Haiti’s ambassador shares plight with Florida officials

By REGINALD ALCEUS
Outlook Staff Writer

Raymond Alcide Joseph is a distinguished looking man who said he usually keeps his emotions to himself. Yet, he told a crowd in Tallahassee last week that the tears flowed publicly when he saw that the Jan. 14 earthquake had wiped away more than 90 percent of his native Haiti.

He had just left his native land a week earlier, where he saw the devastation for himself while touring Port au Prince with a congressional delegation headed by the U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Joseph is the Haitian ambassador to the United States.

He was in Tallahassee to speak to the Florida State Conference of Black Legislators and others to request relief from Florida, Haiti’s closest U.S. neighbor. Florida Sen. Gary Siplin, D Orlando, said because of Black History Month, and the greatness and history behind Haiti, his office invited the Haitian ambassador to talk about the country and to give an update on the status of its people and his vision of its future.

“The country of Haiti has been devastated,” said Siplin, “and of course, the people have been devastated. We are proud of our president, who has shown great compassion, along with the leaders across the world to lend a hand and assistance to our Haitian brothers and sisters.” Siplin said one group of Florida legislators plans to help, as well.

“We set up the Haitian Rebuilding and Reinvestment Task Force, which constitutes the Black Caucus members,” Siplin said. The task force has also invited the corporate community, the chamber of commerce, AT&T, ATA, and other builders and contractors to join them. The goal, Siplin said, is to devise a five year plan to assist in the rebuilding and reinvestment of Haiti.

The task force also “wants to make Florida an easy transition for those Haitians who want to migrate to Florida to be with their families who are already here.” Rep. Hazelle Rogers, D Lauderhill, said she feels a connection to Haiti.

“My constituents are very diverse and I have many friends from the island of Haiti,” said Rogers. “So being from a country that is prone to earthquakes and hurricanes myself, I’ve really understood the devastation from Day One and my heart went out.”

In the way of resources that we could garner in my community, we did so, to provide immediate relief to the people.  “I’m happy that America is here and the Florida community has sent help in every way to help this country.” Rogers said. Subcontractors and mentoring and nurturing programs for small businesses will be introduced to the country as a part of the revitalization project.

“We’re going to make sure the people of Haiti benefit from us being there”, Rogers said. “Not just because the economy might be dead on this side and we see an opportunity for businesses to go in and do their thing. We want to make sure Haiti is a major recipient of the goodwill of the world. So I join my president in making sure that the Black Caucus stays on top of this issue.”

Ambassador Joseph, like countless Haitians, was personally affected by the earthquake on many levels. “Fortunately, all members of my immediate family got out,” Joseph said. “I suffered that one distant cousin who was killed in Leogane, which was the epicenter of the earthquake. Personally, it was the attachment to a city that I knew as a beautiful place especially . . . that I see now all in rubble. If you go now to downtown Port au Prince, there’s desolation, but . . . I think I also saw something that (suggested) hope.”

Joseph said Port au Prince seemed like a “ghost town.” He was amazed to find the streetlights were still functioning due to power generated from solar panels, which he believes is the “future of Haiti.”

During the press conference, Joseph spoke of the current conditions and the challenges now facing the Haitian people. Joseph cited some of the initial problems such as the difficulty in getting relief to the people due to blocked roads, which has been resolved by the U.S. Army, and the lack of housing. He said the more than one million displaced residents are desperately in need of temporary housing over the next four to six weeks — before Haiti’s rainy season begins.

Various countries have already donated more than 40,000 tents; Haiti’s president is asking for at least 200,000 more, Joseph said. “The Haitian people are very resilient,” he said. “I was in Haiti one month to the day (Feb. 14), and what did I see but the people out in the street praying and rejoicing, and giving thanks to God that they are still alive, while praying for those who are dead.” “My top priority here is mainly to keep alive the story of Haiti,” Joseph said. “I’m here for the long haul because rebuilding Haiti is not going to be done in one week, two months, or a year. It’s going to take quite a few years and I want (the United States) to be with us.”