"This entire project has been embraced by the community," [Chris Purdy] said. "Although I am not from Haiti, I am a descendent of the Caribbean. And I am doing all I can to help. We are doing a good work for a good cause." Other artists who donated their time to paint the mural include Cairns "Nice" Athouris, Drew Carry, Veronica Estrada, Gino (a tattoo artist), Kyle Holbrook, Bayunga Kialeuka, [Kevin Morris] "Smurf" Morris, Addonnis Parker, Jones Pierre, Serge Toussaint and Darrin Watson. [Marie Louissaint] said Pierre, a member of the Optimist club, suggested that a statue be created to mark the anniversary, but the mural got the nod because it was "more cost and time effective."
"She's a storyteller and what she has done over the years is to bring Haiti's story back home," [Audra DS Burch] said in an interview. "She's an intrepid reporter, she's smart, she's dogged. She has an energy about her that really comes through in her writing. And she's humble." "I don't think either one of us expected the amount of death that we saw," [Patrick Farrell] said. "The flooded river had dragged these kids out of their homes. At one point, we saw 12 bodies. [[Jacqueline Charles]] was so cool under pressure, especially since these are her people. You could see the emotion was there but it wasn't going to stop her from doing her job." A TEAR FOR HAITI: A cousin's death in Haiti made Miami Herald reporter Jacqueline Charles understand even more the pain of a nation. Here she is being interviewed for a Miami Herald video documentary, Nou Bouke ("We are Tired"), shot by Jose A. Iglesias of El Nuevo Herald. Photo used with permission of The Miami Herald.
Poverty and suffering are nothing new to the brave Haitian people. They have survived the hellish reign of the murderous dictator Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier and, later, his son, Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Dulavier. They have lived through the nightmare of one military coup after another, barely existing at lower than subsistence levels. They have had to pay ransom money to France because they dared to fight for their freedom.
"A broad sector of Haitian grassroots organizations, women's groups, human rights activists and educators have made it clear that now is the time to end president [Aristide]'s forced exile in South Africa," said the letter, paid for by Haiti Action Committee. The letter accuses the Haitian government, the United States, France, Canada and the United Nations forces in Haiti of blocking Aristide's return. It said the Haitian government had not responded to Aristide's request for a passport and that U.S and U.N. officials had issued public statements opposing Aristide's return. The other: "We do not doubt President Aristide's desire to help the people of Haiti. But today Haiti needs to focus on its future, not its past."
