From AFSA: Remembering the FSO Community Victims of the Haiti Earthquake

Remembering the FSO Community Victims of the Haiti Earthquake

AFSA wishes to express its deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of those in the Foreign Service community who perished in the devastating January 12 earthquake in Haiti. One Foreign Service Officer and at least six Foreign Service Nationals are among the fallen, with 28 others unaccounted for:

Victoria DeLong: A 27-year veteran of the Foreign Service and an AFSA member, Victoria served as the Cultural Affairs Officer in Port-au-Prince. She had fallen in love with the people and culture of Haiti and called this tour the highlight of her career. Donations in her memory of Victoria Delong can be made to the Little Flower/Rosa Mina Orphanage, where Vickie volunteered. Online donations can be made through the Partners in Progress website (http://www.piphaiti.org/). There, click on "make a donation" to get the donations page. Where it asks "How should we use your donation", there is a drop down menu, and Little Flower/Rosa Mina is third on the list of options. On behalf of AFSA and its members, AFSA President Susan Johnson will present Victoria’s family with a United States flag at the funeral this weekend.

We also mourn the terrible loss of so many of our FSN colleagues. The Foreign Service National (FSN) Emergency Relief Fund enables the Department of State to respond to crises affecting locally employed staff overseas. To donate to the fund, send a check to the Department’s Gift Fund Coordinator, Donna Bordley, RM/CFO, Rm. 7427, 2201 C Street NW, Washington DC 20520. Make checks payable to the U.S. Department of State, designation for the “FSN Emergency Relief Fund.” State and USAID employees may also check their intranet for guidance on donation by cash or credit cards.

Our thoughts are also with State Department employee Andrew Wyllie, who tragically lost his wife Laurence and his two young sons, Evan and Baptiste, in the earthquake.

As a part of honoring their memory, AFSA has opened an online condolence and remembrance page at http://www.afsa.org/haiti.cfm. Please share your thoughts on those who gave their lives by e-mailing them to member@afsa.org. They will be posted each day. We encourage you to express your support for the dedication, courage and professionalism of your colleagues and fellow members of our Foreign Service family/community. The families of the fallen will then be provided with a bound book containing all the messages regarding their loved ones.