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| Mary Stewart, 69, said she loves her city and her church and places her faith and turst in God. "I'm not going anywhere until they take me out on a stretcher." |
By Elisabet Bernard
Mary
Stewart sat in the lobby of the Shiloh Apartments complex in Flint, Michigan, 69,
and full of smiles. “Been here for about 15 years—something like 13, 14, 15
years, and I’ll be 70, July 31,” she said.
Today,
Stewart is one of the faces of the poisoned. Among the victims of lead
poisoning in Flint, where a publicly acknowledged manmade human tragedy has
exposed the city’s population of almost 100,000 to hazardous drinking water.
By the time
Stewart told her story on a snowy day this spring, the national media had long
descended on the former automotive city. And for a time, there wasn’t a day
that went by that Flint wasn’t in the news.
But while the media highlighted
important facts about the failure of the state and local governments to prevent
this tragedy, there are other stories here, more human stories. Stories beyond the numbers and failed government.
Stories about the illness and disease that have afflicted people here since the
suspicions about the water were confirmed. Stories about those who believe that
their sufferings today may be directly related to their ingesting of poison
water over the last two years. Stories of resilience and faith. Stories like
Stewart’s.
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“It’s not easy, it’s just a lot, a lot of trouble. You try to trust in God and hope that some of the things will pass by.” —Mary Stewart
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| Reverend Daniel Moore, pastor of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church of Flint, leads his congregation in prayer and worship. Shiloh and other churches, many in Flint say, are playing a key role in helping people survive the water crisis. |
“It’s not
easy, it’s just a lot, a lot of trouble,” said Stewart, sitting in the
apartment complex that was once the vision of a former pastor of Shiloh
Missionary Baptist Church of Flint. “You try to trust in God and hope that some
of the things will pass by.”
So, for the volunteers who
faithfully bring water to Flint, Stewart gives thanks to God for guiding them
here. Her godly gratitude even extends to members of the media for shining a light
on the crisis. And also for her future, despite her health concerns and Flint’s
so far unresolved water issues. In fact,
Stewart stands steadfast on her faith.
“In Jesus
name, He will take care of me and He will not let me fall,” Stewart said. “I
asked him to keep a guardian angel North, South, East, and West, front to back,
side to side, to protect us at all times.”
Stewart’s
hope is representative of the reliance on faith in a higher power by many who
experience tragedies, said Thomas Schemper, director of The Replogle Center for
Counseling and Well-Bering at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago. “Faith,”
said Schemper, is a stronghold for many in coping with hardships.
“Believing
in a higher power means that love and faith are a part of you,” Schemper said.
“That love and faith, and knowing that a higher power, no matter if it’s God or
Allah, is in your life gives you comfort that no matter what, He will remain
with you and He will not let you down.”
Pastor
Moore, of the Shiloh Baptist Church in Flint agrees with that sentiment. He
said that churches in the community have become strongholds for people looking
for comfort in this time of tragedy.
“This
situation here has forced churches that wouldn’t normally have come outside the
walls, come out,” Moore said. “It has changed the focus of the church and it
has changed the opinion of people toward. It’s interesting how God brings good
out of things.”
Moore said
he has faced difficulties from people who have lost faith and trust toward the
government, but faith in God has grown stronger with each passing day.
Stewart said she had a variety of health problems before the
water crisis, surviving four heart attacks and a stroke, although none of her
past ailments are detectable in her speech or in her smooth brown face that
makes her look younger than her 70 years, despite a headful of gray hair
About two
years ago when she was feeling ill, she said she saw a doctor and discovered
that she had two cysts on her right kidney. This past December, she found that
one of the cysts had turned into a mass, she said. When the lead poisoning
story broke, Stewart wondered if the sudden illness was a direct result from
using the poisoned water.
Like other Flint residents, Stewart
used the tap water for daily activities like cooking, washing, thawing and
soaking meat, along with brushing teeth and drinking it.
“My skin
was itchy. I asked the doctor why I was itching, things were happening to me
and I didn’t know why,” Stewart said. “And I never thought it could possibly be
the water.”
Stewart
said she sought to find out what was causing her skin reactions by consulting
various doctors, including her medical and heart doctors and a neurologist—none
of whom gave her a solid answer, except one who blamed her ailments on old age.
But he’s not buying that.
She said she has, however, adjusted
by switching to bottled water for daily activities. And it’s her faith that
mostly gets her by.
Still, she worries about others,
especially the children. Referencing her own great-grandson, Stewart expressed
regret, thinking about all the times she washed his bowls, plates and clothes
in the lead-laden water, and the times she gave him the water to drink.
“It really
is unbelievable, I really don’t know. It is like a curse, really like a curse,”
Stewart said.
That
“curse” has caused her to question who’s responsible for the crisis. She also
wonders whether poisoned water wasn’t used as a means of ridding Flint of poor
inhabitants to make way for new for the middle and upper class.
But what
she’s certain of is that where the government and the politicians failed her,
he faith community has not. And while she sees some people packing up their
belongings and moving away from Flint, she made it clear that her roots and her
faith are firmly planted.
“I’m not
going anyway, I’m staying in Shiloh,” Stewart said. “I am not going anywhere
until they take me out in a box or a stretcher.”
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| One of the mothers at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church holds a sign that expresses the sentiment of many in the faith community amid the ongowater crisis in Flint. |
