Earthquake in Haiti: in France, in Épinay-sur-Seine, the diaspora is mobilizing
In Les Cayes, Haiti, earthquake survivors find themselves helpless and vulnerable to the bad weather of Storm Grace, August 16, 2021. AP - Matias Delacroix
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
After the August 14 earthquake in Haiti, the latest report shows 1,941 dead.
In France, the diaspora is trying to mobilize to help people there.
In Épinay-sur-Seine, in the north of Paris, the radio Fanfan Mizik, the first media of the Haitian community in France, is collecting information on the situation on the spot.
Tedious work and daily mobilization of Franco-Haitian volunteers to try to reassure families and come to the aid of the affected population.
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It is 2 pm and Frantz settles down at his post, in the basement of the radio station.
In front of him, a real command center: two offices, a continuous news channel, four computer screens, the same number of phones and several hundred WhatsApp messages.
Volunteers, reporters or even childhood friends, he uses his networks
in Haiti
to verify the information he receives and disseminate it to as many people as possible.
Networks that travel all over the island and that work tirelessly.
“
Since the 14th, these people have been working all day.
All day ... We count on them, because at the moment, it's very hard,
”he explains.
To come to the aid of families in France who have not heard from them or
to those affected on the spot
, Frantz and his volunteers take the air every evening at 10 p.m. and receive dozens of live calls.
Stéphanie, the director of the radio, lived through the earthquake of 2010. And despite this daily work, she feels helpless in the face of the situation: “
When people call to thank us, it makes me cry.
And when they call to say they haven't heard from, that makes me cry too ... It's complicated right now.
I feel helpless, I don't like it.
"
Far from being discouraged, Frantz and Stéphanie continue their commitment.
Soon they will be leaving on the roads in search of donations.
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Haiti
Natural disasters
Humanitarian