Israël Jacky Cantave, Deputy Secretary General of l'Association des Journalistes en Haiti on air from Radio Cool FM in Leogane. Photo: Anne Poulsen/IMS

In an act of solidarity, leaders of Haitian media associations traveled to Leogane, Petit-Goave and Jacmel last weekend to meet media colleagues. The trip was facilitated by IMS and was organised in response to an appeal from journalists in the affected areas outside Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince

The mission was an important sign of solidarity for a journalist fraternity feeling isolated and largely forgotten outside of the capital covered comprehensively by the media. It also allowed the different Haitian media associations to gather evidence of the number of journalists killed and wounded.

In order to ensure that help is reaching the media community in Petit-Goâve as well as other districts that were badly hit by the 12 January earthquake, the mission served to assess the losses and damages to media outlets affected. The details are to be added to a consolidated list which will be passed on to national and international media support organisations and donors.

Expressing condolences on the air in Leogane

The mission included Secretary General Jacques Desrosiers and Deputy Secretary General Israël Jacky Cantave from the Association des Journalistes en Haiti,  (AJH) –– Roodney Paquiot from SOS Journalistes,  –– coordinator Gotson Pierre from Groupe Médiaalternatif,  –- Jennifer L. Mandel from Internews researcher and Jaroslav Valuch from Ushahidi. Anne Poulsen and Robert Shaw participated on behalf of International Media Support's response team in Haiti.

Leogane was the first city visited. The visit was organised by James Felix, General Director of the radio station Force FM, which was completely destroyed in the earthquake. First stop on the tour in Leogane was Radio Anacoana, the oldest radio station in town and completely destroyed in the earthquake. Next stop was Radio Cool FM. The building was largely damaged and the radio station is now broadcasting from the street. Radio Cool FM was the first radio station to broadcast in Leogane after the earthquake.

In a live transmission on Radio Cool FM, James Felix thanked the leaders of the associations for this important sign of solidarity for a media fraternity seriously affected not only professionally, but also personally in the 12 January earthquake.

Deputy Secretary General Israël Jacky Cantave from the Association des Journalistes en Haiti expressed his condolences and solidarity for the journalists in Leogane (in photo to the left, by Anne Poulsen/IMS). He went on to assure them that the associations, with support from international organisations, will continue to mount efforts to help journalists get back on their feet, hence allowing them and their media to fulfill their crucial role of disseminating factual and lifesaving humanitarian information and of engaging the Haitian population in the discussions of the reconstruction of Haiti.

The visitors met with some 25 – 30 journalists from different media outlets who had gathered in front of the police station of Leogane. The venue provided a much-needed space for the journalists of Leogane to share their grief and concerns, explains Anne Poulsen.

On behalf of IMS, she passed on condolences and sympathy with the affected journalists and deplored the large number of media outlets having been destroyed:

- IMS would like to compliment the journalists for their immense courage and commitment to the important duty of keeping the Haitian people informed and for staying on air in spite of having to operate under extremely difficult and challenging conditions in a city, which in large parts had been leveled with the ground, she said in the meeting.

Volunteer information network in Petit-Goâve

The mission continued to Petit-Goâve where it was welcomed by Mr Guyto Mathieu of the “Réseau des Médias de Petit-Goâve” (RMPG) and some 25 – 30 journalists of Petit-Goâve, gathering on the premises of Radio Men Kontre on Avenue Solidarité.

Following the earthquake, which seriously affected all radio stations in town, the RMPG network was created by 15 radio stations in Petit-Goâve in order to provide the population of Petit-Goâve with more efficiently and better coordinated information.

The network has set up a make-shift station in the trunk of a 23-year old Isuzu Trooper, parked in the courtyard of Radio Men Kontre. With just the very essential equipment, the network is able to broadcast one joint program for all 15 radio stations. The program covers 3 ½ hours per day aired between 3pm – 6:30 pm.
(Photo: Roland Laguerre, head of the newsroom in Radio Men Kontre, Voice of America correspondent and doyen of the journalist community in Petit-Goâve standing next to the 'studio'. Photo: Anne Poulsen/IMS) 

- In a remarkable sign of solidarity the radio stations have joined all available material and resources to enable the population of the region to remain informed about the earthquake and relay important humanitarian information, says Anne Poulsen.

Sharing broadcast equipment to keep media alive

In Jacmel, the group from Port-au-Prince was welcomed by Jacques Jean Pierre, owner of the Radio Tele Express. Some 20 journalists had gathered in the offices of Radio Tele Express, which was only slightly damaged in the earthquake.

As another clear sign of solidarity with the journalist community, Radio Tele Express broadcasts programs produced by other radio stations that were more severely hit and therefore unable to transmit on their own frequencies.

Media sector fighting to survive

According to the journalists of Jacmel, the situation gets more and more critical for the media owners as well as for the journalists. Advertising has been non-existing since the earthquake and traditional sponsors are now suffering for the survival of their business on equal footing. According to Jacques Jean Pierre, numerous journalists risk to be out of job in a very near future.

- We have seven journalists in our newsroom. But we do not have the means to continue paying them. So we will have to let them go, he says.

In another important sign of solidarity to overcome the traumas of the earthquake, journalists from all media outlets have been gathering under the big tree in the courtyard of Radio Tele Express to talk about the events and to share their griefs and concerns. General Secretary of the Association des Journalistes de SudEst, Pierre Alain, who is also a professional psychologist, has been facilitating the meetings.

According to the final assessment, consolidated by the Association des Journalistes en Haiti, 23 journalists were killed and 13 wounded in the 12^th January earthquake.

The group of journalists in Jacmel. Photo: Anne Poulsen/IMS