Haitian relief efforts mobilize
Published: September 27, 2004
Jean Marc Jean-Baptiste, of Mattapan, knows his 82-year-old father is alive in Haiti.
Jean-Baptiste’s uncle, who lives in Port-au-Prince, was able to send someone to Jean-Baptiste’s father’s home in Gonaives, a city in the Artibonite region of the country that has been most devastated by Hurricane Jeanne.
Jean-Baptiste heard last week that his father was accounted for, but as of yesterday, he was not sure whether his father had successfully made it out of Gonaives to Port-au-Prince.
”He’s a bit weak, he’s a bit old,” said Jean-Baptiste, who is the director of Haitian American Public Health Initiatives in Mattapan. ”Nothing was left where he lives. Even if you have money, you can’t buy anything.”-
Like many Haitian immigrants around Boston, Jean-Baptiste has spent the past week tracking down family in Haiti. He has also worked to organize local relief efforts for his homeland, which has been ravaged by storms, flooding, and political turmoil during the past year.
On Friday, Jean-Baptiste’s agency, along with representatives from local Haitian outreach centers around Boston, formed the Hurricane Jeanne Relief Committee. The group has partnered with Citizens Bank to raise money for Haitians affected by the hurricane. Money raised will be given to the Red Cross in Haiti for relief efforts. Donations are being collected at all Citizens branches.
”The tone is a lot of sadness,” Jean-Baptiste said of the effect of the hurricane on Mattapan, which has a large Haitian population. ”Some people have lost family members. People are eager to be a part of the committee.”
Jean-Baptiste said that while the committee is also collecting clothing and other goods, they are focusing on their goal of raising $1.2 million.
Groups participating in the relief effort — including the Dorchester-based Center for Community Health, Education & Research and the Haitian Multi-Service Center — came together several months ago to form Boston for Haiti, a collaborative of agencies that raised money and collected clothes and food for those affected by flooding and mudslides that killed thousands this past spring.
Charlot Lucien, who formed Boston for Haiti and is working with the new relief committee, said many of those helping with the cause are like Jean-Baptiste, balancing their relief effort with a search for their own relatives. He said one person involved with the committee just learned that six of his family members had died in the hurricane.
”It makes it difficult as far as the emotional connection, but somehow it makes them more determined,” he said. Lucien and other leaders of outreach groups stressed that the local Haitian community must consider Jeanne within the context of Haiti’s history and the country’s future.
”Even before the hurricane, Haiti was a disaster area,” said Pierre Imbert, the director of the Haitian Multi-Service Center. ”The hurricane, of course, makes it worse. But we have to look beyond that.”
The Dorchester-based Association of Haitian Women in Boston was scheduled to meet last night to discuss relief efforts, but also planned to focus on Haiti’s government and how the country is equipped to handle both political unrest and natural disasters. The fact that the economy in Haiti will most likely be crippled because of Hurricane Jeanne is evidence that the country is far from stable, said Carline Desir, director of the association.
”The hurricane is one thing,” Desir said. ”There are a lot of different problems that has led us to where we are. It goes really deeper than the immediate relief efforts.”
The Hurricane Jeanne Relief Committee plans to meet at 6 p.m. today at 10 Fairway St. in Mattapan. Jean-Baptiste said that anyone interested in helping the group should call the Haitian American Public Health Initiatives at 617-298-8076.
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