Journalists in Haiti applaud the opportunity to upgrade their skills on informing in times of crisis. Photo: Anne Poulsen/IMS

At the peak of the hurricane season, the Association of Haitian Journalists (AJH) is providing some 400 journalists across Haiti with vital training in management of risk and disaster information

Carl Berkeins Davilmar is an experienced journalist. For the last five years, he has worked as a reporter at Radio Gamma in Fort Liberté in the northeastern part of Haiti. He has covered several disasters – the most recent being the earthquake of 12^th January 2010 and the floods in Gonaives in 2008.

Nevertheless, he is one of the 25 journalists gathered in the attic of the Hotel Le Relais in Fort Liberté to learn about how to manage life-saving information on risks and disasters.

- In Haiti there is literally no training of journalists and to my knowledge, nobody has ever received this type of training before. But it is extremely important as it helps us to better instruct the population in what to do and not to do in the event of a major disaster. It helps me to be informed so that I can better inform, explains Carl Berkeins Davilmar.

The three days’ training has been organized by the Association of Haitian Journalists with the aim of providing journalists with the tools that will enable them to respond effectively to potential disasters that could further aggravate the plight of the Haitian population.

A total of 13 workshops in strategic cities of the 10 geographical departments – including the cities most affected by the earthquake – were kickstarted with workshops in two key cities of the northeastern part of the country; Cap Haitien and Fort Liberté.

Given the essential role of media in educating and informing the community, one of the main priorities for the Association of Haitian Journalists has been to prepare effectively journalists through their associations as well as through their media outlets in managing information related to the prevention and effective management of risks and disasters.

- Our objective is to encourage journalists and media to promote preventive measurements during not only the hurricane season but also during other potential disasters. Thereby preventing further damage and minimizing the casualties among the population, states Jacques Desrosiers, secretary general of the AJH.

For Wideline Jacques, presenter at Radio Ibo in Cap Haitien, the workshop is helping her to better handle the information she passes on to the population.

- In Haiti, the media plays an important role not only to inform but also to educate. Haiti is an undeveloped country and a large part of the population in not properly informed. This is why this type of information is so important, she says.

The workshops will be followed up by a grant programme to selected journalists who will commit to writing a series of articles related to the management of risks and disasters.

The programme has been funded in partnership between UNESCO, the Directorate of Civil Protection through funding from UNDP and International Media Support.

Background:

On 12 January 2010, a devastating earthquake of 7.0 magnitude hit Haiti. At least 230.000 people were killed and around 1.5 million people left homeless and displaced by the disaster. The earthquake was classified as the most destructive disaster to ever have been experienced by a country in terms of the number of people killed as a share of the country’s population and the level of destruction to key state institutions and infrastructure.

The media suffered massive personnel losses with 31 journalists killed and at least 13 wounded. A large majority of the media houses in the four principally affected cities were destroyed or heavily damaged with massive equipment losses.

Days after the earthquake, an IMS rapid response team was deployed to Haiti to assess the needs for assistance in close consultation with Haitian journalists, media owners and journalists’ associations  as well as other international media support organisations and to initiate activities in a rapid response to the most imminent needs.

Since, thanks to important funding from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Media Support has been able to engage in a more long term strategy for Haiti.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere and is ranked 149 out of 182 countries by the 2009 Human Development Index.  Seventy-six percent of Haitians live on less than US $2 per day and 56 percent on less than US$1 per day.