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
