TITLE: The longing for tulips

Coalitions of gangs have controlled up to 90 per cent of Haiti´s capital Port-au-Prince and forced over 1.4 million people from their homes. The bandits stormed in and ransacked the neighborhoods. They killed people, burned homes. Gang wars, mass kidnappings, and the breakdown of the state have transformed the capital into “the city of camps”. The internally displaced people (IDPs) flee with nothing but the clothes on their backs to makeshift sites, where they remain at risk and have little to no access to food and water. IDPs live alongside hazards like an unsanitary water tank in the courtyard. Conditions in makeshift displacement sites are dire, each hosting an average of 2,000 people. Many people are sheltering in former public institutes. Young women suffered monstrous crimes, got gang-raped by bandits, and raise the rapists' babies. The gangs widely use sexual assault as a weapon of terror. And even in the camps, the risk of sexual violence for girls is increasing. IDPs moved to camps in hopes of a safe place, but the violence follows them. Men were hit by flying stray bullets through the tents due to gang gunfire. Some have still retained the bullets in their bodies causing pain. Hope is as hard to find as tulips in the camps. However, the liberation of territory from gangs and multinational police support presence has provided a “flicker of hope” for IDPs.

AUTHOR: Philipp Schmieja (Germany)

Self-taught photographer and passionate traveler. I discovered my passion for photography during traveling African countries. I had developed a fascination for tribes. This has been underpinned by my passion for photography. Tribal people are those who have unique customs. They often have a symbiotic bond with the environments in which they live. I am using photography as a medium to capture candid moments as well as community spirit and portraits. And in that moment, through my lens, I am seeking to portray the soul of the places by blending intimate people photography with striking imagery of cultural heritage.