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Haiti: The perpetual liberation

A skull on a rod sticking out of rubble and a giant crucifix in the middle of a ruined church: these are two of the images taken by swissinfo.ch’s Thomas Kern during a visit to Haiti a few weeks after the earthquake in 2010, one of the worst natural catastrophes of modern times. 

Heaven and hell on Earth – Haiti has long been known as a benighted place of poverty and corruption. Even before the 2010 earthquake destroyed much of the country, it was beset by difficulties inextricably rooted in its history of rebellion and revolution. Since gaining independence from France in 1804, following the only successful slave revolt in the history of the world, Haiti’s past has been characterised by dictatorships, serious conflict, and near-constant social and political unrest, as the country struggles to define its independence and realise its promise.

According to the World Bank, almost 60% of the country’s 10.4 million inhabitants live on less than two dollars a day and more than 24% live on less than one dollar a day, considered extreme poverty. Haiti is also one of the world’s most inegalitarian societies. When it comes to politics, over the past 50 years dictatorships have succeeded military coups. 

On January 12, 2010, at 4.53pm local time, an earthquake measuring 7 on the Richter scale with its epicentre just 25 kilometres from the capital Port-au-Prince, killed or injured hundreds of thousands of people. Countless buildings were destroyed, including parliament and the cathedral in Port-au-Prince. 

Haiti: The Perpetual Liberation collects some 140 of Kern’s photographs of Haiti, taken in black and white with an analogue camera over the course of twenty years of travel there. As these photographs demonstrate, the people of Haiti remain determined to realise the country’s promise in the face of crushing poverty and crisis; and behind the barrage of bad news that dominates the public image it is a country full of hope and life.

Photographs by Thomas Kern.
Texts by Georg Brunold, Thomas Kern, and Yanick Lahens.
Edited by Nadine Olonetzky

628 pages in total, 1 color and 142 b/w illustrations, 11 x 16.5 cmExternal link

Three separate text booklets—each in one of three languages: English, German, and Creole—feature texts by Kern on his work and approach to the country, as well as two essays by Swiss journalist Georg Brunold and Haitian novelist Yanick Lahens that provide context and commentary for the images and discuss the country’s people and culture, and its enduring political conflict.


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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR