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The voices of Haitian artists and activists, woven with music, tell the story of Haiti’s history and its path forward through an hour-long radio documentary produced by the Round Earth Media Program of the International Women’s Media Foundation. The documentary was distributed by American Public Media to public radio stations nationwide.
“We hear so many stories about Haiti and Haitians, difficult stories. That’s what we hear,” says Mary Stucky, director of Round Earth Media and documentary executive producer. “But if we listen more closely, there is another story, one told through music that reflects the real story of this exceptional island nation.”
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You can learn what was happening in the collective consciousness of Haitians at any given moment by listening. Because we were, for sure, singing about it.
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“Haitian Voices: Exodus, Community and the Vital Role of Music” is co-hosted by Haitian sisters Nathalie (Talie) and Mélodie Cerin. Nathalie co-founded and edits Woy Magazine along with Mélodie, reporting on Haitian history, politics and art. Their experiences – including Talie’s personal experience as a musician – help bring together voices and songs from Haiti’s past and present, while reintroducing audiences to Haiti through the history of music.
As a culture steeped in oral tradition, there is an inherent value in passing forward ancestral knowledge through stories and songs. Talie and Mélodie discuss the role of musicians as keepers of Haitian’s cultural memory, emphasizing the Haitian saying devwa memwa, or the duty to remember. They describe the critical importance of not only archiving the violence and injustice of the current moment in Haiti, but also attempting to keep displaced Haitians connected, at home and abroad, through shared art, culture and heritage.
“We chronicle how Haitians have always used song as the preeminent tool for preserving their shared memory of oppression and injustice — and for mapping a hopeful vision for their future,” says Stucky.
Listeners from 150 cities nationwide had the opportunity to experience this documentary, produced in partnership between journalists from Haiti and U.S. based journalists, during its broadcast on public radio stations. Now, anyone can listen to documentary on the International Women’s Media Foundation website.
With grant support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, this documentary is one component of a partnership with the Round Earth Media Program of the IWMF designed to reshape perceptions of Haiti through high-quality, collaborative and Haitian-led storytelling and journalism. Haitian Perspectives also included a successful capacity-building initiative for the journalists involved, resulting in formative professional development, in addition to relationship and trust-building gains between Haitian journalists and U.S. editors and media outlets.
Learn more about WKKF’s commitment to central and southwest Haiti on their website.
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