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Talk about your experiences and feelings about the Jan. 12 earthquake.

I remember I just got home from school on Jan. 12, 2010 when a friend called me sobbing on the phone. It was very difficult to make out what she was saying because she could not control herself. I immediately thought of the worse, or so I thought. Haiti was the farthest thing from my mind; I could not have imagined anything being so awful. After all, I just returned from spending Christmas with my family in Haiti. “Our Haiti is gone, no more” I finally heard my friend say. “Turn your TV on,” she insisted before hanging up. It was awful. With all these Horrific images coming out of Haiti I made 922 calls to everyone I knew in Haiti before I got through to one of my cousins who walked miles with the ground still shaking to bring the phone to other family members. It took four long days. Thankfully everyone was alive minus broken bones and such. I will never forget the gripping suspense and crippling silence that was destroying me day after day until I got a word from Home. Others were not so fortunate. I thank God for sparing us but how does one ever recover from such unprecedented loss of life and sufferings.

Rapadoo,

7 replies »

  1. After 25 years in exiled in France, French citizen Jean Claude Duvalier went back to Haiti stated to his supporters “he came to help Haiti” the Haitian government claimed they were not aware of his return. How could it be possible? He came to help Haiti when the country is in the middle of election, would he consider running again for president? Can he still be a presidential candidate knowing he rejected his Haitian nationality?
    People are calling for Justice for the life of people brutalized and murdered during the three decades of the Duvalier regiment. He was able to obtain a diplomacy passport to return in Haiti, who provided him with his passport? Don’t you guys think he is not acting alone?

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  3. I tried not to relive this day again, but I will force myself to explain a little about my reaction to this terrible event happened in my homeland on 1-12-2010. A relative called and told me to watch the news on CNN. I turned on the TV and saw buildings collapsed while people being trapped in the earthquake. They were human beings and people from my own heritage. I worried a lot about my family especially my dad who was in Haiti. I tried to reach him on many occasions to no avail. When I saw the girl called Anaika being rescued and then later found out that she died, I felt like I was in labor and could not endure the pain that I was experiencing. However, to see people being rescued by their countrymen and other foreigners helping them brought joy to my heart knowing that solidarity stills exist in spite of our differences. A lady named Jeanette Toussaint St Fort made the greatest impact in my life because of her faith. She and her husband believed that she will not die because of her belief and her service to others. She explained many supernatural events happened before she was rescued alive. Her strength and courage gave me hope to patiently wait for a better tomorrow for Haiti. I always believed in my country and that things will one day change. We are strong and will remain stronger despite all we have endured for so long. My hope is for everyone including myself to live in peace, harmony, with an humble spirit, to respect one another, to fight for justice for all, and to love and tolerate people. As we have seen in the media, our last breath can be gone in one second. Therefore, I try to make a difference in the way that I live my life and will always inspire others to be the best with their God’s giving talents and abilities.

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  4. On January 12, 2010, I was home and suddenly I watched CNN and I could not believe what I saw. I did not cry but I was shocked to the point I needed to see a professional to help me cope. Even after the earthquake there were too many stupid deaths. People who do not deserve to die .

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