A NEWLY formed Haitian advocacy group said it has forwarded the names of more than 300 people listed as missing from shanty towns in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian.
The group, United Haitian Community Front, is chaired by League of Haitian Pastors President Dr Jean Paul Charles. Seven organisations are represented by UHCF, including Rights Bahamas.
Robertson Dieudonne, of Queen of Peace Roman Catholic Church, explained that UHCF was created to assist with the “massive work” of helping the victims of Hurricane Dorian. The Category 5 storm made landfall on Abaco and Grand Bahama on September 1 and 2. It decimated the Mudd and Pigeon Peas shantytowns of Abaco.
At a press conference on Friday, UHCF was asked about the number of persons who are missing from the Haitian community. The National Emergency Management Agency has pegged the number of missing people at 1,300.
Rights Bahamas president Stephanie St Fleur said the organisation has reported the names of 309 missing people, the majority of whom are from Abaco. However, she could not confirm whether all of these individuals are of Haitian descent. Ms St Fleur also could not comment on the demographics of the death toll.
“We formed a group called ‘Abaco Relief’ and we were having families sending the names of their family members and pictures, and so far, I think I’ve sent three pages into NEMA,” she said. “The total is 309 so far, and we’re still continuing to gather names of missing persons.” Continue reading