Chet Gordon • Photographer

Haiti. Oct. 1993.

In October 1993 I traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti with two colleagues on my first personal international shooting trip. I remember walking the streets in Cite Soleil, Cite Carton, Bel Air, Delmas and of course Petionville. Working in Haiti on that first self assigned project changed my personal perspectives on approaching long-term projects and of course working in a poverty stricken country. Six years later I returned with an NGO client and moved about the familiar neighborhoods. I know of the landmark buildings, like the Presidential Palace in central Port-au-Prince that have collapsed in this week's earthquake.

As Haitians tonight are living in the streets after Tuesday's devastating earthquake, my heart is aching for the people there. I know from working at earthquakes in Turkey and El Salvador, as well as Hurricane Mitch in Honduras,
and down in the Gulf Coast States a few months after Hurricane Katrina, it'll be a slow rebuilding process for this Caribbean country with it's unimaginable living conditions, minimal infrastructure, and no economy to speak of.

I am waiting to hear from colleagues working there and a few that are in transit now. Think of the people in Haiti and what they're enduring now and what they're faced with for the months, if not years to come.
I am. -cg.

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*Ironically the following image from the '93 trip was the first one I selected from the archives back in October to introduce "Rewind", occasionally highlighting photographs that may not be in the main portfolio. ~cg. 14 Jan. 10

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

Cockfighters. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. October 1993.

Presenting REWIND - Images from the Archive.
I've thought for the longest time on how to showcase some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio for one reason or another. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image from the archives that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. -cg.