Kiki, Haiti's 'face of hope', tells of his survival

HE was the face of hope in a blighted nation. The eight-year-old boy, pulled from the rubble flive, yesterday spoke of his escape. Kiki Joachin – whose beaming grin has come to represent hope in the effort to find survivors – emerged with his arms outstretched in delight after spending more than a week buried in the ruins of his home.

He was saved on Wednesday with his sister, Sabrina, ten, and said his smile reflected his joy at being "free".

But the rescue was tinged with sadness after the death of their siblings in the disaster – Yeye, nine, Titite, three, and 18-month-old Didine. Kiki said: "I am sad for my brothers and sisters, but happy with my mama."

Speaking of the moment he was pulled out of the wreckage in Port-au-Prince, he said: "I smiled because I was free – I smiled because I was alive."

Asked how he managed to survive without food and water, he said: "God helped me."

The family were tracked to a shanty town as a mass exodus from the capital began.

Sabrina, who was trapped alongside Kiki, spoke of the tragedy of their younger brother's death.

"My little brother died right next to me and his body started to decay," she said. "Before he died he asked me for water. We couldn't find any water. He asked us for water on Wednesday, on Thursday and Friday. He died of dehydration."