Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations: Haiti

Anthony Bourdain traveled to Haiti for an episode of his show 'No Reservations.' He ventured down to Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, a little over a year after the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake. He met many Port-au-Prince natives that had concerns about so much media attention. Many residents said that they see the press come to Haiti just to take pictures, with the thought that the pictures will bring about change to Haiti once people see the massive devastation to their society. One woman stated, "...they're always taking pictures and nothing ever changes."

Most of Haiti's infrastructure was pretty poor prior to the quake. Many buildings either collapsed or suffered terrible damage and were red flagged (deemed unsafe and to be destroyed). The Grand Hotel Oloffson, a magnificent, historic hotel in Port-au-Prince, is one of the few large buildings that did not collapse. Even the Presidential Palace completely collapsed, which caused many Haitians to cheer. Hotel owner, Richard Morris, became the owner of the Grand Hotel Oloffson after an incredibly lucky cab ride. Many years ago, the original owner, Jacque, shared a cab ride with a stranger, Richard Morris. During the cab ride, the two chatted and Jacque asked Morris if he wanted to buy a hotel for $20. Morris jokingly said "sure." To his surprise, Jacque asked the cab driver to take the two to the Grand Hotel Oloffson, the hotel that Richard Morris purchased for $20.

Over 200,000 people lost their lives in the devastating earthquake. The bodies in the streets had to be disposed of immediately to prevent the spread of disease. There was no time to identify victims for their family members or to give them proper burials. Truckloads of bodies were taken to massive holes that were dug in the ground in Port-au-Prince. The bodies were dumped in and covered with dirt and cement. After the quake, 10,000 bodies were being buried per day. Foultone Fequiert, 38, one of the burial workers, said that he, and others, have been traumatized by their task. "I have seen so many children, so many children. I cannot sleep at night and, if I do, it is a constant nightmare," he said. "I received 10,000 bodies in one day alone." Thousands and thousands of bodies are buried in the ground, no names, no gravestones, no proper burial- just mass graves with thousands of nameless victims.

Sources:
Waterfield, B. (2010). Haiti Earthquake: 10,000 buried each day in mass graves.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/haiti/7045722/Haiti-earthquake-10000-buried-each-day-in-mass-graves.html

Cooper, A. (2010). Desperation grows: Mass graves found in Port-au-Prince.
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-01-15/world/haiti.earthquake_1_bodies-aid-workers-prince?_s=PM:WORLD

Anthony Bourdain- 'No Reservations: Haiti'
Television show on the Travel Channel. (2011).