In the last two years, William Osias' life has changed dramatically. The 25-year-old Montrealer comes from Haiti, where his parents died when he was young. Now he has a one-year-old son, Will Tyler, and is ready for a career in the spotlight. However, he worries that his loved ones will remain in his homeland, preventing him from being completely happy.
On Sunday in La Voix only Mario Pelchat looked back on his interpretation of the piece “The Paper Giant” by Jean-Jacques Lafond. Corneille would have liked to recruit him, but he had only just completed his team.
PHOTO BY BERTRAND EXERTIER, PROVIDED BY TVA
“I didn't really know Mario, but I liked his approach. He really calmed me down and was like a father to me,” said William, whose biggest dream is to become a world-famous singer.
He wants to use this prime-time platform to show young Haitians, and anyone going through difficult times, that if you believe in yourself, you can go far. He dreams that the violence in Haiti will end, that the country will have to contend with armed gangs that are sowing unrest, and that his people can lead normal lives, even if only by being able to work.
Worried about his loved ones in Haiti
Even though everything is going well for William, who is now a delivery man, he is very worried about his sisters and brother, who still live in Haiti.
PHOTO BY BERTRAND EXERTIER, PROVIDED BY TVA
“I'm not really happy right now because as I speak to you, my family is fleeing the neighborhood they live in because armed gangs are killing people. It's chaos out there and they're on the streets right now. “I work a lot to meet their needs by sending them money and I try to help them find housing in a safe area,” he testified, saying that he wishes his loved ones would eventually be able to come to Montreal with him.
William has been an orphan since he was ten. His father, a sergeant in the Haitian army, was murdered with a machete and his body was never found. Then his mother died three years later. William demonstrated his ambitions in a 2015 documentary by Artists for Peace and Justice (AFP), an excerpt of which was featured on the show.
PHOTO BY BERTRAND EXERTIER, PROVIDED BY TVA
“The life I led in Haiti was really not easy. But after the 2010 earthquake, I was able to study and complete my studies for free thanks to AFP, which helped thousands of young people who had no access to education. I thank them because if I am anyone today, it is because they contributed to my journey. They replaced my parents. I also thank the government for their help when we get here.”
Courageous, resilient and tenacious – there is no shortage of adjectives to talk about William and his journey full of pitfalls. It was the music that gave him hope.
“Whatever your dream is, you can achieve it with determination,” said the man who was comforted by presenter Charles Lafortune after his collapse on La Voix on Sunday by recounting his difficult childhood.