Buildings damaged in Port-au-Prince after a magnitude 7 earthquake in Haiti © Wikipedia Commons, 2010
On 12 January 2010, a magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck Haiti causing the death of thousands of civilians and injuring many others. Millions of individuals were forced to abandon their homes and villages to move to internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.
This catastrophic event not only deprived people of their families and houses but also jeopardised the survival of people’s cultural heritage. In the attempt to preserve and recover what was left, Blue Shield International organised a mission to Haiti to help its Haitian colleagues in building a treatment centre of damaged cultural property. Two experts, Danielle Mincio (IFLA) and Christophe Jacobs (ICA and ANCBS) were sent to collect information. During the mission, assessments were also completed to quantify the number of collections affected and the types of treatments which were on offer in the centre.
A report about the situation encountered in Haiti and suggestions for the creation of a treatment centre was produced at the end of the mission.