Haiti – four months later

Previous Next

A makeshift altar with the skull of a 28-year-old woman called Barbara. She was a local Mango, a female voodoo priest. She died in the devastating January 12 earthquake. The surrounding "Fort National" neighbourhood was almost entirely destroyed. Thomas Kern

A group of men cleaning up and working through the rubble of destroyed houses. "Fort National" was a neighbourhood of mostly illegal constructions built over the years. The debris in this area has to be removed entirely by hand. Thomas Kern

The narrow streets and alleys of the "Fort National" neighbourhood block access for heavy construction machinery. Reinforced concrete slabs have to be smashed with sledgehammers before the material is carted away in wheelbarrows. Thomas Kern

A collapsed first-floor concrete slab. Thomas Kern

A view of the almost completely destroyed middle-class neighbourhood of Morne Lazarre between Pétionville and Port-au-Prince. Thomas Kern

A makeshift building is set up on a partially cleaned up lot in downtown Petit-Goâves, a small port town close to the earthquake epicentre in Léogane. Thomas Kern

A collection point for steel reinforcement bars near government offices in downtown Port-au-Prince where many buildings were destroyed by the earthquake and later demolished with heavy machinery. Thomas Kern

The skull of a Madame Sergo hangs on a steel reinforcement bar. Her husband was the owner of a "Fort National" funeral home. He lost nine family members in the earthquake. Thomas Kern

Two angel statues and one of the church bells salvaged form the Church of Notre-Dame in Petit-Goâve. Thomas Kern

Family tents distributed by the German non-governmental organisation Welthungerhilfe in a residential neighbourhood of the port town of Petit-Goâve. Thomas Kern

A family and their shack made of recycled wood boards, sticks and tarpaulins provided by emergency aid organisations. Thomas Kern

One of the many "cash for work" programmes trying to involve Haitians in the cleaning up and reconstruction process. These limited programs are trying to bolster the purchasing power of Haitians and allow them to cover basic living expenses. Thomas Kern

A father feeding his two-year-old son. In an effort to normalise the economy and motivate people to return to work, Haiti’s central government has forced aid organizations to stop free food distributions that have sustained a large part of the population. Thomas Kern

Hundreds of men and women employed through one of the many "cash for work" programmes are cleaning up streets, demolishing destroyed buildings and hauling away debris. Thomas Kern

This watch found in the rubble of a Fort National home was a little more than half an hour slow when the quake hit Haiti. Thomas Kern

Two young men whose family house in the Bourdon neighbourhood was destroyed pose on the roof of the ruin. In the background the Canapé Vert neighbourhood. Thoms Kern

A camp of displaced people near the shore between Léogane and Petit-Goâve. Thomas Kern

It is hot inside the small makeshift shack this family built, decorated with children's drawings. Thomas Kern

The finance and economic ministry in downtown Port-au-Prince, where most government buildings were destroyed by the earthquake. Thomas Kern

• Picture 1
• Picture 2
• Picture 3
• Picture 4
• Picture 5
• Picture 6
• Picture 7
• Picture 8
• Picture 9
• Picture 10
• Picture 11
• Picture 12
• Picture 13
• Picture 14
• Picture 15
• Picture 16
• Picture 17
• Picture 18
• Picture 19

The situation on the island has yet to improve despite international aid efforts.

Billions of dollars have been pledged to rebuild Haiti, but dollars in the bank mean little to families stuck between the need for immediate aid and a world waiting for them to recover their independence. There is precious little money to buy food and clean water, let alone school uniforms for the children or housing. (All pictures: Thomas Kern, swissinfo.ch)