PIH launches Summer Reading Series: Haiti After the Earthquake

It is our hope that the Summer Reading Series will serve as a means of dialogue between PIH staff and our incredible network of supporters about Haiti’s long-term reconstruction.

Released just 18 months after that devastating event that shook Haiti to its core, Paul’s book Haiti After the Earthquake recounts his own experiences of January 12, 2010, while also both praising and critiquing aspects of the world’s response to the earthquake.

Joia Mukherjee, PIH’s chief medical officer offered to help start the conversation with these thoughts and questions:

Paul’s book is written to remind us that the people of Haiti have not been simply victims of a ‘natural disaster’ but rather that the disastrous consequences of the 2010 earthquake are rooted in the international policies that serve to continually keep Haiti impoverished.

For those of us who have dedicated ourselves to accompanying Haiti, the strength of its people is obvious—which begs a few questions that I hope you’ll join us in discussing:

• First, why was Haiti so vulnerable to such a catastrophic disaster?

• Second, during the initial aftermath, in what ways was the collective response productive, where did it fall short, and does Haiti’s history offer clues as to why?

Paul and his co-authors offer their own perspectives on these questions in the book, but we’d very much like to hear yours.
 
Please use the comment section below to share your comments, ideas, and thoughts — and to begin a dialogue with other readers.