Canadiens forward Georges Laraque has more on his mind than just hockey as he awaits word from his family in Haiti. Laraque opened up about the earthquake that hit the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on Tuesday — the strongest earthquake to hit the island in 200 years.
"It’s hard to be here and playing hockey, not knowing what’s happening and not being able to reach someone," Laraque told the Montreal Gazette. "The next couple of days, the next couple of months are going to be tough. … I’m going to be praying for not only the members of my family, but for all the Haitians that are struggling."
Laraque was born in Montreal, but his parents are from Haiti, and some members of his immediate family were on the island when the earthquake hit.
"The parents of my first cousins are down there for the winter, and we've been trying to reach them," Laraque said. "We don't know what's happening, but if the government building went down, and that would have been a strong structure, then you can imagine what happened to the rest of the houses."
Laraque admits not being able to get in touch with his loved ones adds to his concerns.
"That's one of the hardest parts," he said. "When you sit and wait and you can't get a hold on anything, it's much harder than knowing the result," he said. "It's lingering, and anticipating that phone call is much harder."
Laraque spent Tuesday visiting kids in a hospital on Tuesday. To those patients and the natural disaster in Haiti, he's seeing everything in perspective.
"I realized how lucky I was," he said. "And then when you hear something like this, how can you ever complain about anything, about hockey, about criticism, when there are people battling for their lives."
Philadelphia 76ers center Samuel Dalembert is also Haitian and was directly affected by the tragedy. Dalembert founded the Samuel Dalembert Foundation in 2007, which teams with UNICEF, the Red Cross and Feed the Children to support relief efforts in Haiti.
