Bible Society looks for a location
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| n Magda Victor, General Secretary of the Haitian Bible Society, visits a property which may be acquired and turned into the next Bible House |
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Life is not easy for Haitian Bible Society General Secretary Magda Victor and her 12 staff. On a normal day, people are jammed around the Bible House entrance, but, says Mrs Victor, when there are disturbances in the capital’s streets – as there often are – it is impossible to get in.
“Sometimes we have to hide in a corner because of shooting,” she says. “Almost every day there is some shooting in the streets. We had one man die in front of the main entrance to the building. There are also robbers. And sometimes they burn tyres in the streets. This area is a centre of all those activities.”
Ironically, this centre, where Bible House stands on a busy corner, is called Rue de Miracles (‘Miracle Street’).
“Once,” says Mrs Victor, “this was the best part of town. But now when we tell someone where we are, they say that they are not going to come to buy Bibles. Even the pastors do not want to come down here because of the danger.”
Tasks such as shipping and receiving are also adversely affected by the location.
“It is difficult to unload Bibles when they arrive,” Mrs Victor explains. “When people see a container coming, they all gather around, wanting to see what is inside. That makes it difficult to unload. Plus it is just hard to get anything through the doorway. Sometimes we have to call the police for security just to get the materials inside the building. There are people who think we need to maintain a presence downtown but it makes things very difficult for the employees.”
In response to these challenges, Opportunity 21 is funding a new Bible House and the Bible Society is already in negotiation for a more suitable property – still accessible to the downtown area of Port-au- Prince by both public and private transport but at a distance from “all those activities”. (WR 363/3 - 10.01) [PHOTOS]