Fri 5 Feb 2010
Ever since the earthquake hit Haiti on January 12th, my weeks have been a blur. Partly because of the shock of it all, and partly because of my involvement with organizing fundraisers to support local registered Haiti relief charities.
A little back story: My parents and their relatives left Haiti in the 1960s. Most of the relatives in my generation–born in the 60s, 70s and 80s–were born in New York City, and sadly, have never visited Haiti (including myself). But we speak the language, eat the food, dance to the kompas music and adore the culture. I mean, in the not so distant past, you could catch us at Brooklyn’s West Indian Day Carnival Parade, adorned with the Haitian flag and dancing all the way down “de Parkway” in celebration of our culture. One year, my cousin Jessica went all out and got a flag as large as a cape. Check her out! (Even though she doesn’t look it, I think she was about 18 years old at the time!)
So outside of one cousin, I don’t have any close relatives in Haiti. I am deeply grateful that my father wasn’t in Port-au-Prince at the time of the horrific event. He visits often, and and this past December, he booked a ticket for the Friday after the quake!
For the first week after the disaster, my family had not heard from my cousin Martine. We were especially worried because she has small children—including an infant. It was a huge relief when she finally called. I am happy to report that she and the kids are safe. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for other distant relatives. Jessica lost her uncle on her father’s side; another cousin lost his sister-in-law; and my great aunt in Brooklyn has so far counted 100 people that she’s known who have perished—including her own sister-in-law.
Times like this, it’s nice to be around family. But with no immediate plans to travel home, I discovered the next best thing. A church in Bermuda organized a prayer evening after the tragedy, and there, I met other Haitians on the island! I had only known of two Haitians around—one of whom was my French teacher—but six of us showed up! We were so thrilled to meet each other (and hear some good ole creole) that we snapped a quick group shot after the prayer service.
The following week, the Premier of Bermuda, Dr. Ewart Brown, invited all Haitians on the island to meet him. My supportive hubby came with. It was a cozy, informal meeting and the Premier offered us his condolences and his support. At times, the Premier was even moved to tears. He then invited us to share our thoughts and concerns, which we felt comfortable enough to do. I was especially touched (and a bit teary) when one Haitian man named Samuel stood up and said in a creole-kissed accent, “I used to always think, No one cares about us; no one cares about Haiti. But now I see the whole world cares about Haiti.’” He ended with a rousing message about building the country back up, “We can do it,” he chanted louder and louder, his fist pumping. “We CAN do it. WE CAN DO IT!” Wow.
Apparently there’s like 10 or 11 Haitians on the island! One of us, Wesly, was in Haiti at the time on a (heroic!) mission to evacuate survivors from Port-au-Prince and bus them to his unaffected hometown. Leyde, another member of our newfound community was planning to leave to Haiti the following week. Here we are at Camden House, the Premier’s official residence.
By the way, I adopted “We can do it” Samuel as my uncle. Here I am with mon oncle Samuel (a real-life Haitian Uncle Sam).
Eager to assist in the island’s relief efforts, we joined philanthropic Bermudians who have been active in Haiti for years in their work to bring medical relief to Port-au-Prince and neglected provinces outside of the capital. We formed an organization to recruit volunteers. And within a week, we held our first fundraising event in support of local registered charities Haiti Village Health and Feed My Lambs Ministry. Here’s a photo of one enthusiastic Bermudian volunteer who went above and beyond by decorating a poster for her Tag Day collection site. It’s incredibly heartwarming to see how everyone is pitching in the best way they can.
Thanks to all who have reached out to ask about my family. Please continue to keep Haiti in your consciousness as the struggles there have just begun. For ways in which you can help, please visit my Help for Haiti post.