Behind the Scenes: Aftershock Cuts Short Phone Dispatch from Haiti

In the days that followed the massive earthquake in Haiti, we watched anxiously as FOKAL, our foundation in Haiti, mobilized immediately in response to the crisis on the ground.

When we managed to reach our colleague Michèle Pierre-Louis by phone, her update on the situation outside foundation headquarters was cut short by an aftershock that forced her to evacuate the building, ending the call abruptly [listen to the audio, above].

“It’s shaking, and I’m going out, I’m sorry,” she said, amidst muted shouting in the background. The speakerphone clicked, the line went dead, and the only sound that broke the heavy silence was a grim sigh that hung in the air without end.

OSI Communications coordinator Rachel Hart was on the phone call when the aftershock happened. “Your heart just sinks,” she said. “Everyone in the room just sat there in silence after Michèle hung up,” she said. “In that one moment, her voice just drove home the reality of the situation.”

Later we heard that our colleagues were safe, and we published Michèle’s report along with that of FOKAL Director Lorraine Mangonès on January 15, without including this original phone call ending, which had left us all hanging at the time.

Yet witnessing Michèle’s sobering dispatch amplified our personal helplessness, and further fueled a sense of urgency to find a way to act or help however we could.