This feels so personal

Last night I found out that a man I know in Port-au-Prince was kidnapped, along with two other people who work for the same business - a business I have frequented many times.

This gentleman has always been kind, and I always look for him when in the establishment where he works.

I saw him at the airport back in November. We were on the same flight to Miami. I asked him, “Are you leaving like so many others?”

”Oh, no,” he replied. “I will be back.”

Many leave. Many stay.

I do not think there’s a right or a wrong answer these days to staying or leaving, but my heart breaks for those who have chosen to remain in the country of their birth . . . and are daily living with fear.