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Shaken by all the carnageHaitian-born Claude Vilgrain, a former Flyer, is struggling to deal with the earthquake that struck his homeland.By Wayne FishSTAFF WRITERClaude Vilgrain, the first black player in Flyer history and the only Haitian-born one ever to compete in the NHL, had for years wanted his father, Alix, to leave their native country.But he desired an emigra--tion for all the predictable reasons, like hurricanes and political unrest.Little did Claude knowClaudeVilgraincrossed island nation.Claude wondered just how unfair it could get as he watched televisionreports of the earthquake at his home in Calgary on the afternoon of Jan. 12.Communication lines were down, so there was no way to find out the welfare of family members located near the capital city of Port-au-Prince.Now, more than two weeks later and comforted by the fact that everyone in his family did indeed survive, the 46-year-old Vilgrain can turn histhat destiny had yet an even more dev- full attention to helping with reliefastating fate in store for the tiny star- efforts.Still, those hours of uncertainty remain fresh in his memory.“He’s doing well and he prefers to stay,” Claude said of his father during a telephone conversation. “We wanted him to come back but he’s very passionate about his country.”In his working years, Alix Vilgrain was a respected economist in Haiti and consultant to the country’s Department of Agriculture. All the Vilgrains seem to be important people — Claude’s grandfather was a famous judge, his uncle a notable doctor who has a street named after him in Port-au-Prince.The character of people such as Alix demonstrates why Haiti has reason for hope. While much aid pours in, it’s theSee VILGRAIN, Page C6
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Doylestown Intelligencer
Doylestown, Pennsylvania, US
Wed, Jan 27, 2010
Page 30
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