How can you focus on playing football when you have no idea whether your 11 year old sister is alive or not?
Sadly, that is exactly what Town defender and Haiti international Lescinel Jean-François has to do at this moment in time.
It’s not as though Swindon Town are making him focus on his football – there’s just nothing more he can do.
The world is watching the poverty stricken Caribbean island struggle in the aftermath of the destruction of the earthquake that hit the nation last week.
Talking to the Independent newspaper Lescinel talked of the destruction around his families neighbourhood, he said that residents ‘who live nearby have said the house was wrecked. I spoke to my mum last night and she said she has found out that her sisters are all right and so are my niece and nephew. But there is no news yet on my sister.
Two of his uncles and other family members remain missing in this disaster.
Lescinel stated his appreciation to his employers by saying that ‘Everybody in this team has been trying to help me, especially the gaffer.’ Town boss Danny Wilson told the Swindon Advertiser ‘We offered him some advice of how to get in touch with the embassy in Haiti from London.’
Despite never living in Haiti, the Town defender considers it his homeland and his travelling between France and Haiti when his was younger helped Lescinel gather some perspective and frustrations over the indulgence of the Western world, he stated that when ‘I was in Haiti I saw how many people needed help… But then I go back to France where everything is good and nice and people are chucking away food in a bin. I think, ‘If you were in my country you would never do that’. People didn’t realise what my country is like, but now they do.’
The Independent finished by commenting on how football greats have rallied to help Haiti with an exhibition match in Lisbon next week featuring Zinedine Zidane, Fernando Hierro, Pavel Nedved, Rui Costa and Kaka among others.
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Hopefully as DW said football may be a welcome distraction from this awful situation for LJF.