Loss & Sorrow, Gratitude & Hope
Following the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, Cindy & Jerry Saint-Fort wanted to go home to their parents in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, but they knew they needed to stay at Shenandoah to work on their education.
SU students, Cindy & Jerry Saint-Fort, are from Haiti.
Imagine waking up one day — a day just like any other — and someone calls you to say the town in which you grew up has been leveled by an earthquake. Every building, which you can clearly see in your mind’s eye, is demolished.
People you know — close relatives and friends and casual acquaintances — are buried under the rubble, almost all of them are dead.
But, the caller can’t offer specifics about who’s dead, who’s missing and who’s safe. And, you are so far from home there’s nothing you can do except sit and wait and cry and pray.
Jerry Saint-Fort, 23, and his sister Cindy Saint-Fort, 21, will remember waking up on Jan. 12, expecting another ordinary day as Shenandoah University students. Jerry is a junior in the respiratory care program, and Cindy is a junior education major. They live in Winchester with their sister Rachel, 27. They had gone home to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, for winter break to spend time with their parents and two other siblings, returning to Winchester on Jan. 9.
"On the first of January, we prayed," Cindy said. "That is our custom. We thanked God that everyone was OK."
On Jan. 12, Cindy was in class when she received a phone call from Rachel, who told Cindy about the earthquake.
"I went to a TV," Cindy said. "I couldn’t believe what I was watching."
Jerry woke up late that day, and went to his computer to check his Facebook page. "A friend had posted a message about the earthquake," he said. "I wanted to get on a plane and help get people out of the rubble."
"We all wanted to go home," Cindy added. A friend in Haiti had called to say their parents were alive. "But, you don’t know," Cindy said. "Maybe they’re just saying that to make us feel better."
But, a conversation with a woman the students admire changed their minds about jumping on a plane to Haiti.
"President Tracy Fitzsimmons told us our parents would want us to stay here, where we are safe and where we have food and shelter," Jerry said. "We thought about that, and it made sense."
So, the Saint-Forts in Winchester frantically tried to learn everything they could about what was happening in their hometown Port-au-Prince.
Two days after the quake, they were able to speak with their parents, who were uninjured. A sister there was also fine, but a brother was missing. He arrived home Friday after walking for four days to get there.
"President Tracy Fitzsimmons told us our parents would want us to stay here, where we are safe and where we have food and shelter. We thought about that, and it made sense." - Jerry Saint-Fort
For the past 35 years, the Saint-Fort’s father owned and administered College Catherine Flon, a high school in Port-au-Prince. Their mother is a retired teacher who taught at the school. The Saint-Fort children grew up there.
The school was destroyed by the earthquake and hundreds of people — children and their teachers — were killed.
The latest news from Haiti is that more than 150,000 people in Port-au-Prince alone were killed as buildings collapsed on and around them. That is the official body count from Haiti’s communications minister, though thousands more are believed to be dead, forever buried under rubble or in mass graves.
Two universities in Port-au-Prince are gone. "My best friend was [a student] there, and she’s dead. They found her body," Cindy said.
"I wish I was dreaming," Jerry said. "But, it’s for real," Cindy added.
"The thing about this is, if you haven’t been to Haiti, you’ll never know how bad this is," Jerry said.
The Saint-Forts are going to classes and trying to stay busy, though they admit it is sometimes difficult to concentrate in class.
They are also overwhelmed by the support they’ve received from people across campus.
"This is the best place for us to be. You are princes and princesses," Cindy said of the campus community.
But, what about being interviewed by the local daily newspapers, the campus paper and being asked to speak at halftime during the men’s basketball game Sunday? Is all the attention uncomfortable?
"Haiti needs help," Jerry said. "The people there need food and water and medical support. Maybe we can help Haiti by talking about it."
Two weeks after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, it’s clear it will take Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, many years to recover.
Jerry is not sure if he wants to live in Haiti again. "There’s nothing there," he said.
Cindy wants to return to teach little children. "It’s my country, and home is always better than anywhere else.
"There is still hope," she said. "We can still live."
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