Hearts out to Haiti
The earthquake that devastated the capital of Haiti on Jan. 12 is still reverberating in the collective minds and hearts of both the world at large and the microcosm of Alfred University.
Junior sociology major Rudy Dieudonne has very personal links to the tragedy in Haiti. Dieudonne’s parents moved to the U.S. from Haiti a few months before he was born. His mother lost her brother, two young nephews and her 118-year old grandmother in the earthquake, and his father lost a cousin. Dieudonne said they saw footage of the earthquake on TV, but it was two weeks before they could contact anyone in Haiti to find out about their relatives.
“The hardest part,” Dieudonne said, “is watching my mom grieve, both for our family and for the families of her friends.”
His father, who is very religious, has spent a lot of time praying for the victims. “My mom is—I don’t want to say cynical, but that might be the best word—about the future of Haiti,” Dieudonne said. “I don’t want to be cynical, but my Haitian friends and I are like, ‘Is this what it takes to get help, or even to be able to find Haiti on a map?’”
Dieudonne, his parents and seven siblings have been donating money to the Red Cross, and he and his siblings helped to organize a fundraiser at their high school on Staten Island. “Lots of people who know we’ve been affected have been offering us help—it’s been overwhelming,” Dieudonne said.
Dieudonne has shared the pain of several other AU students who lost loved ones in the earthquake.
“I didn’t even know some of my friends were Haitian until I saw what they posted on their Facebook profiles after the earthquake,” he said. “Some of them have been even more personally affected than I have,” he added.
Dieudonne hopes, above all, that awareness of the plight of Haitian people won’t disappear once this immediate crisis has ended.
“I guess it’s good that people are now aware of the situation, at least,” he said. “Maybe we will even see some actual progress toward rebuilding Haiti. But just giving someone a tent and then leaving isn’t what’s needed. We need to do more.”
On Jan. 21, AU students and faculty organized “Our Hearts are with Haiti Day”, which included a creative fundraiser and an informational panel in Nevins Theater.
Students put together a giant paint-by-numbers Haitian coat of arms, and with a $2 donation, passersby in Powell could paint a section. The students also sold miniature coat of arms as pins, which they encouraged other students and faculty to wear throughout the day.
“Many, many steps and hands will be required to rebuild Haiti,” said Kristie Valentino, an education graduate student who was instrumental in organizing the fundraiser. “This community art project is symbolic of the work and gradual steps that will be needed to rebuild this ravaged country.”
The panel in Nevins featured five faculty members. Robert Kruckeberg, a historian who specializes in 18th-century France, began by discussing the historical significance of Haiti in the 18th-century Atlantic world, including the Haitian Revolution.
Robert Myers, professor of anthropology and a member of the Caribbean Studies Association, offered insights into Haitian politics and culture.
Nancy Evangelista, a professor of school psychology and associate provost, and David Toot, professor of physics, provided first-hand accounts of their travels to Haiti on service missions prior to the tragedy.
Jeffrey Sluyter-Beltrao, associate professor of political science, moderated the discussion and added his own political forecast about the future of Haiti.
Students from the School of Art and Design have come up with another hands-on project to benefit earthquake victims: they will hold a metal-casting event called "Pour for Haiti" from 2-8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6 at the National Casting Centre.
The event is open to the public, and for a $10 donation, anyone can create a "relief sculpture" out of a sand block and then cast it into aluminum with the help of a Foundry Guild volunteer.
The National Casting Centre at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University is located on State Route 244, just north of the Alfred University campus.
Other students in AU’s School of Art & Design are participating in the benefit as well; they are donating artwork for a silent auction, with bidding to close at 7:30 p.m. All proceeds from the sale of the artwork will also be donated to the Haitian relief efforts chosen by the students.
To pre-order a sand block to carve and cast for a “relief sculpture,” email Scott Lamont at sdl4@alfred.edu
