Thursday, March 4, 2010

Lightning strikes twice for Haitians in Chile

Some stories speak for themselves:

Members of the Desarmes family left Haiti two weeks after the devastating earthquake in January, joining their eldest son in Chile in what seemed a refuge from the chaos of Port-au-Prince.

Their sense of security lasted barely a month, until another powerful quake shook Chile at the weekend...

"I left my country and came here because of an earthquake," Seraphin Philomene, a 21-year-old student and cousin of Pierre, said yesterday. "And here, the same thing. My God, I left my country and I didn't die, but I'm going to die here"...

Philomene's father, Luigene, said when he heard that his daughter had been in the Chile earthquake he thought of a Haitian saying that loosely translates as: "We saved her from the river and she ended up in the sea." Now he feels she has divine protection and is hoping to join her in Chile.

"God is looking for out for us," he said. "Our family didn't die in Haiti so they aren't going to die in Chile either."

If you have yet to do so please take a few minutes of your time to open your hearts and donate to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti and Chile.

Online Sources- Guardian UK, The Latin Americanist

Image Source- Guardian UK ("From left, Pierre Desarmes, Seraphin Philomene and Jean Mary chat online in Chile with family members in Haiti")

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