Kingston, Jamaica. January 15, 2011 – Marie Flore Louis has not lived in Haiti for the past five years. However, like many Haitians living outside of Haiti, they were terrified when the news broke that Haiti had been struck by a massive earthquake which was later classified as a 7.0 on the Richter scale.
Marie Flore and her husband, Jean Claude Louis who had relocated to join her and their two young children a year before, were among millions of Haitians who waited anxiously in front of television stations, glued to their computers and radio stations desperate for any news of their family and friends in Haiti.
Within a few hours after the earthquake struck, news began to filter out that the situation in Haiti was very bad. CNN investigative reporter and anchor, Anderson Cooper arrived in Haiti via helicopter and immediately reported a very badly damaged airport. He also nervously reported a near collision with another aircraft while he was being flown over the presidential palace which was also very badly damaged. Following Anderson’s report, flights were suspended into Haiti until a system could be in place to regulate air traffic.
As news of the of the massive scale of the disaster filtered out of Haiti via CNN and other news media that made it into Haiti, some via private jet and others via neighbouring Dominica Republic, reports of large numbers of dead persons lying in the streets started surfacing. The earthquake had destroyed Haiti’s fragile health system, crippling the Ministry of Health building trapping and killing most of those inside. Doctors and other medical personnel were among the thousands reported either trapped or dead in buildings, including hospitals and schools. Appeals were made for help. But while help struggled to get to Haiti, people were dying and Jean Claude said the images of bodies being piled onto trucks and dumped unceremoniously in heaps without even being buried still haunt him and his wife a year later.
“Even yesterday, my wife and I were talking yesterday about it,” he stated. “And there is one scene which she said she saw on television with the bodies being lifted into big trucks like garbage and it affected her. Every time we talk about the earthquake in Haiti this is the first image that comes to mind,” he said while explaining that some of his wife’s friends died in the quake, but none of her family members.
“January 12th is significant and it will be significant for the years to come, I don’t think it is something we will forget, everybody was affected in one way or the other and this earthquake has impacted Haiti significantly. I think now Haitians should take the time to remember those who have left them in this awful disaster,” he stated.
Nicole Simeon was in Haiti when the earthquake struck.
“It is hard to say how I feel in English,” she stated with the native Kreyol of her country slurring her words. “I am still really anxious and sad about this date and as you can feel it is a very bad moment for everyone especially for me. On that day, I want to be with my friends and family and share the day with them and tell them how much I love them. It will be a very difficult moment.”
She said she lost persons who were close to her during the quake.
“A good friend of mine, he died at the Ministry of Health. I had seen him last at Christmas before he died. We spent the Christmas with him, we ate with him and it was the last time we saw him, with his family at this home.”
Nicole explained that she had left Haiti for her vacation after Christmas and had arrived back in Haiti on January 9th, just three days before the earthquake struck.
“And the earthquake came and I didn’t have time to see him again. You never know if it is the last time you will see someone,” she reflected, sadness evident in her voice, disclosing that he was the husband of the godmother of her one year old daughter.
“His two daughters were trapped in their home and spend two days under the rubble at their house before being rescued,” she stated.
