***
At 6 PM, the commander called. “Where are you?” he said.
“I’m at home,” Francky said.
“You need to come down to Pétionville now, and pick up Fabby.”
Francky called Annes. “I’ll be there in 2 minutes,” Annes said. They raced back the way they had just come, Annes now driving. A few miles down the road, they passed Francky’s cousin Kenaud, who said he wanted to come with them. When they reached the neighborhood of La Boule, Francky called the commander, who said he was waiting at the police station. When they reached the police station, Francky called again.
“How many people are in the truck with you?” the commander said.
“Two.”
“You need to come by yourself to Delmas 64, and pick up Fabby.”
Francky let Annes and Kenaud out of the truck and drove toward Delmas 64. When he was nearly there, the commander called and said, “Go back to Delmas 70.”
When Francky turned onto Delmas 70, he saw a man with a gun in his hand, standing on the side of the road. When Francky got close, he saw several gang members positioned around the street, waiting to see if he was leading the police to them. The man with the gun pointed a finger across the street. Francky didn’t know what the man was trying to say to him, what the finger meant.
When he looked in the direction where the finger pointed, another man came alongside the truck , opened the rear driver’s side door, and put Fabby inside. Then he gave Francky the sim card from the cell phone they had stolen from his house and had been using to communicate with him.
As Francky sped away, he turned around, grabbed Fabby, put her in his lap, and kept her there all the way to Pétionville. She was dirty, she had not bathed for 5 days, her hair was dirty and matted, she was wearing boys’ underwear and a dirty flower-print dress that was not her own, she was 2 years old, she smelled of moonshine, she was alive.
***
Pictures provided by Kyle Minor.
7 responses
This is stunning, that people live in this kind of fear. We know it, but we turn away, constantly away. Thanks for sharing this.
Matt Bell tweeted about this (get me, I’m in the 21st century!) and I’m glad he did. Fantastic piece.
Simon
What a powerful, shattering piece. At least this part ends in a reunion, but who knows what happens next? The brutality, the injustice, both human and beyond human control, is so far outside my understanding i don’t even know how to respond. Except to say thanks for bringing our attention in the West to the lives of people like Francky. You do it well and you clearly care. Keep doing it.
Susannah
Harrowing, insightful writing, Kyle. Thank you for telling these stories and looking forward to reading the book. Your talent is really appreciated, and your heart.
Mike Lohre
Just keep in mind people,this is not only a piece of writing, it is a true event. Real people, true men & women of the Lord living their life in obiediance to Him.
What does that have to do with this piece of writing? This writer has given us something complicated. Why reduce it to this single religious statement?
My cousin’s husband, Rénald Nicolas, was similarly kidnapped in 2006. Rumor has it he was tortured before he was killed. His body was never found.
My mother told me recently of another child, age 11 or 12, who was kidnapped. This time, the kidnappers, these thugs, popped the child’s eye out before dumping him (I think it was a boy) in the trash. This was maybe a week or so before the earthquake.
These stories are common, and they are legion in Haiti. I truly hope your book sells well enough to make a real difference, just as “Never without my daughter” helped shape the provisions of the Hague Convention that deal with children traveling abroad.
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