andrew_lee2 Posted August 26, 2003 Share Posted August 26, 2003 For those of you who might be interested, this is just a brief entry I originally wrote killing time one late afternoon in my hotel room in Port-au-Prince, while the events and experiences of that day---my first in Haiti---were still fresh in my head. It reflects my experiences and only my own. If the words strike anyone as being misanthropic in any way, that's just because I was still in the process of getting over the initial culture shock; I'm not a hateful person by nature. <p> <a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/1709400" >Link</a><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmac Posted August 26, 2003 Share Posted August 26, 2003 Sad, powerful & poignant account. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briany Posted August 27, 2003 Share Posted August 27, 2003 You're both a talented photographer and a damn good writer, a wonderful combination for which I have the utmost admiration. Thanks for sharing that journal entry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobatkins Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 Andrew - excellent writing and the sort of contribution that makes photo.net such a great place to visit. Thanks for sharing your experience. I look forward to seeing your images. Should you decide you'd like to write something about your travels for the static content here, please don't hesitate to contact me and we can work out the details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardMiller Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 While there is, no doubt, much validity to Andrew's impressions of Haiti, I watched a fascinating film a couple nights back that shows another side of it. WorldLink TV ran a program called Cinema Soleil, about two young men who overcome many obstacles to operate a video theater in their own home, in one of the worst slums in the country. (Isn't it ironic that the worst places often are given names which utterly belie their real natures? In this film, the slum is called "Sun City," and in the great Brazilian movie from earlier this year it is called "City of God.") The program was utterly unsentimental, and did not shy from the filth and poverty, and the political chaos that has crippled Haiti. But amidst all this, it showed people managing--with humor, ingenuity, courage and perseverance--to live, love, and pursue their dreams of making a better future for themselves and their families. Catch it if you get a chance, for a different view of Haiti and its people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_lee2 Posted August 28, 2003 Author Share Posted August 28, 2003 Thanks everyone. Bernard, I also don't doubt for a second that there is humor, ingenuity, courage and perseverance in Haiti. The movie sounds fascinating and I'll be sure to check it out. Thanks for the tip. <p>It's funny you mention City of God (another great film). During my time in Port-au-Prince I was thinking the closest thing to this that I had ever seen (well, on film anyway) was City of God, only without twelve year-old outlaws maniacally waving handguns. Later on Harold (whom I had mentioned earlier) and I got to talking about the condition of Port-au-Prince when he suddenly exclaimed, "My God did you see that movie City of God? Compared to that it's like I'm living in paradise out here!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_n._wall Posted September 4, 2003 Share Posted September 4, 2003 You've gotten off to a good start in dealing with the power of Haiti. Your images are strong and you also capture eloquently your initial reaction to the place. Hope you don't give up on it. I spent a week there a couple of years ago, and want to go back. It's much easier to function in Haiti if you have (as I did) someone who knows his way around who can help you get comfortable. The place can be, as you have found, quite overwhelming. I think if I had had to go there without a guide I would have been so disoriented that I would also have sought the fastest way out. But people live there. Some people choose to live there. They make the best they can of the situation. They try to ameloriate the desperation of people who have no choice but to live there. There are sections of Port au Prince that are quite lovely -- Petionville, for instance, and the area around the capital building and the Episcopal cathedral -- and much of the landscape in the countryside is very dramatic. Good to get out of Port au Prince to see how people live in rural areas, and to see some of the efforts people are making to improve schools and to recover some of the land that has been stripped of everything. To capture in images both the desperate circumstances of their lives and the ways they cope is a worthy project. Perhaps you might find a group that runs mission trips to Haiti. There are a number of groups in the USA that have established places for folks from the USA to live and use as a base while in Haiti. Knowing that someone who knows what he is doing is preparing your food is a comfort. The place we stayed, for example, washed Haitian food in disinfectant before preparing it for our meals. You might donate your photographic services to the agency in exchange for their guidance and support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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