As Canadians try to escape Haiti, some feel their own government left them behind

When the helicopter finally left the ground from a grass field in Haiti, David Rocheleau says he felt a sense of relief.

After making it out of the embattled island nation plagued by anarchy and gang violence, the Quebec resi‐ dent told CBC News it took a "convoy-like" row of ar‐ moured vehicles to get him to the helicopter headed to the Dominican Republic - all trailing behind a motorcycle that drove ahead to check for gangs in the area.

But Rocheleau said Cana‐ dian authorities had nothing to do with his rescue on Wednesday. Instead, he said, the business he worked with paid tens of thousands of dollars for the private rescue company, International SOS, to get him out.

He filmed his rescue and gave CBC News exclusive ac‐ cess to the footage.

"Someone in the Canadi‐ an Embassy who has all this information could have done this ... that's what pisses me off," Rocheleau said. "If someone had their head to‐ gether and took the initiative, they could have easily done it."

WATCH | Canada's efforts 'not cutting it,' says Quebecer who fled Haiti:

Roughly 3,000 Canadians are registered in Haiti, ac‐ cording to Global Affairs Canada (GAC). The govern‐ ment agency said Friday it re‐ sponded to 245 inquiries since violence erupted earlier this month among rival gangs, closing the interna‐ tional airport in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and leaving foreigners stranded amid in‐ creasing kidnappings, rob‐ beries and violent crime.

GAC said some of the re‐ quests it received had to do with general travel informa‐ tion and the security situa‐ tion in Haiti, while others concerned ways to evacuate.

But Tanya English said when her Canadian relative

trapped in Haiti attempted to reach out for help, GAC was no help.

CBC News is not identify‐ ing English's relative in Haiti in order to protect their safety, but it has been in di‐ rect contact with the relative, who is trying to conserve their phone battery amid an electricity shortage and granted English permission to share their story.

The Canadian, who spent decades doing humanitarian work in Haiti, was diagnosed with cancer two years ago and was supposed to return to Canada at the beginning of March for a followup treat‐ ment appointment, English said.

That trip never happened. WATCH | Canada hasn't decided yet on evacuating citizens from Haiti, ambas‐ sador says:

Canadian frustrated with Ottawa's response

Email correspondence be‐ tween English's relative and GAC was obtained by CBC News.

After being given informa‐ tion on how to keep them‐ selves safe, the Canadian wrote on March 17, "Thanks for the info but I was hoping you could help me to evacu‐ ate. How can you help me to evacuate?"

Global

Affairs then replied, "As you are regis‐ tered with ROCA, it will en‐ able you to receive important safety updates from the Gov‐ ernment of Canada," refer‐ ring to Registration of Cana‐ dians Abroad, a free service that allows the government to notify travellers of an emergency.

On Wednesday, GAC asked the Canadian if they'd be willing to leave Haiti if de‐ parture options become available at a potential "cost recovery basis." But the fol‐ lowing day, it sent another email saying the government of Canada "is not facilitating assisted departures or repa‐ triation flights for Canadians in Haiti at this time."

"They get this glimmer of hope, thinking, 'Ah, finally,' and then they're completely shattered again," English said. "They're just getting ab‐ solutely utterly depressed because absolutely nobody cares."

GAC has not responded to specific questions from CBC News in time for publication, but the agency indicated it cannot comment on specific consular cases.

Although the Canadian is still trapped in Haiti, they said they found a potential es‐ cape plan through a veteranled non-profit based in Flori‐ da called Project DYNAMO. The organization has con‐ firmed to CBC News that the Canadian requested its help.

But unlike Rocheleau, who waited on standby for two days at a hotel with armed guards hired to keep his group safe, the days went by and Project DYNAMO was un‐ able to obtain the air clear‐ ance to get the Canadian out of Haiti.

"I have four helicopters sitting 20 minutes away from me right now - idle," said Bryan Stern, the founder and CEO of Project DYNAMO. "They're fuelled, they're fun‐ ded, they have pilots. Why won't they fly? Well, the Do‐ minicans will say that they can't give us authorization to fly .... Haiti says [they] don't care." Haiti shares the Caribbean island of Hispan‐ iola with the Dominican Re‐ public.

Sitting in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic's capital, Stern expressed frus‐ tration that his group - which does rescues free of charge through donations - has yet to get permission to use the airspace from the Dominican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while for-profit companies have been able to operate similar missions.

Bullets can 'start flying' at any time

Paul Doucet, regional secu‐ rity director for International SOS, said in an interview the company credits its compli‐ ance with regional laws and connection with relevant de‐ partments to having received clearance to fly.

"I can give you complete assurance, 100 per cent, that [how much is charged per rescue] is not why we were successful.

"At no point did that play a factor in how we were able to conduct that mission."

Doucet said he could not comment directly on how much International SOS charges for its rescue mis‐ sions.

Roberto Álvarez, the for‐ eign affairs minister of the Dominican Republic, said in an interview that there is no connection between whether organizations charge money for rescue missions and how quickly they receive approval from the ministry.

The delay in permits being granted is largely because of security checks that need to be done, he said.

Since the violence erupted, Álvarez said, about 500 people have received permission to fly from Haiti to the Dominican Republic.

"Every day [they] wake up with [their] bags packed, waiting and waiting," Tanya English said about her rela‐ tive, who is still awaiting res‐ cue from Project DYNAMO. "When you get that discour‐ agement every single day, hoping that it's going to happen, and then it doesn't."

Her relative says the roof of their home is riddled with bullet holes from nearby shootings, which could be‐ come a real problem once it rains. Food is also getting scarce, with her family mem‐ ber mainly eating out of cans, English said.

Every time they leave the house to get food, "they dash for it," she said. "You never know when bullets are going to start flying."

They are still awaiting a response from Global Affairs Canada on possible ways to leave the country. "At the worst time ... everyone is just turning their backs," she said.

In an interview from his home in Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., on Friday, the day after he returned from Haiti, Rocheleau said he and his wife were finally able to get a good night's sleep for the first time since the violence erupted.

While Rocheleau said he never felt in imminent dan‐ ger in Haiti, worries were al‐ ways at the back of his mind. Before the escape plan with the private company was ap‐ proved, the 63-year-old said he thought of trekking through the mountains to es‐ cape as he sat in his hotel and listened to gunshots out‐ side.

"I could tell there's some‐ one out there shooting at somebody ... but you're trapped," he said. "It was like a prison, but a prisoner at least knows there's a release date."