“It was a Close Protection Officer...who heard me. Had I not decided to knock exactly at that point in time, they would have repaired the backhoe [and] started to dig. They would’ve destabilised the area over which I was lying and I would not be sitting here today.”

 

It’s been over ten years since Senior Civil Affairs Officer, Jens Kristensen found himself trapped in the earthquake that hit Haiti’s Hotel Christopher. Jens recounts his harrowing experience of being confined in a dark coffin-like space for five days with no water or drink, not knowing when, or if, he would be rescued. He also explains his remarkable decision to return to work after just two days following the rescue knowing that “mentally and physically I was capable and still able to help.”

 

“It was a terrible, terrible disaster for the UN. For Haiti. For the world...I think that finding me as a survivor gave people hope. It was a light in the darkness. People were there. People were cheering. It was a new birthday.”