Two Guyana Defence Force soldiers recently returned from earthquake shattered Haiti where they spent three weeks as part of the efforts of the Caribbean Disaster Relief Unit (CDRU) to bring relief to the nation.

Sergeant Leon Martin of the Defence Operations Centre and Corporal Eion Junor, a carpenter of the 4 Engineer Battalion, were sent to Haiti on January 20  following the activation of the CDRU, the GDF said in a news release yesterday.

The CDRU, an organ of the Caribbean Disaster Emer-gency Management Agency, comprises personnel from the defence and police forces of the region who fill various appointments that are rotated annually.

The Unit was deployed to Haiti shortly after the earthquake.Martin was involved in the setting up of the Operational Centre at the Toussaint L’Ouverture International Airport  while Junor participated in the building of tents and other accommodation for members of the Caribbean military contingent on the ground.

The GDF soldiers said they also engaged in the distribution of food supplies to persons who were forced to flee their homes in Port-au–Prince after the earthquake hit on January 12.

Leogane, Fonds Verettes, Monville, and Cil‘eque are some of the cities where the soldiers engaged in food distribution.

The soldiers recounted the level of destruction to the country’s infrastructure as well as the conditions under which its people are now forced to survive.

They also confirmed the images made available daily by international media but called the experience a rewarding one which has forced them to be more appreciative of life.

They spoke too, the release noted, of the desperate measures which some Haitians turned to in search of a meal and remembered one instance where they charged towards a vehicle containing food items forcing it to return to the makeshift barracks.

CARICOM heads are currently mulling the deployment of a contingent to supplement the Jamaica Defence Force, who had deployed to Haiti shortly after the earthquake.