Aftermath in Gonaïves

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I didn't really know what to expect when I flew from Port-au-Prince to Gonaïves on the 13th of October 2008. I had spoken with Gregory, my contact at Doctors without Borders (MSF), who was in the region at the moment and he told me that the situation was terrible. But I also knew that I was arriving there a month and a half after the last hurricane, Ike, had done its terrible work of destruction on the country. A month and a half and so a part of me wanted to believe that things were already getting better, that the government along with the many NGO's on the field had already started something positive, if at least basic relief for the most needy. It was my first time to that region, to that city.

Les Gonaïves.

A name that in my mind evoked the last horrible hurricane that hit the Haitian cost in 2004, Jeanne. It had left over 3,000 dead, hundreds of thousands without homes, and was the only hurricane to have hit Haiti that year. And now, four years later, I was going to witness what three hurricanes and one tropical storm could do in a single city of 300,000 souls.

What I found was a city still covered by mud. A city covered in dirt. A city with 10,000 people living without homes, divided through the churches and the schools of their neighbourhood. A city still living without electricity. A city without food. But water wasn't the biggest problem, like many had thought. At the time, MSF was distributing water to more than 180,000 people and other NGO's were also doing their part. Care was distributing food to workers who were cleaning up the schools. The guys at Médecins du Monde were also doing a great job with their mobile clinics. As for the government's presence, around 40 trucks were working daily to remove the mud from the streets. Still, they expected it would take them a year to clean up the city. One year, just on time for next year's tropical storm season…

Internally displaced people (IDP's). A technical term to talk about refugees, people without homes, people who have lost everything. And they are always the same, the poorest of the poor. Their homes weren't built with solid materials, the little money that they had, which they lost to the mud and water, was hidden somewhere in the house because banks refuse them. And of course, they live in the "popular" neighbourhoods, the slums, which are always close to the sea. Some people just don't have luck. Are they discouraged? Of course, who wouldn't be! And yet, with strength to keep going and go on with their lives, they go back to what's left of their homes and clean it up. Or they go and help a neighbour, a family member, a friend. Eventually, they will build new homes with what materials they can find. But until then, they have to go on with their lives, basketball has to be played, and clothes washed.

I had the privilege to witness and document the work of MSF on the field and I can say without a doubt that the work of those NGO's, just like Médecins du Monde, are of utmost importance. They bring relief, and medical help to people that, without this help, would be left to suffer at home.

My biggest fear, when I photograph such a chaotic situation, is to not be able to represent the dignity of those suffering. They allowed me to become part of their world as I was sleeping with them in churches, schools, spending all my time walking around the city to see, feel, understand and document. I can only be a witness to this situation and I hope that my work can help them and give back what is theirs, a voice through dignity and respect.