A Story About Julienne
By Gilou Hudicourt
On January 12, 2010, Julienne was a young second-year Accounting Student at University Lumiere on Ave O in Port-au-Prince. Her classroom was on the top floor of a four story concrete building. She was sitting in the front row. Her class contained about 40 students and there were several hundred other students in other classes. Those that had not paid up their tuition fees were not allowed in and many of those congregated in the University yard, hoping to get in.
Then the whole building began to shake and Julienne rushed in panic, first to the front where the exit was and then to the back of the class. She wanted to get away from the exit and the four story drop to the ground level. Then she fell forward as the concrete roof collapsed on her, her fall was broken by the steel framed chairs in the classroom. A large concrete block fell on her lower back as the whole building collapsed. As she lay in pain, in total darkness, she found herself trapped in a space only one foot high, between the floor and the level of the chairs’ seats. As the dust settled, she saw someone crawl towards a hole of light at the back of the classroom. When the person exited, she could see the street. She was at street level. Someone behind her told her to crawl towards the hole. She was preventing that person from geting out. She pushed the piece of concrete off her back and crawled forward, in great pain. She noticed the crushed bodies of several of her classmates. All those still in their chairs when the roof collapsed were dead. She managed to get her torso through the hole but stayed stuck between the feet of two chairs. She screamed at students outside to come and help her, but do one dared. Those who were inclined to come were warned by others not to get near the Unviversity. Until then, Julienne was unaware of any earthquake, she just thought her university had collapsed. That is why she did not understand her schoolmate’s terror, when they were safely outside, in the street. Finally a man who just happened to pass by yelled “I will save you if I have to die trying” and he began to run forward. Meanwhile, the the person stuck behind her was frantically pushing at her legs, causing her horrible pain. The savior wrestled with the chairs, stuck between the ceiling and the floor and succeeded in freeing one of them. He then carried her out and laid her on the ground across the street. Her legs could not move and she had numerous cuts and bruises.
By then it was dark. A lady, a total stranger, spent the whole night with her taking care of her, giving her water, getting her socks for her freezing feet, a pillow for her head. But, no help was coming. In the morning, Julienne’s mother showed up. Julienne had been spending the week at a friends house and was not expected home the previous night. In the morning her mom found out the University had collapsed and rushed down the hill looking for her daughter. On her way down, she encountered another mother who told her “Julienne is alive, she is on the street across from the University”. At that point, Mrs Prequis added that had she found that lady’s daughter in such a state in the street, she would not have walked away as that lady had done. “Mom, she was crazy looking for her own daughter” Julienne interrupted her.
When her mom found her, Julienne could not move or sit up. Her legs hurt. They were unable to move her. Then four men went by carrying a corpse on a door. ” What are you doing carrying corpses when there are live people to be carried” someone screamed. They agreed, dumped the corpse and came for Julienne. She was reluctant to be laid where a corpse had just been laid a few seconds earlier, so they turned the door around and laid her on the other side, and carried her until a pickup truck was found. After vainly searching for a hospital for hours, the pickup went as close as it could to her home and then she was carried home the rest of the distance, up the hill to her home in Carrefour Feuille, near the Sanatorium, still lying on the door taken from a wrecked home across from her school. Her mom spent three days scouring the city looking for a hospital to take her daughter to, all the while Julienne laid at home in pain. She soon realized she could no longer urinate and was bloated. On the third day, Geskio hospital on Boulevard Marie Jeanne told the mom to bring her in. There, on Friday, she received her first first-aid from a foreign medical team. They put in a catheter which allowed her to urinate and gave her medicine. Her first X-Rays revealed the seriousness of her injuries. Her pelvis was broken in several places. After a couple days at that hospital, they put her in a vehicle and took her to the Haitian Community Hospital where teams of well equiped othopedist surgeons had arrived. That is where I met her shortly after her arrival. She went to surgery several times. I did what I could in my non-medical capacity to help her while she was there. I brought clean sheets, diapers, soap, baby wipes, toilet paper, anything I coould find to give this young woman a little dignity and comfort. She thought she was going to be a cripple. I told her she would dance again and that I would visit her when she got out. At that remark her mother exclaimed out loud “where is that blanc going to find us once we leave this hospital”.
On the evening of the Jan 26th I found out I had a free ride home on the morning of the 27th with Air Transat, the company that employs me. They were flying to Haiti with aid workers and supplies. I had to be back at work on the 31st, so I decided to leave Haiti. I wanted to say goodbye but Julienne was out of surgery and fast asleep. I left a note to her mother. It said : “While I jokingly called you my little girlfriend, at 48 I am way too old for you and already have a girlfriend. But I really want to hear from you in the future. He is my number. Call me when you get out.” She finally called me around in March. She told me she left the hospital around Feb 15th and had since been seing a Cuban doctor every day for rehab. At first she used a walker with a walker, then with crutches. I told her I would keep my promise come and say hello to her at home.
I went to see her this afternoon after my flight. She met me at the street corner, with a limp but no crutches. She told me it was her first time with no crutches. We (I was with my son Ian) only stayed 30 minutes, long enough to hear her story and take a few pictures.
In the name of all the Juliennes in Haiti, thank you for all of you that made this possible. Here is Julienne today. She thinks she looks ugly after all she’s been through. I’ll let you be the judge.
