Photo by Luis Hidalgo ©

Article By Dora Leticia / Photos by Luis Hidalgo, Mauricio Vergara Seguel and Heia Kato

A special thanks to the Chilean photographers whose efforts to document this catastrophe and struggle help communicate what is going on in Chile, before and after the quake.

View more works from these photographers by clicking on their names here:

• Luis Hidalgo
• Heia Kato
• Mauricio Vergara

Earthquake in Chile: Chilean Photographers Communicate Through Their Work by Dora Leticia

On February 27, 2010, at 3:34 am local time, a massive earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 struck Chile.  In the wake of this devastating destruction many struggled to reach their loved ones.

It is still difficult to get through to cell phones and land based lines and after the initial reaction of the international community, media coverage (TV) has been scarce in comparison to recent natural disasters.

Photo by Luis Hidalgo ©

Photo by Luis Hidalgo ©

Chilean authorities have confirmed over 700 people dead and countless more missing.  This number is expected to climb, but, with the news that comes out, mostly over the internet, the picture painted is much grimmer than has been reported on major TV networks.

For many, the internet and social networks continues to be the only line of communication and websites like www.ustream.tv/channel/tv-de-chile make it easier to stay informed with the current situation in Chile because of it’s detailed and expansive local Chilean news coverage. 

Photos by Luis Hidalgo ©

In the day that followed the catastrophic quake, international media TV coverage dwindled and was reduced to a scrolling bar under regularly scheduled programs with sporadic updates here and there, leaving many frustrated.

How can this be when other recent natural disasters consumed local and international TV networks for weeks?

It makes one wonder – What are they waiting for?! Perhaps everyone is on hold until Chilean authorities publicly accept international help?  How long is a catastrophic event newsworthy?

Society teaches us that even if someone does not ask for help, but, could obviously use it, we don’t just stand idly by.  So, why doesn’t this apply here?

Photos by Luis Hidalgo ©

In the face of such a catastrophe, we must not forget that human beings are one race, and how we help each other as human beings, despite our place in this world, makes all the difference.

There are thousands of Chileans living outside of Chile, and as many scramble to learn about their loved ones, the details of International Aid and why Chile has taken so long to respond to the offers made from abroad leave many confused and bewildered.

Chile is a wonderful self-sustaining country and from what I personally know of Chileans, they do not want to be considered a Third World unprepared country.  Chileans are wonderful, proud and strong people.

However, considering the large task at hand and the immediate need for food, water and shelter…something seems amiss.  What is really going on?

Photos by Mauricio Vergara Seguel ©

In the end, people just want to know about their loved ones, they want to be able to care for themselves. Money is not the issue here.

As observed on UStream Live Video coverage, one Chilean woman screamed, “We have money! We want to buy food, water…”,  however, with fears that grocery stores can collapse causing further deaths, something as simple as shopping for food becomes the situation that is starting to unfold in front of us and leads to looting and other desperate acts.

In the future, social media networks and websites with live video streams may replace all major news channels as the first thing we look to when looking for current and up to date news.

Twitter and Facebook have proven to be not only social networks, but, vital communication tools.

As a matter of fact, the first news that my own family was doing okay came from a Facebook instant message that popped up on my screen as I scrambled to hear news, from anywhere, anyone.

Signs of life came through Facebook!

The epicenter of Saturday’s earthquake was just a few miles north of the largest earthquake ever recorded in the world.  This earthquake occurred on May 22, 1960, it was a magnitude 9.5 and killed 1,655 people.

Wherever you happen to be the next time an earthquake hits, be sure to take your smart phone with you – a WiFi internet signal may be your only life line.

Note: If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to submit them to info@lensethics.com.

If anyone would like to submit photographs for consideration, please email them to doraleticia@lensethics.com.

ABOUT THE EARTHQUAKE (From the U.S. Geological Survey)

Magnitude: 8.8
Date-Time: Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 03:34:14 AM (at epicenter); Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones (Click Here)
Location: 35.846°S, 72.719°W
Depth: 35 km (21.7 miles) set by location program
Region: OFFSHORE MAULE, CHILE
Distances: 100 km (60 miles) NNW of Chillan, Chile / 105 km (65 miles) WSW of Talca, Chile / 115 km (70 miles) NNE of Concepcion, Chile / 325 km (200 miles) SW of SANTIAGO, Chile
Location Uncertainty: horizontal +/- 7.2 km (4.5 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters: NST=255, Nph=255, Dmin=988 km, Rmss=1.12 sec, Gp= 36°, M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=7
Source: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID: us2010tfan

The following series of photographs are by Heia Kato ©,  a freelance photographer located in Chile.

EARTHQUAKE SUMMARY

Tectonic Summary

“This earthquake occurred at the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates. The two plates are converging at a rate of 80 mm per year. The earthquake occurred as thrust-faulting on the interface between the two plates, with the Nazca plate moving down and landward below the South American plate.

Coastal Chile has a history of very large earthquakes. Since 1973, there have been 13 events of magnitude 7.0 or greater. The February 27 shock originated about 230 km north of the source region of the magnitude 9.5 earthquake of May, 1960 – the largest earthquake worldwide in the last 200 years or more. This giant earthquake spawned a tsunami that engulfed the Pacific Ocean. An estimated 1600 lives were lost to the 1960 earthquake and tsunami in Chile, and the 1960 tsunami took another 200 lives among Japan, Hawaii, and the Philippines. Approximately 870 km to the north of the February 27 earthquake is the source region of the magnitude 8.5 earthquake of November, 1922. This great quake significantly impacted central Chile, killing several hundred people and causing severe property damage. The 1922 quake generated a 9-meter local tsunami that inundated the Chile coast near the town of Coquimbo; the tsunami also crossed the Pacific, washing away boats in Hilo harbor, Hawaii. The magnitude 8.8 earthquake of February 27, 2010 ruptured the portion of the South American subduction zone separating these two massive historical earthquakes. A large vigorous aftershock sequence can be expected from this earthquake.”

HISTORIC EARTHQUAKES IN CHILE

• 1730 07 08 – Valparasio, Chile – M 8.7
• 1835 02 20 – Concepcion, Chile – M 8.2 Fatalities 500
• 1868 08 13 – Arica, Peru (now Chile) – M 9.0 Fatalities 25,000
• 1877 05 10 – Offshore Tarapaca, Chile – M 8.3 Fatalities 34
• 1906 08 17 – Valparaiso, Chile – M 8.2 Fatalities 3,882
• 1922 11 11 – Chile-Argentina Border – M 8.5
• 1928 12 01 – Talca, Chile – M 7.6 Fatalities 225
• 1939 01 25 – Chillan, Chile – M 7.8 Fatalities 28,000
• 1943 04 06 – Illapel – Salamanca, Chile – M 8.2 Fatalities 25
• 1960 05 21 – Arauco Peninsula, Chile – M 7.9
• 1960 05 22 – Chile – M 9.5 Fatalities 1,655
• 1965 02 23 – Taltal, Chile – M 7.0 Fatalities 1
• 1965 03 28 – La Ligua, Chile – M 7.4 Fatalities 400
• 1971 07 09 – Valparaiso region, Chile – M 7.5 Fatalities 90
• 1985 03 03 – offshore Valparaiso, Chile – M 7.8 Fatalities 177
• 1998 01 30 – Near Coast of Northern Chile – M 7.1
• 2002 06 18 – Chile-Argentina Border Region – M 6.6
• 2003 06 20 – Near the Coast of Central Chile – M 6.8
• 2004 05 03 – Bio-Bio, Chile – M 6.6
• 2005 06 13 – Tarapaca, Chile – M 7.8 Fatalities 11
• 2007 11 14 – Antofagasta, Chile – M 7.7 Fatalities 2
• 2007 12 16 – Antofagasta, Chile – M 6.7
• 2008 02 04 – Tarapaca, Chile – M 6.3
• 2009 11 13 – Offshore Tarapaca, Chile – M 6.5

Email: mauriciovergara@vtr.net

Mauricio is a Chilean Freelance Photographer who documents life in Chile.  These photographs were taken in Santiago, Chile and Southern Chile before the earthquake.

Send Mauricio your comments using the comment box at the bottom of the page.

© UNICEF Sierra Leone/2009/Davies

(Above) Fatmata Shaw, 13, is one of the beneficiaries of the UNICEF-supported Children’s Forum Network photography workshop in Sierra Leone. Children pose during the photography workshop in Sierra Leone.

By Issa Davies

In the run-up to 20 November 2009, the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF is featuring a series of stories about this landmark international agreement on the basic human rights of all children – including progress made and challenges that remain. Here is one of those stories.

KABALA, Sierra Leone, 18 November 2009 – Until a few months ago, Fatmata Shaw, 13, had never used a camera or a computer. But after training with a professional photographer, she wants to use her newfound skills to help her peers in the community.

“With the level of illiteracy in our communities, pictures can tell the story much better than words,” Fatmata said. “With my camera, I hope to be able to better advocate on issues affecting children in my community, especially child labour.”

Fatmata is an active member of the Children’s Forum Network (CFN) a group that was established to advocate for children’s rights, protection and participation in Sierra Leone. Along with 70 other young members, Fatama received basic photography training from renowned Italian photographer Luca Babini.

“I joined the CFN so that I can also contribute to the efforts of my colleagues to change the negative attitudes and behaviour of our communities towards children,” she said.

A right of all children

Through the Italian National Committee for UNICEF, Mr. Babini donated 15 digital cameras to CFN last year. He later travelled to Sierra Leone and offered training in basic photography skills to children in the network. Mr. Babini also facilitated the donation of 10 laptop computers to the CFN from a philanthropist in the United Kingdom.

The training workshops fulfilled a basic right enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child: the right to expression.

“Before now, I have neither touched a camera nor operated a computer,” Fatmata said. “But with this training, I have not only learned how to take good photographs but also how to upload them in the computer and do basic editing.”

And Fatmata wants to affect change by passing on her knowledge to other children – in the hope that they, in turn, will do the same.

‘This training has changed my life’

In Sierra Leone, cameras and computers are luxury for children, especially those living in rural areas. Access to the Internet is limited to the capital and provincial towns.

As a result of these trainings, UNICEF – in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs – is producing a photography booklet consisting of pictures taken by CFN members. The booklet will express the views of children on an array of social issues, such as education, child labour and early marriage.

UNICEF is also supporting a children’s radio project called ‘The Voice of Children’ and a children’s newspaper called ‘Pikin News’, or ‘Children’s News’, written exclusively by children on issues that affect their lives.

“Given the opportunity, we can also make a difference, as our skills and potentials will be further realized,” Fatmata said. “This training has changed my life.”

© UNICEF 2009

From Doctors Without Borders

“Haiti: MSF Treats More Than 1,000 Patients; Inflatable Hospital on the Way”
January 14, 2010

“Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical teams in Port-au-Prince are treating large numbers of people who suffered fractures, head injuries and other major trauma during and after the January 12 earthquake.” Visit the Doctors Without Borders Website to find out how to help >>>>>

You can help by spreading the word! Doctors With Borders has a Donate Button (see below) that you can embed and share with others.

Click the Donate Button to go to www.DoctorsWithoutBorders.com and find out how.

Other Related Videos

Esquire Magazine named genocide scholar Samantha Power one of the most influential people of the 21st century – citing her critical involvement in the Save Darfur movement and a 2003 Pulitzer prize for her book A Problem from Hell.

What Norman Podhoretz is to the neocon movement Power is to this as-yet-unnamed force. (Neo-internationalism? Moral interventionism? Machiavellian idealism?) She espouses talks–firm talks–with rogue states, a respect for internation-al law, and a moral and pragmatic duty to intervene–with troops if necessary–in cases of genocide.

Read the full story here

This is Great News ! – Dora Leticia

Dan Morrison for National Geographic News

Deep in the hinterlands of the Republic of the Congo lies a secret ape paradise that is home to 125,000 western lowland gorillas, researchers announced today.

The findings, if confirmed, would more than double the world’s estimated population of gorillas…

Click Here to read the entire report on National Geographic’s website….