In Haiti, media attention is waning... but hope is not

Haitin resident Saint-Therese stands in doorway of her new home

Photos and blog by Heidi Reed
Plan Haiti Communications Manager

Last February 2010 when I was in Haiti for the first time, I remember asking one of Plan Haiti's temporary drivers what had happened to him after the earthquake. He told me about the tragic losses: the home he'd built with his own hands, his longtime livelihood as a ship mechanic and his 17-year-old daughter’s dreams of becoming a doctor. His family's new home was the car in which we were driving. And yet with all this, he smiled and told me that for the first time in a very long time he felt hopeful. "For once," he said. "The world is paying attention to Haiti."

On that visit I often heard drivers blasting the songs that had been especially written for Haiti. I sensed the pride. I had watched the "Hope for Haiti" telethon in the USA prior to my arrival. Strangers giving to strangers in other countries doesn’t sit well with everyone, but I happen to find it noble—and I admire movie stars and musicians who inspire others to give generously. I downloaded the songs I liked onto my iTunes. I can still hear Beyonce singing "Haiti I can see your halo…."

When I was a university student studying communications over twenty years ago, I remember learning about "agenda setting" in the media and being taught to see through the priorities set for me by the New York Times. There were quiet wars and human tragedies unfolding in all parts of the world that didn’t exist for me because they weren’t reachable.

Quite naturally journalists (and bloggers) still shape our perceptions of what’s important based on what they can achieve with their own interests, instincts and resources. After the earthquake, Haiti benefitted from its accessibility from the Dominican Republic and later on from major airports. Now Japan has the world’s attention, as it rightfully should. But the attention span of the media, like the attention span of the world, me included, is short.

So late at night when I can't sleep I wonder if the world will keep paying attention to Haiti, or to Pakistan, or to Japan. I have seen for myself that natural-disaster recoveries aren't media events that triumphantly wrap up by the one-year anniversary, but rather they are complicated, ongoing, fluid human events without end.

After the one-year anniversary, the media attention and external financial resources for Haiti's earthquake recovery are waning, it’s only natural. The Haitian economy will take another blow and more jobs will be lost, that's the painful reality.

But I still have hope that Haiti will find a way to build the boreholes, community health centers, schools, safe shelters and robust economy that it needs. Through my work at Plan Haiti, I have become keenly aware of all the many noble and generous people out there in the world who are always finding ways to keep their attention on Haiti, in my estimation one of the most beautiful and promising countries in the world.