Forced Evictions in Haiti Provide Lessons for Young Journalists

By: Kathie Klarreich | 07/12/2011

On the grounds of the university established by former President Jean Bertrand Aristide in Tabarre, a community just a few miles north east of the capital, some 400 families are about to be displaced. Aristide is reclaiming his property, including dormitories where some residents are squatting, so that he can reopen his school. To facilitate the move, he’s purchased a plot of land and ACTED, a French non-governmental organization, is constructing transitional shelters.

On Sunday, some 36 hours before the forced evictions, I accompanied a group from Haiti Reporters to the campsite. Haiti Reporters is a program started by a Dutch documentary filmmaker who, with funding from a few Dutch non-governmental organizations, teaches young Haitian journalists how to put together web documentaries. As part of that, they also learn how to operate a camera, edit and manipulate sound and images, add subtitles, and make smart business decisions. A fabulous and free program for aspiring young journalists.

I recently began partnering with some of Haiti Reporters’ students on an investigation involving undocumented citizens. I went along with them on Sunday because the director had to fly to the States for a medical emergency. At 10 a.m. sharp, his reporters -- all volunteers -- gathered at their headquarters to prepare their gear. They had been hired by the International Office of Migration (IOM) to produce an evening of education and information in anticipation of the camp closure. Haiti Reporters’ role, besides the technical set up and execution, included a presentation of their work and on-the-spot interviews that they were going to tape that afternoon.

When we arrived at the camp the sun was directly overhead, the heat relentless even in the shade under the main tent that we used as our headquarters. As is often the case when a camera is around, people flocked towards us, somewhat skeptical and suspicious until they realized that they could voice their opinions and concerns about the upcoming displacement. We had far more people wanting to talk than we had time to tape.

For those squatting in the dormitories, the move held little appeal, and understandably so. These people have been living in secure buildings with electricity for more than a year without paying rent. As of July 12 they would be in one–room, hardboard-sided homes without electricity. For the tent residents on the property who were camped out on a dusty field across from those in the dorms, the concern was more about the isolation of the new tent camp. The new camp is about a half hour’s drive from Tabarre in Croix-des-Bouquets, on a road that lacks public transportation, commerce, schools and medical facilities. Even more worrisome: The homes are not finished, nor are the toilets, which will be environmentally friendly. And there are currently no shower facilities.

The HR crew seemed at home in the field and with their equipment, even though until three months ago most had never touched a camera or a microphone or done editing. They showed a real sense of maturity when choosing which interviews to include when the editing process began. They felt an obligation to portray the situation fairly and not serve as cheerleaders for the International Office of Migration, whose agenda was, bottom line, to encourage people to go peacefully on Tuesday as the camp was going to shut down one way or another.

This gave me an opportunity to talk about the role of a journalist and how different it is from the role of a communications officer from an NGO, where many former journalists have gone because of more lucrative working conditions. I pointed out that as soon as a ‘journalist’ is employed by the United Nations, or a government ministry, or an NGO, they are no longer a ‘journalist.’ It was, I think, the first time they thought about the distinction, and it served them well in preparing their portion of the program. When their part was done, they made sure the public knew that the rest of the evening was being handled by IOM. They wanted to keep their impartiality separate and distinct, and they did it with aplomb and finesse.

When we packed up, nearly 10 hours after we arrived, they were still discussing the ethics of the day. I hope this discussion continues. Although this particular program was not directly related to investigative journalism, I felt it was time well spent. Not all investigative journalism is about an actual investigation. There’s a moral and ethical component that factors in, and an evening such as this was the perfect place to begin raising such awareness.

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