Your audience must be reminded again of Haiti’s exceptional poverty. Haiti is ‘the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.’ If protesters are beaten, gassed, or shot at by UN peacekeepers, they probably deserved it for getting out of control. Do not mention large empty plots of green land around the city. Don’t explain that occupying US Marines forcibly initiated Haiti’s shift from distributed, rural growth to centralized governance in the capital city. Don’t mention 35 years of US support for that dictatorship. Don’t back up any negative claims with evidence.
You haven’t seen them calmly dividing food amongst themselves, even though it’s common practice. Don’t talk to the youth of Cite Soleil about how proud they are of where they come from. There is no need to bring politics into your story. Child Slaves in Haiti but don’t talk about enslaved Haitian farmworkers in southern Florida, US.
Don’t name names of individuals or groups who are performing poorly. Don’t investigate why NGOs are failing to effect progress in Haiti. Do not explore Haitian-led alternatives to foreign development schemes. Don’t do any reporting that could change the system.
Never mind that Clinton admitted to destroying Haiti’s domestic rice economy in the ’90s. Never mind that Jean’s organization has repeatedly mismanaged relief funds. They’re Haiti’s only hope for the future.
Original article found: MediaHacker.org
