Haitian mayor visits to thank Lynn residents

SAUGUS – It?s not every day someone travels more than 1,600 miles to say, “Thank you,” but on Wednesday morning, Yvon Jerome, the mayor of a city in Haiti, did just that.Jerome met with Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy and Rep. John F. Tierney in the mayor?s office to thank them and the city of Lynn for their support after the 2010 earthquake.Sitting on the maroon leather couch in Flanagan?s office, Jerome presented her and Tierney with plaques with the Haitian flag and a message of thanks. Jerome is the mayor of Carrefour, a city near the capital, Port-au-Prince, with about 1 million people.?The people of Lynn are a very caring group of people,” said Kennedy. “When we hear about something as tragic as the earthquake that hit Haiti, we want to help. We?re not wealthy people in Lynn by any means, but we want to share what we have.”Jerome said the rebuilding process has been slow since the earthquake hit and he is hoping his country can be made stronger in the future.?The earthquake is a great opportunity to see Haiti as a village,” said Jerome. “We need to see things differently in how to put ourselves together. This is one big example of action and what to do and how to make a big impact. Rebuilt Haiti needs to be something else.”Within weeks of the earthquake, Kennedy helped organize donations for the victims, which culminated in sending a giant shipping container with more than $200,000 worth of donations, including 27,000 bottles of water, 17,000 articles of clothing, 5,000 cans of beans and 600 cases of diapers along with medical and building equipment.?It definitely cast a pall over the city,” said Flanagan. “I had only been mayor for a week when the earthquake hit. I said, ?What does one do when such a large segment of the population is affected by events that are thousands of miles away?? I felt that I needed to step up and contribute to the relief effort in some way.”Tierney praised both Kennedy and Jerome for their leadership since the earthquake and said he along with the country will continue working to rebuild Haiti.?Our largest Haitian community is in Lynn,” said Tierney. “But we have people throughout the district and the state who all feel very strongly about supporting Haiti and making sure everybody there is safe and secure. I look forward to continuing as a country to do all we can do to support the Haitian people?s efforts to build a good, strong democracy with an economy that really is vibrant.”Gardy Jean-Francois, a member of Kennedy?s staff, saw firsthand the earthquake?s devastation when he traveled there in June 2010.?When I went to Haiti last year right after the earthquake, I was really shocked,” said Jean-Francois.In the days following the earthquake, Jean-Francois? sister went missing in Port-au-Prince for 10 days, but Kennedy said that never slowed his efforts to help with the donations.?I know he would never make a big deal out of that,” said Kennedy. “But it showed incredible strength.”Jerome said it?s taken some time to build a new government after Haitian president Michel Martelly was sworn in last May, which he said has slowed rebuilding efforts somewhat. Still, Jerome said, “The hope is there.”?For Carrefour, we?re working hard to change the situation to move the people out of tents,” said Jerome. “That?s the first step we?re working on right now. Make sure we?re building some houses. When we start to build, that?s going to be creating jobs and those people can be involved in the rebuilding.”Jerome has met numerous times with officials in the United States government since the disaster and said progress is being made in his city thanks to the support of people around the world, whom he referred to as family.?After meeting some people in Washington we got some roads done and built schools,” said Jerome. “I think this is a great opportunity for myself to be here and to meet my family members. Since the (earthquake), everyone all over the world is a Haitian family.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at m