What was it like being there amongst all that destruction?

The impact comes especially from the number of dead, injured, amputees more than from the destruction of the buildings.
     Don’t forget that those deaths, the myriad of injured people, and those people who are homeless are victims of the underdevelopment of the country. They are victims of the corruption of the Haitian leading class and of the nefarious international interventions that have occurred since many years ago.

What were you trying to depict about the Haitian people in your photographs?

The chaos of the situation, the need for humanitarian aid, and the difficult situation of the wounded. And to also be able to show the deaths, which brings me to my choice to show the child at the morgue. When we simply speak of 100,000 deaths, it means nothing more than receiving said information; but I think it’s important to mark these 100,000 deaths. I’m using an obviously intense image – a dead child – but I believe we can look at it because the child is in a peaceful position. I think the shock comes from outside the photo, from wondering if this child is alive. It’s definitely the first question I had seeing it, even though I was there at the morgue.

Did you observe tension between the Haitians and authorities while you were there?

Yes…the population tried to get the merchandise in the destroyed buildings and the police tried to stop them. I photographed a young girl, Fabienne, 15 years old, who was killed by a policeman for this reason alone.

What sort of relief efforts did you observe while you were there and were these efforts effective?

I…observed medical groups, like Doctors Without Borders, who installed urgent care sites where they operated in a shipping container or out in the open, protected only by linens.
     I also saw food distribution centers by the American army, but very little in relation to the needs of the population. I do not call into question the numbers given by the UN, but I did not see significant distribution centers, and I met many people who, ten days after the earthquake, had not received anything. I also saw distribution centers where people received a few cookies and a half bottle of water, to the astonishment of the Haitian people who found this trivial.
     One can also speak of the doctors who had to go buy saws in the markets in order to practice amputations, while at the same time, planes landed full of evangelists, scientologists, and other humanitarian boy scouts.