Ti Legliz
Kevin now sees that this base community is a fortress of sorts. The arrangement of houses around the walled town square with its stone chapel at the center, is a kill zone. While Kevin doesn’t know that it’s happened here, he has heard from reliable sources that it’s not uncommon for the Haitian government to send a “tax collector” into one of these communities and they never come back. But rather than admit they’ve lost control of the provinces, the government pretends none of that ever happens.
With all that in mind, Kevin is surprised that he doesn’t see visible weapons. None of the villagers carry firearms but the adults carry machetes at all times. The kids harden sticks over the charcoal fires while rice and beans are cooking. Then they run around the community with their sticks, occasionally using them to discipline a wayward goat or to spar among themselves. The priests carry walking sticks that Kevin knows are made of incredibly hard wood. He’s seen them split coconuts with one well-aimed strike.
A bell rings, signaling that the work day is finished. The priests lead Jè and Kevin toward long tables arranged in the village square, where Solange is waiting. Lay members of the church are carrying trays of food and pitchers of spring water. They reassure Kevin that the water is safe to drink without filtering. Steaming pots of Haitian coffee are arranged on the tables with a collection of chipped coffee mugs. They sit at the table with Solange and Kevin is stretching his hamstrings, when he sees Father Jean approaching with a handful of young Haitian men.
One of the new men is clearly their leader. The others defer him to him in that unspoken way. He’s wearing olive fatigues, a dark green t-shirt, and has a machete over his shoulder in a beautiful hand-stitched scabbard with sling. He isn’t physically imposing, but has the tight, wiry frame of most Haitian men. He moves lightly in his dark combat boots as he makes his way toward them. The meal preparation chaos parts around him like a river. As he gets closer to the table, Kevin can see that the man is already looking directly at him and is making no attempt to break eye contact. His face is relaxed though and his eyes are friendly. The only mar on his face is a broken and badly reset nose, which Kevin can tell was caused by a police riot club.
When everyone is seated, they drop their heads as Father Jean offers a brief blessing for the food. Kevin has heard this prayer before but he can never get it entirely right. Something like, “We thank you for this food we are about to share, even though so many have so little.” A group of altar boys arrive with their serving bowls and ladles. When everyone has their plate filled, Father Jean clears his throat and gets the attention of the table. “I don’t have a lot of time since I need to get back to Port in the morning.” He looks at Kevin, “I’ll tell Father Vitor you found your way here.” Father Jean cracks a brief smile, “He’ll be surprised, but not really!”
Then it’s back to business. “Jè and Kevin are here on two missions. The first is cover; to get the Protestant station’s transmitter going. The other is for Kevin to stay with us for the summer and work on some other projects.” He looks at Jè, “You’re OK with only knowing part of the story?” Without hesitation Jè replies, “I’d rather not know any of the story, but am glad to know you’ll be keeping an eye on this guy”, and points toward Kevin. Jean smiles and says, “Bon nom!”
Then Father Jean gestures toward the new men at the table, “You’ll get to know all of them, but consider them to be friends of ours.” The men glance over to Solange who is nodding her head, and then back to Kevin and Jè. “Now I’d like to introduce the leader for our mountain top mission.” He nods his chin toward the man with broken nose, “We call him Henri, because it’s nothing like his real name.” They all chuckle at the worn joke. Fr. Jean continues, “As you probably guess, the good-looking one is Jè.” Now everyone is laughing enthusiastically and Kevin says, “You can call me Blan. Tout sanble!”, which causes even Father Jean to burst into laughter. While the laughter dies down, Kevin walks around the table and shakes Henri’s hand.
Then Father Jean says to everyone as his face grows serious, “It might actually be best if we all forget the names of our new friends. Since you now need to know, Henri spent some time with the French Foreign Legion. Then with some shadowy groups of comrades in interesting parts of the world. Now he’s back among us doing God’s work.” Henri bows his head and says, “Father Jean, you’re too kind.” Father Jean smiles at the men and winks at Solange, “You’re all doing God’s work. He doesn’t just need mild-mannered priests and nuns, you know.” Father Jean turns back to Jè, “For your protection and everyone’s, I think it would be best if you returned to the station tomorrow. I’d appreciate if you could give me a lift at least as far as Carrefour. Henri and team will get Kevin up to the peak. We have our own radio tower near there and can communicate with you directly if we need you to come back with supplies. If you boost from your side, you can send us messages here at 6 AM or 6 PM each day.”
After a brief pause, he claps his hands together, “I almost forgot the best part! Fr. Vitor added a sweetener.” Grinning mischievously, “It turns out a friend of his is a progressive Pastor on the board of the National Convention of Haitian Protestant Churches.” He laughs, “How do you keep them straight?” Kevin laughs along and with a mischievous grin, “I forget. Are all of you Jesuits?” This has the whole group laughing until Father Jean continues, “Since they provide most of Protestant Radio’s local funding, it would be terrible optics if they withheld donations due to concerns about radio coverage among their parishioners in Department Sud.”
He looks at Kevin and Jè, “You’re both welcome to stay here anytime for as long as you like. Father Jean gestures around the table and then to the sky, “Until we all agree that Kevin is finished, he’ll be working on the mountain for Radio Protestant. That’s all anyone will need or care to know.” He winks at Kevin, “We’ll get you down to Cayes every few weeks, so you can be seen going to some church services. That will reassure everyone, I’m sure.” The table starts laughing again as Fr. Jean hands Jè a hand-held two-way radio. “The frequency is already saved. Just find a high place and start using the call-signs we gave you. Do you remember them?” Jè smiles, “They’re all Bible verses, so I already have them memorized!” Father Jean smiles and then starts to laugh, “Well, I’ll give the Protestants that. You all know your Bibles!”