By Leiselle Maraj Sunday, January 17 2010

click on pic to zoom in

Ramesh Lutchmedial, a Trinidadian who survived the earthquake in Haiti receives aloving welcome home hug from his sister Mala Sookdeo at the Piarco In...

“Welcome to the land of the living.” Family and colleagues warmly greeted director of the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority, Ramesh Lutchmedial on Friday night at the Piarco International Airport, when he returned from his ordeal in Haiti where he experienced a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday evening which took the lives of tens of thousands of people.

Lutchmedial was one of three people who the Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed were on the island at the time of the quake. His friend, Trinidadian national, Gregory McAlpin, who was also on the island, is reportedly still missing after initial reports from the ministry stated he was safe and accounted for. Both men travelled to Haiti on Tuesday to attend the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System Meeting and were to stay at the Montana Hotel in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.

Lutchmedial was on his way to the destination by bus when the tragedy occurred. He narrowly escaped being at the hotel at the time of the earthquake because of his decision to take a later flight to Haiti from Miami where he arrived on Monday to take a connecting flight to the island.

Speaking on Friday night at the airport, surrounded by his close loved ones, the smiling Lutchmedial expressed happiness at being back home. “I have just been through a rough and stressful time. I am not mentally prepared to answer much questions but I can say it feels very good to be back home,” he said. When asked of his thoughts on not being at the hotel at the time of the disaster, he could only say, “It was fate and destiny.”

Despite his excitement at being home, Lutchmedial appeared shaken when asked about McAlpin. “I would have to say that affected the most in my experience. He is my close friend and colleague having worked with him at BWIA for over 30 years. It was most heartbreaking to leave Haiti without him,” he said adding that his first plan of action on reaching to his home in Cunupia was to pray.

Lutchmedial arrived in the country at about 8:35 pm on Friday and was ushered to Piarco’s VIP Lounge where his wife, Mavis and three sons Shiva, Avinash and Valmiki were reunited with him. Lutchmedial’s eldest son, Ravi, is an airline operations agent, residing in Texas.

The lucky Trinidadian was also greeted by his siblings, sister, Mala Sookdeo, and brothers, Ramchand and Robin who were accompanied by their wives, Angela and Nirmala.

The three women were on the verge of tears when asked to recount their feelings throughout the entire experience. “At this point we are so so happy but we went through a mixture of emotions throughout the ordeal,” they said. “We think we are blessed to have him back home safe. Lucky and blessed,” said Nirmala. His sister, Mala, added, “It is surely God’s work, his divine intervention that lifted him out of that situation.”

His brother Ramchand said it was a traumatic experience for all, especially for his mother who was crying all the time since learning of the disaster. “We left her at home because she has been crying so much and she is probably waiting at the front of the house for him to come home and looking at every car that is passing to see if he has reached,” he said while the others smiled and nodded in agreement.

Their tears remained close to the surface as Lutchmedial emerged smiling from the lounge and warmly shook hands with the men and hugged the women. His youngest son, Valmiki, said, “We are happy and relieved. No words could describe what it feels like to see my dad. My greatest wish was to see him walk through the front door and that came true.”