HAITI PROTESTE: Local missionaries stranded in Haiti: "People started distributing weapons to civilians"



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    Local missionaries stranded in Haiti: "People started distributing arms to civilians"



PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Local missionary groups are stranded in Haiti riots continue to erupt Members of a Richmond County Mission Team told Channel 9 reporter Stephanie Tinoco that they were terrified for their lives. Savannah Peek said, "I thought 100% that I was going to die, as well as my sister and my fiance."

Religious groups and volunteers from several US states are based in Haiti after violent protests

Volunteers from the churches of North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Alabama are among those who can not leave, according to newspapers and TV reports.

HAITI | "When we heard gunshots, we fell immediately to the ground, everybody was screaming and crying, people started giving weapons to civilians, and we thought that the 10 men were about to start. to enter and rob us, to kill us and to light a fire. " @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/Bv1AwUI1Cc

– Stephanie Tinoco (@ STinocoWSOC9) July 9 2018

"Gasoline prices went up to $ 5 a liter, or $ 20 a gallon, and they only make $ 2 a day," says Jonathan Thames, of the team. Richmond County Missions.

Missionaries sent videos of flaming cbads and tires in Channel 9.

They said Saturday night was by far the worst.

"We heard gunshots and they were very close." At this point, we all fell immediately to the ground. We are all on our knees. Everyone shouts, everyone is crying. "

NEW: A missionary just sent me this video of what he looks like in Haiti, at one point his team was hiding in a tiny room. trying to break into the compound where they are @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/IAX6762TKj

– Stephanie Tinoco (@ STinocoWSOC9) 9 July 2018

"People started distributing weapons to civilians because we thought the 10 were about to break in and steal us, kill us, light a fire. We had no idea. "

Local missionaries have said that the Haitian people with whom they live risk their lives to protect them.




"The people here where we are staying have been just incredible," said Peek.

Church officials of North Albemarle Baptist in Stanly County tell Channel 9 that they remain in touch with families still in Haiti. 19659006] The church took a team of 10 adults and two minors to Haiti, about 45 minutes from Port-au-Prince.




Brad Lynch, the church's pastor, said that the group was safe and that he hoped to be able to return home by the end of the week. They had to return to the United States on Saturday.

Pasteur describes the conditions in Haiti. He said: "Protesters have set up barricades in the streets with burning tires, some civilians have armed themselves, stand guard in front of these barricades and ask for money for people to pbad by. There is a real concern about security. " @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/XcWtm1n8Mf

– Stephanie Tinoco (@ STinocoWSOC9) July 8, 2018

Lynch says several missionaries and groups are stranded because of civil unrest in Haiti.

He said his team lacks food, drinking water and fuel for their generator. The church works with locals to provide them with supplies.




Lynch said his team was safe in an orphanage, but the conditions are horrifying.

"There were demonstrations in the street, and with that, they erected barricades in the streets with burnt tires." Lynch said. "There are also civilians who are armed and guarding these barricades by charging money for people to pbad, so there is a real concern about security."

A Missionary Group, Cornerstone Covenant Church, Caldwell County

The Haitian airport is open, but it is unlikely that the team will be on their Tuesday flight.

"They literally have tires surrounding the perimeter of the airport currently on fire," Peek said. "I love Haiti, but I'm scared for my life."

American Airlines, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines canceled flights to Haiti

The Chapin United Methodist Church of Carolina South put on line that his mission team is safe. Marcy Kenny is a minister of church badimilation and told The State newspaper that the group hoped the troubles would go down enough for that. they can go safely to the airport.

A North Carolina doctor and her son were part of another Shelley Collins told WRAL-TV that her husband, James, and their son went to an airport but could not get away with it. fly.




The US Embbady in the country asks Americans to stay put and do not try to reach the airport unless they know that their flight is on the way.

looting stores burned and vandalized in the Haitian capital the government's attempt to increase fuel prices.

Journalists saw young men undressing in charred supermarkets through demonstrations. Several bodies lay among the debris scattered in the streets

The situation being always chaotic, the US embbady in Port-au-Prince warns US citizens of the island to put themselves in the # Shelter on Site

He notes that many flights have been canceled and that telecommunications services have been affected.

The Haitian government on Saturday suspended a rise in fuel prices after violence erupted in the capital and in the city of Cap-Haitien.

Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant had initially said that the country needed to raise prices to balance the budget and gave no indication that it would back down.

But his administration succumbed to pressure after protesters took to the streets to protest. An Associated Press reporter reported seeing Saturday several hundred people attacking a Best Western Premiere hotel in Petionville, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the capital. The guests were forced to stay inside when stones were thrown through the windows around 10 am local time

Security was guarding the building, but rioters broke the main entrance before moving to another hotel

incidents, but at least three people were killed Friday as protesters used tires and barricades to block the main streets. At one point, they tried to set fire to a gas station but the police detained them

. The protests began after the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Economy announced an increase of 38% to 51% for gasoline and diesel. Kerosene

Government officials agreed to reduce fuel subsidies in February as part of an aid program with the International Monetary Fund. The agreement also provided for an increase in spending on social services and infrastructure, as well as an improvement in tax collection to modernize the economy of one of the countries. the poorest countries of the Western Hemisphere.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This document may not be published, distributed, rewritten or redistributed.

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