This transcript is from a larger story that CNN aired 1 day after the earthquake in Haiti. I pulled out the interview with Ricot Dupuy- the manager of the Brooklyn-run radio station: Radio Soleil. The rest of the transcript is at the bottom of this post.
WHITFIELD: Haiti's humanitarian crisis on the minds of many in New York City and in our nation's capital. Both areas filled with Haitian-Americans. From our D.C. studios, Arielle Jean Batiste, who used to work for USAID. Her daughter just got out of Haiti last week and Arielle herself was just in Haiti last month closing on her home there. And in New York City, Ricot Dupuy. He is the station manager for Radio Soleil, a Haitian flavored broadcast out of Brooklyn.
Good to see both of you all. I know both of you have been trying frantically to reach loved ones there in Haiti. It's been very difficult. You've got your own personal stories about what it's been like. So, Rico, let me begin with you, because here you are on the air, you're hearing from you -- you're hearing from listeners and callers who are sobbing about trying to reach out to their family members and you're dealing with the same kind of struggle. How do you keep it together during all this?
RICOT DUPUY, STATION MANAGER, RADIO SOLEIL: It is -- it is difficult and it's very frustrating at times because the people are asking for information that you have difficulty providing because basically they're asking you to put them in touch with loved ones, people they're trying to locate. And, you know, it has to be difficult . . .
WHITFIELD: And, of course, that has to be pretty frustrating -- right, very frustrating for you because you really can't do that.
DUPUY: Absolutely. We -- it's very difficult and we -- some people have the technological means of doing that. So basically all we can do, we give them an opportunity where they identify the loved ones, they're trying to identify to locate in Haiti. They give their names, a telephone number, hoping that somebody who hear the message would somehow connect with their loved one in Haiti and that their loved one would somehow connect back to them because they're really desperate. They need to make connection.
WHITFIELD: So, Arielle, this is an incredible network that has been under way. Thank goodness for social networking for you, too. You were able to find out about friends and loved ones. You're still wanting to hear about how your uncles are doing and some other friends. Give me an idea of how this morning you were able to get an update on loved ones by way of social networking. How did it work for you?
ARIELLE JEAN BATISTE, WORKED IN HAITI FOR YEARS AS REP. FOR USAID: This morning around 4:15, 5:00, I got up and got online and I saw two people in Haiti online and spoke to them. They couldn't tell me what the situation was because it was dark when it happened yesterday, but they told me that their families were fine.
However, this morning, with my daughter, we were able, on FaceBook, to circulate the information. We found out about, unfortunately, about certain deaths. My friend -- my son lost one of his friends. My -- another friend lost her mother. And two of my friends are unable to locate their mothers.
So just before I came to this interview, I got online and I saw someone, but unfortunately I haven't had time to talk to him. And I will get back and try to find out more information and see if I can connect some of these people with their parents.
WHITFIELD: And, you know, Ricot, this is terribly sad because while people are still trying to hear from loved ones, at the same time they are, in some cases, hearing the worst, as Arielle was just mentioning. Not a mention of people being injured, but instead it's one extreme to the other. It's either you're alive or you're dead. Is that what you're hearing from your listeners? And is that what you're experiencing as well?
DUPUY: Well, one situation that I see, it's a tendency to panic, to sometimes even exaggerate. Let me give you a clear example. A number of people are calling their loved ones in Haiti. The phone would ring, but there would be nobody at the end. And automatically they assume the worst, that the people have been killed or severely damaged when, in fact, people are being advised not to stay in homes, but to stay, rather, in the open because a home is a very dangerous place to be in Haiti right now because of aftershocks and other. In my own case, it took me some 15 hours to find out, to determine that my -- yes.
WHITFIELD: Go ahead. I can hear you. It took you 15 hours.
DUPUY: Yes. It took some 15 hours to find out that my aunts, my cousins, whom I love very, very much, were OK because the phone rang, nobody picked up. I was tempted also to assume the worst and finally I find out that they're OK.
WHITFIELD: Well, this is very agonizing, we understand, for you, Ricot Dupuy, as well as Arielle Jean Batiste. And we thank you so much for your time and we wish you all the best as you continue to reach out to your loved ones and your friends and family there. And, of course, we've got our prayers out for you and all of them.
BATISTE: Thank you. Thank you, Fredricka. Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much for your time. Appreciate that.
BATISTE: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: So the earthquake in Haiti is certainly the worst to hit that country in two centuries. We'll take a look now at the fault lines.
COMMERCIAL BREAK)
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1001/13/cnr.06.html
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