Letters from Survivors

Hello Weler Pierre: 

How are you? Do you remember me?  Do you remember my sons Aaron and Bryon? I am so sorry about what has happened to Haiti. I think about you all the time. I wish I could come down to Haiti again, but I have been sick for many years. Can you tell me what has happened to St. Rilio Franck? Was he in Port au Prince? How is his family?

Barbara Sorensen

Mon Amie,

malgre je suis dans la tristesse parce que nous, les haitiens,vivons sans espoir parce que nous n'avons pas de pays.le jour que j'ai recu ton e-mail je me sens vraiment content parce que je vois que tu ne m'oublies pas.saint-rilio est la je ne peux pas dire qu'il va bien ou non.parce que nous les haitiens ne pouvons pas etre bien en cette situation.il existe tant de misere et de souffrance de jour en jour.comment vont vos deux fils?natalie comment va-t-elle.laisse-moi te dire que le 18 Decembre ma mere etait mort'maintenant je n'ai ni mere ni pere.

My friend,

[malgre*] I am in sadness because we, the Haitians, are living without hope because we don't have a country. The day I received your email I was truly really pleased because I saw that you didn't forget me. Saint-Rilio is there; I can't say whether he's doing well or not. Because we the Haitians can't be well in this situation. There is so much misery and suffering from day to day. How are your two sons? Natalie, how is she? Let me tell you that on the 18th of December my mother was killed, now I have neither mother nor father.

Weler Pierre

—(with thanks to Bryan Roth who polished my very rough first translation)