Summary of Article: This article was published online at National Geographic, written by Kristin Romey, with photography taken by Andrew McConnell, and published October 6, 2016. The article, Pictures Reveal Hurricane Matthew's Destruction in Haiti, speaks about the impact of the category 4 hurricane, with 145 mile winds and rain blinding. Photojournalist Andrew McConnell speaks of the difficulty Haiti is under. The people took the brunt of hurricane Matthew, after the country had suffered the devastating earthquake in 2010 and the resulting cholera outbreak, and officials are reporting nearly nine hundred people dead so far, though information is still slowly emerging. Roads are blocked off, homes decimated, and people are scattered; seeking shelter that will be temporary, carrying each other out on motorbikes and each other's backs, and unable to enter hospitals already full. As hurricane Matthew heads into the southeastern part of the U.S, fear rises that Haitian struggles will be overshadowed by the people in need of help elsewhere.
Further Information and Analysis: Andrew McConnell, the photojournalist relied on in this article for information, made a statement regarding the outreach he hopes his contribution is making in regards to the awareness of Haiti's current needs and struggles, stating "They are likely to need a lot of assistance in the coming days," He says also, "I hope my photos help show that." He is a journalist and an artist, focused on the intent to bring awareness to and help the communities in Haiti, through his photos revealing to the public who seek it the brutal conditions Haitians are currently forced to live under. He has worked in Syria, Lebanon and Somalia among other places, and his focus appears to be primarily one of bringing awareness to needs of those in poverty, those refugees and citizens fighting to survive despite circumstance. National Geographic also has this in mind as a goal through their focuses and publications, and the news they bring to the consumer. This in particular is an economic issue because Haitians are in need of support, in the form that is easiest to parts of the word that can provide it: through the spending of money. The possible ignorance the American people could treat Haiti with in this time, considering our own citizens have also been hurt by this hurricane, is especially troublesome in the face of this struggle, because we have made such big contributions to the wellbeing of Haitian lives in the past. To bring the attention of the viewer to this need in Haiti seems to be Kristin Romey's goal in writing this article, so it seems out of place that McConnell should make that remark about his attempt in his work to show that Haiti needs assistance, when it is already clear. My reaction is to assume that he is trying to bring attention to himself, but disregarding that notion it is easier to believe he is only attempting to do as he says he is (he is already accredited by the article, and quoted throughout by Romey after all! Also, I realize my focus is on the visual artist and not on the article as much. Oops) I already knew that Haiti had been struggling greatly since the earthquake in 2010, and vaguely about the cholera outbreak, but did not actually know with the coverage on the news having been centered on our own status in the U.S, that Haiti had been hit by Hurricane Matthew! My understanding of the article isn't necessarily complete, because I cannot even imagine the kind of impact it has had, even with pictures and words. To have already been struggling with everything thinkable, supplies and shelter and economy, and then to be hit by an earthquake so devastating over nine hundred people die, wreckage still littering the streets, people being pulled out days later; how would that be? It is one thing to describe and another to experience, and without that kind of experience, how can any of us be fully capable of helping, and truly understanding? At least there is a drive to action, to help countries experiencing things like this, to support each other as human beings. The main point of the article is that Haiti needs help, and anyone who would have the thought of 'again' should be taken there to see for themselves (should, but won't be) the struggle that parts of humanity face. But those people I am speaking of are not the ones in a similar vein of poverty (if that makes sense?); that is understandable. It's a valid question to ask how much a nation should help others if it is in need itself, though it is a frustrating one to the consumer whose first thought is to help and not to consider. But the kind of consumer most frustrating to me reading this article is the kind selfish enough to keep much and give little to people who cannot keep at all, not the one rational enough to take a step back and consider our own country. As Hurricane Matthew impacts the world, and other hurricanes will continue to make this same mark, we have to ask ourselves as people if we are going to sit around and contemplate who is more worth helping, or accept that that notion is a ridiculous distraction from the answer that is everyone. Everyone is worth helping. It's just a matter of managing that assistance to effectively help as many people possible with what is available, even with loss of human life.
Link to Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/10/hurricane-matthew-haiti-photographs-bridge/
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