The building of Radio Ibo was destroyed in the earthquake. Photo: Anne Poulsen/IMS

As the weeks and months move on since the earthquake that rocked Haiti’s foundations, local journalists continue to face special challenges, including the ethical treatment of survivors, news priorities in the aftermath of the earthquake, and the psychological impact of covering this catastrophe on themselves 

In early March, IMS supported both The Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma, and its partner, CECOSIDA, in conducting workshops with local journalists in Haiti to foster awareness about the impacts of trauma on them, their families and their audiences.  

Learning to cope

During one week of training, more than 170 journalists in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel, Léogâne and Petit Goave were given basic training to:

• Help Haitian journalists and news organisations cope with the ongoing stress of covering a disaster in their own communities, encouraging peer-to-peer psychosocial support as the recovery goes forward;
• Provide journalists with essential concepts concerning trauma and resilience in their communities;
• Lay the foundation for reporting on the recovery from the earthquake by identifying lessons learned from earlier disasters such as the Boxing Day tsunami, including issues concerning a news agenda which supports community resilience as well as peer trauma support for journalists themselves.

- All of us have lost close friends and family, and in the midst of our own grief, we also collect stories of terror and resilience from the community, said Roosevelt Jean-François, director of CECOSIDA, an association of journalists in Haiti committed to promoting public health.

- We want to ensure that as media professionals, we are among the leaders rebuilding Haiti. That as we rebuild the structures around us, we are also rebuilding the people around us.

Cultivating resilience amid the crisis

During the workshops, journalists—many for the first time—had a chance to talk with peers and trauma professionals about their experiences during and after the earthquake, and the Dart Center guided discussions about the ways journalists, as well as their audiences, can cultivate resilience amid the crisis.

Following a trauma counseling session in Petit Goave on 11 March, IMS consultant, Robert Shaw, spoke to journalists about their recollections covering the immediate aftermath of the earthquake.

- I remember the strong smells in the air and the bodies of small children blocking the streets, said Radio Standard FM journalist, Desir Schmid Brewster.

- I still think about walking through the hospital seeing body parts lying everywhere and no one to help.

IMS in Haiti

Recognising the unique power of media to inform, to connect people with life-saving services, and engage communities, the week-long counseling sessions were part of the wider IMS work in Haiti including the strengthening of humanitarian information coverage, journalism workshops and other skills-building programs to build media capacity to support Haiti’s recovery. 

IMS will continue its work with the Haitian media associations in order to foster development of peer leadership among Haitian journalists in covering trauma and newsroom editorial strategies for the recovery period. 

Guidebook on trauma

From April onwards, IMS will be working with CECOSIDA and The Dart Centre in order to produce follow-up recommendations concerning future training and support for Haitian journalists including a guidebook on trauma to be distributed within the wider Haitian media community.

The workshops are supported with financial contributions from the Global Media AIDS Initiative, UNESCO, Alicia Patterson Foundation.

More stories on media in Haiti here.