Family fled Haiti for new life in Montreal
MONTREAL, QC—At 4:53 p.m. on January 12, Molina St. Louis was at the hairdresser's after work. Her husband Parnel was coming back from the airport where he had dropped off a couple of friends who were taking the weekly flight out of Port-au-Prince to Montreal.
When the earth shook and the floor moved, Molina jumped out from under the hairdryer and started to repeat, "the blood of Jesus, the blood of Jesus." She didn't think to leave the building. Nobody, she says, ever gave them earthquake safety training.
Parnel had parked his car on the sidewalk when he saw a food vendor on the street. Why not pick something up for supper for his wife and two little girls? Suddenly, the car began to rock, the wall of the building in front of him gave way and the sidewalk vendor was crushed under falling cement.
People began running into the streets. The booming and crashing noises were joined by cries and wails. Parnel rushed to join Molina and together they set out to find a way home. Most of the roads were blocked. Buildings had come down in the street. A gas station was on fire.
When they finally reached the house, two-year-old Keila and baby Keisha, three months, were on the front lawn with the babysitter, safe.
The house was cracked, and as the earth rumbled and shook again on into the night, it was clear that nobody was going back inside.
Living outside in the dust and ruins of their city, the family witnessed the apocalyptic scene that played out day and night. Parnel and Keisha began having trouble breathing. Molina held her baby upright and covered her own nose against the stench of the rotting corpses.
It didn't take long for the St. Louis family to realize that one of their most precious assets was Molina's temporary Canadian visa. That, along with the baby's respiratory problems, became their saving grace. The four of them were evacuated, brought to Canada on January 21, and dropped off at the YMCA.
The "Y" offered temporary housing, but it was really Haiti House, a Montreal gathering place for the Haitian community, that kicked into high gear to provide resources to the dozens of evacuees who were learning how to shop and apply for residency in their new country.
It was natural then, for Parnel to go to Haiti House on February 24, when he received his notice from the Y that he must find an apartment before the weekend. "How can I sign a lease to pay for an apartment if I don't have a job?" he asked. The woman behind the desk had no answers. She was not a miracle worker.
While a despondent Parnel sat in the lobby considering his short list of options, the phone rang at Haiti House. A Christian family had heard about the Haitian evacuees and called to offer two rooms in their home to people still looking for a place to stay.
The St. Louis family has settled in with their new friends. Parnel has received his work permit and is looking for a job. Molina and the girls are adjusting to the weather and the food and this very different life. Canada is good to the St. Louis's. They know it. They appreciate it. They will do their best to deserve it.
And then some day, they will go home to a new Haiti.
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