Traverse City Record-Eagle

Grand Traverse County

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    Jean Heder Petit-Frere
January 30, 2010

Haiti survivors living with friends in TC

BY SHERI MCWHIRTER

TRAVERSE CITY -- Marcia Petit-Frere was on the road when her car began to violently rock back-and-forth, her first indication that a massive earthquake struck Haiti.

"It took me a few seconds to figure out I was in an earthquake. People were screaming and running," she said. "I immediately did what came normally. I started praying."

Today, Petit-Frere views her country's devastation from a vantage point far to the north. She and her children are staying with friends in Traverse City they met through a Haitian-based church, Shabach Ministries International.

On Jan. 12 a magnitude 7.0 earthquake crumbled buildings and sent bloodied victims into the streets as Petit-Frere rushed to return to her church, where she'd left her 10-year-old son Matthew to do homework.

It's been nearly three weeks since that fateful day that left as many as 200,000 Haitians dead, but the terror remains for Petit-Frere.

"People were panicking. A lot of houses fell down on people. I saw things humans shouldn't have to see," she said.

Petit-Frere reached Matthew in about 10 minutes and then turned her attention to her husband, the Rev. Jean Heder Petit-Frere, whom she didn't speak with for another several hours. She and Matthew inched their way to their home in Carrefour, passing total devastation and navigating jammed traffic as their country and neighbors reeled with the disaster's aftermath.

"I had to tell Matthew to turn away, not to look," Petit-Frere said. "You just tried to get home, get safe. And it was just pandemonium."

Matthew said the earthquake frightened him, and prompted him to pray.

"Suddenly it stopped and people were screaming in the street," he said. "I didn't want it to be the end of the world."

The family's oldest two children, Sara, 16, and Jason, 14, were safe that day in Traverse City where they attend classes at West Senior High School.

"The first thing I thought was 'family, house, church,'" Jason said.

Sara said she was anxious for news about her family.

"I was wondering where they were and when they would be home," she said.

News eventually arrived that the family survived, were trying to cope, and trying to help others through their ministry.

"It's a very traumatic situation there. People are basically living on the streets. It's not safe to be inside," Petit-Frere said. Buildings continue to collapse amid after-shock tremors, she noted.

"We slept in a neighbor's yard under some banana trees. There's no tents, you are just out there under heaven. You are just thankful to be alive," she said.

Petit-Frere and Matthew traveled to Traverse City about a week after the earthquake to be with Sara and Jason. Matthew is now enrolled at Long Lake Elementary and is trying to acclimate to winter weather.

"This is a cold place," he said, adding he's learned to wear gloves after falling in the snow.

Petit-Frere isn't sure how long she'll stay in Traverse City. Her husband remains in Haiti to help with relief efforts and she has difficulty watching or reading news about the earthquake's impact.

"It's still kind of painful," she said. "It's going to take a long time for recovery, not just for infrastructure, but also for the trauma."

Caleb Norris, Shabach's executive director in Traverse City, is working to raise donations and supplies to send to the Rev. Jean Heder Petit-Frere. About $30,000 has so far been collected and used to buy water purification systems, rice, cornmeal and other essentials.

Visit www.shabachinternational.com for more information or to donate, or call (231) 642-7881.

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