Pulling it All Together BY: MAHALIA BAZILE

Haiti Earthquake

Context:

January 20, 2010 7.0 Magnitude I am Haitian – American More than 2 thirds of my family on both sides still reside in Haiti Haitian Government was very unstable Destroyed Presidential Palace, captured for the world to see All of Haiti’s chaos aired on National TV

Analyze: My Environment

I saw my cousin on a car on the News My mom yelling My dad trying to call back to his family We all sitting down in front of the TV Framing by the News Celebrities giving back The aftershocks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glny4jSciVI

My interpretation of the News coverage

Concern over my family when the News broke Overall shock, and helplessness I felt What impacted me most was the narrative being spread about Haiti We are the 1st black country to gain independence from slave masters/ holders We are strong and resilient people – but were characterized as weak and helpless For a moment I wasn’t proud to be Haitian because of how my people were shown Haiti – still doesn’t get enough credit!

Evaluate : What people might say about me

I'm passionate about Haiti I'm distrustful of the news I’m not a fan of “celebrity/ commercial” Saviors I want to discuss history from the point of view of the effective people – They are

not victims but survivors These claims written above are not entirely false–

My response

One thing hopefully I get across is in all my views is that it is not that I am distrustful, but I am critical of how groups of people are portrayed in very narrow scopes by news media in particular. My people and country were under a magnifying glass. Nothing was mentioned of the groups of Haitians trying to organize relief efforts for themselves, but constant light was being shown of celebrities and other groups going to help. Haitians are strong people, and I feel as though that message was lost thanks to the News coverage. This deeply impacted me, and began my interest in News media.

Engage

I can say this event made me critical of the news in particular How the news portrayed the earthquake and therefore the people, only

highlighted and not our perseverance or strength. That Celebrities signing and bringing awareness about outreach and

donating is great, but Haiti isn’t a charity case and should be treated with respect.

This impacted on how I need to try to understand all perspectives because I never want to make anyone feel like they are being demeaned instead of advocating for,

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”Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?     -- Confucius

~With that being said – Make sure feelings of respect are mutually understood across media platforms~