Barcelona’s CaixaForum hosts an exhibition on the Haiti earthquake and the reconstruction process

Barcelona (ACN). The earthquake that shook Haiti in January 2010 lasted 34 seconds. After the devastating effects of this half minute, the country –one of the poorest in the world– started the long road back to its physical and mental reconstruction. A year after the catastrophe, ‘Haití, 34 segons després’ (Haiti, 34 seconds later) is the exhibition with which “la Caixa” Foundation commemorates the consequences of the earthquake. It shows life before the natural disaster, includes unpublished photos by Emilio Morenatti and Marta Ramoneda, an audiovisual presentation by Oriol Gispert, an earthquake simulator, and an overview of the different restoration projects carried out by international NGOs such as Red Cross, Intermon Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières. The exhibition is on show at Barcelona’s CaixaForum arts centre (in Montjuïc) until 12 June 2011.

These are the different ingredients of ‘Haiti, 34 seconds after’, an eclectic exhibition for its different formats and contents organised by “la Caixa” Foundation in the CaixaForum venue, in Barcelona. An exhibition that, in words of the deputy director of the Foundation, Ariadna Bartolet, attempts to show the reality of the country before and after the earthquake as well as covering the effects of social solidarity, “which are crucial for not forgetting the message and for not allowing Haiti’s situation to be forgotten”. “The vulnerable situation of the country must be made known. Haiti suffered a natural catastrophe which has led the country to an even more complicated situation. We hope that if we show a positive image of these projects we will not forget Haiti and the country will be able to keep going forward”, said Bartolet to CNA.

The 12 January 2010 earthquake led to the loss of 220,000 Haitian lives while a further 2,500,000 people are missing. The charity donations made by thousands of people through NGOs and other entities, in some of which “la Caixa” bank participates, defied all expectations and allowed the NGOs to get their projects started.

One of the most powerful areas of the exhibition is the one dedicated to the photography of Emilio Morenatti and Marta Ramoneda and the documentaries by Oriol Gispert. Both photographers were to attend the presentation of the exhibition, but could not because they were “trapped” in Libya, where there were working as photojournalists.