Tuesday, May 02, 2017

UNBYLINED: A Q&A WITH A HAITIAN FIXER



By Valerio Farris
In the wake of the 2010 earthquake that ravaged Haiti, Haitian-American Pascal Antoine moved to the country he grew up visiting. He began working as a fixer for foreign journalists who often flood the island following natural and political disasters. He spoke with Roads & Kingdoms about Haiti’s love-hate relationship with Western media, the country’s fraught race relations, and the frustrations of dealing with journalists hunting for misery porn.
Roads & Kingdoms: What is your connection to Haiti?
Pascal Antoine: I am of Haitian descent but I grew up in the United States. My mother always made sure we knew where we came from, so we eventually learned how to speak Creole, which I perfected after my move here. After, the [2010] Haiti earthquake, I came to Haiti and thought, “Wow, this is really interesting what’s going on here.” I had been coming to Haiti since 1999, but that was the first time that I had seen the country so upside down. That particular trip made me think I needed to see if I could actually live here. I finally made the move in 2012.

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