Haiti earthquake - what is your connection?

[Peasie]

A friend and I were talking about the earthquake this evening. She works with a Haitian whose mother, a doctor, had just arrived in Haiti last Saturday on a family emergency. Her house is Haiti is about 7 miles from Port-au-Prince and received minimal damage from the earthquake.

Two Haitian friends have not yet heard from their immediate family

One of my sisters, a doctor in Jamaica, travels throughout the Caribbean on a public health initiative and she visits Haiti often. A part of her team of Jamaican medical personnel was in Port-au-Prince when the earthquake hit! They are all fine and got through via Digicel to my sister after the quake. I think they might still be in Haiti helping with emergency health care.

One other sister, a nurse in New England, works at a hospital where 6 nurses and 2 doctors are getting ready to go to Haiti with Doctors Without Borders.

What is your personal story about this tragedy in Haiti? Are you or do you know someone directly affected by this earthquake? Please share

[annshan2]

Re: Haiti earthquake - what is your connection?

Talk to my friend yesterday still haven't heard from her aunts and cousins
My daughter's classmates his Uncle is alive but seriously hurt and is Aunt might be dead he said very sad

[ILP]

Re: Haiti earthquake - what is your connection?

Have college friends that run an orphanage in Cap-Haitien (near the water). They are alright....minimal damage...said they are trying to keep the kids in their routine, but things are going to be interesting in the upcoming weeks and months. Supplies and funding for orphanage come throught Port-au-Prince. They dont know what they will do yet. They had no emergency plan.

They are also making room for the influx of kids that are now orphaned as a result.

They were bursting at the seams already

[twiney]

Re: Haiti earthquake - what is your connection?

My friend's family is ok although their homes have been ruined ... her mother fell before escaping the house and she said something about something with immigration canada she and her sister who are here may be able to help their family to come here.

[Stormmey]

Re: Haiti earthquake - what is your connection?

I went to University with a girl in Vancouver who her immediate family Mom, Dad and two brothers still live in Haiti.

I spoke with her last night and her Mom and one brother are okay, injured but alive. Her Dad is missing and another brother is dead.

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: Haiti earthquake - what is your connection?

Can you fathom a situation wher all the banks are destroyed?
And all the business establishments are collapsed on all that cash?
All the owners of teh automobiles have bean buried in unmarked graves, with the car keys in their pockets?
All the power lines have been downed, all the working people, were crushed, by collapsed buildings?
All the bankers too?

The professional class,have been eliminated?
All the structures, that housed thepeople,business and services have been destroyed?
That is what The capital of Haiti,And I understand that the rare some rural towns, with all their buildings collapsed on people too.
Only ther is not services to them.
Since the services are concentrated in the capital.

[Leddih]

Re: Haiti earthquake - what is your connection?

Dr. Dudd. Are you saying that's what happened, or are you speculating? I ask because that is not my impression.

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: Haiti earthquake - what is your connection?

A lot of it has happened
Citibank that is the central bank of Haiti.
it or not.
was destroyed and a lot og the staff is missing.

other banks are destroyed too and a lot of what I wrote is the case. more than less. <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Leddih</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Dr. Dudd. Are you saying that's what happened, or are you speculating? I ask because that is not my impression. </div></div>

[Leddih]

Re: Haiti earthquake - what is your connection?

I met an UN interpreter online; we have become very good friends to the extent that that can happen online. She is married to an accountant and they have a son. She works with the Sri Lankan army and lives in the Delmas area near to the airport. Her group has been stationed for a while now in the Carrefour-Martissant area which was just about the epicenter of earthquake.

Some persons have styled Carrefour as somewhat of a Sodom and Gomorrah (shhhh! don't tell Pat Robertson). Her response was that there are places like that all over the world and Petion-Ville - where there are a lot of wealthy people - is worse.

On the morning of the earthquake we had been on the IM chatting from 9:24 am until 10:37am then she apparently went to do some work without signing out (signouting - LOL!). At some time between 4 an 5 pm her signal went - I didn't pay it much attention because apparently signal loss is frequent in Haiti for one reason or another.

Then the news of the earthquake hit me like Mike McCallum's left hook to Donald Curry's jaw-bone.

[twiney]

Re: Haiti earthquake - what is your connection?

My other Haitian friends from church while they dont have family there lost friends ... some of them had just gone home and her best friend and her five children are missing (feared dead)

[Peasie]

Re: Haiti earthquake - what is your connection?

A woman who is a Math teacher at a Port-au-Prince school arrived at the Episcopal theological seminary in Virginia last week to attend a class. The school where she taught is destroyed and all her students are feared dead.

[Gen]

Re: Haiti earthquake - what is your connection?

My coworker-his father was scheduled to fly down this coming week (on hold for obvious reasons)- the coworker left for some scheduled time off on thursday so dont know what the latest news is on his extended family there. he was born here but never been to haiti.


one of the best babysitters that littlegen had (when she was 6ish) was an NYU Edcation grad student. she left after a while because she needed to find a full time position (I was only able to offer her part time work). I have been looking for her number to give her a call to see how badly she was affected. but so far unable to find the number

[Seveen]

Re: Haiti earthquake - what is your connection?

my paternal grandfather was born there ended up in lousiana - via the french - knew how to read and write - when most black folks at that time didn't

owned a store - wrote, read and weighed things

died in 1962 - at 94

[jamaica_dreamin]

Re: Haiti earthquake - what is your connection?

I work with a number of Haitian's that have family in the Port Au Prince area. Most had heard from immediate family thank God.

The photos in the the Sun Sentinel are just unreal!

[Peasie]

Re: Haiti earthquake - what is your connection?

Wow. We here at Ja.com are very much connected to Haiti in some personal way. Let's hear some more stories ....