5 year-old Gaetha Gadjina Bristol cries as she gets her wound treated
People brought to the General Hospital by varous vehicles are place in a triage area.
Residents of this neighborhood are in the streets, some without tents.
Interpreter Patrice and I at the Digicel building.January 26, 2010
This morning I inherited Patrice, an interpreter and Alfred, a driver, from Jewel Samad who returned to Washingtron this morning. Patrice asked my nationality which he explained to everyone we met, since people say, are you Chinese, Japanese, one guy asked if I was Korean. He was fairly disgusted with the recent Haitian governments and described how they stole from aid and money from other countries. He thinks the UN is not much better but likes the US military, says when they are in Haiti they bring aid.
Found a Finnish Red Cross tent set up in a small park that was filled with tents and people's belongings. A girl with what looked like a burn was being treated. The Swedish medic was removing the dried skin, which they said didn't hurt but she cried loudly anyway. Very heartbreaking. The interpreter said she was scared that it might hurt. People in this neighborhood were also sleeping in the streets, some without tents.
Earlier toured the Champs de Mars again looking for daily life pictures.
Got a message to go to the General Hospital, Scientologists were there. They were easily identifiable by the bright yellow t shirts with “Scientology” written on them. Apparently John Travolta flew his plane into Port-au-Prince last night, unloaded supplies and people and left. Editors back home screaming for photos of John.
Back out in the afternoon, first stopped at the Digicel building, 11 story glass Haitian headquarters of the Caribbean cellphone company, which survived the earthquake with little damage. Then we cruise around the downtown area west of the Presidential Palace. It’s definitely the most devastated area. We see a big crowd of people and a gaggle of photographers. I get out and see a friend, Chris Hondros from Getty. Seems people are digging through rubble to see what they find in a store, if it’s food big fights break out, good for ‘looting’ pictures. Patrice asks and finds out it was a perfume and shoe store. Down the street, US Army humvees and another gaggle of media. I see a couple more photo friends plus AFP photog Fred Dufour and decide too much media here. We drive around more and come across a fire, which is usually trash burning. I take a few telephoto shots and move in closer and see a large bone and skull. It’s a body being burned. People find them in the rubble and there is no service to take them away properly, so the bodies are burned right in the street. As I photograph the flames, the wind shifts and ash flies right into my face and covers me. We decide to leave. A few blocks later we see 2 charred bodies in an intersection. The flames are out but the stiff remains are there, horrifying for some passersbys, a curiosity for others. A man on a motorcycle pauses to take a cell phone picture. We return to the bureau as it gets dark.
This morning I inherited Patrice, an interpreter and Alfred, a driver, from Jewel Samad who returned to Washingtron this morning. Patrice asked my nationality which he explained to everyone we met, since people say, are you Chinese, Japanese, one guy asked if I was Korean. He was fairly disgusted with the recent Haitian governments and described how they stole from aid and money from other countries. He thinks the UN is not much better but likes the US military, says when they are in Haiti they bring aid.
Found a Finnish Red Cross tent set up in a small park that was filled with tents and people's belongings. A girl with what looked like a burn was being treated. The Swedish medic was removing the dried skin, which they said didn't hurt but she cried loudly anyway. Very heartbreaking. The interpreter said she was scared that it might hurt. People in this neighborhood were also sleeping in the streets, some without tents.
Earlier toured the Champs de Mars again looking for daily life pictures.
Got a message to go to the General Hospital, Scientologists were there. They were easily identifiable by the bright yellow t shirts with “Scientology” written on them. Apparently John Travolta flew his plane into Port-au-Prince last night, unloaded supplies and people and left. Editors back home screaming for photos of John.
Back out in the afternoon, first stopped at the Digicel building, 11 story glass Haitian headquarters of the Caribbean cellphone company, which survived the earthquake with little damage. Then we cruise around the downtown area west of the Presidential Palace. It’s definitely the most devastated area. We see a big crowd of people and a gaggle of photographers. I get out and see a friend, Chris Hondros from Getty. Seems people are digging through rubble to see what they find in a store, if it’s food big fights break out, good for ‘looting’ pictures. Patrice asks and finds out it was a perfume and shoe store. Down the street, US Army humvees and another gaggle of media. I see a couple more photo friends plus AFP photog Fred Dufour and decide too much media here. We drive around more and come across a fire, which is usually trash burning. I take a few telephoto shots and move in closer and see a large bone and skull. It’s a body being burned. People find them in the rubble and there is no service to take them away properly, so the bodies are burned right in the street. As I photograph the flames, the wind shifts and ash flies right into my face and covers me. We decide to leave. A few blocks later we see 2 charred bodies in an intersection. The flames are out but the stiff remains are there, horrifying for some passersbys, a curiosity for others. A man on a motorcycle pauses to take a cell phone picture. We return to the bureau as it gets dark.
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