Inside Disaster: Haiti

As the one year anniversary of Haiti’s deadly earthquake approaches on January 12, the world is looking back at the 35-second event that forever changed the small nation and sparked a massive response from the international community.  TVO is launching a three part documentary series called Inside Disaster Haiti following the relief efforts of the International Red Cross as they undertake the largest single-country response in the organization’s history.

Part 1: Emergency covers the hours immediately following the earthquake, as the group travels into the disaster zones and makes their first assessments.  The team is faced with the biggest relief challenges of their careers as they tackle a large-scale disaster in one of the poorest countries in the world.

Part 2: Relief follows the team as they establish and implement relief operations, providing basic and immediate needs such as food, clean drinking water and shelter to the more than one million people in need.  The Red Cross teams face new challenges day to day and are anxiously looking forward as Haiti’s rainy season approaches and international media attention starts to fall off.

Part 3: Recovery jumps forward six months, as the country’s recovery and reconstruction is moving at a snail’s pace and is faced with challenges and political obstacles.  The Red Cross is one of few organizations still on the ground distributing aid and the people of Haiti are struggling to survive amid rising instances of crime and violence.

TVO will be airing the series in Ontario on three consecutive nights, starting tomorrow night (Tuesday, January 11^th) at 9pm.

Visit the Inside Disaster Haiti website to get more information on the doc and the disaster.  The site also features Simulation: Inside the Haiti Earthquake, a first-person simulation featuring real-life scenarios.  Check it out and ask yourself – what decisions would YOU make as an earthquake survivor, aid worker or journalist in Haiti?

Warning: This video contains images that some viewers may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.