Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Seattle Times Pictures of the Year 2010

Jan. 22: Enette Dumerin holds her 3-year-old twins, Carlebre (left) and Jeff Dumerin, in a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft about to take off Jan. 17 from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, headed for the United States. More than 180 evacuees were transported in the aircraft five days after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated their homeland. The evacuees had ties to the U.S., either through citizenship or residency. "A small group of Northwest journalists, including reporter Hal Bernton and me, accompanied an Air Force humanitarian mission that departed from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, picked up soldiers and supplies in Virginia, then landed for a few hours to rescue the evacuees. On the tarmac, we saw hundreds of people who were sick, injured and exhausted. Almost a year later, it's distressing to see that life hasn't gotten better for Haiti's citizens. People are sleeping in crowded refugee camps, living with their infrastructure in shambles and struggling with cholera. I saw firsthand that Americans can make a difference in Haiti. Reflecting on this assignment has reminded me that we, I, can do more." - Erika Schultz