It goes without saying that the presence of media in society has allowed for a global population to find connectivity with the world that surrounds it. In the last century, the centrality of media forms such as newspapers and television has been a powerful force that has brought people together in their communities and homes, uniting them through the events faced all over the world and effectively shaping what we can refer to as public opinion. Today, the characteristics of contemporary society and its aesthetic are essentially mediated by multiple forms of media, which allow connectivity with global networks of people and the cultures they are a part of. It is certain that the most influential form of contemporary media is the Internet and the culture it has brought along with it. Not only has it minimized the gap in communication between leaders and the masses, it has allowed for a more participatory experience in engaging with global issues, their causes, and their solutions. Not only are we able to take in what is being presented to us as an audience, we are able to characterize our own perceptions through blogging, engaging in online discussion, and social networking, effectively allowing us to contribute to a body of information that lends itself towards public opinion.
In light of the recent media revival of the cholera epidemic in Haiti, I understand the media as being responsible for creating global awareness of the epidemic, and effectively allowing for international contribution from both governments and NGOs in order to remedy substandard conditions present in Haiti. However, ineffective humanitarian aid organization, as well as media reports of unsuccessful endeavors has led to a reshaping of public opinion on the matter; one that is negative. It is my belief that we have minimized our distance far too much regarding the cholera epidemic in Haiti, and that the aura of good intent and positive increase in awareness and humanitarian aid has consequently diminished. It has allowed us to become overly critical towards the media for doing its job in bridging the gap between a global community and the events endured by its population based on the political nature of the epidemic.
As Etant Dupain of the Boston Haitian Reporter noted earlier this year, the alternative Haitian media project Noise Travels, News Spreads worked together with the International Lawyers Office, International Action Ties and Let Haiti Live on a shoestring budget to carry out a grassroots education campaign to prevent the spread of cholera. This effective campaign distributed a total of 300,000 educational flyers in more than fifty major camps and heavily populated communities. With a rented pick up truck and sound system, the team was able to reach hundreds of thousands. At the same time, the American Red Cross, which has hundreds of millions of dollars, didn’t distribute even 50,000 in that first week. They have huge logistical capacity and the economic means, but are they working to help Haitians or to help themselves? When an organization like the American Red Cross, which prides itself on expertise in water and sanitation, is still delivering water ten months after the earthquake, one has to ask: why haven’t they invested in long-term solutions for water treatment (Dupain 2010)?
With reports like these outlining the ineffectiveness of humanitarian aid, it becomes easy for us to look critically towards the media in order to establish a certain level of commitment in pursuing solutions to the cholera epidemic in Haiti. The politics of the situation cannot hold media and its mediation responsible for unsuccessful action plans in our world. We need to recognize that the media allows us to increase our awareness of global communities, their populations, their struggles, and their developments. The rest comes down to economic capacity and political restructuring.
Sources:
Dupain, Etant. “Voices of Haiti: Foreign Aid and Cholera.” Boston Haitian Reporter, November 18, 2010.
Gourevich, Philip. “Alms Dealers.” The New Yorker, October 11, 2010.
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