Journalist Reports on the Ground, One Week After Devastating Haitian Earthquake

In January 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the island of Hispaniola, completely devastating the country of Haiti. The earthquake hit at 4:53 PM 15 miles southwest of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. This was the first of a series of earthquakes, with aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 following shortly after the initial 7.0 shock registered. It had not been since the 18th century that Haiti had an earthquake of such enormity and devastation. The devastation was terrible, the landscape of Haiti’s disaster area was defined by collapsed buildings, a consequence of Haiti’s lack of building codes. Without proper reinforcement, nearly all buildings crumbled under the force of the earthquake, killing and trapping its occupants. In Port-au-Prince the cathedral and the National Palace were both heavily damaged, as were the United Nations headquarters, national penitentiary, and parliament building. 

The primary source I am examining is the notes taken by a journalist on the ground in Haiti assessing the damage a week after the initial shock. In his reporting, he talks about how volunteers from developed countries came together to help spread aid and relief to the victims of the disaster. 

The journalist also follows victims of the earthquake around and asks for their stories. One interesting story was that one woman who was injured after falling two stories after her building collapsed was able to get really good medical treatment for her broken hip that she wouldn’t have normally received in Haiti. Another example of the victims “taking advantage of the tragedy” came from one family bringing in their blind child to see the western doctors and told them that the earthquake made him blind: “Overheard in the back of a pickup truck transporting American doctors working at tent hospitals in Port-au-Prince:

“I had a couple come in who said their son had been injured in the earthquake and had lost his sight,” said a California ophthalmologist. “I examined him and it was clear right away that his condition was congenital and that he had been blind long before the earthquake.”

The doctor shrugged. “Those people probably figured that this was their one chance to have an American doctor examine their kid and maybe do something for him,” he said. “I can’t blame them. I’d do the same thing myself.””

This tragic event in Haiti’s history might have been less devastating had the government had the resources to better build and prepare its buildings for this event. Yet, as we have seen in our history of Latin America, many countries like Haiti lack the resources necessary to compete in the global economy, and as a result tragedies like the earthquake that hit can set them back years. The silver lining that comes from this tragedy, as seen through the reporting in this source is that many Haitians were able to receive aid and medicine from doctors that they wouldn’t have been able to normally. 

Bibliography

Lantigua, John. 2010. “A REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK SCENES OF DESTRUCTION AND GRIEF FROM POST REPORTER JOHN LANTIGUA’S COVERAGE OF THE HAITIAN EARTHQUAKE.PALM BEACH POSTCONTINUING COVERAGEA REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK SCENES OF DESTRUCTION AND GRIEF FROM POST REPORTER JOHN LANTIGUA’S COVERAGE OF THE HAITIAN EARTHQUAKE.” Palm Beach Post, Feb 07. https://wooster.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/reporters-notebook-scenes-destruction-grief-post/docview/326680764/se-2?accountid=15131.

Pallardy, R.. “2010 Haiti earthquake.” Encyclopedia Britannica, January 6, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/event/2010-Haiti-earthquake.