The People Left Behind: A Film on the People of Haiti - Essay Example

The people Running head: DOCUMENTARY ON HUMANITARIAN AID The people left behind: A film on the people of Haiti who survived and must continue to survive. Name of Client Name of University Name of Class The people 1 The people left behind: A film on the people of Haiti who survived and must continue to survive. When a national disaster strikes, the initial blow of the crisis causes the world to take in an accumulative gasp of shock. Aid to the country or region that has suffered the disaster starts to poor in and the compassion of the world can be felt through the efforts of relief workers, national aid packages, and individual donations to supporting groups who aid the effort. It is unfortunate, however, that once the initial sensationalism of the event has passed, the aid begins to dwindle despite the fact that people are still in need of basic aids of survival. In an exploration of this type of effect on survivors and the current U.S. response to the need for aid, a documentary film that exposes the needs of the people of Haiti that will, chronicle their current struggles and the on-going issues of food, shelter, and basic needs that are yet realized after the disaster of an earthquake that took the lives of 230,000 people, leaving 300,000 injured, with approximately 1,000,000 left homeless (Margesson & Taft-Morales, 19 February 2010). According to the fact sheet released by the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) (9 April 2010), by April 8, 2010, the U. N. World Food Program had reached 97% of its target caseload of people in need of food assistance in Haiti. The report goes on to say that 661,000 displaced people are currently living with host families, 50,000 people are residing at the settlement site that was erected after the disaster leaving 25,000 people living in areas that are still at risk for floods and mudslides. The areas that are still at risk are in need of engineering help in creating preventative measures that will avoid further disaster. The number of people still at risk is reducing as people are finding alternative living arrangements on their own. The people 3 In order to create a film that documents the problems that are still occurring in the region, it will be important for the crew to visit and film the conditions that are still in need of repair and to appropriately witness the work that is still needed to be engineered in order to create safe living environments in these areas. The area known as Pétion-Ville Club/Golf Delmas 48 site in particular (US Aid from the American People) should be filmed in order to see a reported 7,500 people still housed there where flooding is still a risk. While filming the areas that are still at risk is important, in order to provide a balanced piece it will be important to show the safe settlement areas looking for positive experiences balanced against those which are not as yet successful. There is a reported 46% of the buildings in the affected areas that are safe for habitation (US Aid from the American People, 9 April 2010). Filming of these buildings and the services that are available to those who have moved back to them would be helpful in giving a visual record of success in moving forward toward recovery. US Aid from the American People (22 April 2010), a record that is released by the U.S. government, claims that 100% of the people of Haiti who needed shelter were given aid immediately after the crisis. Looking at the needs of the people for sanitary conditions, proper water and hygiene fulfilled, and health care needs attended, the film should cover the ways in which agencies are continuing their attention to these areas. A focus on the WASH cluster approach should be highlighted. This approach is being utilized in Haiti, but there is a report by US Aid from the American People (9 April 2010) that the reports that are necessary to assess the work and effectiveness of the approach have not been appropriately filed as of March 29, 2010. Issues concerning land ownership, inadequate space, lack of formal camp management, lack of agencies The people 4 who are conducting the WASH activities as well as an inconsistency of trained staff and approaches which put into question the longevity of the available resources are plaguing the relief efforts. On the other side of the issue, WASH cluster members have said that the access to settlements due to poor road conditions, security restrictions, and the continuing presence of rubble from the disaster is impeding their efforts to appropriately aid the victims who are still in need (US Aid from the American People 9 April 2010). In order to fully understand what the WASH cluster approach is and who is responsible for the organization of these efforts, a short look at the program would be appropriate. WASH is a program that is set forth by UNICEF in order to have an ordered approach to providing sanitation and water for areas in need of humanitarian relief after a disaster. WASH quite simply stands for Water Sanitation and Hygiene, providing a simple acronym for the intent of the program. According to Boughton and LeTurque (2010) in their assessment of the WASH cluster approach, the following is the intent of the program: The ‘cluster approach’ was introduced shortly after the publication of the 2005 Humanitarian Response Review, as one of the ‘three pillars’ of Humanitarian Reform, aimed at strengthening the humanitarian coordination system, humanitarian financing and the effectiveness of humanitarian response, with an emphasis on partnership to support each of these areas of reform. The IASC (Inter-Agency Standing Committee) principals agreed that the cluster approach should be used in all major new emergencies and that there should be a phased ‘roll-out’ of the cluster approach in on-going emergencies. The WASH Cluster is one of eleven clusters used in emergency response. As stated in the Inter-agency Standing Committee (IASC) Terms of Reference for the Cluster Lead at country level, the overall aim of the cluster approach is to strengthen the effectiveness of humanitarian response through specific objectives to enhance leadership, accountability, predictability and partnership within the sector. The Global WASH Cluster aims to provide guidance and support to country level WASH clusters through strengthening system-wide preparedness The people 5 and technical capacity to respond to humanitarian emergencies (p. 3). An important aspect of the proposed film might be to have a segment focused on the success and failure of the WASH cluster approach. According to US Aid from the American People (9 April 2010) appropriate reports have not been filed leaving a gap in the organization of the relief effort. In order to provide better support for the success or failure of the program, contacting the UNICEF officer in charge of the operation, Kossi Julien ATCHADE, and the other people involved in the program can provide deeper insight from first hand knowledge (Cluster Approach, 2010) (See Appendix I) While the foremost important aspect of providing relief is in getting sanitary and safe conditions under control, another segment of the program should be dedicated to discovering if the Sphere Humanitarian Code of Conduct is being attended. There are considerations that must be made whenever one culture comes into another culture, even when the intent is to support the relief efforts that become necessary after a disaster strikes. According to The Sphere Project (2010), there are ten principles that must be considered when approaching a humanitarian relief project. The first is that the humanitarian imperative must come first. This means that the need is the prime factor in the process. The second is that aid must be given without respect to any other factors other than the need that is present. Prejudice and preferential treatment is not appropriate. As well the third requires that no agenda other than relief be taken under consideration. Political and religious agendas have no relevance when aid is given. The fourth principle states that those who give aid should not be agents of the government for whom the aid is given. This might further a political The people 6 agenda. The fifth concept creates an anthropological paradox. The principle implies that the culture of the nation that receives aid should not be violated or disrespected. However, according to Kelly and Thomas (2010), whenever one culture enters another, there are influences that will change that culture (25). Even as anthropologists will create some changes in cultures just by virtue of their presence for the purpose of study, so to will the cultures of those who give aid influence those they come in contact with. The very core of a humanitarian effort is a culture to itself. Just as in New Orleans after the disaster of Katrina made changes to the culture of that part of Louisiana, so too will the persistent presence of relief create changes in the culture of Haiti. As an example from New Orleans there is now a pervasive system of a culture that is in need. There are FEMA trailers that are now homes, relief aid is substituting for financial lives because jobs are simply not available, and the acceptance of donated goods rather than the pride of self survival has changed the nature of the culture in that area (Sothern, 2007). Culture is a system of adaptive practice that changes as the social systems change (Kelly & Thomas, 2010, pp. 25). Therefore, the final segment of the film should focus on the ways in which the culture of Haiti is and will be changed by the influence of relief efforts. As stated, just by virtue of the presence of relief, the culture will find change has occurred. First hand observance of these changes will shed light on the adaptation of the culture to the new dynamics of survival that are now in place. In creating a film about the relief efforts in Haiti and the consequences of those efforts, a further understanding of humanitarian efforts will provide a foundation for the continual improvement of world wide response to disaster. An understanding of the sanitary conditions and The people 7 how they are succeeding and failing will allow for the very basic needs of Haiti to be explored. As well, creating a segment of the cultural significance and adaptation to a social system of relief that pervades in the society will allow for an understanding of how the culture of relief changes the perspective of a social system. This film will show the overall affect of the earthquake of 2010 in Haiti for the changes that occur after the initial disaster. The people 8 References Boughton, L. & LeTurque, H. (2010). Implementation of the WASH cluster approach: Good practice and lessons learned. UNICEF. Retrieved in 26 April 2010 from http://www.humanitarianreform.org/humanitarianreform/Portals/1/cluster%20approach% 20page/clusters%20pages/WASH/Implementation%20of%20the%20WASH%20Cluster %20Approach%20-%20Final%20Draft.pdf Cluster Approach. (2010). WASH cluster for Haiti. UNICEF. Retrieved on 27 April 2010 from http://www.humanitarianreform.org/Default.aspx?tabid=794 Kelly, R. L., & Thomas, D. H. (2010). Archaeology. United Kingdom: Wadsworth Cemgage Learning. Margesson, R. & Taft-Morales, M. (19 February 2010). Haiti earthquake: Crisis and response. Found on 27 April 2010 from http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/139280.pdf Sothern, B. (2007). Down in New Orleans Reflections from a drowned city. Berkeley, Calif. [u.a.]: Univ. of California Press. The Sphere Project. (2010). Code of Conduct. Sphere. Retrieved on 26 April 2010 from http://www.sphereproject.org/content/view/146/84/lang,English/ US Aid from the American People. (9 April 2010). Haiti-Earthquake. Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). Retrieved on 27 April 2010 from http://www.usaid.gov/helphaiti/documents/04. 09.10-USAID-DCHAHaitiEarthquakeFactSheet49.pdf US Aid from the American People. (22 April 2010). Three things you should know about the U.S. government’s work in Haiti. U. S. Press officers. Retrieved on 27 April 2010 from http://www.usaid.gov/helphaiti/documents/3things_100422.html The people i Appendix I Kossi Julien ATCHADE Haiti WASH Officer UNICEF Cell : (509) 36 761358 kjatchade@unicef.org Soulymane Sow Cluster Cordinator UNICEF ssow@unicef.org Tim Forster Rapid Response Team UNICEF tforster@unicef.org William L. Fellows Senior Advisor, Emergencies WASH cluster coordinator UNICEF New York Office 1-212-326-7306 Cell 1-917-605-2218 wfellows@unicef.org Jean McKluskey WASH emergencies advisor Global WASH cluster manager UNICEF Geneva jckluskey@unicef.org Read More