beaudin - More on disasters |
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