Haiti's Hotzone
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- lauraling
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- groups:
- News and Politics, On Current TV, Intro, Outro, 7 more
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- tags:
- News and Politics, On Current TV, Intro, Outro, 7 more
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- credits:
- lauraling Starring, lauraling Correspondent, JD_Buffalo Editor
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tchang
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One of the constant concerns of being in Haiti and working as journalists there was the possibility of being kidnapped. We were told that the hotel we stayed in was the nicest most secure one in Port-au-Prince. But just a month prior to our arrival, the owner of the hotel had been kidnapped. These were averaging 30 a week and had been aptly labeled "express kidnappings." Basically, local gangs would target individuals whose families were wealthy enough to deliver a ransom quickly--as fast as a couple of hours. Luck was on our side but I think all three of us were constantly watching each others' backs the whole trip.
- 4 years ago
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tchang
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MitchKoss
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Laura, Tracey Chang and I went to Haiti in September of 2005, around the peak of instability there. We covered different aspects of the crisis, such as food relief. But we also wanted to show why the United Nations had sent thousands of troops to restore order. In Port-au-Prince, there was one large neighborhood, of several hundred thousand people, called Cite de Soleil, where the UN soldiers had not restored order--they had one small outpost, but otherwise it was a violent no-man's land--so violent, the UN wouldn't take us in. On a Thursday night, we were at a dinner party for journalists and some rich Haitians at the apartment of a guy from Reuters... After dinner, it was suggested that we go out to a bar. The Haitian guy who offered to drive us picked up first his car keys, and then a 9mm. He drove like a wild man, because he'd evaded kidnappers twice that year already. But when we got to the bar it was mellow, thanks to the armed guards out front. I was mainly there drinking beer, but, Laura, it turns out, was still working. At the end of the evening, she informed us that Alfred, the guy she'd been talking to, agreed to take us into Cite de Soleil the next morning, if we didn't mention the wire service that he worked for... We decided to leave Tracey behind, so someone could call UN if we didn't come back out in a timely fashion... In the morning, Laura informed me that she hadn't slept so good due to nervousness... As you see from the piece, I waited to get really scared until we were driving in...
- 4 years ago
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MitchKoss
