Jacques Bazile stares at the horrific images from Haiti flashing in succession on CNN. Each time he sees another report, his hopes dim while his prayer count increases.
Charleston Southern University student Jacques Bazile is waiting to hear the fate of relatives in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.Bazile, a junior criminal justice major and football player at Charleston Southern University, was born and raised in Ile de la Tortue, an island off Haiti (also called Tortuga Island). His relatives are all from Port-au-Prince, ground zero of last week’s devastating earthquake.
Between peeks at the television, Bazile pulls his mobile phone from his jacket and with his thumb scrolls for a message; nothing yet.
Bazile’s grandmother lives just north of Port-Au-Prince. Following two sleepless nights, Bazile called his mother and learned his grandmother was safe. He has no idea if she still has a home but, frankly, Bazile doesn’t care. “Losing the house, I don’t care,” he said. “I am just glad she is okay.”
Bazile was in his dormitory room the night the news broke of a massive earthquake in Haiti. “I was shocked at first,” remembers Bazile. “Then I just started praying.”
Is no news good news? Hardly. Not knowing whether his relatives are alive or dead, Bazile is worried, calling his mother in Naples, Fla., every chance he gets. “I’ve been calling her like crazy,” said Bazile. “I started crying this morning. You just think of the worst.”
“Just imagine if you were in Japan right now and you heard your hometown was bombed,” explained Bazile.
At the age of 10, Bazile’s family moved to Naples. He enrolled at CSU in the fall of 2007, but his heart is in Haiti right now. – CSU