2010 Haiti earthquake
Haiti earthquake - Washline's story
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© CBM
After the earthquake which hit Haiti on 12 January 2010, Washline had a femur fracture treated with an internal fixator and still needs crutches to walk
Washline lives in Haiti and suffered a broken femur when a wall collapsed on her during the 2010 Haiti earthquake. She and her mother lost their house. Despite this, she remains cheery and aims to be a nurse when she grows up.
"I love you"
Washline is a bright and cheery girl of nine. She doesn’t seem to have a shy bone in her body. She’s willing to talk to us right away. And after just a short half hour of chatting, she sings at us whenever we pass by “I love you”. And it’s impossible not to sing back “Je t’aime”.
It’s hard to imagine that this child experienced the brutal trauma of Haiti’s earthquake only 5 short weeks ago. Her spirit is strong and her face is alive with expression and hope.
The earthquake
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©CBM
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Port-au-Prince, Haiti, two days after the January 2010 earthquake
When we talk about the earthquake, her brow furrows and she says, “When the earthquake came, my school was over, and I was at home. My house broke and the walls fell on me. When the ground started to shake, I was afraid.”
Washline’s femur was broken by the piece of wall that fell on her. And she and her mother lost their house.
But it could have been much worse for her. If her school, which did collapse during the earthquake, had fallen on Washline and all her schoolmates, she would likely not have survived. In the midst of profound loss, this is a blessing for Haiti. 90% of their schools fell. The loss of young life would have been even more catastrophic if the huge quake had hit during school hours.
The future
Washline father is still alive and he lives with her brother somewhere else in Port-au-Prince. Her father stops by sometimes. They’re in a tent too, since the quake.
Before the earthquake leveled her school, Washline was in grade 4. “I like school, yes! I like it because I want to learn English.”
The translator Leeox adds his comments, about how Haiti wrecks children’s futures by trapping them with – not even French – but Creole. “English is much better,” says Leeox.
Washline then says, “At school, they talk a lot. And I learn a little.” The way she says it, it’s clearly a comment on the education system, not her learning abilities. “Yes, I’d like to go back to school. I want to be a nurse.” I ask why, and she says, “I want to help people like I’m being helped now.”
Liala checks her leg and instructs her on how to walk straighter and steadier with her crutches. Not so easy on the incline outside Washline’s tent.
I ask if the crutches help her, and Washline says, “the crutches give me strength.” I ask if she likes Liala and if Liala helps her. Washline assures me yes. And she says if she could, she’d say thank to the people who helped Liala come to help her.
