Hundreds of thousands of Haitians are feared dead almost 24 hours after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck close to Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, on Tuesday, January 12, the Haitian community in Queens began its desperate attempts to seek news – any news – from home.
“We are trying to get an assessment of what has happened to our loved ones,” said Adee Isaac, a staff member with Haitians United for Progress, a Cambria Heights-based organization, who has family in Port-au-Prince. “I haven’t spoken to them yet. I haven’t been able to get through.”
The earthquake was the strongest in almost 250 years to hit Haiti, the westernmost country on the island of Hispañola in the Caribbean and the poorest in the Western Hemisphere.
Subsequently, the local community had their eyes and ears glued all night to television stations, Internet news and radio sites for updates. The Red Cross expects that close to three million people will be affected.
“We are still trying to get information left and right,” Isaac said.
Getting information from the ground right now has become the greatest challenge for the Haitian-American community. Reports of the collapse of buildings – including a hospital in Petiónville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince – have circulated in the initial news reports.
But phone lines were jammed with callers and many connections appeared to be down. A toll-free hotline, 888-407-4747, has been set up by the U.S. Department of State for Americans seeking information about family members. But the number is constantly busy, said Edison Jules, a Haitian from Canarsie, Brooklyn.
However, at least one cell phone worked.
A call placed to Auberge du Quebec, a hotel in the Carrefour district of Port-au-Prince, brought incredible news.
The hotel owner, Levis Berube, a Canadian who has lived in Port-au-Prince for at least 37 years, said he called Montreal this morning to tell everyone that he was okay. He said that around him people are stunned.
“From what I can see, we are the luckiest people in the world,” he said, over a spotty phone connection, as his hotel, still open, was running on his emergency generator. “There is a lot of damage around us but we don’t have any.”
Jamaica resident Marc Labossiere has found other ways to get in contact with friends and family, including Facebook, where friends have posted their strong emotional reactions to the people they see caught under the rubble.
Labossier has also been texting his father, Claude Labossiere, who told his son that he was in his office when the earthquake struck but he managed to get to his home in the neighborhood of Le Plaine safely. Marc has verified the whereabouts of most family members from his father’s side. There is still no news from his maternal side.
In New York, news about local relief efforts from the Governor to local organizations has begun to pour in.
“As details continue to emerge from this devastating natural disaster, New York State stands ready to assist in aid efforts and will coordinate with federal officials as well as the City of New York to provide immediate assistance,” said Governor David Paterson.
Borough President Helen Marshall urged residents to stay in touch with their local news and radio stations for the latest information.
“Although communications with Haiti are difficult at best and the country’s electrical power has been greatly affected, many Queens residents are anxious about relatives and loved ones and desperate for information,” said Marshall.
According to the 2008 Census American Community Factfinder survey, almost 38,000 Haitians live in Queens County, primarily in the neighborhoods of Cambria Heights, South Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Ridgewood and Woodhaven.
TO ASSIST WITH EARTHQUAKE RELIEF EFFORTS CONTACT:
Red Cross, www.redcross.org
World Vision, www.worldvision.org
Save the Children, www.savethechildren.org
UNICEF, www.unicefusa.org
Mercy Corporation, www.mercycorps.org
U.S. State Department family information hotline: 888-407-4747
Residents can also call the city’s 3-1-1 hotline to find out how they can assist victims.
Councilmember James Sanders, Jr. will host a “Haiti Relief Effort.” All interested should contact his office at 718-527-4356.
Senator Joseph Addabbo encourages people who wan to help victims of the disaster in Haiti to call his office at 718-738-1111.
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