Long Island Haitians look to help after quake hits home country

Long Island Haitians and humanitarian groups scrambled for answers Saturday on how to reach loved ones and send aid to Haiti after a 7.2 earthquake devastated the Caribbean nation and killed at least 29 people.

For the large Haitian community on Long Island and Long Island leaders, the earthquake Saturday morning was another blow to the struggling island gripped in political turmoil and poverty while still recovering from a 7.0 earthquake in 2010.

"They just can’t catch a break," said Astrid Fidelia, the CEO of the Islip nonprofit Stand Up to Poverty, dedicated to humanitarian aid and support for Haiti.

She said she was trying to reach friends and family in the hardest hit western portion of the country where hospitals were overrun with patients and in need of medical supplies, food and water. She had already confirmed the loss of some of her closest friends and former Haitian leaders.

"This has united Haitians around the world into sending aid," she said. "The needs are critical and a lot of stores we would send money to buy food and water are in rubble."

Many of the roads are destroyed and Fidelia was trying to reach friends and organizations in Haiti to coordinate aid and air transportation.

The White House promised Saturday "a strong and compassionate response."

News of the quake struck hard on Long Island where the Haitian population totals more than 26,000 people, largely in Nassau County in Elmont and Valley Stream.

"We have a sizable Haitian community on Nassau County with close ties to folks back home and it looks like a devastating earthquake," Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said. "We want people in Haiti to know we are with them and sending them our prayers."

Assemb. Michaelle Solages (D-Elmont) whose family is of Haitian descent, said the country is facing rising COVID-19 cases and still recovering from Hurricane Matthew and the July assassination of President Jovenel Moise.

"They’re trying to recover from a natural disaster and political disaster. How much can an island nation endure?" Solages said.

She said she was unable to reach family and friends and watched video of the disaster where hospitals were without staff or supplies. She said the country was also facing a tsunami warning and flooding.

"It’s devastating. This country keeps trying to recover and every time they step forward, it’s two steps back. It’s almost going back to that place when there was zero communication coming from the country," Solages said. "Haiti really needs to unite in solidarity and stop these petty politics and try to move this country forward. The Haitian people deserve this."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.