Two months after the earthquake, Port-au-Prince remains covered in rubble. Photo credit Thomas Griffin.
The majority of the Haitian people, who already faced constant violations of their economic, social, and cultural rights, now experience a massive crisis, characterized by lack of adequate food, water, shelter, and medical care. Photo credit Thomas Griffin.
Displaced persons wait in long lines for aid; many leave empty handed. Photo credit Thomas Griffin.
Lack of sufficient aid forces families to make “cookies” out of dirt, butter and salt to ease hunger. Photo credit Thomas Griffin.
One young woman had yet to received medical care for a deep wound incurred during the earthquake six weeks prior. Photo credit Thomas Griffin.
For those that are able to seek medical care; facilities often lack supplies to provide basic and necessary treatment. Photo credit Thomas Griffin.
This young girl had not received sufficient care after her amputation. Photo credit Thomas Griffin.
Haitians work to clear rubble through government cash-for-work programs. Labor and environmental concerns in the clean up have not been adequately addressed
A woman and girl stand in front of temporary shelters in Port-au-Prince. An estimated 494,600 children under five and 197,840 pregnant and lactating women have been affected by the earthquake.
Lack of proper waste disposal and sanitation, long a problem in Port-au-Prince, threaten Haitians’ human rights. The seasonal rains, which began last week, will only make the situation more dire.
Due to the overuse and infrequent cleaning of the few latrines available, residents of displacement camps relieve themselves in the street or alongside their living space, with no privacy, and defecate in plastic bags. Photo credit Thomas Griffin.
Many internally displaced persons sleep on the ground with nothing to protect them, or their belongings, from the impending rains. Photo credit Thomas Griffin.
Those living in the camps cook, wash and sleep next to stagnant water, a breeding ground for mosquitoes that carry malaria and other diseases. Photo credit Thomas Griffin.
Approximately 16,000 people are crowded into these camps at the Champ de Mars in front of the National Palace in Port-au-Prince. Sanitation is insufficient. Photo credit Thomas Griffin.
An estimated 1.1 million Haitians are living in the 675 spontaneous settlements in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel, Gressier, Léogâne, Grand Goave and Petit Goave. Photo credit Thomas Griffin.
A sign in English, French, and Spanish calls for the international community to help the Haitian people.
These flimsy structures were built on the median of the a main road. Their inhabitants live with constant noise, dust, and vehicles rushing by.
North of Port-au-Prince, people have taken shelter next to land used to dump garbage. This camp is close to the site where thousands of those who died in the earthquake were laid to rest.
In camps outside of Port-au-Prince, these “shelters” will provide no protection from the coming rains. Camps on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince do not regularly receive aid.
In Léogâne, close to the epicenter, massive piles of rubble lie along the roads.
This orphanage building in Léogâne collapsed during the earthquake. Two people were killed and one girl lost both her legs.
Government buildings, like the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, suffered severe damage rendering them unusable. Photo credit OTI/HAITI Ops Damage Report.
An estimated 600,000 people have left Port-au-Prince burdening already impoverished rural areas. Photo credit Thomas Griffin.
In the town of St. Marc, the city government, networks of Haitian ministers, and local and international NGOs have come together to provide services to IDPs. This sign reads “Welcome to St. Marc, All Victims Coming from Port-au-Prince. ”
The hospital of St. Marc is an example of successful partnership between the Government of Haiti and Zanmi Lasante. This well-equipped hospital now receives running water through a public system funded by the Inter-American Development Bank.
At this center for IDPs, created through partnership of an NGO and the city government of St. Marc, families have decorated their tents to give them a feel of home, lining the paths with rocks and bordering them in seashells.
