If I recall correctly, in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks, United States newspapers featured a special section devoted to disaster and world response coverage for at least a year following the tragedy – a section filled with photographs, articles, interviews, etc., a section that Americans read avidly. Was our attention span lengthened because in this tragedy we were the insiders? Yes, I believe this was the case – of course Americans care more about issues on our own soil, they are closer to home and thus tap into our sense of national identity. Also, in the aftermath of September 11th, we listened to stories told by Americans, not by outsiders, and similarly people all over the world turned to our media to get an American perspective on the tragedy. So where is the Haitian perspective on the earthquake in Haiti? I couldn’t agree more that it is time to give the camera to insiders, to see the drama through Haitian eyes and hear the story from local storytellers. If Haitians develop a media outlet to speak to the world about their ongoing struggles, then perhaps the world will tune in and pay attention.

Finally, as outsiders reporting on Haiti we walk a fine line between spreading awareness to inspire philanthropy and exploiting Haitian suffering to advance personal motives. Winning “bragging rights” in the Pulitzer Prize competition, selling more newspapers, adding works of “art” to a photography portfolio – are these the real reason photographers flock to the scene of a catastrophe? True the professional images of Haiti have moved thousands to donate money, but photographs taken by Haitians themselves can have the same effect. Outside reporters have generated global interest in the country’s story, now we should give Haitians the opportunity to hold that interest and communicate with those who can and want to help.

This is a national event that has attracted international attention, attention that has raised world awareness and rallied support to rebuild the country. The Haitian people and their media have been documenting this event. While their means of representation does not garner an international spotlight with their journalistic efforts, it does not mean that it does not exist. It is vital for the Haitian people to document their own history because it represents their national and personal story; how this event has affected their way of life. Whereas, larger print sources work to capture award-winning aesthetics and write well written articles, the people of Haiti need to capture the reality of this event through their own perspective, a perspective that no foreign individual could possibly capture. The importance of Haitian journalism serves their national cause and history. The world attention of their national journalism is irrelevant. Imposing technological standards and equipment from international sources only further dilutes and interrupts their culture and their way of preserving this natural disaster. The Haitian people are documenting this event on the national level to the best of their ability.

A recent study in the New York Times found the type of articles most often emailed were not horror stories from around the world, but positive ones, or ones that inspired awe (at the triumphs of people, of science, what have you), and that’s certainly true of the news that I tend to pay attention to. It’s hard enough hearing how our own country is in a mess of late, figuratively if not physically, and to find out about more suffering, well, it’s not just depressing, but in a way, infuriating. Even after sending my well-intentioned text, I still felt fairly impotent - how in the world is that $10 going to matter? Where’s it going anyway? I couldn’t help but feel that those donations were just an easy way to make people who had seen these pictures feel better about themselves (Look how much worse they’ve got it! And you can help, without any real effort!), not as a way to actually ease suffering in Haiti.

Of course the pictures that outsiders take of a disaster situation are going to be more sensational, because in a landscape that’s totally foreign, that’s what stands out to them. But from the Haitians’ perspective, perhaps what’s really needed, the stories that really need to be told, are ones of triumphant struggle, of surviving. You know, positive ones. Awe-inspiring. Maybe then pricks like me won’t self-censor and go about their daily lives, and instead stop, look, read, and learn. And e-mail it along.

Furthermore, though the news teams are not providing a solely philanthropic service in telling the stories of these Haitians to the world, they are trained in finding the stories that are going to be most interesting and compelling to their audiences. Thus trained news teams may be most effective in immediately sending out the messages that will attract the most attention, and therefore the most response and aid from the rest of the world. When in crisis, most individuals can only react to the present situation, and seek to protect or provide for themselves and their loved ones, rather than figuring out how they should tell their story to an eager media audience who will do with it what they will. However, in the coming weeks, as recovery begins to take place and immediate medical, food, and hydration needs have been satisfied, THEN I think it would be compelling to move in and provide Hatians with the tools they need to tell their story to the rest of the world. Obviously stories about their struggle from their perspective are endlessly fascinating and would provide the valuable opportunity to view a crisis from the eyes of the individuals who experienced it.

Every story truly needs a first persepctive, and if Haitians are given that ability, the photos that would result from that time, would echo an eternity. We wouldn’t just see photos of injured, sick, and the dead, we would probably see images they take of each other coping with the events, and living life, trying to find the beauty that life still has while they are alive. We might even see smiles, something the media has complettely deprived us of. The truth behind that is, every human being smiles, smiling is the best cure for sorrow and sometimes an incredible recipe for ana amazing picture. I believe you would see smiles and not just death if the Haitians were to have the cameras, becuase like in every horrible event in life, we must mourn and then move on. I believe it is extremely important for this world, and for the country to be able to truly share their story from the ground level perspective, and the results will show a people who will make it through the shit storm they have been in.

How perfect is this quote:

“By year’s end, when the images from Haiti are a blur in the public’s mind, the major publications will devote significant time and resources toward winning the coveted Pulitzer Prize; winners will earn bragging rights over their competitors. It is also conceivable that, in a decade or two, some of the beautiful but devastating images may be hanging in a gallery or museum and sold as art to wealthy patrons.”

The Haiti earthquake is just another event to document and “shock” people with as a form of shock art (entertainment) and NOT education. As if to say, “Hey Alex, look at this crazy fucking photo. Woah dude, there are like people, dead and suffering. This is a fucking sick picture. I want that pic to be the cover of our album!” It is sad to imagine how excited photographers get when another catastrophe happens. “I got another chance to win an award,” one photographer might think. “I could become famous,” thought the second. But does anyone stop to think, “is this right?”

As much as I would love to give a camera to a Haiti to self-document the horrendous natural disaster that just plagued his or her country (family, friends, fellow Haitians), I think I will take a rain check. Maybe if we give the cameras to them… BEFORE shit hits the fan, then that would be okay. What if your house burned down, with all of your family and cute pets inside, and then somebody gave you a camera, and said, “document what you see and feel.” Personally, I would either be:

1) too hysterical to handle my shit
2) punch the person in the face and tell him to fuck off

Moral of the Story: let us not forget about the third world countries. And let’s study cultures from within and not from outside.

Although this is a very tricky question to answer on many levels, this article is helpful in posing a similar inquiry. Where is the line between career-enhancement and societal-education? It may be simple and easy to suggest that all photographers are in Haiti to exploit Haitians and make a name for themselves, but it would be too skeptical to believe that all photographers are there to exploit. Because there are many people who do have genuine hearts, it is highly likely that there are some photographers there to showcase the plight of Haitians and elicit donations for their benefit. Although this may be naïve, I sincerely hope that there are photographers in Haiti considering how their jobs can inspire tremendous financial contributions in light of this tragedy.

By major news corporations showing these images, positioning the Haitians as poor, dependent, weak and therefore “other” from Americans, it invokes our need to help. But humanitarianism, using sensationalistic and graphic images like those in the Times in order to solicit, can be understood as a creation of an increasingly entertainment-oriented mass culture. This is made blatantly clear when thinking about how many of these images will be, like stated above, up for the Pulitzer Prize and shown in gallery exhibits.

A final opinion about Haitian’s taking photos of the disaster themselves: I believe that it is the outside perspective of these images we have been shown, that allows us to look at so many of them and for them to be published so freely. My inner cynic informs me that once the entertainment of the humanitarian effort has died down, Americans won’t want to see any more death images from Haiti by Haitians.

I think it is important for us, as Americans, to face the reality of issues that persist after we have done the “quick fix” foreign aid. I would love to read stories of Haitians, not necessarily about their experience during the actual quake, but what the consquences are now, for Haiti. What were the factors that contributed to the scale of disaster of this earthquake? What is the reality of child trafficking after this quake and what should be done in an effort to address it? What are the next steps for rebuilding? How will this effect the economy and the lives of individual business owners? Etc, etc, etc. All in the voice of a Haitian. Photos as well.

Wouldn’t it be great to create a one-time publication (online) that had maybe 50 different articles written by Haitians about different issues they now face, and how the world can be relevant to them. Foreign aid is great, but I’m interested in alternatives to the money bandaid, and I think this would be a really interesting way to stir up the creativity and the minds of the American people, as well as expose them to the realities of post-disaster situations, which most of us really don’t know or don’t want to know much about. Of course, this would require not only funding for travel but also for a translator who could translate documents and perhaps transcribe stories for those contributors who do not know how to write.

I’ll tell you what happens. They die. Maybe not literally, but verbally. No one ever hears from them, and quite frankly no one seems to care. I try not to feel like Haitians are not being subject to poverty porn (which I learned occurs when “outsiders exploit the poor’s condition in order to generate the necessary sympathy for selling newspapers or increasing charitable donations or support for a given cause. Poverty porn is typically associated with black, poverty-stricken Africans, but can be found elsewhere.” –www.aidthoughts.org) but the truth is that, according to the definition above, they are. I would much rather believe that Haitians are being helped by the media and all that’s it’s doing to shed light on recent events. However, it’s hard to tell by the floods of nicely dressed media professionals in Haiti snapping pictures and then returning home to their normal lives. Are they tossing and turning at night searching for solutions to one of the world’s greatest problems right now? I digress.

Instead of focusing o the strength of the Haitian people, many professional photographers focus on the devastation and tragedy to evoke sympathy from audiences. The problem I have with this is that the focus should not be selling newspapers, getting people to subscribe to your blog, or winner a Pulitzer Prize in photography. The focus of a photographer in Haiti just four weeks after one of the most horrific tragedies in human history should be saving lives, helping people, and furthering relief efforts. How can you do this with your camera and some film? Let them tell their own stories. Not for money. Not for fame. For humanity.

I couldn’t have put this better myself:

“It is urgent that the Haitian story continues to be told long after the journalists leave. Engaging Haitians to tell their own stories to the world, through pictures and words, is one way to reveal the resiliency and beauty of the human spirit and to show the rest of the world Haitian’s are valued in God’s creation.”