Man plans, and God laughs...

So, for those of you who are not scouring the news like I am for information about one of the world's smallest and most impoverished countries, Malawi has descended into civil unrest in the last 24 to 48 hours.  Typical of the American news media, it is only through frequent and fervent Google searches for "Malawi riots" that I have been able to obtain any kind of information about the political and social turmoil that has apparently erupted in the place to which I am due to bring my family in 8 days.  I can, of course, find out all about Casey Anthony's new haircut and post-prison plans.
Oh. My. God.  So much work, so much planning, and so many worries.  According to the news reports I have found, 12 people have been killed, the army has been deployed to the major cities, and looting is rampant.  The president has banned journalists from reporting, and there have been witnesses who said that the police have beaten them on the streets.  One report, which I have not seen repeated, said that tear gas was released in the hospital in Lilongwe.  We are supposed to leave next Friday.
The organization that I am working for, the Texas Children's Hospital Global Health Corps, has been phenomenal and reassuring, and I think would be supportive of any decision we make.  I feel certain that I cannot, at this point, bring my family into a country that appears to be trending toward chaos, especially in light of the belligerent response the President has had to the oppositioon party, and in the context of the violence that has taken place in northern Africa in the last few months.
So what are our options?
1. Stay in the States and see if Malawi improves.  Not my favorite idea, as we have spent $6000ish on tickets for Africa for next week, we are packed, and we are as ready as we will ever be.  Plus, it's really hot in Houston.
2. Go to another area where the program works and wait a few months to see if this passes.  Reasonable, except that the kids need to start school and Dave needs to work (both mentally so he doesn't engage in child abuse, and financially, as we cannot live on my salary alone).  And we really need to settle and nest before beginning this work.
3. Decide that this is unlikely to resolve in any kind of short term, and try to move to a different country for the next year.  This would involve disappointing all of the doctors in Malawi who have been waiting for relief from the new physicians, losing the $9000 we have paid ahead for our apartment, and choosing, almost at random, from among the other sites available.  We would, however, use our tickets, and be able to settle in sooner.
My priority has to be keeping my family safe.  It is so ironic that all of the planning and obsessing and lamenting over every detail of life in Malawi may be rendered moot 8 days before departure.  I will keep you posted.