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Curico Earthquake March 9, 2010

Posted by bohdan.warchomij in : Aftermath, Chile, Disaster, Photojournalism, Relief , add a comment

Jessica Phelps is a young photographer from Ohio currently working in a community center in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Santiago, Chile. She has contributed to Metaphor Online from Haiti and contributes  her images from a devastated Curico.

Here are her words from Santiago and Curico:

“3.30am Friday morning in Santiago and I was in a deep sleep. I woke up slowly to the sensation of my bed shaking. It wasn’t until I heard my roommate yelling my name that I understood what was happening. I jumped out of bed and ran to the hallway to see Gonzalo motioning me to come to him.We stood under his door frame hugging, terrified as the earthquake intensified; we were being shaken violently for an eternal three minutes. He kept reassuring me we would be all right. When everything was still again we rushed to get dressed and ran down the six flights of stairs to the park outside. And there we waited in complete darkness for the morning light to come along with information of what had happened.
I was shocked when I learned how strong the earthquake was and even more surprised to walk around Santiago and see almost everything still standing. As the weekend progressed and news came out about the damage further south I knew I had to go to see for myself. Accompanied by my camera I went to a small town called Curico. There had been many reports of looting but here I found the people beginning to organize their lives.Listening to their stories was heartbreaking. The family whose home had been destroyed and were now sleeping in a bus at night too afraid to sleep in the remains of their house. The parents who had lost their infant child.

But more impressive was the amount of donations collected by this town andbeing sorted by its residents to be passed out to those left with nothing.Everyone in this town was helping to clear away rubble and start the process of rebuilding. They were told that temporary houses would be built outside the center of town by the government while they awaited their new homes, but many there do not have confidence that this will happen and are more comfortable relying on neighbors
This town still had no electricity, no T.V., no communication outside itselfand only one radio station near the center of town was still in operation.
I left Curico with mixed feelings. Heartbroken at the amount of devastation, but also inspired to see this town pulling together,  neighbors helping neighbors.”

CURICO, Chile –Curicó (kūrēkō’), “Black Waters” in Mapudungun, originally meaning “Land of Black Water”, is the name of the capital of Curicó Province, part of the Region del Maule in Chile’s central valley. The 8.8 richter scale earthquake has devastated the city. The worst-hit area of Curico, founded in 1743 and situated in a picturesque fruit- and wine-producing area, has been its  historic quarter.

The 18th-century San Francisco Church lies in ruins alongside ruined 19th-century homes as well as the 100-year-old building that once housed the city’s La Prensa newspaper.

Wheelchair, Curico. Photo Jessica Phelps
Wheelchair, Curico. Photo Jessica Phelps

Crushed car Curico Chile Photo Jessica Phelps
Crushed car Curico Chile Photo Jessica Phelps

Firefighters and Military in Curico Photo Jessica Phelps
Firefighters and Military in Curico Photo Jessica Phelps

Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter February 18, 2010

Posted by bohdan.warchomij in : Aftermath, Australian photographers , add a comment

JusticeWA has brought the motivational speaker Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter,  former middleweight boxer and a contender for that title to Perth for a Gala Fundraiser at the Sheraton on Saturday the 20th February 2010 for the organisation.

Rubin Carter was born May 6, 1937, in Clifton, New Jersey. In 1966, at the height of his boxing career, Carter was wrongly convicted—twice—of a triple murder and imprisoned for nearly two decades. During the mid-1970s, his case became a cause celébrè for a number of civil rights leaders, politicians, and entertainers. Bob Dylan wrote a song about tthe Hurricane. He was ultimately exonerated, in 1985, after a United States district court judge declared the convictions to be based on racial prejudice. He now works in the Innocence business. JusticeWA has the declared mission of working with people wrongfully accused by the justice system.

The JusticeWA site: www.justicewa.com

Rubin 'Hurricane" Carter Photo Bohdan Warchomij
Rubin ‘Hurricane” Carter addresses the media at Perth Domestic Airport  Photo Bohdan Warchomij

Rubin 'Hurricane" Carter addresses the media scrum at Perth Domestic Airport Photo Bohdan Warchomij
Rubin ‘Hurricane” Carter addresses the media scrum at Perth Domestic Airport Photo Bohdan Warchomij

Australian Aid Organisations working in Haiti January 17, 2010

Posted by bohdan.warchomij in : Aftermath, Aid, Haiti, Relief , add a comment

The earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince has had the world scrambling to deliver aid to the Western World’s poorest country.  Logistically it is an overwhelming task.  The harbour is damaged and there are difficulties offloading ship supplies.  Toussaint Louverture International Airport is running out of fuel and only one runway is operational.  Some relief workers and medical crews are coming in via the Dominican Republic.

(Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the island of Hispaniola, which lies between Cuba and Puerto Rico.)

Carolyn Cole LA Times
Carolyn Cole LA Times

The following aid agencies are working in the devastated country: The list, by no means exclusive, gives a guide to the established agencies working on the ground in Haiti. Please use personal discretion if donating to the appeals listed.

Medecins Sans Frontieres suffered damage to some of its own buildings in the earthquake, including its main hospital facility and a maternity facility.  It is running makeshift medical centres in tents around the capital while it attempts to locate some of its staff missing since the disaster.

You can donate to MSF’s effort in Haiti through its Australian office’s website or by phoning 1300 13 60 61.

Save the Children has estimated that  many children have been orphaned and have been made homeless.

The charity has said cash donations are what is  most needed at the moment.

You can donate to Save the Children’s Haiti Earthquake Emergency Appeal at this link.  Donations can also be made at NAB branches or by phoning 1800 76 00 11.

Australian Red Cross has  launched an appeal.  The charity says the money raised will be directed to the relief and recovery efforts in the devastated capital and other areas.  Specialist aid workers will also be sent there.

You can donate to the Australian Red Cross Haiti Earthquake Appeal online or by phoning 1800 811 700.

World Vision provides temporary shelters, hygiene kits, cooking utensils, clothing and water containers and medical teams to deal with earthquake victims. To donate visit www.worldvision.com.au or call 13 32 40.

Oxfam has 100 staff on the ground in the quake zone, providing water and shelter supplies.  “Any country would have difficulty withstanding this disaster, let alone one with deep poverty and minimal infrastructure,” the charity has said.

You can donate to Oxfam’s Haiti Earthquake Appeal online or by phone at 1800 034 034.

CARE Australia has said the biggest challenge facing aid groups on the ground is reaching all those who need their help.  CARE’s staff have been handing out food and other supplies.

The agency has said a donation of just $50 can provide water sanitation kits to homeless families.  You can donate to CARE’s Haiti Earthquake Appeal online or at 1800 020 046.

The Australian Government has committed $10 million in emergency aid to the Haiti relief effort.  The Department of Foreign Affairs’ 24-hour consular emergency centre can be reached on 1300 555 135.

The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund has  allocated $10 million in relief aid.  Individuals and businesses can donate to the CERF at that link.  Donations can also be sent to UNICEF’s Haiti Emergency Appeal.

War is only Half the Story:The Aftermath Project December 27, 2009

Posted by bohdan.warchomij in : Aftermath, Documentary, Education, Photojournalism, Publishing, War , add a comment

The Aftermath Project Volume 2 is out:

Published September 2009: "War is Only Half the Story, Vol Two" features the work of 2008 grant winner Kathryn Cook ("Memory Denied: Turkey and the Armenian Genocide") as well as special first finalist Natela Grigalashvili and finalists Tinka Dietz, Christine Fenzl and Pep Bonet.
Published September 2009: “War is Only Half the Story, Vol Two” features the work of 2008 grant winner Kathryn Cook (”Memory Denied: Turkey and the Armenian Genocide”) as well as special first finalist Natela Grigalashvili and finalists Tinka Dietz, Christine Fenzl and Pep Bonet.

I first met Sara Terry at Visa Pour l’Image in Perpignan, France in 2006 where she was promoting The Aftermath Project to photojournalists whose cachet was the war machine in action.  She set up the Aftermath Project out of the exasperation she felt after the Bosnian crisis as that country tried to move beyond the “shadow of war”.  Her aim was to start a new media dialogue  about war which could lead to conflict prevention instead of conflict resolution.

I applied for the Aftermath Project Grant hoping to cover the resettlement issues of the Crimean Tartars who  had been expelled from their homelands in Ukraine by Josef Stalin for “collaboration” post World War Two. Needless to say I didn’t get to the final selection process but on Christmas Eve I was delighted to buy War is only Half the Story Volume 1 from The Aftermath Project/ Aperture. The book had made it to the shelves of my favourite book store Planet Books in Mt Lawley, Perth, West Australia. The first two grant winners were Jim Goldberg, an authentic innovator in the documentary  field for his work The New Europeans, and Wolf Boewig, a photographer who had covered the Sierra Leone conflict.

http://www.wolfboewig.de/

The other photographers represented in this book are Andrew Stanbridge (post war reconstruction in Laos), Asim Rafiqui (Haiti’s ongoing political violence), and Paula Luttringer ( a survey of sites in Argentina where the abduction of women and their children was part of the process of violence).

War Is Only Half The Story: The Aftermath Project, Volume 1
War Is Only Half The Story: The Aftermath Project, Volume 1