Haitian Man Relives Terrifying Moments During Earthquake

One man's incredible story of survival and devastation illustrated the horrible reality in Haiti and the long road ahead that thousands of Haitians now face.

Friday, January 15th 2010, 9:17 pm

By: News 9


By Katie den Daas, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- One man's incredible story of survival and devastation illustrated the horrible reality in Haiti and the long road ahead that thousands of Haitians now face.

"I thought I was dreaming. When I was first hit by the blocks, I thought I was in a dream," Ruben Cenea, who survived the Haiti earthquake, said via Skype.

For Cenea, it was a dream that quickly turned into a nightmare.

"When I wake up, I just see a guy laying on my stomach with a big piece of block in his back, and this guy protect me, but he died," Cenea said.

Ruben and his 65 classmates were trapped inside their school, only eight of them survived.

"They were screaming and dying. I was watching them," Cenea said.

Watching and at times, wishing he could erase the images now replaying in his mind.

"After two hours in the blocks, when I got home, I wanted to die yesterday. I wanted to die because I mean, I crashed. I didn't want to live anymore yesterday because I saw too much," Cenea said.

Sights he said there aren't words to describe.

"I seen, I seen people in really bad situations. You don't know what I'm talking about because you aren't seeing what I'm seeing," Cenea said.

But now, Cenea's sights are set on helping where he can. Cenea is working as volunteer at the Mission of Hope Haiti.

"There's people on the street still in need asking for water, searching for food because they don't know where to go. They… it's a lot crazy here in Haiti," Cenea said. "I'm scared. I don't want to be inside. I don't know. It is really scary now."

In order to avoid being inside, Ruben said his family is sleeping on the basketball court at the Mission of Hope.

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