Haiti
January, 2013
On January 12, 2010, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Haiti, its epicentre ten miles west of the capital. Already the poorest country in the Americas, within a few moments the country collapsed into chaos. Some 316,000 people – nearly one sixth of the population – were killed and 1.5 million made homeless.
In January of this year, I travelled to Haiti with the NGO Care International to see where the billions of dollars of aid money had been spent. Although some earthquake victims have found shelter in slum dwellings, over 350,000 still live in tent communities or sleep rough. Lawless gangs roam the streets, the murder rate is one of the highest in the world and the government remains too weak to take control.
Voodoo priestesses gather to see the arrival of a sacred log that is being met by the President in a Voodoo ceremony in downtown Port au Prince, Haiti on the 14th January, 2013.
A woman holds her child in front of rows of tents at a camp for displaced people in Port au Prince, Haiti on the 18th January, 2013. Three years ago a powerful earthquake, that claimed the lives of over 200,000 people and displaced thousands more - over 350,00 are still living in camps like this despite a multi billion pound aid effort.- A woman suffering from cholera is photographed in a Cholera Treatment Centre run by MSF in Port au Prince, Haiti on the 17th January, 2013. Shortly after a devastating earthquake claimed the lives of over 200,000 people UN peacekeepers who arrived from Nepal brought cholera that spread killing over 8000 more and infecting thousands of others.
- Gang members hang out on the disused alter of St Annes Catholic Church that was destroyed in the earthquake in Port au Prince, Haiti on the 18th January, 2013. Three years a devastating earthquake hit the city - killing over 200,000 people and destroyed the three main Catholic Churches in the city.
- A woman who was sexually assaulted when a gang of men, wielding guns raided a Church in which she and friends were holding a candle lit vigil in memory of those who died in the earthquake, poses for a photograph in her one roomed apartment that she shares with her son and mother, in Port au Prince, Haiti on the 15th January, 2013.
- A young boy stands in front of a sign indicating how many NGO"s had worked in the camp he is still living in in Port au Prince, Haiti on the 17th January, 2013. Three years ago a powerful earthquake, that claimed the lives of over 200,000 people and displaced thousands more - over 350,00 are still living in camps like this despite a multi billion pound aid effort.
- A man cycles passed a river that is heavily polluted and runs passed a camp for displaced people in Port au Prince, Haiti on the 17th January, 2013. Three years ago a powerful earthquake, that claimed the lives of over 200,000 people and displaced thousands more - over 350,00 are still living in camps like this despite a multi billion pound aid effort.
- A woman tries to wash herself with no privacy in a camp in Port au Prince, Haiti on the 17th January, 2013. Three years ago a powerful earthquake, that claimed the lives of over 200,000 people and displaced thousands more - over 350,00 are still living in camps like this despite a multi billion pound aid effort.
- A man holds his daughter while still living in camps in Port au Prince, Haiti on the 17th January, 2013. Three years ago a powerful earthquake, that claimed the lives of over 200,000 people and displaced thousands more - over 350,00 are still living in camps like this despite a multi billion pound aid effort.
- Crowds gather to see the arrival of a sacred tree that is being met by the President in a Voodoo ceremony in downtown Port au Prince, Haiti on the 14th January, 2013. The log is being carried by the people of Haiti across the country to symbolise the need for Haitians' to join together in the struggle they face in rebuilding their country. The log carrying coincides with the third anniversary of the earthquacke that rocked Haiti in which over 300 000 people died.
- UN troops from Brazil go out on patrol in Port au Prince, Haiti on the 15th January, 2013. Shortly after a devastating earthquake claimed the lives of over 200,000 people UN peacekeepers who arrived from Nepal brought cholera that spread killing over 8000 more.
- A scene shows people still living in camps in Port au Prince, Haiti on the 17th January, 2013. Three years ago a powerful earthquake, that claimed the lives of over 200,000 people and displaced thousands more - over 350,00 are still living in camps like this despite a multi billion pound aid effort.
- A young boy carries water he has just collected from the stream in a camp for people displaced by the earthquake in Port au Prince, Haiti on the 17th January, 2013. Three years ago a powerful earthquake, that claimed the lives of over 200,000 people and displaced thousands more - over 350,00 are still living in camps like this despite a multi billion pound aid effort.
- Mary stands over her brother Paul Jorilien who was shot when he walked out of his front door in a gang street fight in Port au Prince, Haiti on the 18th January, 2013. Gun violence is on the increase in Port au Prince as the government, run by an ex rock star, Sweet Micky, struggles to cope with rising discontent amongst the population three years since a powerful earthquake destroyed the city.
- Birds fly over what remains of the Catholic Cathedral in downtown in Port au Prince, Haiti on the 13th January, 2013. Three years ago a powerful earthquake, that claimed the lives of over 200,000 people and displaced thousands more - the cathedral was destroyed.
- A girl poses for a photograph who is still living in a camp in Port au Prince, Haiti on the 17th January, 2013. Three years ago a powerful earthquake, that claimed the lives of over 200,000 people and displaced thousands more - over 350,00 are still living in camps like this despite a multi billion pound aid effort.
- People walk passed a boarded up shop in downtown Port au Prince, Haiti on the 14th January, 2013. The log is being carried by the people of Haiti across the country to symbolise the need for Haitians' to join together in the struggle they face in rebuilding their country. The log carrying coincides with the third anniversary of the earthquacke that rocked Haiti in which over 300000 people died.
- Riot police are deployed to control crowds gathered to see the arrival of a sacred tree that is being met by the President in a Voodoo ceremony in downtown Port au Prince, Haiti on the 14th January, 2013. The log is being carried by the people of Haiti across the country to symbolise the need for Haitians' to join together in the struggle they face in rebuilding their country. The log carrying coincides with the third anniversary of the earthquacke that rocked Haiti in which over 300000 people died.
- Crowds gather to see the arrival of a sacred tree that is being met by the President in a Voodoo ceremony in downtown Port au Prince, Haiti on the 14th January, 2013. The log is being carried by the people of Haiti across the country to symbolise the need for Haitians' to join together in the struggle they face in rebuilding their country. The log carrying coincides with the third anniversary of the earthquacke that rocked Haiti in which over 300000 people died.
- Crowds gather to see the arrival of a sacred tree that is being met by the President in a Voodoo ceremony in downtown Port au Prince, Haiti on the 14th January, 2013. The log is being carried by the people of Haiti across the country to symbolise the need for Haitians' to join together in the struggle they face in rebuilding their country. The log carrying coincides with the third anniversary of the earthquacke that rocked Haiti in which over 300000 people died.
