E. Flatbush ‘Radio Haiti’ Comes Through In Emergency

The voice of Haiti, based in East Flatbush, is a comfort to immigrants and a source of emergency communication. It has been more than two months since the earthquake in Haiti. Within that time, the massive demonstrations of relief have been a great help to the survivors. The first few weeks following the earthquake were the most difficult for people trying to locate family and loved ones. The Haitian community in New York turned to Radio Soleil d’ Haiti, a radio station based in East Flatbush, for solace. They are still tuning in daily for updates and to keep a connection with the island.

Ricot Dupuy, station manager and co-founder of Radio Soleil, says that the earthquake was the toughest challenge the station had to face since they started in 1992. Radio Soleil was developed to give a voice to the Haitian community and give them a sense of belonging. Dupuy had been involved with a local news channel and weekly radio shows, but was a professional in the banking industry. “After awhile, a onehour show or a weekly show wasn’t enough. We needed 24-hour programming.” Dupuy says that the Haitian community was getting large and the need for up-to-the-minute information was becoming more necessary. He felt a sense of pressure and responsibility to provide this, even though he was working in the banking industry, volunteering in the Haitian New York community and completing a master’s degree. “I was doing three things at once, but eventually, I left the banking industry and would give myself entirely to radio,” he remembers.

Station Manager and co-founder of the station Ricot Dupuy. Radio Soleil airs a combination of music, news and talk programming, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To accommodate the varied generations of listeners, programs are broadcast in French, Haitian-Creole and English. Dupuy wants to be sure that all Haitians, born in Haiti, the United States or elsewhere, can tune in and listen in the language they are most comfortable with. “Because our community speaks in a language that is not mainstream, Haitians have faced a lot of discrimination. It makes them feel unwelcome many times and as if they are a burden, so their self-esteem is affected. When they come to Radio Soleil, they feel empowered,” he said.

With an objective to connect the community and share its traditional and popular music, the radio station has also sought to be a voice of information and political awareness. Many listeners will call and ask for help with their own personal issues, requesting advocacy. Listeners who don’t speak English will call and ask for the staff to help them with landlord and tenant disputes or career or educational concerns. Dupuy says that however limited in terms of staff they might be, they will do everything they can, whether it’s translating or calling local political officials and speaking on their audience’s behalf. This gives the Haitians they reach in the New York metro area a feeling they are not alone.

It makes sense that Radio Soleil was flooded with calls after January’s earthquake. Dupuy notes that a team of college students volunteered to answer phones the first few weeks. Around the clock, listeners were calling in for updates and asking Dupuy and his staff if he could help them locate family members.

The radio station’s office, on 1622 Nostrand Avenue, was visited daily by people all over New York City. People were coming in with lists of names and posting pictures on the walls of those they were trying to reach. Underneath the posters of Haiti’s National Palace or its beaches pre-earthquake, family portraits and snapshots were tacked up, covering the walls like a collage.

Radio Soleil’s listeners wanted to keep the images of those they were looking for strong in people’s minds. They wanted those who could remember the faces to keep calling anyone who might be able to get answers for them.

Radio Soleil regularly made calls to their sister station in Haiti, especially since many of their listeners had no other way to make contact.

Ricot Dupuy says that he was overwhelmed by the task to make contacts with as many people as possible, but he was encouraged by the camarederie of all the volunteers who tried to help. While Dupuy recognizes that Haiti has been marked by political instability, the image he witnessed of Haitians helping each other and reaching out to each other was remarkable.

He feels that this is not something that is often shown in the media. He was proud and impressed to have friends call in on his radio show and share news of family Radio Soleil was able to find and how local residents of Portau Prince, many of them young people, were risking their lives to help save strangers who were trapped in their homes.

This urged Radio Soleil to continue their efforts to share names or locations of where lost individuals might be. Knowing that people have tuned in for many years to know how Haitians are doing across the United States, he did not want to disappoint them at a time they wanted to connect with their homeland the most. “We had a list of over 3500 names and this earthquake tested us in a big way. Can we stay faithful to our goal, which is to help the community in their moment of need?” he wondered.

Although the road to recovery will be a long one for Haiti, Radio Soleil plans to serve however it can. They will continue to play the music that comforts their listeners and provides them with a sense of familiarity. They will continue to engage them in the political process and provide them with information on immigration and human rights. Dupuy believes that if Haitians in the United States are empowered, then they can empower the rebuilding of Haiti, too.

“Haitians are an integral part of the New York economy. They buy products, go to hospitals, go to department stores. They ride the subway. Those that are citizens, vote.”

With that in mind, Radio Soleil d’ Haiti will continue to consider the needs and issues their listeners regularly trust them with to build a proud reputation from the airwaves to the streets that they express their longing for.