“We are shocked to see what is happening in Haiti with visions of horror among us and we are still badly shaken by what we have seen.”
- Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean speaking to the local Haitian community at Vancouver House
As Vancouver’s Haitian community suffers so to does Gov. Gen Michaëlle Jean who shared her grief at an intimate reception on Wednesday.
Jean told an audience of about 60 people – made up of politicians, school children, UNICEF and members of the Haitian community – of the struggle her 10-year-old daughter faces.
“She’s lost her godmother in the earthquake,” Jean said at Vancouver House. “She’s in mourning like I am, like so many of us are.”
The Governor General spoke softly in English then passionately in Creole as she cajoled the crowd with her belief that the island nation would flourish again.
Haiti was decimated on Jan. 12 by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, which caused an estimated 270,000 deaths at last count.
“I’ve lost many friends, many good friends … and I’m not the only one,” Jean said. “Many of you here went through exactly the same.”
Kerlande Siouras, a member of Vancouver’s Haitian’s community, spoke with Jean after her address.
“It means a lot because she’s a model for us and the world as well,” Siouras said. “She spoke about Haiti so compassionately so that it gives us more hope that the rest of government would do more.”
Before Jean spoke, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson pledged to auction up to 3,000 Olympic street banners in support of UNICEF, which could net up to $400,000 for the Haitian relief effort.