Home »

[bana2166]

Worry for family in Haiti as tempers Fabrice Noel's success in MLS

By Brian Biggane

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Thursday, May 18, 2006

For nearly four years Fabrice Noel has been waiting and wondering ? waiting for his family in Haiti to join him in the U.S., and wondering if they'll make it alive.

Noel, named Florida's Mr. Soccer 2005 after an outstanding career at Palm Beach Lakes High School and now a starting forward with the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, hasn't seen his parents and younger brother, Jackson, since visiting the U.S. on an international soccer trip in October 2002.

While he was gone, gunmen invaded his home. Because they were unhappy with his refusal to change club teams in Haiti, they killed his two older brothers and left a message for Noel: "We will find him, and we will kill him."

Told not to return to Haiti, Noel wound up in West Palm Beach and became a two-time Palm Beach Post Player of the Year. Meanwhile, his family went into hiding in the mountains, fearing more reprisals.

Attempts to reunite the family have been unsuccessful. But now the Rapids have stepped in and, with the help of the Denver-based law firm of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, an emergency petition has been filed with the Department of Homeland Security for humanitarian parole.

Ashlie Beringer, a member of the legal team handling the case pro bono, is hopeful of a resolution by late summer.

"Since the outset we've had the ultimate goal of finding a vehicle for the family to come to the U.S. to reunite, and also obtain temporary refuge for what we now know is the critical psychological treatment they need," Beringer said.

"We needed to develop evidence, to have the family evaluated by a local psychologist in Haiti, and that's been difficult to do because the family has been in hiding. But now we've done that and the goal is to apply in the next four to six weeks."

"Every day I think about it," Noel said of his family's situation. "I call them every day."

Noel was signed last summer after Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo saw Noel play at the Copa Latina in Miami. He has scored two goals in 10 games for Colorado through the past two seasons.

His success has made him a legend in his native country, and that has been both a blessing and a curse. While many Haitians have celebrated his accomplishments, the increasingly desperate economic situation has resulted in the targeting of families who are perceived to have money.

"His cousin, Ronald Petithomme, is a radio journalist who has been the liaison with the family," Beringer said. "He's had armed gangs coming to his house more frequently saying, 'Take us to the family or we're going to kill you.'

"The family is truly desperate; their stamina is failing. If they don't get some temporary refuge we can't be sure how this will end."

Initially there was a sense that the biggest hurdle in getting the family to the U.S. would be money, and the Rapids launched the Fabrice Noel Fund to raise the cash. But Beringer said that while the fund has raised more than $38,000 the paperwork has proved to be a bigger obstacle.

"That fund is now earmarked for shelter and treatment when we get the family to the U.S.," she said.

Clavijo, who first heard about Noel when he served as Haiti's national team coach in 2004, said he has no doubt about Noel's physical ability; the coach's challenge is to keep him mentally fit and off the emotional roller coaster.

"He was 19 when he came to us, just a kid, and has been forced to grow up very quick," Clavijo said. "He hasn't developed as much as we'd like, for obvious reasons. But there's a lot of compassion on our staff for Fabrice, and we are helping him by doing whatever we can do."

Clavijo, a native of Uruguay who played for the U.S. on the 1994 World Cup team, said it didn't take long for him to conclude that Noel could be a star.

"He's got all the qualifications to be a very good player," Clavijo said, "but we've got him working with our strength coach now to get bigger and stronger."

Noel is listed at 5-feet-10, 165 pounds.

"His endurance was very poor when he came to us, but that was because he could play a tournament like Copa Latina and just cruise and stay with everybody. At the professional level that doesn't happen."

Of Noel's mental state, Clavijo added, "Some weeks are better than others. It's not something you want to talk to him about every day. He's very motivated some weeks; others he's very down. It's an incredible challenge for us to bring him along."

Named the Rapids' top rookie last season, Noel scored in his first career start April 8 against Columbus, then missed three games with a knee injury. He's expected to return when Colorado travels Saturday night to Los Angeles.

"I don't have any problem with my skills, to play at this level," he said.

Clavijo is certain that Noel's story is more typical than many would like to think.

"Every day you heard stories like that. Haiti is a very poor country with a lot of corruption, and one can only imagine what goes on.

"Fabrice was lucky to get out and we're all hoping we can help him and his family get back together. But in many poor countries around the world, there's kids who aren't so lucky."