Michele Montas, the Haitian journalist and former spokeswoman for U.N. Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon, has experienced a harrowing time in aftermath of the Haitian earthquake. “Haiti appears to be on doomsday,” said Montas, who said she has been shaken by the number of dead and wounded on the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Her own home suffered only minor damage, Montas said, adding that that she intends to stay in Haiti for a prolonged period to help her country through the crisis.
• How to help
The challenges are enormous, Montas said in an interview with CPJ. The smell of bodies decomposing under the rubble has filled the air, she said. Survivors are in distress, she noted, as they live in a context in which everything—hope and life itself—must be rebuilt. Haiti needs immense international solidarity and support to overcome the disaster, Montas said, describing, in a voice punctuated by anguish, a country she can no longer recognize.
![Montas (AP)](https://cpj.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Montas1.01.25.10.jpg)
Jean Roland Chery is a former Haitian journalist now living in the United States. He is working with CPJ as a consultant for our relief efforts in response to the Haitian earthquake.
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