Haiti – a perpetual struggle

Street Scene Port au Prince — A tap tap (local bus) accident, Carrefour-Feuilles, Port-au-Prince, 2002 Thomas Kern

Outside the market in Carrefour-Feuilles, Port-au-Prince, 2008 Thomas Kern

Fallen mango tree, Madame Paul, 1999 Thomas Kern

Erosion at the la Salle massif, 2003 Thomas Kern

UN soldiers in Bel-Air, Port-au-Prince, 2006 Thomas Kern

A worshipper in Ville de Bonheur church holds aloft a bank savings book, Saut d’Eau, 2008 Thomas Kern

St André church, Léogane, 1997 Thomas Kern

Beggar, Port-au-Prince, 2008 Thomas Kern

Outside the ice factory, Rue des Ramparts, Port-au-Prince, 1997 Thomas Kern

Apartment and funeral parlour, Shada neighbourhood, Cap Haïtien, 2008 Thomas Kern

Sacrifice ceremony, Plaine du Nord, 2008 Thomas Kern

Libèté (freedom), Bel-Air, Port-au-Prince, 2006 Thomas Kern

The entrance to the Bassin St Jacques, Plaine du Nord, 2008 Thomas Kern

Farm labourers, Meyer (Jacmel), 2003 Thomas Kern

The old market in the Cité Soleil shanty town, Port-au-Prince, 2008 Thomas Kern

Children at the Terre des Hommes charity centre, Les Cayes, 2001 Thomas Kern

Waiting for the funeral procession, Port-au-Prince, 1998 Thomas Kern

Body at the General Hospital, Port-au-Prince, 2003 Thomas Kern

Wandering voodoo priest, Ville de Bonheur, 2008 Thomas Kern

Before the earthquake: a look at daily life in one of the world's poorest nations.

This content was published on January 15, 2010 - 11:40

Thomas Kern was born in Switzerland in 1965. Trained as a photographer in Zürich, he started working as a photojournalist in 1989. He was a founder of the Swiss photographers agency Lookat Photos in 1990. Thomas Kern has won twice a World Press Award and has been awarded several Swiss national scholarships. His work has been widely exhibited and it is represented in various collections.

Thomas Kern has documented the daily struggle of Haitians since 1997. These pictures show the difficulties ordinary people face as well as their relationship with voodoo religion. Thomas Kern works as a picture editor for swissinfo.ch and as a freelance photgrapher.

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Haiti devastation

This content was published on Jan 13, 2010 The extent of the devastation is still unclear but there are fears hundreds of people may have died. Haiti’s worst quake in more than a century hit south of the capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, wrecking the presidential palace, UN headquarters and countless other buildings.

Haiti – a perpetual struggle

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Haiti devastation