Retrospective on the 11th Anniversary of the Haiti Earthquake

By Garry Pierre-Pierre

Photos by Garry Pierre-Pierre

January 12, 2010 was a Tuesday we’ll never forget. It was the day when a 7.0 category earthquake brought on death and destruction in Haiti. The earthquake was by far the largest natural disaster in a country that has had more than its share of such calamities. The world reacted to the earthquake by sending in literally armies of soldiers and aid workers to help.

But the first responders were Haitians themselves who used everything they had, including their bare hands, to pry loose people who were buried under the rubbles. They did the best they could until the cavalry arrived.

The Haitian Times was one of the first news organizations to reach Haiti. Our team flew to the Dominican Republic and drove to Haiti to witness for ourselves and report on the astonishing devastation that the earthquake had brought upon Haiti.

So, 11 years later, The Haitian Times is pulling photos from its archives to share with our readers as a reminder of that fateful day. Although Haiti has not changed in the positive ways that many expected, it is also a reminder that the best may be yet to come.

In these photos there are graphic reminders of the death, highlighted by the pile of bodies that were dumped at Port-au-Prince morgue when space quickly ran out. There is also hope in these photos showing how Haitians managed to maintain a sense of optimism with a little boy flying his kite despite the carnage surrounding his environment.