Haitian family losing hope for dumped ‘Jamaican’
Gavin Riley / Our Today
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Hope for ‘Janel’—a man believed to be a Jamaican national—is waning in Haiti, as a perceived lack of action or urgency on the part of the Jamaican Government raises questions nearly two weeks after Our Today first reported on his plight.
Jude Pierre Dambreville, the Haitian-American chef who brought attention to a Janel, speaking with Our Today on Monday (February 1), contends that the inaction could boil down to stigma for Haitians.
“I was just telling a friend last night that I was starting to lose hope. [It] seems like no one cares. I’ve always heard that Jamaicans don’t like Haitians, but this proves it,” he aruged.
Dambreville said that based on scores of hurtful comments on social media, some Jamaicans have sought to vilify him and his family—whose only ‘crime’ was to care for a stranger when others all but gave up on him.
“All I see online are ignorant comments saying, ‘Why would he go to Haiti? Leave him there, he went searching for obeah, etc’,” he told Our Today.
Dambreville further explained that the Jamaican Consulate in Haiti reached out to his mother twice, but they reportedly faced challenges understanding the retired nurse.
When contacted last Thursday, the Public Relations and Communications Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed Our Today that questions related to Janel would be transferred to the Consular Services Department, with a response to follow “soon”.
The ministry released a terse statement over the weekend which interestingly asked persons with information on the believed Jamaican to contact Dambreville via email.
Dambreville said he finds the ministry’s position odd, while Our Today is yet to receive any comment or statement on the matter.
See related articles below:
- Haitians seek help for ‘Jamaican’ man mistakenly deported to wrong country
- Foreign Affairs Ministry seeking to identify ‘Jamaican’ found in Haiti
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