Place is impacted by, responds to, and changes through natural disaster. In 2010 Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital city, was impacted by an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 Mw. This destroyed many buildings and features, and the way the global community responded effected people's viewpoint of Haiti as a place. There were over 220,000 reported fatalities from this disaster.
One of the buildings destroyed was the Palais National. This is the Haitian equivalent of the U.S.'s "White House". This building was completely ruined, as can be seen through images on the attached map. This presidential home was left as rubble, and not demolished or cleared until two years later in 2012.
The National Penitentiary was also effected severely by the 2010 Earthquake. This natural disaster damaged the penitentiary building holding Haiti's most wanted criminals. Once the building was destroyed, many dangerous felons were able to escape the prison. It is recorded that more than 4,500 inmates escaped a wing in the National Penitentiary known as the "Titanic". This lead to an escape of Haiti's worst criminals, all at one time. Crime rates in Haiti went back up and issues are still stemming from this catastrophe.
While many buildings suffered through the earthquake, the Place du Marron Inconnu remained standing through the earthquake and aftershocks. The Place du Marron Inconnu is home of the famous statue, "Le Marron Inconnu" which depicts an escaped slave as a symbol of Haitian freedom and resilience. The Palais National is visible directly across the street from Le Marron Inconnu, yet while the Palais National was destroyed, Le Marron Inconnu remained standing. This was a rallying symbol after the 2010 Earthquake for the determination and strength of the people of Haiti and their ability to recover from disasters. This is an aspect of landscape and the unique features people have built on the land.
In Amy E. Potter's Voodoo, Zombies, and Mermaids: U.S. Newspaper Coverage of Haiti coverage of Haiti within the American media is discussed. Haiti is often depicted as a downtrodden and impoverished society in need of help and beyond saving. This frame was continued throughout reports of the 2010 Earthquake. One reason for the frame was to encourage the story-line that Haitian people cannot save themselves so they are in need of relief help and donations. While this helped raise funds for Haiti, the story-line perpetuated the belief that Haiti is beyond saving. Some people took this frame as a reason to not help or ignore the situation because "no amount of relief effort will ever help". The destruction of the Palais National effected Haiti as a "place" because it was the symbol of their government destroyed. When the National Penitentiary was destroyed, and many dangerous criminals escaped, the frame that Haiti is unstable and unsafe was only confirmed. This mark on Haiti left a permanent perception of it as a place within the minds of Americans through the media.
By looking at images of Haiti today, it is prevalent that Haiti is made of resilient people. While Haiti is still rebuilding 8 years later, wealthy places effected by natural disasters often take a similar amount of time to recover. Rubble has been cleared and buildings are being rebuilt.
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