Loved ones in Norwich area await word

Norwich - After church services on Sunday, Haitians lined up to search a Red Cross database, hopeful to find news about loved ones affected by Tuesday's devastating earthquake.

But this scene wasn't unfolding in Port-au-Prince, the hard-hit capital of Haiti. It was on Central Avenue, where some of the city's 5,000 people of Haitian descent are part of the congregation at the First Haitian Baptist Church.

"It's really just part of the international effort to help the humanitarian work in Haiti," said Gene M. Arters, the director of Norwich's Office of Emergency Management. "Though the people here weren't in the earthquake, they were certainly affected by it. It's just a tremendous mental strain, not knowing if their family members are dead or alive."

On Sunday afternoon, workers from the local Red Cross chapter, the Uncas Health District, the City of Norwich, and the state Amateur Radio Emergency Service, a volunteer group of ham radio operators who help with communication efforts during disasters, set up camp behind the First Haitian Baptist Church on Central Avenue in Norwich. During church services at other Haitian churches in the city, pastors directed people hoping to find out about friends and family in Haiti to the communications center.

"We're probably one of the biggest Haitian communities in the state," said state representative Christopher D. Coutu, a Republican whose district includes Norwich. "The Haitian community is really tight-knit, and it's good to see them all banding together."

After major disasters, the International Red Cross sets up online databases to track the whereabouts and status of people affected, said Sue Rochester-Bolen, senior director of emergency services for the local Red Cross. As people pick up supplies like food and water, Red Cross volunteers and staff urge survivors to enter their name into the database.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, visited the Norwich site Sunday and his office released a statement saying they would help Haitians in the area file missing persons reports.

The extent of the earthquake in Haiti has slowed emergency response, especially outside the capital city. Because of that, many people are simply not listed yet in the Red Cross system.

Elysee Isaac of Norwich said his family is still waiting to hear from friends and relatives who live in Haiti. Because phone service is unreliable in the country, calls frequently cut out.

Isaac's brother, Benito, learned this morning that his girlfriend, who lives in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, had survived the earthquake. Their father answered the phone and the call cut out before Benito could join the conversation.

"The time was too short," Elysee Isaac said. "It just cut out. But she said it was overwhelming for her. The smell is so bad. There are bodies everywhere."

Though Isaac's family has received some good news, they're getting just as much tragic information from Haiti.

"It's terrible. Some people lost all their family members, and that's even worse," he said. "You don't even know what to say. You're just keep hoping something good will happen, but it's terrible."

In New London Sunday, Venel and Angeline Pamphile, Haitian immigrants who were married in 2008, have left their TV tuned to CNN with the volume up high for the past few days so they could hear any new information from the region. Through the television and short phone calls from relatives in Haiti, they are trying to gather as much information as possible.

"You hear this person is OK, then all of a sudden you get a call and learn someone else is dead," said Venel Pamphile.

Angeline Pamphile, who is close to completing a degree in nursing, said she is distressed by the lack of medical supplies in Haiti.

"What is really hurting me is that people are dying because of the lack of medicine," she said. "There are no antibiotics, there are no surgical supplies."

The disaster has prompted the Pamphiles, and scores of other local Haitians, to donate to relief efforts. And they are also saving money to help their families recover.

"When things get better, our families are going to rely on us," Venel Pamphile said.