Jess DiPierro Obert

Photographer

UN Peacekeepers Fathered Dozens of Children in Haiti, 2021

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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

Jui*, 9, is the daughter of Pha...oves natural teas and medicine.

Jui*, 9, is the daughter of Phanie*, 32, and a UN peacekeeper from Uruguay who she has never met named Hector. Jui is good at school and takes piano lessons. She wants to become a nurse so that she may help people, she particularly loves natural teas and medicine.

A shadow of Phanie hanging up laundry.

Rosemina Joseph, 27, and her so...cekeeping soldier from Uruguay.

Rosemina Joseph, 27, and her son, Anderson Joseph, 9, son of a peacekeeping soldier from Uruguay.

Containers leftover from the pe...he outskirts of Port-au-Prince.

Containers leftover from the peacekeeping mission in Haiti that lasted from 2004-2017 still at the abandoned United Nations log base on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.

Dominic Antonio Cortez, 9, is t... in the school courtyard alone.

Dominic Antonio Cortez, 9, is the son of Gessy Becheline Appoliner, 36, and a UN peacekeeper from Argentina. Dominic wants to be a peacekeeper when he is older, and yearns to know his father. He hopes to change schools in the new year because he has been bullied for his hair and looking different than the rest of his peers. His stepfather often sees him standing in the school courtyard alone.

Gessy Becheline Appoliner, 36, ...usiness when she has the means.

Gessy Becheline Appoliner, 36, is the mother of Dominic Antonio Cortez, 9, whose father was an UN peacekeeper from Argentina. She has two other children, O’hlizaïr Francois, 14 and O’hmmella junie Joseph, 3, and survives off of a small chocolate and coffee business when she has the means.

Dominic Antonia Cortez, 9, has ... to his other son in Argentina.

Dominic Antonia Cortez, 9, has tried to reach out to his father and speak with him but his mother was blocked so they have been sending messages to his other son in Argentina.

A motorcycle passes an old Unit...he outskirts of Port-au-Prince.

A motorcycle passes an old United Nations log base yard on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.

UN Peacekeepers Fathered Dozens of Children in Haiti, 2021

Gessy Becheline Appoliner, 36, ... UN peacekeeper from Argentina.

Gessy Becheline Appoliner, 36, is the mother of Dominic Antonio Cortez, 9, whose father was an UN peacekeeper from Argentina.

Omése Theódore, 39, is the moth...shantytown on the mountainside.

Omése Theódore, 39, is the mother of three children from three different peacekeepers. She’s pregnant for a fourth time but the father is Haitian and has also abandoned her to care for it on her own. Omése lives in a small blue apartment in the neighborhood of Jalousie, known in the capital of Port-au-Prince for the painted homes of an overcrowded shantytown on the mountainside.

Sketches of some of Carl Michel... from creation and long vision.

Sketches of some of Carl Michel Armand, 11, the firstborn son of Omése Theódore. The cartoon characters have superpowers ranging from creation and long vision.

A family portrait of Omése Theó... her to care for it on her own.

A family portrait of Omése Theódore, 39, the mother of three children from three different peacekeepers, Carl Michel Armand, 11, Jacques Andre Theódore, 6, and Jean Christ Theódore, 4. She’s pregnant for a fourth time but the father is Haitian and has also abandoned her to care for it on her own.

Detail shots of photos n the li...hree dffferent UN peacekeepers.

Detail shots of photos n the living room of Omése Theodore, 39, the mother of three children from three dffferent UN peacekeepers.

Omese lives in a small blue apa...shantytown on the mountainside.

Omese lives in a small blue apartment in the neighborhood of Jalousie, known in the capital of Port-au-Prince for the painted homes of an overcrowded shantytown on the mountainside.

Phanie* met Hector, the UN peac...e one she lost her virginty to.

Phanie* met Hector, the UN peacekeeper from Uruguay at the pier in Jacmel where he worked, one late afternoon with her friends. She was 21-years-old, would meet her family, and was the one she lost her virginty to.

Jui*, 9, is the daughter of Pha... responded or seen the message.

Jui*, 9, is the daughter of Phanie*, 32, and a UN peacekeeper from Uruguay who she has never met named Hector. She sent her father a message on Facebook in Spanish saying that he even though he had abandoned her, she loves her family in Haiti; but he has blocked her mother and has never responded or seen the message.

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Thumbnail of Jui*, 9, is the daughter of Phan_loves natural teas and medicine.

Thumbnail of A shadow of Phanie hanging up laundry.

Thumbnail of Rosemina Joseph, 27, and her son_acekeeping soldier from Uruguay.

Thumbnail of Containers leftover from the pea_the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.

Thumbnail of Dominic Antonio Cortez, 9, is th_g in the school courtyard alone.

Thumbnail of Gessy Becheline Appoliner, 36, i_business when she has the means.

Thumbnail of Dominic Antonia Cortez, 9, has t_s to his other son in Argentina.

Thumbnail of A motorcycle passes an old Unite_the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.

Thumbnail of UN Peacekeepers Fathered Dozens of Children in Haiti, 2021

Thumbnail of Gessy Becheline Appoliner, 36, i_n UN peacekeeper from Argentina.

Thumbnail of Omése Theódore, 39, is the mothe_ shantytown on the mountainside.

Thumbnail of Sketches of some of Carl Michel _g from creation and long vision.

Thumbnail of A family portrait of Omése Theód_d her to care for it on her own.

Thumbnail of Detail shots of photos n the liv_three dffferent UN peacekeepers.

Thumbnail of Omese lives in a small blue apar_ shantytown on the mountainside.

Thumbnail of Phanie* met Hector, the UN peace_he one she lost her virginty to.

Thumbnail of Jui*, 9, is the daughter of Phan_r responded or seen the message.

Private Story

UN Peacekeepers Fathered Dozens of Children in Haiti, 2021

Copyright Jess DiPierro Obert 2024

Updated Jan 2022

Location Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Photographed for Buzzfeed News. A landmark ruling in a Haitian court offers some hope to the families seeking child support, but the peacekeeper fathers won’t have to pay unless their home countries step in.

Jess Obert / Haiti

May 27, 2020

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