While many Hollywood celebrities are donating money to Haiti after last week’s 7.0 earthquake, which is the greatest earthquake recorded in the world in 200 years, actor Jimmy-Jean Louis traveled to his native country to visit his parents and family.  While they are having a hard time coping with the disaster, Louis told RadarOnline.com his family is safe.

The “Heroes” star also said that initially he feared his family was dead.  But when Louis discovered they were indeed alive, they made peace with the fact that he was going to visit them.  When they reunited, it was very emotional, he said, but also very nice that they could be together.

On the conditions in the country, Louis said the scene is so horrific and graphic, it’s something he hopes no one ever has to see again.  “The bodies in the streets become like a piece of garbage, the way they treat them.”  Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive stated that over 70,000 bodies have been buried in mass graves so far, which Louis has confirmed.  The actor said the government is burning so many bodies that the smell is becoming as natural as the smell of flowers.

But Louis also hopes people realize the damage hasn’t just affected Port-Au-Prince, the nation’s capital, where all of the journalists are reporting from.  “…the same earthquake went miles and miles and miles around to hit three, four, five other big cities.  It’s just that people can’t make it yet to the next city,” he said.

Written by: Karen Benardello

By Karen Benardello

As a graduate of LIU Post with a B.F.A in Journalism, Print and Electronic, Karen Benardello serves as ShockYa's Senior Movies & Television Editor. Her duties include interviewing filmmakers and musicians, and scribing movie, television and music reviews and news articles. As a New York City-area based journalist, she's a member of the guilds, New York Film Critics Online and the Women Film Critics Circle.

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