UF graduate students Roman Safiullin and Jon Bougher were due to return from Haiti Tuesday.
But after an estimated 7.0-magnitude earthquake shook Port-au-Prince Tuesday, their whereabouts had yet to be determined Wednesday.
“Everybody is trying to figure out where they might be,” said professor Churchill Roberts, their adviser.
Roberts said he spoke with the families of the two students and no one has been able to get in contact with them after Tuesday’s disaster.
Safiullin and Bougher were in Haiti filming a documentary about an organization building a school at an orphanage.
The film is part of their thesis work in The Documentary Institute at the College of Journalism and Communications.
The organization, Planting Peace, was founded by Aaron Jackson and John Dieubon.
Roberts said he was able to get in contact with some friends and colleagues of Dieubon, and they told him Dieubon was unhurt during the earthquake.
“We think because our two students are with this guy that they’re OK too,” Roberts said.
Roberts said the students, who had been in Haiti since Sunday, were staying five to 10 minutes away from the airport in Port-au-Prince.
He said he heard the airport did not suffer as much damage as some other structures in the area and hopes the students were lucky enough to escape major harm.
“We’re all hoping for the best,” Roberts said. “We are all quite anxious and concerned. We won’t rest until we’ve heard the definite word that they’re OK, but we [didn't hear] any bad news [Wednesday].”
Other UF students are also waiting for news of their families and loved ones.
Perpétua Chéry, a UF junior, heard news about the earthquake Tuesday at 5 p.m. and has been trying to contact her family since then.
She learned the condition of her grandfather in Haiti from a cousin in France.
“This is really frustrating,” Chéry said, “Since we’re having difficulties getting communication with Haiti.”
She was still awaiting news on the rest of her family Wednesday.
An e-mail sent by UF President Bernie Machen Wednesday said two UF faculty members in Haiti, Florence Sergile and Ed Hanlon, are safe.
UF organizations and local Red Cross and Salvation Army chapters are asking students to donate money.
Del Villasane, an emergency services intern at The American Red Cross’s chapter in Gainesville, suggested students make monetary donations so charities can effectively use the money to meet the food and medical needs of Haitians.
Steve Dick, development director for The Salvation Army of Florida, agreed with Villasane.
“At this point, because of the chaotic situation, they are still trying to determine people’s needs,” Dick said. “The most quick and efficient way is monetary donations.”
Student Body President Jordan Johnson said he wants students to know Student Government will support and assist any students and student organizations wanting to help.
He said the tragedy in Haiti has personally touched many students' lives, and he encouraged them to be there for one another and make donations.
“Every little bit counts,” Johnson said. “This certainly is a major tragedy.”
Aleks Bacewicz, president of the Global Haiti Initiative at UF, believes it is important to raise awareness of Haitian issues, especially now that the current crisis is brought to the forefront.
Jose St. Louis, a UF sophomore who has family living in Haiti, was immediately affected by the earthquake.
Because communications systems are down, there is no way of ensuring their safety.
“With Port-au-Prince being the most populous city and the death toll estimated in the hundreds of thousands, it’s inevitable that my family would know some of the people who have been affected,” St. Louis said. “This has really made me sit back and be thankful for what I’ve got because I realize how many small things fell in place in order for me to be here right now.”
Students from the College of Medicine who participate in Project Haiti, a medical mission trip that takes place every spring, are collecting donations on their Web site, projecthaiti.sites.medinfo.ufl.edu.
Trip leader Daniel Lombardo said the organization will soon start collecting bottled water, medicine and canned goods.
“We’re going to be facing probably the biggest health crisis we’ve seen there for years,” he said.
Angela Pierre, public relations executive for Club Creole, a Haitian cultural club, said there will be a drop box in the club’s office on the third floor of the Reitz Union where students can donate canned goods and medicine.
Club Creole began tabling on Turlington Plaza Wednesday to raise awareness of the tragedy and collect donations to aid in the relief efforts.
Haiti has recently suffered many other natural disasters, including Hurricane Hannah and Tropical Storm Ike, both in Septemember 2008. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
“Haiti is accustomed to having a few bad times," Pierre said. “We will rise. Maybe not tomorrow, or this year, but we will rise.”
