Haitian community in the Twin Cities worried and resolute in the aftermath of the earthquake – the Twin Cities

When a major earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, more than 200,000 people lost their lives, more than a million people were uprooted from their homes, and the island nation’s already fragile infrastructure and economy were left in shambles. A 7.2-magnitude earthquake on Saturday hit the country’s southwestern shores along the same fault line. By some measures, it was twice as powerful as its predecessor.

The official death toll is currently under 2,000, but Cassandra Lafleur has no illusions. A resident of St. Paul’s School and a high school teacher at St. Paul Public Schools, LaFleur is preparing to increase those numbers, perhaps several times over. Some of the worst damage occurred in Les Cayes, the coastal community in which I grew up.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Grace flooded areas affected by Saturday’s earthquake with over 10 inches of rain.

“There are a lot of cities that can’t be contacted,” LaFleur said Monday. “For me, this is closer to home. More and more, they are finding more and more people under the rubble.”

Their homes are completely gone

Her parents, founders of rural development organization COFHED, are currently based in Camp Berrin, about 17 miles from the Les Caye River, and have been camping outside since Saturday’s earthquake.

“Almost every Haitian in the south is sleeping outside either because their homes are completely gone or because they fear the aftershocks,” said Lafleur, 37, who left Haiti at age 15 but travels back and forth regularly.

LaFleur said many mountain roads are closed, and even well-coordinated relief efforts will struggle to reach rural destinations.

“When it rains, it rains,” LaFleur said. “Haitians, we need a break. …At the moment, many people are wondering if relief will come. But the Haitian people are strong.”

Her husband, who is also a Haitian, is also concerned about his parents and extended family, and the country’s political instability has not provided a reassuring backdrop. On July 7, President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his home by a group of mercenaries, leaving a power vacuum. The new prime minister, Ariel Henry, was sworn in on July 20.

Relief and development organizations

The Haitian community in Minnesota is small – estimated at just over 1,000, according to aid organizations – with the majority of Haitian immigrants living in Florida and New York.

However, many Minnesota-based development organizations, charitable relief groups, churches and schools have links with Haiti, which the World Bank and other organizations recognize as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. About 60% of the country’s population was living in poverty in 2020.

Dale Snyder, founder and CEO of the Golden Valley’s Haiti Outreach, employs nearly 50 Haitian workers in the town of Benon, in the central part of the island nation, to build wells in rural areas and help cities repair and expand clean water infrastructure . . His workers are located 100 miles from the epicenter, but he nevertheless offered to send a water truck to distribute clean water to those affected. It accepts donations at HaitiOutreach.org.

“We’re on the move,” Snyder said. “This is the second big earthquake in my life. We have been in contact with the government, and they basically said bring a water truck so they have clean water, and they checked to see where the damage to the wells and water systems was. We supported sending some local doctors from Benon to go there. We just started spreading propaganda to try to generate money to pay for all of this.”

Rose Carlin Gbadamasi, founder of the Minnesota Haitian Community website and Facebook page, raises funds for children in Haiti who need complex surgeries. She plans to change gears, and perhaps collect sanitary items, rice, tents and other goods she can deliver to people in the affected area. Her plans are tentative. Gbadamasi, of southern Minneapolis, who admitted he’s feeling overwhelmed, said for now, it’s all about “donations and prayers.”

“I don’t know what to do, if I should go, send something, or how to help,” she said. “There are many things going on. The president has been assassinated. Maybe if two churches want to pray? We need to work together, to see what we can do.”

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