Port-au-Prince
Photo: AFP
Eli Amashi
Photo: Ido Erez
Segev David Amashi
Reproduction: Ido Erez
Haiti quake: Father of missing boy wants to join search
Eli Amashi, whose ex-wife, nine-year-old son were reported missing in devastating 7.0 quake, refuses to lose hope. 'There has to be hope until reality proves otherwise,' he says
Eli Amashi, whose former wife Bridget Pierre and nine-year-old son Segev David were reported missing following the devastating earthquake which hit Haiti overnight, is anxiously awaiting news.
"I'm optimistic. There's hope – there has to be hope until reality proves otherwise," he told Ynet Wednesday.
Two other Israeli women were reported missing in Haiti. One of them is Sharona Elsaieh, the daughter of late peace activist Abie Nathan. The identity of the second woman has yet to be released.
Eli and Bridget met in 1993 and married in 1995. their marriage came to an end seven years later, and once they were divorced, Bridget returned home, to Haiti, with their son.
"We had a good relationship. I would go and see them every year and we spoke on the phone every two weeks," he said. "The last time we spoke was a week and a half ago. This morning, when I heard about the earthquake I immediately tried to call but I couldn’t get through. This whole situation is very hard."
Bridget, he added, often travels to the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, taking Segev with her.
Port-au-Prince's streets were devastated by the powerful earthquake, which flattened the presidential palace, the city's cathedral, hospitals, schools, the main prison and thousands of homes.
Amashi, who keeps in constant contact with the Foreign Ministry's situation room, added he would like to go to Haiti and assist in rescue efforts. "I want to join one of the Israeli missions but no one would take me, even though I can help."
