12 January 2010. Haiti earthquake. 5:33pm. I will never forget.
12 janvyé 2010. Ayiti goudou goudou. 5 è33 apre midi. Mwen pap jam bliyé. (Haitian Creole)
Le 12 janvier 2010. Haïti séisme. 17h33. Je n’oublierai jamais. (French)
I was in Port-of-Spain, not Port-au-Prince, when the earthquake shook Haiti. Within 48 hours I was part of the Field Assessment and Coordination Team (FACT) that arrived in the Dominican Republic’s Las Americas International airport and made our way to Haiti by land through the Haitian-Dominican border along with thousands of first responders and humanitarians.
I had no right to be there. I had never done a first aid course in my life. I was not trained in search and rescue operations. I was not a medic or a nurse. I couldn’t even donate life-saving blood because of a medical condition. My one and only superpower was French. I mastered French. I had an absolute passion for French. I was a qualified French Interpreter. And I had basic notions of Haitian creole having lived for many years in the French West Indies where I interacted with Haitians in their native tongue.
I was assigned to accompany a Canadian film crew as they documented the world’s largest single-country response to a natural disaster. My task was to coordinate their movements with the Red Cross teams on the ground to ensure the successful production of Inside Disaster, in the midst of the chaos that reigned (www.insidedisaster.com). French was my ticket to the frontline of this horrific and historic event that jolted my reality and forever changed my life.
Out of tragedy came triumph. Out of the rubble came resilience. What a privilege it was to have a voice and to be a voice of hope in the midst of this hellish experience for the hundreds of thousands who lost their life, hundreds of thousands more who were severely injured and the countless families who lost loved ones along with their earthly possessions.
I returned to Haiti for several long-term humanitarian missions since 2010 serving in various communications capacities. My passion for French, my background in communications and my cultural sensitivity to Haiti and the Haitian people all combined to position me squarely on the frontlines of the massive reconstruction efforts. Eleven years later, Haiti remains indelibly etched in my heart and mind. It marked a seismic shift in my life’s journey. Ayiti cheri… mwen rémèw. Haiti I love you.
#Ayiti#Ayiticheri#Haiti#Haiti2010#HaitiEarthquake#12janvier2010#12janvier#resilience#disasterrecovery#disasterresponse#disasterriskreduction#dropcoverandroll#disasterpreparedness#earthquakes
