Coronavirus complicates press work in Haiti

Text by: Achim Lippold Follow

How to work as a journalist in Haiti when the country is struck, like many others in the world, by the coronavirus? From the need to send back "information from the field" to the fight against "fake news" through the distrust of official announcements, we spoke with Gotson Pierre, editor-in-chief of the agency Alterpresse.

Publicity

As in other newsrooms around the world, Haitian journalists had to adapt to the health constraints linked to Covid-19. Constraints which add to an already difficult situation for the press. According to the NGO Reporters Without Borders, the environment for journalists is "  precarious and dangerous  " in Haiti. The organization ranks the country in 83rd place for press freedom worldwide, a drop of 21 places from 2019.

Today, working conditions are further complicated by the coronavirus. "  We greatly reduced our field reports and any activity that put us in direct contact with people,  " explains Gotson Pierre, editor-in-chief of the Alterpresse agency. “  We still go out on the street, we observe. And we try to gather information by calling, for example, political actors, experts, doctors and social workers by telephone  ”. "  Our job is always to get the information up and check it  ."

Check the information and fight against "fake news"

According to Gotson Pierre, there is a lot of misinformation circulating on social networks, especially on WhatsApp. Fighting these “fake news” on the Covid-19 therefore represents an important part of the work of the Alterpresse agency team. Faced with the disbelief of people, many of whom ignore the mechanisms of the disease, she calls on experts and doctors to clarify certain points. As with the transmission of the coronavirus, the time it can remain suspended in the air. "  We realize that people are very afraid, but it is a fear fueled in part by a lack of knowledge of the facts,  " explains the editor of Alterpresse. Hence also the resistance of some residents to the installation of health centers near their homes.

"  We always send messages to rectify certain information that is circulating and we constantly remind ourselves of basic health measures  ". Gotson Pierre has been relaying for a few days, via the word of doctors, a call not to throw the masks in the street, while people have been seen recovering single-use masks, cleaning and reusing them. What you should not do, says Gotson Pierre, who recalls the problem of medical waste.

But it is not only the information disseminated on social networks that must be taken with caution, the journalist believes that we must also be wary of that given by the authorities. This Tuesday, May 5, 2020, according to the authorities, the country has identified 100 confirmed cases of people with coronavirus and 11 deaths. "  This figure should challenge us, because everyone knows that the real number of Haitians infected with the virus is higher than official announcements  ," said Gotson Pierre. It is clear that the population is very wary of the government and its ability to manage the crisis. "  This lack of confidence in the word of the authorities also complicates our work,  " notes the journalist.

Another obstacle journalists face is the curfew put in place by the authorities. The attack on a journalist last week by the police despite his permission to circulate had consequences for the operation of the newsrooms. "  We could not update information because it was impossible for us to go to the editorial office after dark,  " explains Gotson Pierre. Journalists are now careful not to circulate during the curfew, and take their precautions.

Towards decentralization of treatment against Covid-19?

It's on the front page of the Alterpresse agency. The Artibonite department will soon be able to welcome patients with Covid-19. This was explained by Doctor Marcel Chatelier, responsible for the health management of Artibonite, in a program by Alterradio. According to Gotson Pierre, quoting the medical manager, level 1 and level 2 isolation centers (with breathing apparatus) will soon be operational. The city of Gonaïves could thus have 50 to 60 beds for level 2. This is perhaps the first step towards a decentralization of screening, which for the moment can only be achieved in Port-au-Prince, concludes the editor-in-chief of Alterpresse. 

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• Haiti
• Coronavirus