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Local Cubans, Haitians Worry About Loved Ones

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By RICH SHOPES and KATIE CORONADO

The Tampa Tribune News Channel 8

Published: September 9, 2008

Tampa Bay area Cubans and Haitians are rushing to send supplies and get in touch with loved ones after a battery of storms have pounded the islands.

Cuba was being walloped by Hurricane Ike on Monday, and the government blamed it for the island's first four deaths of 2008 season. Haiti has endured a devastating string of storms the past few weeks that the government estimates has killed more than 300 people.

"Four years ago when a hurricane hit, it was bad. This is much worse," said Patricia Eddy, co-founder of Tampa-based Help Brings Hope for Haiti. "So many homes are just little shacks, and they were just wiped out."

Her agency has set up a half-dozen drop-off sites the past few days for food, clothing, toiletries and medical supplies, including at the University of Florida's Campus Recreation Center and at Catholic Charities, 2021 E. Busch Blvd., Tampa. The agency's Web site is www.hbhh.org.

The group, working with Food for the Poor, is trying to stock a 40-foot container to send to Haiti by the end of the month.

Travel and communications are treacherous there. Mudslides and flooding have washed out roads and knocked down power and phone lines. Food and other supplies delivered to the island must be trucked to remote villages by four-wheel-drive vehicles.

The scene had been less chaotic in Cuba, although officials on Monday said Hurricane Ike's winds had devastated the island's eastern side, ripping off roofs.

Thousands of houses were reported severely damaged.

Many Cubans in Tampa worrying about the fate of their loved ones visited Cuban stores on Columbus Drive east of Himes Avenue to use the less-expensive phone service to get word about loved ones back home.

About 53,000 people of Cuban ancestry and 7,600 of Haitian heritage live in Hillsborough County.

Many Calls Don't Go Through

Yeni Gonzales, owner of Yeni Dollar Discount, said she has seen hundreds of people use her phone the past few weeks as Ike and, earlier, Hurricane Gustav threatened the island. Many went away frustrated at being unable to get through.

Alfredo Moreno, president of the local group La Casa Cuba, said he was able to reach his sisters Lucila and Theresita in Cuba. They live in Holguin, near where Ike made landfall Monday as a Category 3 hurricane before weakening to Category 2 as it ran down Cuba's spine.

Speaking by phone, Lucila Moreno said the government distributed warning messages on television and radio, issued early evacuation orders and distributed food before the storm hit.

"The Cuban government did an amazing job at informing us before the hurricane, especially the national meteorologist," she said.

Her family has stored enough water for a few days, she said, and their home is safe enough that they have offered shelter to neighbors.

Another Yeni's patron, Rafael Almaguer, said he would like to see a one-month pause in the U.S. government embargo against Cuba to allow Cuban-Americans to travel to the island to help loved ones.

Trying To Raise $10,000

Meanwhile, the Bay area's Haitian community was working with relief groups to gather supplies after Tropical Storm Fay and hurricanes Gustav, Hanna and Ike washed out homes and roads.

Especially hard-hit Gonaives saw its streets turned into canals after Hanna. Dozens died in flooding.

Daniel Thelusmar, a former Haitian missionary, said he's putting aside his studies at Everest University in Tampa to raise money to purchase food, water and medical supplies in Cap-Haitien to take by truck to Gonaives.

Prompted by images of the devastation and calls to home, Thelusmar is trying to raise $10,000 by the end of the month to feed about 400 people and pay for his trip.

Once on the island, he plans to work with relief groups and the Church of God of Prophecy in Port-Au-Prince to purchase and distribute the food.

"Right now I have $600 that has come to me from friends, and I have a bunch of bags of clothing," he said. People interested in donating can call (813) 892-9766.

Eva DeHart, co-founder of the Palm Harbor-based relief agency For Haiti with Love Inc., www.forhaitiwithlove .org, said the group's food distribution and medical offices in Cap-Hatien, Haiti's second-largest city, are swamped with requests for help.

"We've basically been handling all of the emergency requests, the injuries. They've been bringing everybody to the clinic," DeHart said.

Containers packed with beans and dehydrated meals are already waiting in the Bahamas and Fort Lauderdale to be shipped to Haiti. Next week, she plans to fly in bandages, antibiotics and other medical supplies.

The devastation is especially tough on farmers, who saw their rice and bean crops, staples of the Haitian diet, wiped out.

"It's as bad as it's ever been," DeHart said. "It's probably the worst thing that's ever happened to Cap-Hatien. The really bad thing is it's happened to the whole country. One part can't help another part because they all have problems."

Aileen Josaphat, 33, of Wesley Chapel, said she's worried about her father, Maurice, and brother, Makendie, both living in Haiti. She's been unable to reach them because phone lines are down.

To help, she's sent e-mail to friends and family to generate donations to relief groups. "I am really nervous, but at the same time I'm trying to keep a positive attitude," she said.

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or rshopes@tampatrib.com.

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