20318: (Hermantin) Miami-Herald-Haitians play amid distractions (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Fri, Mar. 12, 2004

SOCCER


Haitians play amid distractions

Forced to train in Miami because of the unrest in their homeland, the
Haitian national team keeps its focus on family.

BY SANTOS A. PEREZ

sperez@herald.com


Bruny Pierre-Richard and Johnny Descollines apologized for arriving late at
a news conference Thursday afternoon in the Orange Bowl. Rush hour traffic
delayed their appearance.

Given the current worries Pierre-Richard, Descollines and their teammates on
the Haitian national soccer them have endured recently, one can't fault them
for a minor inconvenience such as showing up a few minutes tardy to an
interview.

In fact, it is surprising Pierre-Richard and Descollines can concentrate on
soccer, including preparations for Saturday night's international friendly
against the United States in the Orange Bowl.

Weeks of political turmoil in Haiti, plagued by violent unrest and the
eventual departure of president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, has not escaped the
Haitian players. They might not be in the country, but the players strive
for daily updates from family back home.

''We have been able to stay in contact with our families,'' Pierre-Richard
said. ``As long as we can stay in touch with them and know they are fine, we
don't have any problems.''

Despite Aristide's departure and the presence of multinational peacekeeping
forces in the country, tension exists between anti- and pro-Aristide
sympathizers.

''We are here on a mission,'' Descollines said, ``and we need to accomplish
the mission. Then we can think about political issues. Whenever we get
together at the level of the national selection, we concentrate to do a job
because we are doing a job for the nation.''

Nonetheless, the players worry. The unrest in Haiti forced the team to
relocate its training to South Florida. Money from home has dried up, and a
local company is subsidizing expenses.

''The national [team] is supported by the government, and due to the
political problems this has not been able to materialize,'' Pierre-Richard
said. ``The [soccer] federation is struggling to keep the selection active.

``It is the support from people in Miami that has kept the selection
going.''

Most of the team has been away from Haiti the past four months.

Pierre-Richard missed the birth of his three-month old son, Bradley.
Pierre-Richard also has a 2-year-old son, Bruny Jr.

After Haiti defeated Turks and Caicos Islands in a World Cup qualifier three
weeks ago, Coach Fernando Clavijo gave his players a five-day break.
Pierre-Richard returned to Haiti for four days and met his infant son for
the first time.

''I have a great group of guys who have managed to work under the stress and
incredible conditions and keep training,'' said Clavijo, who took over the
team late last year. ``I'm glad of our players and the effort they are
making every day. It is an incredible group of human beings.''

If calm returns to Haiti, the team could practice in the homeland and play
in front of its compatriots. The next leg of World Cup qualifying will be in
June, when Haiti plays Jamaica.

''We would like for our country to stabilize because we cannot receive the
other teams in the qualifiers for the World Cup at home. It is too
unstable,'' Pierre-Richard said.

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