On August 14th, 2021, the deadliest natural disaster to occur in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake rocked the nation. Haitian director Raoul Peck’s 2012 film Fatal Assistance has been made available for viewing on Vimeo in light of this more recent earthquake. His film covers the disasters and the damage that international organizations that claimed good intentions inflicted on a nation devastated by both the earthquake and aftershocks, and the cholera outbreak that raged for nearly a decade afterwards. This film is available with both English (link) or French subtitles (link), with audio in English, French, and Haitian Creole. 

To accompany the film, Black Public Media has a discussion guide for your students. NACLA also has a piece entitled “Haiti’s Earthquakes Require a Haitian Solution” which may help shape your student’s thoughts on the future of international sovereignty and disaster relief. To learn more about Haitian NGOs responding to earthquakes, visit this list. 

Much thanks to UWM Professor Emeritus Patrick Bellegarde-Smith for sharing some of the resources found in this week’s offering.