It was nearing the end of the work day and Lieutenant-Commander Shekhar Gothi just wanted some fresh air and a chance to stretch his legs. Seconds later he was buried beneath mounds of rubble as the UN Headquarters building in Port-au-Prince, Haiti collapsed in the devastating earthquake January 12. He was one of the few survivors.

A naval reservist from HMCS Star in Hamilton, Ont., LCdr Gothi arrived in Haiti five months ago and is executive assistant to Colonel Bernard Ouellette, the Canadian military chief of staff for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

“Initially I thought it might be a rocket strike but very quickly realized that it was a massive earthquake,” he says. “The building started to shake very violently and almost immediately the concrete ceiling above me started to break apart and fall on top of me. Within moments, the building collapsed and I was completely buried in rubble over my head. The building shook so violently that it was difficult to focus on any object or to even stand upright.”

After about 20 minutes, some debris shifted and LCdr Gothi was able to extricate himself from where he was buried. When he emerged from the rubble, he was stunned to see the destruction. “The entire situation was very surreal and it quickly became clear that the devastation was significant,” he explains.

LCdr Gothi did not suffer any life-threatening injuries; however, he did sustain contusions to his head, as well as lacerations and heavy bruising to his shoulders, arms and left knee. He was evacuated the following day to Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic. He spent nearly three days in hospital there before flying back to Canada.

LCdr Gothi was anxious to return to Haiti however, and he caught a plane back January 21.

“I was examined by the Area Surgeon in Toronto and given the green light to redeploy,” he says. “My motivation to go back is very simple–to help the people of Haiti. So many Canadians are watching the news and want to help desperately. I have the opportunity to go and a duty to continue with my service on this tour of duty.”

Prior to the earthquake, LCdr Gothi had been visiting an orphanage in Kenscoff, bringing spaghetti and meatballs which he made himself, bananas, bread and juice to children in the community about 45 minutes drive from Port-au-Prince. On January 24 he returned to the orphanage, overjoyed to find that none of the children had suffered major injuries.

As LCdr Gothi continues his work in Haiti, he is seeing firsthand the beginnings of the long road to recovery. “When I drive through the streets of Port-au-Prince, I see people getting on with their lives and trying to rebuild. Markets are open on a smaller scale and things are slowly starting to improve. People appear positive and the aid provided by countless military, civilian and NGO [non-governmental organization] workers from myriad countries is definitely helping.”

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