Richard's Story

I met Richard for the first time ten years ago. He was one of the bright, articulate young men in Kaglo. He has an unforgettable smile and welcoming personality. So, it was a delight to reconnect with him on Sunday, when I spent the morning and afternoon at the Blanc family home. He had heard that I was coming to visit and he made a point of coming back to the community to connect with me.

Richard was living in the heart of Port-au-Prince, not too far from the Palace. This location provided him with a way to connect with any jobs that might become available. He is a trained carpenter. But even with that skill, he found it difficult to find regular work before the quake. Port-au-Prince has suffered from a very high unemployment rate … some say over 70 % of the available workers were unemployed. And they survived living off the alternative economy.

Richard was in his apartment when he began to feel something strange happening. He said he didn’t know what it was, but only that he had to get out of his apartment. Just as he jumped out of the room, the heavy concrete roof collapsed. He was covered with concrete dust and the soot left over from the falling buildings all around him. Everything he owned was in that room. He lost everything, except his life.

Richard was interviewed on ABC News after the quake. He was still covered in dust and soot, and needed a bath. He was asked if he knew anyone in the US. And he said, yes, my friends in Portland, Oregon.

Richard is one of those people living in a tent. While he is grateful for a place to live, he said the tent is dangerous. He and his buddy were assigned a tent to live in. It gets very, very hot during the middle of the day with the hot Haitian sun bearing down. And when the rainy season arrived (and it is now raining hard every day for hours), everything in tent city is wet and muddy. And when the sun comes out, the tent becomes a very hot and suffocating steam bath.

And it is difficult to find anything to eat. He said you stand in long lines for hours, and frequently the food is all gone by the time you get to the front of the line.

He said that life is very, very hard. He doesn’t know his future.

He was grateful that I came back to see how he is doing after the quake. He only asked for my continued interest and prayers.