http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/0204/26haitiside.html
Haitians keep eye on home
Many in metro area have kin amid uprising
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/25/04
In the past two weeks, Gilbert Pierre sold out of prepaid phone cards
as Haitians scrambled to contact loved ones to find out what was
happening on the island nation.
"The situation right now is very intense," said Haitian-born Gilbert,
who owns the Bistro Creole restaurant in Lawrenceville with wife
Marie-Laurence Pierre. Talk among his mostly Haitian clientele has
been about little else.
Rebels have seized Haiti's second-largest city and threatened to
attack the capital, Port-au-Prince, in an uprising against President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Pierre's parents still live in Port-au-Prince, where they are praying
for a quick resolution. "So far they're OK, but they're not going
out," he said.
The violence hit the Rev. Maxis St. Fleur, a priest at St. Catherine
of Siena Catholic Church, particularly hard.
One of his closest friends was gunned down by rebels in the town of
Hinche. "They knew he was in the army," said St. Fleur, who also
conducts a Sunday Mass in French and Creole at St. Peter & Paul
Church in Decatur. "He was a very good man." St. Fleur plans to hold
a special Mass soon for the people of Haiti.
Metro Atlanta is home to about 6,000 people of Haitian ancestry, the
2000 census says, but community leaders say the number is as high as
30,000.
Some moved here directly from Haiti. Others, like Frantz Bourget of
East Point, lived in other U.S. cities such as New York or Miami
before relocating here. Bourget, an accountant at BellSouth Corp.,
has been in constant contact with his 70-year-old mother, Solange,
who lives in Port-au-Prince. He also has relatives in Jacmel.
He said his mother is safe, although "things are pretty bad. There
have been homemade bombs exploding and food is getting scarce."
"Innocent people are dying," said Bourget, treasurer of the Haitian
American Center for Business and Economic Development. "It's time to
start finding a process that is constructive. Having a rebellion or
coup is not the solution."
Andre Lubin, an Atlanta Realtor and member of the center's board,
said within the next few days the organization will meet to talk
about the situation. Lubin said he has been alarmed at how quickly
the rebellion escalated.
He said the Haitian community is divided on whether Aristide should
resign. "The majority wants Aristide to stay in power, although they
would like him to be a far more democratic president," he said.
"Their fear is that President Aristide will promise one thing and he
will do another."
The United States sent 50 Marines to Haiti to protect the U.S.
Embassy but has avoided sending a large force. There have been pleas
for international peacekeepers to restore order.
U.S. troops went to Haiti in 1994 to restore Aristide, a former
Catholic priest, to power after a military coup.
That was the year Fritz Cherichel fled the country.
Cherichel, who lives in Smyrna, said he left because he was active in
a party opposed to Aristide. He said his house was broken in and
burned.
Recently, 13 family members fled Gonaïves in northern Haiti. A
brother and two sisters who stayed found roads blocked when they
tried to leave.
"As long as they don't go out of the house, they're safe," he said.
He last spoke to them Sunday.
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