21452: (Arthur) Dispatch: Tim Fadek And Les Stone Report From Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Tttnhm@aol.com

Dispatch: Tim Fadek And Les Stone Report From Haiti

March 04, 2004
By Jay DeFoore

Freelance photojournalists Les Stone and Timothy Fadek have been covering the
political unrest in Haiti for the last few weeks. Fadek, who shoots for
Polaris, was one of the first journalists to arrive on the scene in January. Stone,
who syndicates through ZUMA Press, has visited the country 30 times in the
last decade. PDN asked the two photographers to respond to the following
questions via e-mail.

PDN: Has Haiti been an easy or hard conflict to cover? We've heard reports of
journalists having guns pointed at their heads on an almost daily basis,
though no reports of actual injuries. Have you seen or encountered anything like
that?

Tim Fadek: Haiti is a dangerous country. There are frequent car jackings,
robberies, murders, and armed gangs roam the streets. However, it's been easy
getting access and finding out information, but it's also a difficult story
physically, especially in January when anti-government demonstrations were held
almost daily, and the demonstrators would walk for 3 hours or more, sometimes
sprinting ahead. Keeping up with them was not easy, but it was the only way to
cover these events.

Often things got dangerous when the demonstrators would enter a pro-Aristide
neighborhood, and they were confronted by angry mobs who were armed. More than
50 people have died that way since October, at marches that turned ugly.
Usually there's a lot of rock- and bottle-throwing, then the police step in,
firing tear gas at both sides to disperse the crowd. Because of the plethora of
journalists, it's difficult to make good pictures because you're constantly
getting slammed into your colleagues and they also get in the way by standing in
your pictures.

Les Stone: I got here late so I can only talk about Port-au-Prince. It's a
big city and so many things are going on at once that you're torn every which
way all day long. It's a dangerous place for journalists and always has been,
but now because the Aristide people feel totally betrayed by the United States
it's especially dangerous, and ironic. These are the same people that we risked
our lives for in 1994 against the same killers and thugs that were chased out
of here 10 years ago and are now back.

Last weekend, especially after they heard that Aristide left, they went
crazy. After photographing a group of about 50 people celebrating Aristide's
departure, I went looking down the road for other groups and ran into about 50
chimere (armed Aristide supporters) and was chased and shot at with a large array
of weapons. I had one eye above the dashboard while doing 50mph in second gear.
I think that I surprised them and they are bad shots. In short, within blocks
of each other these two groups are coexisting and you have no idea what will
happen.

I know of other journalists who were pulled out of there cars and threatened
and some who lost cameras, etc. And believe me, when someone points a gun at
your head that IS violence. By the way, this is a class war, with the rich
against the poor and visa versa. That's why Aristide was so popular with the poor
and hated by the U.S., the Haitian elite and the army who worked with them to
control them. And the revenge killings have just begun. I've photographed
about ten people who have been executed in the last week and heard of many more.
In 1994 it was exactly the same. When FRAPH was in charge, we journalists did a
body count every morning for months.

PDN: Describe what it's like to work in a situation such as Haiti is
currently facing, where chaos is the only constant? Do you have to rely on your driver
and translator? How do you find your own "intelligence"?

Les Stone: I know this place pretty well, but information is key. I hire a
Haitian to be in my car with me at all times. I drive, usually because I am a
lot more aggressive a driver and will be willing to go to more dangerous places
than they sometimes are. He listens to the radio, "listens" to the street,
talks to people, picks up every rumor and takes over the driving when I'm off
chasing something.

PDN: The story in Haiti seems to have attracted a disproportionate number of
journalists for the amount of play the story has gotten in newspapers and
magazines. Describe the amount of media there now and how it has increased over
time.

Tim Fadek: I arrived on January 13th, and if I leave on March 7th as planned,
that will make it just shy of two months. In January, there was very little
foreign press. I think there were only four or five foreign photographers
covering the story, which made it easy to work. Immediately after rebels took
control of Haiti's northern town of Gonaives, there was a flood of new
photographers, writers, TV.

Les Stone: I got here on the last American Airlines plane from New York
before they canceled service. As far as media attention is concerned, it's as if
every photographer, TV crew and writer in the world descended on this island.
It's close to the U.S., exotic and violent--what more could a journalist want?
And these days, with the U.S. mixed up in what seems like every conflict in the
world, it's a big story.

PDN: There have been pictures showing as many as ten photographers
surrounding one lone gunman. Any funny stories involving photographers?

Les Stone: The craziest media story I saw and participated in was Guy
Philippes' entry into Port-au-Prince: Five SUV and pick-ups full of gunmen chased by
about 50 cars full of journalists, all crashing into each other like bumper
cars. Sometimes it gets insane with everybody tripping over each other to get
"the" picture. But that's the way it is sometimes, and we have to accept it. I
will feel much more at ease and will be able to work easier when most of the
media leaves.

PDN: Can you describe the cost of covering this story there?

Les Stone: Haiti is a very expensive place for a freelancer. A car is about
$100 per day, hotel can be the same. With your driver/ translator, cell phone
and food, it can all add up to about $200-$300 per day. Having said that, most
of us will find spots in a colleague's room, split a car, share the phone,
etc. This cuts the expenses way down, but it still seems as if I spend money like
drinking water here.

PDN: What is the humanitarian situation like? Has there been any relief in
the way of food or medical aid?

Tim Fadek: The humanitarian situation is bleak, as it always has been. The
current crisis hasn't worsened the situation for the long term. Sanitation is
poor in Haiti, and finding clean drinking water is always a problem. Poverty is
so extreme, people are starving. Haiti is the poorest country in the western
hemisphere, and the child mortality rate is also said to be the highest. More
than half of all children here won't live to see their 5th birthday. There is a
silent famine taking place. The poor are malnourished, eating clay wafers
that don't have nutritional value. Haiti isn't Africa, where journalists and
photographers can see hundreds or thousands of people at feeding stations at one
time, places which only have enough food to feed a fraction of those that
arrive. Here, the very poor and starving are more hidden, and in cities, their
neighborhoods tend to be the most dangerous.

PDN: Is this a story that's going to fade away fairly quickly or do you think
there are still lots of stories to tell there?

Les Stone: I want to see what is going to happen in the short run. There is
really no one in charge here and no rule of law. The Aristide supporters are
extremely well-armed and the rebels are few. Even though Aristide is gone these
people will still be here. If the U.S. thinks they can control the streets
with military force they are mistaken. These people will continue to fight each
other regardless of U.S. presence. The "Big" story may be over but the place is
totally lawless and the people here must live every day with all their
"small" stories. There are so many stories to tell here, I used to come here on my
own nickel all the time because I couldn't get any magazine or even my own
agency to care. It's Africa in the Caribbean and we know how little attention
Africa gets.

There is an old Haitian song that says: "Poor Haiti, so far from God and so
close to the United States." At least I think that's how it goes.

To see more images from Les Stone, visit www.zumapress.com (registration
required). Timothy Fadek's Polaris portfolio can be found at
www.polarisimages.com.