Simon owns Caribbean Food and Wings in Lebanon. He grew up in the small town of Cabaret, Haiti, about 10 miles from the capital, Port-au-Prince. Port-au-Prince was decimated by the temblor and its aftershocks. In 1984, Joseph came to live in the United States and eventually made his way to Lebanon in 1998. His father died in 2007 and the family buried him, as is customary, in his native land. Every year, Joseph returns to Haiti on the anniversary of his father’s death to pay respects at his grave site. Every year, that is, until this year when Joseph had that premonition of disaster.
"I don’t think I will make the trip now this year because the whole country is in chaos. We pray that my wife’s mother is okay but we just don’t know,” he lamented.
Joseph and his wife Sandra have learned that her mother, from whom they had not heard in more than two and a half days, is alive and unhurt. “We have uncles, cousins, nieces, many relatives over there. We hear they are fine and now she has called with this great news," he recounted with relief. Sandra, Joseph told me, had not slept for the last three nights, leaving the entire family on edge. When her mother called from Haiti this morning, Sandra's tears were of joy.
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Simon estimates there are 50-100 Haitian immigrants living in the Lebanon area, some of whom have heard the worst news from the island; their relatives died in the earthquake or its aftermath. Local relief efforts are underway. Dr. Scott Harrison, president, CEO and founder of CURE International, based in Lemoyne, will be a guest on the program. CURE has a hospital in the Dominican Republic and sends a team of doctors quarterly to perform surgeries in Haiti. They have several doctors on the ground right now in Haiti and another five are going to the country.
Jerry Shank of the Mennonite Central Committee, headquartered in Akron, Lancaster County, also will be on the program. The MCC had 16 people in Haiti when the earthquake struck. Shank believes they are all safe but enduring an emotional trauma as bodies, injured people and mass destruction confront them. Ben Depps, an MCC worker in Haiti, called in and painted a dramatic and heartbreaking scene after the quake hit. The MCC team in Haiti includes Americans, Canadians, and Haitians. The Mennonite Central Committee is always one of the first support groups on the ground when disaster strikes around the world.
And rounding out our panel is Dr. John Judson, a Lemoyne surgeon who lived in Haiti for two years and travels there several times a year to practice at Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Port-au-Prince. Dr. Judson says the hospital is overrun and unable to care for more patients. Relief organizations say monetary donations are desperately needed. Please join us for Smart Talk Friday night at 8:30 to learn how you can help.
