With most landlines, cell phones, and the Internet inoperable in the nation which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, it was just about the only communication left in the impoverished country, which has had more than its share of natural and man-made disasters.
“I have no idea where they are or how they are,” Francoise Casy, 60, said of his mother and three sisters in the all-but-destroyed capital city.
He was waiting at the radio station with Mikel Manijat, 29, of Foster Avenue, who was trying to get word of his aunt. “All we can do now is pray,’ he said.
Augla Pierre, 25, who had come to the U.S. from Haiti with her parents when she was a toddler, was volunteering at the storefront station, fielding calls and taking down names of relatives from the fearful people steaming in and out of the cramped office. One man told her he was talking to a relative on the phone in Port-au-Prince on Tuesday when the woman screamed into the receiver, “Oh my God, it’s the end of the world!” and the line went dead.
Pierre, too, didn’t know of the fate of relatives. “I wish I knew if he was all right,” she said as she pointed to a website photo of an uncle.
If she finds out her family is OK, Pierre, a nursing student, is ready to travel to her homeland to help. “If they need me, I’ll go,” she said.
Another volunteer, 25-year-old Medjie Desir, fearing for her five aunts and three uncles, said hundreds of people had come in and out of the station by early afternoon Thursday. “We’re all waiting, and praying,” she said.
How you can help
Be wary of any solicitors who contact you first on the phone or on the street – disasters like this, while often bringing out the best in people, can also bring out the worst)
TEXTING
Text 'Yele' to 501501 and make a $5 contribution to the relief effort over cell phone
The Clinton Foundation. Text “Haiti” to 20222 to donate $10 or go to clintonfoundation.org.
American Red Cross. Text “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10
ONLINE OR ON THE PHONE
Save the Children. Donate at savethechildren.org or make checks out to "Save the Children" and mail to: Save the Children Income Processing Department, 54 Wilton Road, Westport, Conn. 06880
UNICEF. Go online to unicefusa.org/haitiquake or call (800) 4UNICEF.
American Red Cross: Visit redcross.org or call (800) REDCROSS.
Direct Relief International. Donate online at directrelief.org.
World Food Programme. Visit wfp.org/donate/haiti.
Mercy Corp. Visit mercycorps.org or mail checks to Haiti Earthquake Fund, Dept. NR, PO Box 2669, Portland, Ore. 97208, or call (888) 256-1900
New York’s Catholic parishes will take a collection this weekend and forward the money to Catholic Relief Services for aid work in Haiti.
The Caribbean-American Federation of Chaplains is accepting medical supplies, nonperishable food and water at its office, 1452 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn.
The Haitian Consulate of New York. Deposit funds at Chase Bank in account No. 761549039. The consulate is also looking for doctors to go to Haiti -- call (212) 697-9767.
The Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City will forward donations to the appropriate agencies. Call 311 or go to nyc.gov.
The Orthodox Union has joined in the call for help – it has emailed this statement:
“It is difficult to comprehend the enormity of the devastation in Haiti. Jews are described by the Talmud as "rachmanim b'nei rachmanim," a particularly compassionate people who are sensitive to the suffering of all, and we cannot sit by and ignore this terrible drama of human suffering and misery. Through our website, the Orthodox Union is serving as a collection point for donations, which will be directly forwarded to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. The JDC has already helped to send an Israeli relief team of medical, search and rescue, and post-trauma counseling experts to assist survivors and will continue to assist with the help of our contributions. Your support is needed immediately. Go to ou.org to donate.
Please be generous.”
To find information about friends and family in Haiti: The U.S. State Department set up a toll-free number to call for information about family members in Haiti: 1-888-407-4747.
The State Department has also set up links on its website for donations to disaster relief agencies.
