Tampa Bay Haitians worry about the island nation after the assassination, earthquake and storm

When Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated last month, causing violent protests and gang violence in the city of Jacmel, Daniel Jean Julien collected dozens of children from the orphanage he runs there and fled to a farm in the mountains.

With the start of school approaching and things quieter, Jean-Julien and the children – aged between 1 and 16 – returned to town last week. Days later, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the island nation.

On Tuesday, the death toll rose to more than 1,400 with another 6,000 injured.

Jean Julien told the Tampa Bay Times on Monday that his house was still standing and the children were not injured, but he couldn’t speak for long. The rain from Tropical Storm Grace was increasing, his phone was dying and he had to get ready. On Tuesday, there were reports of flooding in the city.

Florida is home to more Haitian-born residents than any US state, followed by New York. More than 9,000 people live in Hillsborough County and 1,500 in Pinellas, according to 2014 United States Census data, although other estimates put the number higher. Local Haitians said they are concerned about the country as unrest and tragedies appear to be piling up.

Saint Petersburg resident Julie Roberts, along with her church members, has been in close contact for nearly 10 years with Jean-Julien, sending money and supplies to support the orphanage, although it has become more difficult recently.

Roberts sends things to Miami, where Aunt Jean Julien puts them on a ship bound for Port-au-Prince. By the time he travels to the capital to pick it up – there is no other option for shipping – it could be a month later.

“He told me several times, ‘No, don’t send anything, it will be confiscated,'” she said. Gangs have spread across the country in recent months, Jean Julien tells her, and they have stolen food and supplies shipments.

Fadia Richardson, a Lithuanian resident and retired teacher in Hillsborough County, is a volunteer with the Tampa Bay Haitian Society Foundation. She said she was busy Monday helping organize donations for the Haitian Baptist Church of New Jerusalem in Tampa. That evening, the donations were on their way to West Palm Beach to catch a flight to Haiti.

Richardson said they focused on medical supplies only, believing they were less likely to be stolen.

“With the turmoil, it’s a tough time for disaster to happen,” she said.

Richardson was just looking at photos of her cousin’s collapsed home in Dochette. Her cousin was safe, visiting her children in Canada, but now has no home to return to.

Richardson usually goes to Haiti twice a year to pay property taxes on a home she owns there, but she hasn’t gone in more than a year.

There were a lot of kidnappings, even before the president was killed. They’ll follow you from the airport, kidnap you, and then ask your family in the US to send the money.” “Nobody I know was going, unless there was a funeral or an emergency.”

Reverend Claudette Sentell in New Jerusalem said he and his parish of about 250 people are doing their best to help.

While the Santell family lives north of where the most damage occurred, he said that when he thinks of Haiti, “all of these people are my family.”

“One of my members had a brother whose whole house collapsed,” he said. Still others are trying to contact the family, although he has not heard of the death of a loved one.

Santell said the hardest-hit area had a lot of smaller villages, so supplies were scarcer at first.

“When you look at Haiti, it seems like something is happening every day,” Santell said. “Terrible things, one after another. … but we pray. I still have hope.”

Jamicia Aristel, a Tampa resident, said her husband, Leonord Aristel, had traveled days before the earthquake to Au Cayes, Haiti, where he owns a shop that sells loudspeakers and musical instruments. She said he survived, but with the roads closed, it is almost impossible for him to return to the United States. Their music store has been demolished.

Jamesia Aristel said they lost contact for a while after her husband lost his phone, but someone found it and gave it back to him. It is difficult to send money, because the business from which he received it is damaged. Tell her there is a shortage of food and water.

“He started drinking coconut water,” she said.

A partially collapsed building in Aux-Cays, Haiti on Monday, August 16, 2021. The building houses a shop owned by Tampa-based Leonord Aristel that sells musical instruments and loudspeakers. [ Courtesy of Jamecia Arestil ]

Nicolas Victorin is the former mayor of Beignon, Haiti. After studying at Hillsboro Community College for several years, in 2016 he returned to Haiti, renewed and optimistic about bringing about a change in policy. He secured financial support from donors in Tampa for several projects, including a charitable agricultural center called Seeds of Faith that trains farmers, hoping to reduce dependence on imports from the Dominican Republic.

But he is no longer mayor. He said that before his assassination, President Moise replaced him. Even before Moyes’ death, Victorin said, many felt there was “no hope,” with rising fuel costs, scarcity of food and a lack of guidance from leaders.

He was in Cape Haitian when the earthquake struck, far from the worst danger, but said, “Everyone here is afraid of what will happen next.

“Haiti is very limited when it comes to resources, and when one part of the country has a problem, the whole country is affected. All eyes will go there, and other areas will be neglected.”

But mostly, Victorin was worried about aftershocks tearing down poorly built homes.

Even though it was raining on Monday, as a tropical storm approached, he was sleeping outside with all of his neighbors.

“We don’t even know what to do,” he said. “Staying inside is scary; in the meantime, we can’t stay outside.” He believes that the Haitian people are suffering because of government corruption and poor leadership.

“I want people to know that Haiti is not damned,” he said. “Our leaders have never cared to build back stronger, even after the 2010 earthquake. You cannot expect different results doing the same thing.”

At Minou & Ben Multi Services, a Haitian market on Fletcher Avenue in Tampa that sells groceries and Haitian Creole DVDs and offers wire transfers to Haiti, the owner of Minette St. Fleur Its customers are discussing the earthquake. But it’s hard for her to talk about the country she lived in until the age of 24 without getting emotional.

“People, when they talk about Haiti, they really don’t know what they are talking about. Everything they hear is bad,” she said. “Haiti is a beautiful place. The food is delicious. If you go once, you’ll want to come back.”

She said that even after building a business in Tampa and raising four children — all college graduates — in the United States, she would one day be back for good. But this year, for the first time, she didn’t make her annual two-week trip home.

“After what happened with the president, I didn’t feel comfortable,” she said.

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