Cantave Jean-Baptiste had just left work last
Tuesday afternoon in Port-au-Prince and was maneuvering his car through
rush hour traffic when he felt a huge jolt that propelled his vehicle
through the air.
Cantave
Jean-Baptiste of the AJWS: I understand that when the Jewish people
decide to support the people of Haiti, there is a deep expression of
love.
"I felt like a very big truck hit my car, but when I turned back I didn't see any car," recalled Jean-Baptiste.
His vehicle had landed with a hard thud. He then noticed that a
six-story school beside him had collapsed and people all around him
were screaming and crying.
Slowly he realized that he had just experienced a massive earthquake, surviving without so much as a scratch.
"My
first thought was, 'Thank God, I'm still alive. Thank God, my family is
not in the house at this moment," he related. The 58-year-old Haiti
native knew that his wife and four sons were safe in their home in
Montreal, where they live most of the year without him.
"God saved my life. That means I have a mission in this
country, and that is to stay in Haiti and provide whatever help I can,"
he declared, deciding on the spot that "since I'm alive, I will
continue to work to rebuild my life."
Jean-Baptiste
is aided in that mission by the American Jewish World Service, which
for more than a decade has provided assistance to development
organizations in Haiti and has raised close to $3 million in the past
week for earthquake relief.
As the organization's field coordinator in Haiti, he sees that the Jewish people have a mission that echoes his own.
"I understand that the Jewish people has a mission to share love
with other people, and when they decide to support the people of Haiti,
when they decide to support the people of Sudan, besides the religious
feelings, beside the political feelings, there is a deep expression of
love," said Jean-Baptiste, explaining why he believes a community with
few members in the places they help nonetheless contribute in such
large amounts.
"I remember when I read the Bible, and when I
learned about the Jewish people, it was a people elected by God, and
though there are misunderstandings between these people and God, God
continues to love these people and this nation," said Jean-Baptiste,
who is Christian. "What I understand is that it is an expression of
love."
In his role for AJWS, he has spent the days since the
earthquake working out of his car, since his house has mostly been
destroyed, frantically trying to connect the donations with the right
partners on the ground to distribute desperately needed goods and
services, particularly outside of Port-au-Prince.
"There is an urgent need to help the families in rural areas,"
he said, since most of the international aid is concentrated in the
ravaged capital.
"Also, we need to do long-term development and rehabilitation
"An organization like the American Jewish World Service is
working not only to provide assistance but is working to build
capacities," he said.
"We will feel the consequences of this earthquake for many years."
An agronomist by training with years of development experience,
Jean-Baptiste wants to be there to carry this mission out, but after
the strong aftershock struck Haiti on Wednesday, he reconsidered,
especially because the second major quake intensified his family's
concern.
"They are more afraid than before. They are questioning me about my willingness to stay," he said.
Even if he does decide to leave, it won't be right away.
"Anyway, I can't leave today," he pointed out. "There are no planes."