RTE has a long history of accomplishment in the production of documentaries. However it is doubtful if any has left as big an impression as Jim Fahy's Haiti A Hundred Dead People In My Truck . The graphic footage of squalor, hunger, malnutrition, shanty towns and trucks carrying the bodies of up to 100 people would draw a tear from a stone. The stench of death was everywhere. The film also contained a brief historic background to the problems of the country. In addition it described how First World countries still demand their pound of flesh in the form of loan repayments from a country on its knees. The activities of kidnappers were recounted-ears of hostages cut off if they are lucky. Murdered if they are unlucky.
Widespread hurricane damage is a common occurrence. Haiti is the country that has been largely forgotten by the western world. Of course UN troops are stationed there to maintain a semblance of order.
Two Irish women childcare specialist, Gena Heraty from Mayo, and Dubliner Dr Louise Ivers a world expert in infectious disease - have been working for years in Haiti’s slums and in the mountainous areas. Working alongside them as a doctor and hostage negotiator is Fr Rick Frechette, a Passionist Priest, from Connecticut in the United States.
The film footage featuring all three was so moving. Their determination to swim against the tide, their exhausting schedules, their compassion and their dedication to the cause of social justice is an inspiration to all.
Gena Heraty has dedicated her life to improving the lot of orphans. She is determined to live out her life in Haiti. She stressed that all children are equal irrespective of where they live and entitled to an equal chance to progress. Dr Louise Ivers is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School . She works in a gradually expanding clinic through the nonprofit organization Partners In Health. She said "I can’t sleep at night because of the things that I see".
The spectre of Fr Rick Frechette helping to load up the bodies for transport and his prayers over mass graves would send a shudder through the hardest heart. The convoys of lorries carrying corpses through the streets merited scarcely a glance from the citizens. As far as they were concerned this was normal.
Congrats to Jim Fahy and the whole RTE team. This documentary should be disseminated throughout the world. It might soften the hard hearted bankers and politicians. This has the potential to shock viewers into action. The full programme may be viewed here
Widespread hurricane damage is a common occurrence. Haiti is the country that has been largely forgotten by the western world. Of course UN troops are stationed there to maintain a semblance of order.
Two Irish women childcare specialist, Gena Heraty from Mayo, and Dubliner Dr Louise Ivers a world expert in infectious disease - have been working for years in Haiti’s slums and in the mountainous areas. Working alongside them as a doctor and hostage negotiator is Fr Rick Frechette, a Passionist Priest, from Connecticut in the United States.
The film footage featuring all three was so moving. Their determination to swim against the tide, their exhausting schedules, their compassion and their dedication to the cause of social justice is an inspiration to all.
Gena Heraty has dedicated her life to improving the lot of orphans. She is determined to live out her life in Haiti. She stressed that all children are equal irrespective of where they live and entitled to an equal chance to progress. Dr Louise Ivers is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School . She works in a gradually expanding clinic through the nonprofit organization Partners In Health. She said "I can’t sleep at night because of the things that I see".
The spectre of Fr Rick Frechette helping to load up the bodies for transport and his prayers over mass graves would send a shudder through the hardest heart. The convoys of lorries carrying corpses through the streets merited scarcely a glance from the citizens. As far as they were concerned this was normal.
Congrats to Jim Fahy and the whole RTE team. This documentary should be disseminated throughout the world. It might soften the hard hearted bankers and politicians. This has the potential to shock viewers into action. The full programme may be viewed here
2 comments:
I note that RTE was careful to avoid the elephant in the room, the political context, particularly the fact that the democratically elected president of Haiti was overthrown in a US (and French, and Canadian) -backed coup, with the full approval of the UN, and a dictator installed in his place. Maybe explaining the actual reasons why people are so poor and desparate in Haiti is beyond Jim Fahy and his team, but I suspect that the real reason is tacit approval of the right-wing dictatorship that runs the country. The fact that the only explanation for the situation that was offered was Voodoo indicates that the basic attitude of the French slave-traders is alive and well, namely that the natives are incapable of running their own affairs and require kindly (but firm) guidance from the whites to set them on the right road.
It is likewise no surprise that the numerous massacres of supporters of the former elected government by right-wing death squads and UN personnel were parlayed into mindless violence by anonymous gangs.
But, after all, what counts in the end is emotional hand-wringing, isn't that right? Just forget about the huge oil deposits off the coast of Haiti.
The function of the programme was to describe the horrific living conditions of most Haitians and to report on the Herculean efforts of Gena Heraty, Dr Louise Ivers and Fr Rick Frechette. I think that it succeeded admirably in this. It was not the purpose of the programme makers to delve into the political situation in any great depth. This would be best left to Prime Time in my view.
As far as I am aware there is no conclusive proof of huge oil deposits off Haiti. Possibly I am mistaken in this.
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