Over the past two weeks, the news has been covering the traumatizing earthquakes in Haiti.
But it took a seven point earthquake followed by another one days later to portray a true natural disaster at its worst.
One University of Tampa student in particular, Pascal Milien, has been affected personally both physically and emotionally.
Milien is a 23 year-old senior who plans to play professional soccer for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in March.
The Leogane native was born and raised in Haiti, but made the trek over to the United States in Nov. of 2002.
Not having returned to Haiti in seven years, he was excited to visit the day before the quake, but rescheduled last minute due to a required attendance to the All-American Convention for soccer.
The Major League Soccor draft, according to Milien, saved his life because “God was on [his] side.”
Upon boarding the plane to his soccer convention, Milien received a phone call about the quake in Haiti.
Scared, yet curious, Milien quickly searched the internet for the level of disaster concerning the incident.
Unable to fathom such an event, Millien found it hard to voice his opinions.
“This disaster was like God was talking to us directly. We are a country with a lot of violence and crime, but I feel that messages are never taken positively,” Milien said.
Milien is a true believer in praying for better times to come because he views this disaster as neither a punishment nor warning, but as a way for his people to move on and start off fresh.
Along with over 100,000 fellow
countrymen and women, Milien suffered the loss of three cousins and an uncle.
Milien was heartbroken to hear the lost of his close family members and stated, “I didn’t know how to feel. All I can do is pray for my family and pray we can all live in peace.”
Forced to confront the reality that his family was engulfed by the most devastating earthquake to hit Haiti in 200 years, Miien continues to pray for protection and finds it extremely tough to deal with the misery that has plagued his home.
Milien’s family, with the exception of his father and a few relatives, is waiting anxiously to see this disaster out and view the bulk of the damage.
He has been in contact with his family, but after several attempts to call, failed to connect and can only rely on his family’s limited access to call him.
For days after hearing the shocking news, Milien felt simple everyday tasks like eating and sleeping very troublesome.
He feels God is working on his side and that God saved him from boarding that plane that could have potentially ended his life.
Even with all the pain and suffering, Milien still remains optimistic. He believes that this disaster is a fork in the road that can only lead to progress.
Milien hopes that we as a supporting nation can eventually put this disaster behind us and at least “pray for survivors to have a better life and help us as a country to go forward.”
Milien relies heavily on the support of his friends and family.
After all, he was a simple UT athlete that enjoyed watching movies, playing sports and playing video games in his free time.
Though his focus was on professional soccer for the years to come, his plans have shifted in the aftermath of the quake.
Milen’s goal preceding the quake was in regards to helping Haiti; not only by supporting the community, but by providing inspiration for the future generations.
He wants the children there to get the same opportunity as him and bring over a soccer camp to avoid the prospect of kids with big hearts and the potential for success simply giving up.
However, with the melancholy thoughts of the quake’s aftermath in Haiti, Milien finds himself with troubling free time.
With all the save and support Haiti benefits surrounding campus, he is constantly reminded of his loss, but is cheered up by the support of his UT community.
As an optimistic reminder, he picks up a bible every now and then to instill confidence in a seemingly lost natural disaster.
Like Grandma Milen always says, “after the storm it’s always a good day.”