Haitian family killed at sea to be buried in unmarked graves – NBC 6 South Florida

It’s a heartbreaking story that shocked the country nearly 45 years ago. A Haitian mother and her five children, searching for the American dream, were forced at gunpoint by smugglers and thrown overboard less than a mile offshore near Palm Beach. They all tragically drowned.

The drowned mother and her five children were buried in South Florida, but surviving relatives, still seeking closure, have little to remember but the grass. A Good Samaritan hopes to change that with the help of the community.

“I wasn’t there to help them, I wasn’t there to help them,” said Augustin Lorfils, now 53, through tears. For him, the tragedy seems to have happened only yesterday, but he was still a child living with his sister and father in South Florida in 1979 when he learned of the fate of his mother Elaine and his five siblings.

Lorfils says: “I was at home Saturday morning watching cartoons, me and my cousin. And then the breaking news came that this woman with children had died, and I said to my cousin, ‘Hey, I think that’s my mother.'”

Lorfil’s speech has slowed and he needs help walking after a stroke. He was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but the emotional pain he carries with him still runs deep. With a little help, he showed NBC 6 anchor Jawan Strader the final resting place of his mother and siblings, who are buried at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery in Doral.

But there is nothing but grass, no markings, no signs that his loved one was murdered at sea. His brothers and sisters were only four to 11 years old when the smugglers his family paid to take them from Haiti to South Florida forced them all off the boat and killed them.

The tragedy made national headlines and devastated the Lorfils’ surviving family members, especially Augustin, his sister and his father, Dumercy, who had come to South Florida two years earlier. Lorfils said, “When my mother died, he died. He was an alcoholic. Only now do I realize how hard he had it.”

His father, who is also buried in the cemetery, died of a broken heart. All of the grave sites were donated by Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery, but with no headstones or markers. It’s as if they never existed. “I see my parents, but nothing, you know. It’s empty,” Lorfils said.

Benard Poitier Jr. learned of the tragic story from his father, the former owner of Poitier Funeral Home. The elder Poitier’s final wish was to give the Lorfils family the closure they need. “My dad said, ‘Promise me you’ll do this.’ So what do I say?’ So he said the family needs headstones,” Poitier said.

After meeting with Lorfils, Poitier made it his mission to get seven headstones, but it wasn’t easy. His father’s funeral home is no longer in business and Poitier is struggling to raise the money needed to help the Lorfils family, but he is determined to do it. “I won’t be satisfied until the headstones are in place,” Poitier said.

The headstones would give meaning to the Lorfils family. I want people to know that they were here, that they were alive. They were human too,” Lorfils said. And he is extremely grateful for what Poitier is doing for his family. He said, “It’s very special because I don’t think I can do this on my own. He really helped me.” Lorfils added, “As a parent, you do so much for your children. Like my mom and dad, who did everything for me.”

If you would like to help the Lorfils family, you can use Gofundme. Click on the link https://www.gofundme.com/f/murdered-during-migration to donate.