Cauthen Martine
Cauthen Martine, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native and niece of Haitian presidential candidate Michel Martelly moved to Haiti in late 2009 after signing a two-year contract as a school teacher, her lifelong dream come true. She was in Petionville, a small town in Port-au-Prince when the earthquake hit and had just arrived at her aunt’s clinic.
“I had so many thoughts at once. One was that I surely was going to die, the other thoughts were ‘who is bombing Haiti?’ and ‘God is coming. It’s the end.’ I panicked and ran out into the middle of the street,” she says.
As she wandered the streets, Martine found sick, mutilated people desperately in need of help. She watched in horror as doctors used bloody needles and patients had limbs reattached with little, if any, anesthesia. In reflecting a year later on the toll it has taken on her, Martine still feels blessed. “I lost my job and immediately after suffered from post traumatic stress. A few of my students were buried under the rubble, but fortunately, none of them perished. I’ve met many people who lost their entire family. I am truly blessed that my family and I didn’t lose our lives.”
Martine expresses frustration with the relief efforts to date, and she is concerned about the safety and health of the people living in tent cities.
“Where do I start? The country needs to clean up the rubble before they even think of rebuilding. Port-au-Prince still looks like [it did] the day the earthquake hit. … It is important that people in tent cities are safe and provided basic needs. Rape and killings are still a big issue … in tent cities. Also, clean water is needed [daily] with the spread of cholera.
“The best thing you can do is never forget Haiti. Whenever you are getting ready to throw a pile of clothes away, put them in a box and ship them to Haiti. … If you do decide to donate money to an organization, be sure to do research on the organization. Small, local, nonprofit organizations are always the best route,” she says.
–suncera johnson
Suncera Johnson is a freelance writer and former producer and editor for MTV Networks. While pursuing her passion for the entertainment industry, she encourages others to do the same as producer and host of her blogtalk radio show “Musings of a Muse” and her “300 Steps to Greatness” initiative. You can follow her on Twitter under the pseudonym @thatwritingchic.
[[object width=”640″ height=”385″>[[param name=”movie” value=”https://www.youtube.com/v/Bew-Kvw1ohU?fs=1&hl=en_US”>[[/param]][[param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”>[[/param]][[param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”>[[/param]][[/object]]
