The Lingering Pain...

While news of the fire at Comayagua's prison is quickly fading from memory in the United States, it is front and center in the news here.  As I write this, it is less than 72 hours since the first flames of that tragic fire.  Throughout the country, you can't turn on the news or open a newspaper without there being a myriad of stories about the fire. 

The final body count is not in yet, though it's currently being reported as 382.  The number of prisoners who escaped is not known, though that number is being whispered at about 100.  The cause of the fire is unknown, though there are many rumors and theories.

What IS known is that the prison was grossly over crowded, which added to the loss of life.  The prison is old, with no centralized way of opening cells, which added to the loss of life.  More than likely, the guards feared a massive riot, slowing their initial response, which added to the loss of life.

And what is that loss of life?  It has touched so many people that I know:

One of our guards lost his brother, just ten days before he was to be released after serving 6 years in the prison.

A staff member, A., lost two uncles and three cousins.  That's five family members.

Another staff member, R., lost one uncle and three cousins.  Four family members.

Our staff member, F., had a brother there.  Thankfully, mercifully, F's brother survived with only some burns and a broken leg.

I was talking to one of our young volunteers at the Center, W. I asked him if he lost any family members. He looked at me like I was a little crazy, cocked his head to one side and wrinkled his nose, then said, "¡Bastante!" "Tons!"  W. is one of the street kids who has been volunteering here for a while now.  He is trying to rise above his circumstances and spends as much time here as he can.  He wants to make sure he doesn't end up as a statistic in the jail.  If he keeps going like he is, he won't.

Normally, I use first names here, but just felt that I should only use initials today.  I'm sure you understand.

A friend asked me a question on Facebook, about whether any or many of our school kids were affected by the fire.  My response was that if just these four people that I've mentioned were (and I'm sure there are more within our staff), that I have no doubt that many of our school kids lost family members this week.

Please continue to pray for the survivors, the families, and the officials.