For this semester, I would like to focus on the country of Haiti. Initially, I was interested in reporting on either Mexico or the Romani people, but both were causing me some conceptual problems. There are so many routes to take when writing about Mexico and a wealth of resources available, so I felt that I would become overwhelmed. The Roma people posed the opposite problem. Finding organized, firsthand resources about the Romani was near impossible. Ultimately, I wanted to go with a country that I didn’t know almost anything about but knew still had a sizable and accessible community in New York. Additionally, I chose Haiti because it has a rather unique cultural identity among Caribbean nations. Its French history in particular is of interest to me, and I hope that my background in French language will help me find some common ground with those I speak.
Already, I have found many historical events worth exploring, such as the Haitian Revolution, a brief period of U.S. occupation, and the continuing struggles following the 2010 earthquake. I’m very interested in what the nation looks like now as both civil unrest and natural disasters have persisted. The political landscape also continues to shift often, and all of these things are happening while international press coverage of Haiti has seemingly dropped drastically over the last decade.
I have found a couple good organizations to reach out to online. I’m hoping to talk with the Haitian American Caucus specifically, as well as the Haitian American Community Coalition. I’m also interested in reaching out to Friends of Haiti, which is a nonprofit with a strong foothold in the rural parts of the country. Besides online resources, I’m excited to focus on this country because I live near Flatbush, Brooklyn, which has one of largest concentrations of Haitian immigrants in the U.S. The colloquial neighborhood of Little Haiti even has their own website backed by elected officials. Knowing that this community is culturally rich and well-established and that it is in my own backyard, I know I can find some great and varied sources.