France, March 12 -- "I'm making history as the first Haitian and also the first standing Caribbean at the Winter Paralympics," he said, adding: "Yeah, it's a lot of responsibility..."

Etienne, who lost his left leg after being trapped in the rubble of a building that collapsed during the earthquake which devastated Port au Prince in January 2010, will compete in the men's para alpine skiing giant slalom.

"I'm getting a chance to show the world a positive side of my country. That's very important to me. I feel like an ambassador showing the world that Haitians have resilience, dedication, persistence and can work hard."

Raised in Miragoane, some 80km west of Haiti's capital Port au Prince, he laments that the images most ...