I'm glad that its better there. I still havn't heard from my son and his family in FL.
'Diligence' and crew sail into second Haitian crisis
By Trista Talton
Staff Writer
The Wilmington-based Coast Guard cutter Diligence is where it was almost 10 years ago – in the blue waters where the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea meet – interdicting fleeing Haitians.
A spokeswoman with the Coast Guard's 7th District in Miami confirmed Tuesday that the Diligence and its crew of about 75 Coast Guardsmen are operating in the Windward Passage between Haiti and Cuba about 600 miles east of Miami.
Star-News attempts to reach the crew, which deployed in late January, were unsuccessful.
American and French troops have been working to restore order in Haiti after President Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled into exile in Africa Sunday morning. Hundreds of Camp Lejeune-based Marines have been sent to the poverty-stricken country since early last week.
The crisis in Haiti began mounting when rebel leaders vowed to oust the former president.
Mr. Aristide became Haiti's first democratically elected president in 1990. He was removed by a coup in 1991 and restored by the United States in 1994.
Andy Cascardi was captain of the Diligence in July of that year, when the cutter arrived in the Windward Passage.Mr. Cascardi, now retired, said he remembers approaching Hispanolia and seeing the orange blazes of burning boats dotting the horizon.
Abandoned boats were torched because they were navigational hazards. Mr. Cascardi said his crew destroyed 15 to 20 boats.
The crew's mission was to rescue Haitians who tried to flee the poverty and politics of their native country by piling into rickety boats.
"At one time we had over 500 Haitians on the ship," he said.
Men, women and children crowded the 210-foot cutter's deck for several days. The crew used parachutes as makeshift tents and buckets as toilets. Many pulled to safety needed medical care. Refugees were primarily fed rice and chicken.
The cutter crew worked grueling hours, eventually repatriating more than 1,000 Haitians.
"It was a pretty rewarding mission," Mr. Cascardi said. "Those people were close to being doomed to failure."
He said he worried while the ship was en route that his crew would not understand the plight of the people they were saving. The former cutter captain held an all-hands meeting before the ship reached Haiti to reiterate the humanitarian aspect of the operation.
"I think, after that, the crew understood that this was a significant thing," he said. "We had 500 Haitians on board and had not one incident. They were very mild and peaceful."
He remembers how some of his crew played card games with the waiting refugees.
Explaining the decimated economy and politics in Haiti to those who haven't witnessed it first hand is difficult, Mr. Cascardi said.
The uproar in Haiti was not a surprise to him.
"I'm not really surprised, but I had hoped for the best," Mr. Cascardi said.
Its great to have the USCG around. They are really doing a good job. We don't usually even hear about them. They are there 24/7.
I'm sure your son and his family are alright...maybe a little tired and frustrated with the power out. Hopefully you'll hear from them soon.