(This post is also available on Tavis Smiley's PBS site)
Haiti, unfortunately, is no different from the others. Tragedy strikes and the media arrives in full occupying force. It's the story of the moment. Everyone cares. The information and images take up temporary residence in our collective conscience. Our hearts go out. But, invariably, so do the lights. The bulbs stop flashing. The cameras stop rolling. Heads stop talking. Then what? Do we look the other way, as usual, and forget about the people of Port-au-Prince and its surrounding provinces? Sadly enough, most of us will. Click Here to Finish Reading
(Continued) Prompted by the media, our attention and focus will turn elsewhere; this way folks - on to the next story. Meanwhile, the death toll will continue to soar and, for the survivors, so will the pain and suffering. To make matters even more grim, Haiti is haunted by the reality that it will be a country of amputees for the foreseeable future, many of whom, are orphaned children.
Relatively speaking, it wasn't nearly as horrific, but the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina provides a similar case study in media attention deficit disorder. Nearly 2,000 people died and countless more were permanently relocated by the natural forces of the hurricane coupled with the economic forces of government neglect. For the poor, it's a one-two punch in the gut. And even though media coverage bubbled over at first, it eventually fizzled out. And with it so did public interest. If this is how American citizens were treated and nearly forgotten, can we really expect anything different in Haiti?
Pardon my cynicism, but human tragedy is big business for the news industry. It's not that members of the media don't have hearts. It's rather difficult not to, even for the most hardened journalist in a situation as catastrophic as this. But while this story has legs for now, they too will soon be amputated. And will the American public care as much then when the cameras stop rolling? Most won't. Just as we saw with the coverage of New Orleans and all the talk about how America will never be the same, this too shall be out of sight and out of mind. Then what? One
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Quite true. Although I also wonder, if these tragic event stayed front and center and got the attention they deserved would we be doing anything other then bouncing from one issue to the other? It would be New Orleans, Haiti, the Philippines, The Sudan etc,etc. I wonder how we'd do trying to maintain a higher level of focus on such things consistently.
I agree Mason. Another point to add is that folk want to donate but are conflicted with what agency, if what they give will reach the people of Haiti.
I've watched my time-line on Twitter & my news feed on Facebook and I was wrong ... I gave most until the end of the week to stop talking about Haiti, all it took was Sunday football and the Sunday night t.v. shows.
A few days ago my friend's daughter came in for a visit. We were cleaning out an old storage space and I heard her crack a joke saying that we should donate the "garbage" to Haiti.
The exploitation of the situation and the Haitian ppl grips me more than anything. I secretly wish things would quiet down and that instead of the talk, reports,pitiful images and the marathons we see progress.
i had this conversation with one of my friends over the weekend; If Americans haven't even been able to rebuild New Orleans, one city that probably didn't have as much damage as we're now seeing in Haiti, despite the vast resources that America has, then how is it that this small country, with no money be able to rebuild itself?
This is what worries me, because I believe, that eventually, the American economy will pick back up, and New Orleans will have a chance to see some growth, but in countries such as Haiti, where they depend greatly on help from others, what will happen to them when the news stops showing coverage and people forget about Haiti's troubles?
I am seriously hoping for something different, but seeing our past just leaves us to believe that they will be forgotten by the world, but not by their family and friends. Most will relocate, with only a few to rebuild a nation already crumbled. I have hope though, when all else fails, we can have hope.
You've accurately described the conditions of human tragedy. It would be admirable if there was a consistent follow-up taking place, concerning the complete rebuilding process. But, as you stated, once the lights (camera) go out, so too will many an effort.
It's unfortunate.
Yeah this piece goes straight to the head of the class. CLASSIC! I'm even noticing a slight waning of interest on Haiti amongst the Pan-African/Afrocentric crowd. Damn..we is gotsta be some of the most jive ass fickle people on the planet. What a shame...SUPER BOWL NEXT LEFT !