A Moncton teacher with close ties to Haiti says he is heartbroken after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake devastated the island nation on Saturday.
In its wake, tropical storm Grace has brought heavy rainfall and severe flooding.
Ken Biddington says this is making it even more difficult for people there to cope with the loss of loved ones.
“Last night I saw some video, and it was terrible there has been so much rain that a lot of the streets are like rivers right now so people are already outside in that region,” said Biddington, who added that many Haitian are too afraid to go inside of their homes that are still standing for fear of aftershocks
Biddington, who teachers at CCNB Dieppe, spent three years training teachers in the Caribbean country and said getting relief to those impacted has been a challenge especially given the country’s political unrest.
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“Knowing what just happened a month ago with the assassination of their president, I mean Haiti didn’t need another earthquake,” he said.
He has spent the last few days trying to connect with friends and colleagues impacted by the two natural disasters.
His former student Louis Jocelyn now living in Port Aux Prince in Haiti, lost several family members after their homes located near the epicentre were levelled.
“A lot of people were locked in the house, and we don’t have food and water,” said Jocelyn.
Biddington also connected with Stevenson Vil, who now lives in the Dominican Republic but still has family back home in southern Haiti.
“It was very, very hard on Haitian people,” said Vil who said that his four cousins are now sleeping outside after their mother was killed when their home collapsed.
Biddington said bandits have been blocking aid from reaching the southern communities hardest hit
“I was happy to hear this morning that there was a truce negotiated with them so that a few convoys could get through,” said Biddington.
He says Canada has strong ties to Haiti, and he is confident that more aid will be coming from the north in the next several days.
“There are many Haitians in Canada, particularly in Montreal, and we have supported them in the past and I do believe that Canada is going to support them again,” he said.
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