Smith Augustine, the Haitian ambassador to the country, thanked Dominican citizens, officials and members of the Air Force and Civil Defense for their support in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck the country last Saturday.
“We are very grateful to the Dominican government for their support, back in January 2010,” Augustine said.
“They are gestures of solidarity that give a lot of hope to the Dominican-Haitian people,” he added.
Regarding the assistance required for the country, He noted that they did not receive food assistance or any assistance at the embassy, however, he explained that they could send them to other collection centers.
“The Haitian embassy has a central committee that dominates all of this, and support efforts have been made … The collection center is the Mandolvo Center located on Joseph Free Street.
Augustine added that the company, along with other organizations, is assisting and distributing these aids.
“We help and work to maintain order before food aid arrives,” he said.
Three days of mourning
The Haitian ambassador said, “The Haitian prime minister has decided that three days of fighting will take place.”
In this regard, he said that human casualties have increased and there are currently 1,419 deaths due to the earthquake in the southern part of Haiti.
“Currently, the temporary balance we have is that this earthquake has caused 1,419 deaths, 6,900 people have been injured, 37,302 houses have been destroyed, more than 65,000 families have been affected and 4 sectors in the deep south have been damaged,” the diplomat explained.
He revealed that human and material losses in the country had hurt Haitian authorities established in the Dominican Republic. “A nation is a family, it hurts us a lot,” the ambassador added.
