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/ NEWS / TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
HAITI
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Damage from the Jan. 12 earthquake can be seen from the air over Delmas, a neighborhood in Port-au-Prince. The 7.0 earthquake left homes destroyed and thousands homeless.
their passports they were taken to the U.N. Compound and the U.S. Embassy official later took Adam back to the hotel to gather the rest of the couple's belongings.
"That was the longest 20 minutes of my life," Karen said. "I was waiting at the compound with other refugees, some were getting phone calls about family members in Port-au-Prince who had been killed, and my imagination 'was running wild.'"
Photos by Adam Buhler/KANSAN
Luckily, Adam and Karen were reunited and spent the rest of their time in Haiti at the compound, until Friday, Jan. 15.
Aftershocks occurred often during the first 12 hours after the initial earthquake.
Their first night at the compound was a restless one. The Buhlers said they slept outside, away from anything that could potentially crumble. They said the aftershocks continued throughout the next three days. It took the Buhlers 14 hours to
- It took the Buhlers 14 hours to contact their family.
"We immediately tried to make contact but phone lines were down, Internet was non-existent and generators weren't working." Karen said.
It wasn't until the next day when a man-with a satellite phone let the Buhlers call home to let their family know they were safe. From there, Adam, Karen and the rest of their family did their best to try and get the two of them home safely.
convoy to bring more supplies to Port-au-Prince because the capital was running very low on food, water and medical supplies. But that wasn't the case.
At one point it was rumored that the U.N. was driving an armored
"We found out that the road between Port-au-Prince and Jacmel was destroyed," Adam said. "The 30-kilometer stretch was completely impassable. We knew once we could get to Port-au-Prince we would have more of a chance to get a flight with the Air Force or something but once
we found out that the road was gone
we kind of had no options."
Adam and Karen had no idea when they would be home. They anticipated staying for at least a week from when the earthquake hit; they expected to still be in Jacmel today.
On Friday, the Buhlers were finally able to take a helicopter to Santo Domingo to board a flight to Florida, and finally back to Kansas.
After all they've endured, Adam and Karen they both look forward
to traveling back to Jacmel as soon as they can. They want to focus on helping people in Haiti and rebuild Pazapa, which suffered significant damage. Karen said the back wall collapsed in the wreckage.
"Part of us is still there in a way," Adam said. "We left so quickly and at such a devastating time that we couldn't help feel that way. This will be the first of many trips."
Edited by Cory Bunting
Adam and Karen Buhler are pictured in Jacmel, Haiti, Jan. 15 before leaving for Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to return to the United States. They caught a plane to Florida and then to Kansas.
Refugees find comfortable places to sleep at the MINUSTAH camp in Jacmel, Haiti, Jan. 15. Adam Buhler and his wife slept outside, away from any structure that could crumble, in the days following the quake.
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