MIAMI – As the 15th anniversary of Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake approaches, new concerns emerge for survivors who sought refuge and treatment in the United States.
Among them is Peterson Exias, who was just nine years old when the earthquake struck. He vividly remembers the day his apartment collapsed while he was watching TV with his brother in Haiti.
“Everything started shaking and we saw the TV fall,” he recalled. “He ran and jumped on the bed, but I tried to reach for him and then the whole building just crumbled. I was stuck. My left side was pinned against the bed while the rest of my body was free.”
Exias was trapped under the rubble for four days. For the first two days, he could still hear his brother, but the mumbled conversations eventually stopped.
Haitian officials estimate that the earthquake claimed over 315,000 lives and left another 300,000 injured.
Exias was among the injured who were transported to Miami for treatment. He endured 16 surgeries, mostly on his head, to reconstruct the damage.
“So part of my ear lobe completely fell off and my cheek had to be reconstructed,” he explained. “My head is covered in scars where they had to patch me up.”
Today, the scars are still visible, but Exias has rebuilt his life in Miami.
He now works at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, where he received treatment as a child. Despite his progress, his future in the United States remains uncertain.
Exias has U.S. residency and his mother is here under Temporary Protected Status (TPS). However, the prospect of deportation looms.
“I don’t do anything that could get me in trouble with the authorities because I’m always scared,” he said. “I’m always at risk.”
Exias hasn’t seen the eight siblings he left behind in Haiti since the earthquake. Although he longs to visit, he fears being deported.
“Everything I hear about Haiti is just bad,” he said. “It’s not the Haiti I knew. It’s not the Haiti I want to go back to.”
Exias dreams of becoming a U.S. citizen and working as a nurse to help children like himself. He briefly attended the University of Florida but was classified as an out-of-state student, making tuition unaffordable.
“Even though I live in Miami, they list me as out of state and the fees are too high,” he said.
For now, Exias is determined to remain in Miami, a place he calls home and continue working toward his goal of becoming a nurse.
