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During the Haitian brunch for Haitian ladies, which was held Sunday at the embassy of their country in Washington, the conversations between professional women of the diaspora have focused on the loved ones of this Caribbean country. An earthquake the day before recalled memories of the disaster of 2010.
The annual networking event, now 13 years old, offers women and students from the American diaspora an opportunity to meet and exchange tips and ideas on how to help Haiti.
A few hours after the magnitude 5.9 earthquake occurred in the northwest of the country on Saturday night in the northwestern part of the country, some people had not yet spoken to family members in the most affected areas.
PBS News Hour correspondent at the White House, Yamiche Alcindor, whose parents are Haitians, told VOA that she had family in Port-de-Paix, where the earthquake struck the hardest but had not spoken to them yet to find out how they were doing.
In the iconic spiral staircase of the embassy, journalist Jacqueline Charles, of the Miami Herald, who tweeted her enthusiasm for attending the Haitian ladies' brunch, was busy tweeting the latest events that occurred during the earthquake, to his supporters.
While the women were enjoying Haitian dishes, hors d'oeuvres and drinks, they were worried about what was happening in their home country.
"It seems as though every time we hope to get back on our feet, something like that will happen, which greatly disrupts our hopes, our aspirations to do better," Jessie Bélizaire, the first participant in the brunch, told VOA.
Clunie Jacques, also a first-time participant, said she had learned the latest earthquake on WhatsApp during her participation in Saturday's Haitian Ladies Networking event.
"We are trying to repair the country and the country is separating, it has made me so moved and so sad that these things are still happening in Haiti," she said. Jacques told VOA that she had friends in Port-de-Paix but that she had not been able to talk to them and that she periodically checked WhatsApp for the latest news about the earthquake.
Moment of silence
In his address to more than 350 women who attended the largest annual event of the Embassy, Ambassador Paul Altidor observed a minute of silence in the honor of the victims of Saturday's earthquake.
"Unfortunately, something happened to Haiti yesterday," Ambassador Altidor told the audience. "And – we're not going to stop there – as a country as a community as a people, we're going to stand up and do what we have to do, but we actually want to take a moment of silence for those in Haiti who are suffering from another earthquake that occurred in Haiti yesterday.
Altidor acknowledged that he had planned to cancel the Haitian ladies' brunch after learning the earthquake, but then decided not to do it.
How to help
For diaspora members seeking to help the victims of the earthquake, Ambassador Altidor advised addressing local officials and organizations already working in the most affected cities, instead of launching their own initiatives.
Haitian President Jovenel Moise took up the same advice in a speech made Sunday night, shortly after his visit to the most affected cities.
"I ask all those who want to help, all the philanthropists present in the country … to contact the National Civil Protection Service, to whom I have asked to coordinate the efforts," said Moise, adding that he would ask them to define a special telephone line to answer these calls.
Last balance sheet
According to the latest report released early Monday by the Civil Protection Service, the balance sheet is currently 15, with 333 wounded.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It has never fully recovered from the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people and left one million people homeless.
