During the street-fighting and mayhem that often erupted in Port-au-Prince in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Eddy Alcindor was a street-wise photographer who always knew when to shoot, when to duck, and when to run.

More than once, he guided me down alleys or into a downtown shop to avoid tear-gas, rocks, or bullets. Along with the late Thony Bélizaire, he was one of the principal photographers of the newsweekly Haïti Progrès in that tumultuous period, shooting hundreds of photographs, many developed in his small photo studio in Carrefour Feuilles.

On Tue., May 26, as he returned to his home in Lilavois 52, a northern Port-au-Prince suburb, Eddy was shot dead by bandits. It was an ironic and unfitting end for a valiant journalist who had cheated death so many times while pursuing his passion and metier.

In addition to photographing for Haïti Progrès, Eddy, 58, also shot for Ecclesia, the newspaper of Haiti’s Episcopal Church.

For all his courage, Eddy was a gentle soul, always smiling and modest. Although not a militant in any political party or mass organization, he was deeply politically progressive and followed the news closely.

“I know things are difficult, but encourage everyone at Haïti Liberté to keep up their work to keep publishing the paper every week,” he told a member of the Haïti Liberté team last month. “It is the only people’s media we have left.”

Eddy leaves behind his wife, Yolène, and his two daughters, Yoldie and Jeannie, one a psychologist, the other a doctor.

Eddy Alcindor’s funeral was held at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity on Jun. 2, and he  was buried in the Port-Au-Prince cemetery.