"Tè Tremblé..." Remembering the Earthquake in Haiti. 2 Years Ago ~ Today. 12•Jan.•10

Two years ago today, January 12th., 2010, Haiti was devastated by a massive earthquake, what Haitians call "Tè Tremblé, the earth trembles..." Nearly a quarter of a million people were killed and more than 1.5 million were left homeless. It was one of the worst natural disasters in history. I arrived in Haiti two weeks after the earthquake with longtime client Operation Smile of Norfolk, VA, and spent a week in the surgical compound set up at the Love A Child Health Center in Fond Parisiene, about 5 kilometers from the border of the Dominican Republic. I managed to spend my last full day of the mission in the capital, Port-au-Prince. (500, 000 Haitians are still homeless today throughout the country and millions of dollars in donated aid has yet to reach the victims...) Here's some of what I witnessed during my week on the island nation. I've included a slideshow of my take as well at the bottom of this look back. ~cg.

*To view all of my original posts from Haiti, including the surgical relief mission in January 2010, click HERE.

If you want to get an idea of what it was like after the earthquake in Haiti two years ago, and what it's like now, I urge you to spend a few moments and watch this video from the PBS series, "Frontline." This is the first of four videos on 'The Quake' After this first chapter, a link will take you to the remaining piece on the PBS site. ~cg.

Watch The Quake on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

and this from Friday's Democracy Now! broadcast:

and Aljazeera:

Photographer Daniel Morel wins 2 World Press Photo Awards.

2011 WORLD PRESS PHOTO

Image © Daniel Morel/Photomorel, courtesy of the photographer.

My longtime friend and colleague, Daniel Morel has won two World Press Photo Awards in the 2011 competition held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You may know his iconic image above as Daniel, a Haitian photographer created the first images after the earthquake struck in Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010. His images were seen around the world in the days following the devastating earthquake that killed more than 250,000 people, and left upwards of 1.5 million people homeless. His images ran in newspapers and magazines around the world, and were broadcast on international TV news channels as well. Daniel was awarded a 2nd. place in News (Singles) for the image of the woman crawling out of the rubble (above) and a 1st. Place in News (Stories - below) for a collection of his images just after the earthquake that first day. I've known Daniel for nearly 20 years, after our first meeting in Haiti back in 1993, on my first international shooting assignment with two other colleagues. I caught up with Daniel in his Port-au-Prince hotel last January, two weeks after the earthquake, while I was there working for longtime client Operation Smile. ~cg.

Oloffson Hotel. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Saturday, January 30, 2010.

Portfolio editing w/ Daniel in my apartment. Newburgh, NY. May 2008.

Tè Tremblé: Remembering the Earthquake in Haiti.

One year ago today, January 12th., 2010, Haiti was devastated by a massive earthquake, what Haitians call Tè Tremblé, the earth trembles. Nearly a quarter of a million people were killed and more than 1.5 million were made homeless. It was one of the worst natural disasters in history. I arrived in Haiti two weeks after the earthquake with longtime client Operation Smile of Norfolk, VA, and spent a week in the surgical compound set up at the Love A Child Health Center in Fond Parisiene, about 5 kilometers from the border of the Dominican Republic. I managed to spend my last full day of the mission in the capitol, Port-au-Prince. Here's some of what I witnessed then... ~cg.

*To view more of my earlier work in Haiti, including an in-depth slide show from last year's emergency mission with the trauma surgeons who volunteered their time for Operation Smile, click HERE. (just scroll down beyond this post, as it'll show up again). ~cg.

"Haiti. 6 Months On..." 12•July•10

Port-au-Prince, Haiti. A man views the collapsed Cathedral in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Saturday, January 30, 2010. A massive 7.0 earthquake struck the Caribbean island nation on January 12th., killing upwards of 230,000 people. © Chet Gordon / THE IMAGE WORKS

It's been six months since the catastrophic earthquake struck the island nation of Haiti on January 12th. of this year. I volunteered my time without hesitation when longtime client Operation Smile called, asking if I'd document their initial team of orthopedic & trauma surgeons and support staff treating victims of one of the world's most tragic natural disasters. The call came on a Thursday afternoon and I found myself hustling through two airports at first light the next morning to make connecting flights from Newark (EWR) to Charlotte (CLT) and into their HQ in Norfolk, VA as the team was scheduled to be flown by a U.S. Marine cargo aircraft directly into Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (PAP). After a few logistical delays, we were flown by corporate charter into Santo Domingo, DR two days later. I was only in Haiti for a week back in late January two weeks after the earthquake, crossing over the border from after a tiring 5 hour van ride from the Dominican capitol. It was to be my third trip to Haiti and every assignment to the country - either self-financed, or for a client, has been emotional for me. How could it not be? You can view my earlier posts here on the blog from the Operation Smile mission here. (I have posted the slideshow of my work in the NGO camp & in Port-au-Prince below.)

The independent radio & web broadcast show Democracy Now! aired a very detailed show today on location on how things are transpiring in Haiti. A second day of reporting from Port-au-Prince on DN is here, including an interview with two-time Academy Award winning actor Sean Penn, who's running an NGO he founded in Haiti. He's been there 6 months. Please continue to follow this story as there are still 1.5 million Haitians left homeless and living in tents in Haiti... ~cg.
*(Use the arrow at the bottom left of the player or click the image to start the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. Pause the portfolio slideshow in the right column by clicking the "II" pause button. There is no audio track with this presentation.)

"All the Way Back Home from Haiti..." 07•Feb.•10

So I've been back home for a week now from the earthquake in Haiti. Barely had enough time to do laundry, and get to the stack of dishes that seemed to grow in my kitchen sink. Those of you that travel hard for international assignments must know of these feelings. This was the third earthquake zone I've been to, as well as hurricanes, tornadoes, mudslides and areas of militarized conflict around the world. It usually takes a few days for me to "re-adjust" to the everyday and sometimes mundane happenings here at home. Besides, I was thrown right back into the work schedule on Tuesday afternoon covering a couple of big HS and community college basketball games, on strobes no less. Yesterday it was HS swimming and immediately after, HS girls indoor track championships at West Point. But Haiti hasn't been out of my thoughts for a single moment all week. I've thought about producing this slideshow and how to present it. Even recorded a Haitian girl last Saturday singing a gospel tune in Creole in the camp before I left for a day of shooting in Port-au-Prince. Not sure yet if I'll add any audio to these images. Quite honestly, I think they're powerful enough. Thanks for looking and having an interest in my work - I appreciate all your comments. -cg.

*(Use the arrow at the bottom left of the player or click the image to start the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. Pause the portfolio slideshow in the right column by clicking the "II" pause button. There is no audio track with this presentation.)

Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 30•Jan.•10

This is Port-au-Prince today, two and a half weeks after the earthquake that killed an estimated 200,000 people. More on all this later when I return to CONUS and am able to add a slideshow here to the blog. These are the images that we all as photojournalists push ourselves to create. No matter where it is when the call comes. I was last here in 1999 and prior to that in 1993 with two former colleagues on my first international shooting assignment. "Thanks Funch for encouraging me to tag along on that first trip back then. I have felt your spirit here all week..." -cg.

-30-

Haiti. 29•Jan.•10

Bon Jour from Fond Parisien, Haiti. We didn't have internet for most of the day yesterday, so I fell a little behind in the editing / transmitting routine from here on the border of the DR. (Dominican Republic.) Here's an idea of how it looks from my end to be working here, documenting the work of trauma and orthopedic surgeons operating on Haitian earthquake victims.

I haven't worked this hard since, well, my last volunteer surgical mission... -cg.