Jess DiPierro Obert

Photographer
   
Thousands displaced in Port-au-Prince, 2021
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Nationality: American
Biography: Jess DiPierro Obert is a visual journalist and filmmaker based between New York and Haiti, where she has lived for 5 years (2016-2021). She is focused on reporting on stories related to women, abortion rights, human rights, immigration, identity,... MORE
Public Story
Thousands displaced in Port-au-Prince, 2021
Copyright Jess Obert 2024
Updated Sep 2021
Topics Civil Wars, Conflict, Displacement, Gangs, Journalism, mass displacement, Photography, Politics, Refugees, Reporting, Spotlight, War and its effects, World
More than 19,000 people have been displaced from gang violence in the capital of Haiti, and following the assassination of President Moïse on 7 July 2021, and an absence of state, those affected are being further isolated.

Although roads were inaccessible, blocked by armed gangs cutting off Port-au-Prince from the south, I visited one displacement center in June 2021 in Carrefour, a neighborhood on the outskirts of the city which housed more than 1500 people.

In the weeks leading up to Moïse’s assassination, gangs shot and killed Darline’s husband, burning his body and forcing the 34-year-old to flee with her children. I sat with another woman, Sala, 49, who came to the center with her five children. A crowd began to form around us, it was hot and cramped, some kids played cards and tag. She had worked as a Madan Sara before being forced to flee, and would transport produce from the provinces to sell in Port-au-Prince. The gangs burnt her home and took her commerce. The street they lived on was called Lajwa, Creole for joy.

"We are in a war zone."
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Thousands displaced in Port-au-Prince, 2021 by Jess Obert
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