Haitian native: ‘I’m living through it’
Images of death, destruction haunt Methuen mom
By John Basilesco
MethuenLife Writer
When Sheila Toussaint closes her eyes to pray for relatives in Haiti, she sees images of the massive earthquake devastation in her native country.
The 39-year-old Methuen woman, who lived most of her life in Haiti, has been distraught since learning about the powerful earthquake that destroyed large sections of the country last month.
Toussaint’s younger brother, who lives in Haiti, broke his leg and lost his home in the earthquake. Toussaint hasn’t been able to reach other relatives in Haiti by phone, including her older brother and sister. She prays they were not seriously hurt or even killed by the earthquake, and she keeps trying to reach them.
“We just have to pray, and keep praying,” she said. “But when I close my eyes, I’m living through it. Oh, my God. I see (images) in my head of buildings being destroyed, people living in the street and dead bodies in the rubble.”
She described her ordeal recently at the Methuen Adult Learning Center, where she’s been taking English classes for two years.
About a week after the earthquake, her younger brother, Dominic, contacted her using a cell phone. He is among hundreds of thousands of Haitians who have lost their homes.
He was crying as he described his situation, Toussaint recalled. He had broken his leg and lost the house he was renting when the earthquake destroyed it. He said he was forced to live on the street, where there was a foul odor coming from dead bodies.
Toussaint cried as she listened to her brother. He said he hadn’t been able to contact their other brother or sister, and he did not know if they were OK.
“He said, ‘Oh, my God, a lot of people die on the street,’ ’’ Toussaint said. “He said there was a smell from dead bodies, and no food or water.”
She said she was frustrated because there really wasn’t anything she could do to help. She’s been preparing a care package with clothing and sleeping bags to send to Haiti.
She hopes rescue workers will help her brother and find her other relatives and friends. At first, she considered traveling to Haiti herself to search for her relatives. But she’s not sure that would be the wisest way to spend her time.
She’s been keeping in touch with Carlo Pierre-Louis, a friend and member of The Haitian-Americans United Inc., a group helping to coordinate Haitian relief efforts in the United States.
He advised Toussaint against traveling to Haiti at this time.
“If you go down there, you might not get anywhere,” he said. He said efforts to locate lost relatives in Haiti are being conducted here in the United States through the media, including radio, TV and the Internet.
If she went to Haiti, Toussaint would also have to make arrangements for her aunt to take care of her children. She has a 5-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son, who is a student at Methuen High.
She’s worried about her relatives as well as her ex-husband in Haiti, who is the father of her teenage son.
“I try every day to call,’’ she said. “My son asks me every day, ‘Did you hear from dad?’ ’’
Toussaint has lived in Methuen for the past four years. She lived in Everett before that after moving there from Haiti 10 years ago.
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HOW TO HELP
There are many ways to support the Haiti relief effort. Here are just a few:
American Red Cross: P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013. In the memo of your check, write: FOR HAITI. Online donors can go to www.redcross.org.
Clinton Bush Haiti Fund: www.clintonbushhaitifund.org
God’s Littlest Angels: www.glahaiti.org
Oxfam America: www.oxfamamerica.org
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