In the wake of the disaster

Documentary takes critical look at disaster relief in Haiti after 2010 earthquake

Scenes from Haiti: Where Did the Money Go. Supplied
Scenes from Haiti: Where Did the Money Go. Supplied
Scenes from Haiti: Where Did the Money Go. Supplied

On Jan. 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti approximately 25 kilometres from the nation’s capital Port-au-Prince, killing over 300,000 people and leaving close to one million homeless.

In the wake of the disaster, the worst in the Caribbean since the 18th century, an unprecedented outpouring of humanitarian aid began around the world, generating in the United States alone $1.4 billion in initial donations.

In her latest documentary released by Film@11, aptly titled Haiti: Where Did the Money Go, journalist and filmmaker Michele Mitchell asks how, with thousands of operating non-governmental organizations and billions of dollars of aid from well-intentioned Westerners, conditions still remain squalid and unstable on the island nation?

Mitchell’s short film is based on two visits to Haiti in 2010 and 2011 in which she interviewed and spoke with internally displaced person (IDP) camp dwellers and representatives of numerous NGOs.

She examines the failure of aid agencies such as the American Red Cross (ARC), the largest NGO operating in Haiti, to properly allocate funds and provide basic services to the more than 500,000 people currently residing in improvised, unsanitary housing settlements.

In the words of renowned journalist Linda Polman, interviewed in the film by Mitchell, “What happened to the good intentions and all that money?”

According to Mitchell, and many other independent sources that have conducted longitudinal studies of humanitarian aid in Haiti, NGOs have often not run parallel with the country’s local government, but with external donors who ensure funds are repatriated to support American corporations that, in return, provide a sluggish, protracted and largely ineffective relief effort.

At the ground level, Haitians confined to IDF camps wonder where the money has gone, too.

In a camp named Carradeaux, 30,000 people share fewer than 10 toilets, while contaminated water in other settlements has led to dozens of cholera outbreaks since the earthquake hit.

Mitchell’s film is not simply a condemnation of aid organizations, however. She also showcases many individuals and groups that have facilitated positive change in Haiti, but urges charitable people to “donate wisely and do their own research.”

For this activist, it is everyone’s duty to hold NGOs accountable for the money they duly receive.

The trailer for “Haiti: Where Did the Money Go.”

Published in Volume 67, Number 12 of The Uniter (November 21, 2012)

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