Haitian tragedy hits close to home
2/8/2010
Through the shock and fear and heartbreak is a gnawing uncertainty.
Rev. Albert Melifaite and members of First Haitian United Methodist Church in Roswell are coping with a myriad of emotions that are unlikely to ebb anytime soon.
The massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12, centered 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, was felt more than 200 miles away in Cuba. Other aftereffects, not detectable on the Richter scale, are being felt strongly in north Georgia.
“There are nearly 150 members of this congregation,” said Rev. Melifaite. “And everyone is affected. Everyone here knows people who have died. Everyone is in mourning.”
Rev. Melifaite is traveling to Haiti to arrange burial for his brother-in-law and two sisters-in-law who died in the quake. Seven members from his congregation are travelling with him.
“We are going to support each other,” Rev. Melifaite said. “We all have people to care for in Haiti. Homes have been lost, people are leaving the city, and many of our family and friends are dead. At this point, I don’t know how many funerals we will be attending.”
Weeks after the devastating quake, many painful questions linger. While Rev. Melifaite knows the identities of some deceased family members, others remain missing. “There are five, or so, relatives we have not heard from,” he said.
The Haitian government has put the official death toll at 150,000, as of last week, but believes that number could double. Up to 3 million people are in need of food, water or other aid. Rev. Melifaite knows he cannot be fully prepared for what he will see.
“A friend of mine who is a doctor just returned from Haiti,” he said. “He told me that it is not at all what it looks like on television … it is far worse. He says you would not believe it unless you saw it for yourself.”
A special fund has been set up to assist Rev. Melifaite and his congregation. Checks may be sent payable to the Atlanta-Roswell District, 757 Peachtree Parkway, Suite 3, Cumming, GA 30041-9354. Please mark your check "Haiti--Melifaite."
For more information, please contact Karen Kagiyama by e-mail at uwgwesley@gmail.com, or via phone at 678-234-4977.
--By Glenn Hannigan, North Georgia Advocate editor
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