Port-au-Prince: The Moment

Mischa Berlinski explained his experience, “Faces in the days to come would reveal weariness, despair, misery, grief, and very often joy. But everywhere I went on that first day after the quake, I saw a facial expression I had never before seen”(11). Mischa, his wife and child Leo were working in Port-au-Prince Haiti in 2010 during the earthquake that changed the lives of many. Mischa and his family moved to Haiti in 2007 when his wife got a job with MINUSTAH. He was alone when the earthquake hit. His family’s safety was the first thing to come into his mind. Once Mischa found his family safely, the other people they met in Haiti came to mind. Fortunately, for Mischa and his family, their property was not badly damaged; but this was not the case for many others. Much of Port-au-Prince’s buildings were not structurally sound and suffered great damage during the quake. Mischa went to observe the damage caused by the quake. He saw the crowds of people trying to seek safety with expressions of despair on their faces. The quake made new sights for Mischa as many buildings collapsed to one story, crushing people and leaving their bloody corpses insight.

Mischa Berlinski wrote this essay to inform the reader about his experience during the earthquake in Haiti. He was fortunate to survive and felt the importance to share his experience. Mishca did a great job achieving his purpose because his style helps the reader understand what Mischa experienced during the quake because he shared the different emotions that he felt during the event. Due to his connection with the New York Times and experience as a novelist, his story was able to get out on such a great scale. Mishca did an excellent job portraying his experience during the earthquake in Haiti to his audience.

Hotel Montana

Bruce Ely/The Oregonian
The picture shows the crumbled Hotel Montana that Mischa visited the day of the quake.