Report on « Enfomasyon Nou Dwe Konnen » (ENDK)

Ralph, Mc Haendel and the other journalists of the newsroom all agree: their work has never been so interesting, useful and necessary. They work for the radio programme « Enfomasyon Nou Dwe Konnen » (ENDK), that literally means “ Information we must know”. This programme was set up in the emergency phase by Internews on 21 January 2010, that is 9 days after the catastrophe. Internews and their team of journalists set their mission to provide specific emergency information to disaster victims: open hospitals, distribution of food, and so on.

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Philippe Allouard, director of Internews Haïti, and Guillaume Michel, in charge of training of journalists, tell us how the programme started and then evolved:

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Philippe Allouard and Guillaume Michel – Internews Haiti (in French – English coming soon)

Around a dozen journalists work daily in the editing team. They all are in their early twenties, and many of them have just come out of University. The day starts at 8am with the editorial meeting, which is highly participative: the young journalists exchange views, help and even criticism with one another. Today, many months after the catastrophe, the programme has evolved and magazine-style reports take a larger share. The questions and worries of the population have changed, too: problems related to reconstruction and its issues are now the predominant subjects.

As Mc Haendel sets off for his reporting task on the ground, he only needs to mention the name of the programme: ENDK is nowadays very popular. Haitians and particularly those displaced in the camps feel themselves quite close to, and concerned by, these information. Traditionally in Haiti, journalists tended to be more focused on the political life and little on social issues. Internews has therefore opened a new path of journalism now attracting several radios and young journalists. The organization also proposes free one-week training courses, open to everybody. There is real enthusiasm there, full training rooms and more demand than it can be met. (Sebastien, journalist at RFI, will soon give his own testimony of the atmosphere in which such training takes place).

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ENDK’s Chief Editor, Yvens Rumbold, explains the impact of this programme on the daily life of Haitians and on journalism in general :

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Yvens Rumbold, Chief Editor – ENDK (in French, English coming soon)

Another reason that explains the popularity of this programme is clearly its extended reach: ENDK benefits from a network of more than 30 local radio stations. The programme is recorded on CD, and then it is distributed to all these stations. The radios then broadcast it for free, appreciating its quality and relevance.

Radio Boukman’s young team aims to show a different angle of Cité Soleil. “There are positive initiatives too” says Lesly, programme director, “and we are the evidence of that”. Radio Boukman is the voice of the voiceless and it considers its duty to inform the population, largely deprived of any means, about how to face their daily problems. With this mission in mind, the radio just launched a new programme, called “prevention is better than cure”. The programme provides warnings and advice on how to avoid the disastrous effects that a hurricane could have, if it hit the tent camps of Haiti. This is now regarded as the most serious risk in Haiti at present, but very little action has been taken so far to warn the population.

The radio programme achieves its goal through a mix of different elements. First, an update of the most immediate hurricane threats is given. This is followed by a vox pop to check people’s level of awareness on this matter (knowledge of the different alert codes e.g. green, orange, and red alerts). Finally, a comedy sketch reinstates the safety instructions. Once more, this shows that in Haiti information must be simple and direct for it to be effective.

It comes as a shock to learn that Radio Boukman are still looking for funding for this vital programme, particularly necessary in the context of troubled Cité Soleil, which houses between 200,000 and 400,000 people. No international organization has come in aid, with the exception of IOM (International Office for Migration) who are now running a pilot programme to promote it in some camps. Over one million people are at risk today. Radio Boukman is trying to avoid more deaths than those caused by the earthquake.

In this video, we meet Radio Boukman’s exceptional team to learn about the profound sense of belonging to Cité Soleil’s community :

Joachin Jorel, the director of Radio Boukman, explained to us the origin of the radio’s name. Boukman was a well-known voodoo priest who instigated the slaves’ rebellion. In the night of 14 August, 1791, Dutty Boukman celebrated a voodoo ceremony. A black pig was sacrificed. Everybody drank its blood, which supposedly made them invulnerable. Boukman then ordered the general uprising, and although he died in battle, the slaves went on to build the first black republic of the world.

In Haiti, gender-based violence was common already before the 12 January. The earthquake has made things worse: lack of security in the thousands of tent camps scattered in the capital city, and an increased incidence of abuse crimes. We recently documented some touching stories in our Solidar’IT report “Women: the box of grief”. We could say that Ayiti SMS SOS too has a box of grief that contains SMS messages instead of anonymous, handwritten letters, but the two methods stem from the same wish to fight gender-based violence, human trafficking and other crimes against the most vulnerable.

Sofonie is 25 years old and well determined to break the silence about these abuses. She fled the camp where she was relocated after his house was damaged for fear of being raped, and she was also ousted from her own district as men didn’t like her social activism and participation in the distribution of aid. We had the privilege to meet Sofie in Port-au-Prince, listen to her story of courage and determination, and better understand the reasons behind her involvement in Ayiti SMS SOS.

This case would have probably gone unreported without Ayiti SMS SOS, as victims are often afraid, or sensitive about speaking out, or they do not have any channel to voice what happened. Instead, through the platform the message can be responded to. Sofonie explained that she has been talking to victims to reassure them. Even just having the possibility to talk to somebody about the violence is very beneficial for the victim. The most critical cases are also referred to the police or other NGO, which can intervene on the terrain. This allows different reports to be produced, and the tracking of each individual abuse case.

Speaking out is key to stop these types of violence, often hidden inside the four walls where a family lives. Or inside a camp. The “Tree of Violence” is a fascinating representation of the problem, easily understood by everybody. In the audio that follows, Aashika Damodar, founder of Survivors Connect, the organisation that created the program, describes why the tree grows, and why it must be cut right at its roots.

One of the crimes recorded by Ayiti SMS SOS is the plague of restavek (“stay with” in Creole): restaveks are children sold as servants, which in fact become invisible to the society, losing all rights and often abused by their new “owner”. A recent shocking report by Dan Harris for ABC News well illustrates this modern-day form of slavery.

In this interview, Aashika explains how these human rights crimes can be fought in Haiti, through awareness campaigns, training, and the use of crowdsourcing and SMS platforms.

Ayiti SMS SOS is based on the Ushahidi crowdsourcing platform and the Frontline SMS functionality. Crowdsourcing means sourcing information “through the crowds”, that is through spontaneous messages that can arrive through several channels, for example phone calls, SMS, or via internet. More importantly, Ushahidi provides this mapping functionality that is so important in situations of emergency, or as in the case of Ayiti SMS SOS, information that needs to be tracked precisely. Ushahidi is an open-source platform, so available to everybody, and it can be readapted to cater for virtually any case where crowdsourcing is important.

As Survivors Connect did, for a new long-term mission that we hope will create much needed relief to the women of Haiti.

Everywhere in Port-au-Prince, small makeshift shelters are packed one against the other. Most of these camps have forced people that did not know each other to live a harsh life together. Seven months after the earthquake these shelters and way of existence have become routine, complete with temporary markets and street life. But a multitude of problems are hiding behind it and this is what Madame Lamercie’s GBV programme is endeavouring to vocalise.

Near the entrance of Camp Acra in Delmas 30, a wooden readymade shelter welcomes women every day to the GBV’s workshops in sewing, cosmetics and painting. Launched by Madame Lamercie and aided by a small team, they use these workshops to encourage women to share their experiences and problems. She explained to us that many women in the camps are in unsafe situations and several of them have been subject to violence and abuse. Her objective is to find solution, one by one, to resolve some of the problems.

The workshops are designed to encourage communication, yet several women find it hard to express their feelings openly so a box sits in the middle of the room. Mme Lamercie encourages women to write and submit their experiences anonymously so they can be addressed.

Every Friday at 11am, she opens the “box of grief” and reads out all messages to the group. The atmosphere gets rather tense, and face expressions reveal the concealed anguish. Small weeps and moans are heard during the reading of these terrible stories. In the audio portfolio that follows, everybody can listen to the stories and share in this hard but necessary moment of revelation.

As it often happens in Haiti, all activities end in music and cheerfulness. And just like a therapy, once these women have found the strength to speak out and listen to each other’s stories, joy and laughs burst out more vigorously than ever.

“Rigolo Thérapie” (“Comedy Therapy” in English) is a daily live programme on Caraïbes FM, the leading radio in Port-au-Prince. Its mission is simple: help the population forget the difficulties of life, heal their wounds, and turn the page by giving them some moments of hilarity.

Results are outstanding: Rigolo Thérapie, which is in Creole, enjoys the highest share in Haiti right now. The programme has been on since 2004. That year coincided with another difficult moment in Haiti, when Aristide’s government was topped, a period of unrest followed, and people were afraid of leaving their homes. That is when Marc Anderson Brégard and Peterson François junior (“PJ”) had the idea to create a program to give people some relief from the daily stress. They summoned some of the best comedians, joke tellers and imitators in the country, such as Maxime Clerger “Congo”, Smith Egalité and others. Rigolo Thérapie was born.

Smith Egalité is a talent who is regularly on the show. His trademark is the impersonation of a young street boy from Cité Soleil, an area of Port-au-Prince with serious problems of crime and difficult life conditions. Here he presents himself… and his younger double! *

Maxime Clerger (“Congo”) is the most famous impersonator in Haiti, with a 20-year-long career during which he has provided imitations of virtually any politician in the country. The current situation, with the debates on responsibilities, use of aid money and the upcoming elections, is a perfect setting for his sketches. Here Congo explains how amusement is working as a humour therapy for the people.

* (we deliberately left the original voice in Creole for the central part of the audio to let you savour Smith’s voice as a young street boy). Here’s what he says: “Good evening to all, my name is Egalité, I was born in the Dominican Republic, I have two children, although that may sound to you a bit strange…. I am a professional comedian, and I sing a little bit. I do theatre, here as well as in France, I am a character who is a bit lyric, comic, pacific and… leave me alone!”

On the 12 January 2010, thousands of children witnessed unimaginable scenes, that no kid of that age could possibly comprehend. Traumatised and then displaced to temporary camps, it is difficult for them to get over their hidden traumas without external help.

The First Lady of the country, Mme Préval, with the support of a group of Haitian artists, and especially the painter and sculptor Philippe Dodard, set up in February a project named “Plas Timoun“, which means “children’s square” in analogy with the public squares which have been turned into huge camps.

The concept of this project lies on art therapy and a socio-cultural programme that allows the children to express what they have lived during and after the catastrophe. Different art workshops, set up inside buses and assisted by local artists and counselors, encourage children to express their feelings while playing. The director of the Plas Timoun centre in Petion-Ville explained to us that many of them were closed off from the world and that after the opening of the centre considerable progress has been noticed. There are currently two centres in Port-au-Prince: one in Champs de Mars (next to the presidential palace) and the other one in Petion-Ville. A third centre is about to be opened.

In the video report that follows, you will learn about the activities at Plas Timoun in Petion-Ville, and the effect on the children who attend it. This centre has received about 1200 children since its opening on the 24 February.

Michaëlle Léger, the centre’s director, is concerned about the future of this project. What will happen after the elections and the change of president in November? At the moment, this centre is the only alternative for all those children which cannot attend school and have no activities in the camp where they live. In fact, the school system in Haiti is too expensive for the majority of parents, which are forced to go to work leaving their kids alone all day at the camp.

Will the new government take its responsibilities and look after these children in the camps, who are marked forever and currently do not have any perspective of improvement of their conditions?

The Koute Ayiti (Listen to Haiti) caravan was created to travel to the different provinces affected by the earthquake. Aid is mainly concentrated in Port-au-Prince, and for this reason several international organizations (CDAC, the Red Cross, Oxfam, UNICEF,…), supported by the Haitian government, have put in place this itinerant project, so that no area is left out.

The caravan has toured the country from 12 July to 6 August with the goal to spread vital messages and information to support reconstruction and development. Koute Ayiti has been staged by a very experienced company named “Konesans Fanmi se Lepwa Timoun” (Family Knowledge is Children’s Hope). This theatre company has been around for many years and has repeatedly reached all corners of the country. It’s made up of teams of social workers and doctors who then provide the HIV test to whoever requests it.

The caravan concept is twofold: the day starts with a public debate, where population, government and humanitarian operators meet and discuss serious issues. Then, a show including dances, songs and comedy sketches takes over to entertain the audience. This show, as main goal, reiterates important information while entertaining. Topics covered include AIDS prevention, alcohol, family violence, etc.

This edition of the caravan project ended in Port-au-Prince, on the famous square of Champs de Mars, which has been turned into a huge tent camp right opposite the Presidential Palace. It is here that we met with them, on 6 August. All sketches are in Creole and evoke all the topics mentioned above. It should also be noted that the presenter has a crucial role: actually, after the sketch, he resumes the issues which were covered and interacts with the audience to ensure that the message gets across and is well understood by everybody!

A very good initiative, where laughs and education mix together… to be discovered here:

(We will soon translate sketches from Creole to allow a better understanding the nature of the messages. So we invite you to watch this space from time to time… and we will also inform you via our facebook page)

Besides this problem, from a more human point of view, many Haitians struggle to get over their grief. Several bodies are still under what is left of the buildings, over six months after the earthquake. This is the reason why the “Memorial for the victims of 12 January” Committe was created. Its members propose the construction of a national monument, so that all Haitians can come to a single place to mourn their lost ones.

Marie-Louise Augustin, president of the Committee, has explained during a meeting to which some twenty members, representatives of different sectors of the society, participated, that several local initiatives have been started, but these would not allow a common gathering of the population.

According to her, a national monument is essential. It will also be a reminder to the next generations that the earth quakes and precautionary measures need to be taken. She likes to repeat that traditional roofing of Haitian houses was typically light, in most cases made of corrugated metal sheets. But then people built concrete structures to avoid the problems caused by winds and hurricanes, without taking into account the seismic risk. This memorial will ensure that memory is kept for as long as possible in the future.

Here below you can hear some of the views shared in the meeting:

Philippe Dodard, a renowned Haitian painter, is advisor to the First Lady (Mme Préval). He attended this meeting and he shared his thoughts about the importance of such a landmark for the country:

Musique (Interview) by Antoine Chevallier (Postillon) => Myspace

What follows here is an article written by Loramus Rosemond, a Haitian journalist who works for the Nouvelliste and Ticket Magazine. He lost several friends and family members on the 12 January… After that date, he realised that his profession could be very useful, specifically to inform the population about the major existing risks and prevent losing more friends. This is the reason why Loramus decided to attend a training course as “humanitarian journalist“, organized by Internews. We will publish an article on this topic very soon.

We asked Loramus to write on this blog from time to time, which he immediately accepted. Since 12 January, he has been living in the refugee camp in Park Jean Mary Vincent. Most of the articles he writes are concerned with life in this camp, to inform and warn his displaced companions about upcoming difficulties. By now, he wants his work to be useful to the others.

Article written by Loramus Rosemond, journalist in Port-au-Prince:

When the manager of the press centre, Claude Gilles, introduced to me Benoit Cassegrain and Giordano Cossu, as colleagues of the foreign press, I did not hesitate one second to engage the conversation. I did so for two reasons: firstly, because I feared they could bump into some inexperienced journalist, or a charlatan, and secondly, to help them obtain the essential information.

Benoit, the more talkative of the two, approached me. He told me that he and his colleague are working on a project called “Solidar’IT in Haiti”, the reason why they came here to Port-au-Prince. He then asked me to explain the usefulness of the RWB (Reporters Without Borders) centre and my personal story about the tragedy of the 12 January. We spent most of the afternoon talking, before deciding to continue the next day.

Benoit and Giordano wanted to visit a camp. I proposed to come to the one where I have lived after the catastrophe. The Camp at Park Jean Mary Vincent is one of the largest in the capital, with more than 50,000 people who came here after the 12 January. As agreed, that’s where we started our day of work. Under a scorching sun, because in Haiti summer starts in mid-July, and it is very hot!

At the entrance of Park Jean Mary Vincent, I begin the first explanations. My two friends, captivated by the “hospital” which is itself under some tents, ask me several questions. I explain that the health centre was set up here shortly after the 12 January by the NGO Partners in Health. Then one of the doctors in charge of the centre, dr Kobel Dubique, explained to us the daily difficulties that he and his team have faced since the tragedy (you can read the article Under dr Kobel’s tent).

Another major problem at the camp is by no doubts insecurity. This problem should be solved by the authorities… I then mentioned all the other difficulties which people fight every day. Without hesitation, I took them to my tent. On the way, we met several people, and even a Nigerian delegation including an actor, engaged in a flash visit to the camp. There are several other topics which we could write about… we will come back soon.

Also, I promised Benoit and Giordano, and all of you, dear Solidar’IT readers, to get closer to Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and its many camps created after the catastrophe. I hope I will see you again soon!

by Loramus Rosemond, Humanitarian Journalist, Haiti
(Loloramus07@yahoo.com / Facebook)

Saran Koly, a French-Ivorian journalist, spent the last 4 months in Haiti. During this time, on her “100 days in Haiti” blog published on liberation.fr, she told stories of daily life. To show that, alongside the devastation described by international media, the life of Haitians has resumed its course.

We met Saran on Friday, her last day in Port-au-Prince. She told us the reasons that motivated her to come here, and what she wanted to convey through her stories:

Since May, Saran has worked for CDAC, being in charge of media relations. CDAC (communicating with disaster affected communities) is a platform whose goal is to ensure better communication between the humanitarian organisations, the government, the local media, and the population.

music (interview) by Antoine Chevallier (Postillon) => Myspace