[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 29, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1431-E1432]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         A TRIBUTE TO PAUL MATHIEU AND FAMILY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. CARRIE P. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 29, 1999

  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. 
Paul Mathieu and the Mathieu Family of Miami, Florida, for the 
outstanding example of faith in action and excellence which they embody 
in their daily lives.
  Paul Mathieu is a Jackson High School graduate who will be attending 
Harvard University in the fall, accomplishing his parents' dream of 
seeing all of their children attend college. He is the ninth child of 
Phinelie and Teucheler Mathieu, who came to Miami from Haiti in 1974. 
Their incredible faith, courage, and ethos of hard work have enabled 
this remarkable Haitian immigrant family who fled political repression, 
social brutality, and physical danger in their homeland to seek, and 
ultimately, to find, a better future for their children in their new 
home. Each of their children--Techeline, Firma, Fednie, Samuel, 
Emmanuel, Marc, Luckson, Marthe, and Paul--has contributed 
significantly to the family tradition of success and of active 
citizenship in America.

[[Page E1432]]

  The Mathieus have earned their educations through scholarships, 
grants, and work study programs. Techelene Mathieu-Murray, the eldest 
of the children, is a fourth-grade teacher at Toussaint Louverture 
Elementary School. Firma Mathieu is a teacher at Dunbar Elementary 
School. Fednie Mathieu is a nurse at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Samuel 
Mathieu works for an agency that helps disadvantaged youth. Emmanuel 
Mathieu is studying criminal justice and elementary education at 
Florida Memorial College. Marc Mathieu is graduating from Northwestern 
University with a degree in journalism. Luckson Mathieu is a pre-Med 
student at Harvard University. Marthe Mathieu is a psychology major at 
the University of Florida. Paul Mathieu plans to pursue a career in 
medical research at Harvard University.
  Mr. and Mrs. Mathieu have imparted to their children a strong 
religious faith, self-discipline, and an immense love of family. When 
the children were growing up, their father made a habit of regularly 
visiting their schools and knowing their teachers before he left for 
one of his night shifts at work. An example of the level of religious 
faith exhibited by the family is a quote by Mrs. Mathieu: ``If you 
don't have God in your life and you have children, I don't know how you 
can sleep.'' Mrs. Mathieu also mentioned, ``You want to know our 
secret? The only secret we have is prayer, prayer, prayer. We showed 
them how to serve God. God is the leader. . .''
  Mr. Speaker, it is indeed a privilege to pay tribute to such 
outstanding and inspiring Americans as the Mathieu Family of Miami, 
Florida, who are working at the marvelous task of handing over their 
country not less but even better and greater than they received it.

                          ____________________