Lifting up Jean Wendy--January 2016
Jean-Wendy (Photo by John Carroll–January 24, 2016)
I visited Jean-Wendy and his mom again today in Park Cadot. I posted on Jean-Wendy here. He is three and one half years old and is blind and deaf.
His mother had pretty severe abdominal pain the other day and so I wanted to check her again. I had given her some medication from the little pharmacy at Notre Dames de Lourdes Parish in Anse-a-Pitres.
As I entered their shack, Jean-Wendy came stumbling out and fell down in the dirt. He was picked up quickly under his armpit by a lady holding her own grandson in her other arm.
Jean-Wendy then proceeded to take a few steps and fell down again. This time Jean-Wendy cried as he laid in the dirt. Other people from nearby shacks just stared at him this time. They must see Jean-Wendy fall every day as he stumbles over rocks and other objects littering the ground.
I bent down and lifted Jean-Wendy up. He stood there in front of me, caked in dirt, looking quite pathetic. A tear fell down his right cheek. At least he could cry.
So I carefully stepped in the door of his shack which measures about 12 feet by 12 feet. It has a dirt floor and has no amenities of any type except a mosquito net over the one small bed. Jean-Wendy’s mother Edeline was sitting on the bed with a smile on her face. She said she felt better. When I pressed on her abdomen today “no tenderness was elicited”. So this was good.
Edeline (Photo by John Carroll–January 24, 2016)
After chatting with Edeline for a few minutes, I walked out her front door and I found Jean-Wendy lying back in the dirt. I don’t know if he fell this time or just lowered himself down. But he was not crying. I think he was just assuming a recognized safe position for himself.
I squatted down and took my right hand and rubbed his back. He did not have hardly any muscle or fat and I could easily feel his posterior ribs and knobby spine. However, he liked having his back rubbed because he took his left hand and grabbed my right wrist and moved my hand up and down his back. The human touch felt good to him.
In 35 years in Haiti I have never seen such a negligent and deplorable situation as Jean-Wendy’s. I am sure they exist, but I have never seen misery at this level.
I hollered in the door and asked his mother if she had a birth certificate for Jean-Wendy. She said yes and produced one right away. It was signed by the Haitian Consulate in Barahona, Dominican Republic. However, he has no other official documents. Nor does she. He is not a citizen of the Dominican even though he was born in a public hospital in Pedernales. (And some say he his is not a citizen of Haiti either–although the Haitian Constitution may disagree with this.)
For all practical points, Jean-Wendy, Edeline, and his two siblings are “stateless” people right now without any civil rights. (His father is missing.) The only rights Jean-Wendy has are to fall in the dirt and lie there and cry. He is at high risk of not getting his fair share of a few grains of white rice each day or every other day. He has no access to potable water that his mother can really trust. His environment is not “kid-friendly” and he could easily fall into any open fire where neighbors are cooking. He has no access to meaningful medical care.
So as I was leaving we put Jean-Wendy back in his horrible shack with Edeline and gently closed the door. This way he could not wander out quite so easily. And I did not have to look at him anymore either.
Any one reading this knows that the good news is Jean-Wendy can be helped. He may never ever see nor hear, but his life could be very productive with excellent quality. His mom is powerless to help him now. She can barely help herself and her other two kids. Environments like this kill healthy people. Jean-Wendy has been robbed of two of his senses which places him at high risk for not surviving Camp Cadot. He needs to leave the camp now.
The Haitian-Dominican border may be a rough place but it is not devoid of miracles. Tomorrow morning I will speak with the pastor of Altagracia Catholic Church in Pedernales and present Jean-Wendy’s situation to him. I will ask him to find a “host-family” in Pedernales that can care for Jean-Wendy. Dominicans are lovely people and we will make this happen.
Jean-Wendy will be lifted up.
Jean-Wendy and John (Photo by Pierre-Paul–January 24, 2016)
John A. Carroll, MD
www.haitianhearts.org
They are not stateless. The Haitian constitution gives them a clear Haitian citizenship. Read article 11 of the Haitian constitution. Why you call them stateless?
Haiti needs to take care of its people. This is sad. Very sad.
Heartbroken. No words…
Praying.
How is Jean-Wendy, and his family?
Oh John, I feel your pain as much as I feel Jean-Wendy’s. What are we doing in this “world” that our brothers and sisters get to suffer so? I had a very tormented night in my soft, safe comfortable bed last night all the while thinking about this little boy. Thank you for forcing me once more to re-examine my meager contributions to our human race. I respect and appreciate what YOU do.