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PROVO -- Imagine having no contact with your family and fearing the worst, that's the position many students from Haiti find themselves in, and all they can do is wait.
Student Beecareton Marcelin said, "I can't even eat. You know, it's pretty sad. My sisters and brothers, my parents, they're all in Haiti."
With every day that passes, the pit in Marcelin's stomach grows larger. He's praying his family of 10 is not now down to one sole survivor -- him. He's had no word from any of his family, all who live in Port-au-Prince, the area his hardest by the earthquake.
Marcelin and his friend Peterson Vertus, who is also from Haiti, are caught between hoping for a call and dreading what news may come.
"I don't want any bad news. I'm just hoping they're OK, and they can just say, ‘Hey, we are good, no worries,'" Vertus said.
Their friends and classmates, from both BYU and UVU, are holding a meeting, reaching out to any students with connections to Haiti. They're raising money for relief efforts and working to get the latest information for anyone missing loved ones.
Mike Petrus helped organize the event. He too is waiting for news from family in Haiti.
"We have family members we haven't been able to contact," he said.
For now, the news is their only connection to their native country. All they can do is hope for a call and check the list of survivors registered so far online.
"It's pretty much hard on me to sit here and not know what's going on with my parents," Marcelin said.
The Red Cross has organized the registration website for anyone searching for a loved one.
E-mail: jstagg@ksl.com
