Helping Haiti from Home : One Councilman's Responsibility

On January 12, Dr. Mathieu Eugene began his day as usual: a visit to his office in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, then off to a city council meeting in Manhattan. But on his way to the meeting, he got a call from his secretary, urging him to find a TV and see Haiti, native home to Eugene and many community members in his District 40 of Brooklyn, in shambles.

“It was a big blow,” he said to Brooklyn Independent Television, “I don’t know how much more my brothers and sisters in Haiti can handle.” But Eugene didn’t let heartbreak get in the way of action or aid. His office became a makeshift Haitian embassy, where community members flocked, confused and terrified. “We were there until 3 AM that Tuesday,” Eugene said, citing that the quake’s emotional front hit so hard in Brooklyn one man at his office passed out. “He couldn’t take the tragedy, we had to call an ambulance,” Eugene recalled to radio program Urban Focus. That day Dr. Eugene had ten relatives unaccounted for.

But Eugene, the only member of Haitian descent currently in elected office, has the pressure of establishing an ongoing relationship of aid that will exceed the short attention span of his fellow Americans. He, like many others, is impressed and thankful that the world community has stepped out to help Haiti so rapidly; that the outsourcing has provided a first response the Haitian government couldn’t give.

Eugene plans to work with Washington, to serve as a line of communication and advocacy, and help get the island what it truly needs most: some sort of infrastructure. This “lack of infrastructure” is the reason that Eugene fears should disaster strike Haiti within the coming months or years, any progress made will virtually be destructed, in his words it would be a horrible “déjà vu”.

Dr. Eugene vows to “keep the unity” between Haiti and New York. Just this month, he and two other council members, Ydanis Rodriguez and Jumaane Williams, announced they would refuse their $10,000 stipends, asking that the money go directly to earthquake relief efforts.

For Eugene, community is the only way to overcome Haiti’s upheaval. He has always known it as the key to success. He maintains, “regardless of where we come from, regardless of our background, we have the same moral responsibilities.” Attention spans are running out and Dr. Eugene must keep his mission statement succinct and active. And that loss of interest teamed with the déjà vu he is preparing to combat? “This is exactly my fear.”

All quotes: CBS, DuBois Bunche Center Radio (links above), Brooklyn Independent TV, and the councilman's speeches. Informed by an article in NY TIMES.