TAIPEI, Taiwan--()--From our Haitian friend Jean Marie Altema who has now safely arrived in the US: “I really thank you for your words…Thank you for your prayer and your thoughts to me and to my Haitian brothers.”
“We offer our deepest sympathies to the people of Haiti in their darkest hour. The Lord is with you and you will pull through this period. You are in our prayers every day. God bless and protect you.”
From our Haitian friend Marie Yancik Mezile who is still in Haiti: “Thank you to all our friends for their expressions of solidarity and affection. The hardest part is ahead when we are rebuilding…”
In the afternoon of January 12, 2010, in the bustling Port-au-Prince, no one would imagine in an instant, the record-breaking Richter Scale 7 earthquake would strike the capital city, which not only brought upon Haiti unprecedented disaster but also made the country the center of world attention. Soon after the earthquake hit and when communications were still difficult with Haiti, the Chairman of TAITRA, Dr. Chih-Kang Wang, instructed TAITRA’s Taiwantrade website, to deliver warmth and care through an Internet message board to the Haitian members and buyers. What is truly uplifting is that the voices coming out of Haiti or from the Haitians who have now found a safe haven have also been surfacing on the message board.
For a long time, TAITRA has been actively carrying out all kinds of trade missions and shows in Central and South Americas, leading Taiwanese manufacturers to build strong and mutually beneficial partnerships with the enterprises in the area. But, this time, TAITRA did not talk about trade. TAITRA instead has focused on delivering warmth and care to Haiti. Through online network, Taiwantrade invited its member and buyer friends around the world to leave well-wishing messages on the message board. In three short days, hundreds of messages were left on the board. The messages came from Taiwanese manufacturers as well as buyers and suppliers across continents. Even though these messages came from all over the world, they carried a common voice, that is, best wishes, undying hope and eternal care.
Here is a message from Dumisani Eugene Gwebu of the UK: “We offer our deepest sympathies to the people of Haiti in their darkest hour. The Lord is with you and you will pull through this period. You are in our prayers every day. God bless and protect you.”
At the same time, the Taiwanese voice is also firm and sincere, such as the manufacturer Hui-ju Tsai’s message: “Though the distance between Taiwan and Haiti is very far, it still pains us deeply to see the pictures in the TV news reports. We sincerely pray to the Heaven to listen to these suffering people’s voice and let the agony go away soon. Go, Haiti!”
Taiwantrade has completed compiling all the most heartfelt messages and will send them together again to our Haitian members and buyers. Perhaps this earthquake broke up our communications and took away our friends. These truest regards will nevertheless ultimately be heard by the Haitian people who yearn for them.
All the messages compiled by Taiwantrade can be found on the website below: http://messagestohaitians.taiwantrade.com.tw
