Under The Sun

When a devastating earthquake hit Haiti on January 12, 2010, its political and social aftershocks were felt in South Florida, the region with the largest Haitian-born population in the U.S.

We aired a one-hour special on the impact of the earthquake in Haiti on life in South Florida. It told stories of fear, survival, faith and friendship. They were the product of nearly six months of intensive reporting and producing by the Under the Sun team. We told stories from a public school that absorbed young quake survivors, a church in Little Haiti that opened its doors to grief-stricken relatives, and a hospital tent where exhausted Miami doctors were uplifted by a Creole hymn.

The show opens with Calling Home, a story from the first days after the quake about Haitian families in Miami trying desperately to reach loved ones back home. In TPS: Long and Winding Road, we looked at how a special immigration status is offering a new hope to some Haitians. Then co-host Dan Grech explored how language frames a disaster in his “Hurricane, I Mean Earthquake” interview with linguist Feryal Yavas about the common local slip-up of saying hurricane and meaning earthquake.

The second half of Under the Sun’s Haiti Special featured Reverend Reginald Jean-Mary of the Notre Dame D’Haiti church in Miami, speaking about the role of music and faith in Faith in the Aftermath. The piece includes a recording by one of the church choirs produced by the Under the Sun team. Then four medical staff from South Florida told about a life-changing moment in a crowded makeshift hospital tent, in Patients and Healers. Another piece on healing, 2 East, focused on the relationship between a doctor and a nine-year-old quake survivor. Finally, we handed our recorders over to two Lauderdale Lakes high school students, in Teens Buddy Up With Quake Survivors. Interviews between other students were highlighted on our website.

In conjunction with the airing of this program, Under the Sun hosted a live event for 300 people at a school in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood, examining the impact of the earthquake on life in South Florida through musical performances, a photography exhibition, performance art, live interviews with people featured in the radio special, and audio excerpts from the special itself. The event raised money for Haitian relief through the nonprofit organization Food for the Poor.

No public radio station in the country dedicated this level of attention to the aftermath of the earthquake. We were driven by a mission to keep the rebuilding of Haiti on the local — and national — agenda. As part of this mission, we worked hard to give our pieces an audience far beyond South Florida. Seven individual stories were picked up for national air on five different shows, including NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered, APM’s Marketplace and PRI’s the World. Co-host Alicia Zuckerman appeared on the national morning news program, The Takeaway (produced by PRI and WNYC) to discuss Under the Sun’s special Haiti coverage. And Patients and Healers aired nationally on The Story (produced by WUNC, distributed by American Public Media). It was the first time The Story ever aired a piece produced by a member station. The individual pieces also aired on public stations around Florida, and the full hour was broadcast on NPR member station WGCU in Fort Myers, Florida.

In addition to an hour-long special on the weekend of July 17 and 18, WLRN aired the individual stories during the morning and evening drive times the week of July 12-16. WLRN’s listening region ranges 240 miles from the Palm Beaches to the Florida Keys and out into the Everglades.

The community response to Under the Sun’s special coverage was immediate. The station was flooded with calls and e-mails of praise, and the website traffic more than tripled for the week of special coverage that accompanied the special. Comments poured in, such as “You made me weep on my way to the office. And also made realize so many things we take for granted that we should be thankful for,” and “Thank you for persevering to bring to the fore this example of the power of music and hope. The Haitian people deserve so much better than they get,” and “I heard this piece today and was so moved … it shows the spirit and strength of the Haitian people, something I have observed myself. It made me ask: Why am I not more grateful for all I have.”

The organization Koze Ayiti hosted a listening session during the program’s radio broadcast, followed by a discussion about the issues it raised. Koze Ayiti is an organization of faculty, staff, and students at the University of Miami School of Communication formed in response to the disaster and to fill the void of Haitian-produced media in the United States.

Under the Sun’s reporters and producers told some of the most pressing stories of their community, capturing context and nuances, putting local voices on air, at a moment of crisis and coming together. We brought the community closer together through radio storytelling and an inclusive community event. And we were able to reach not only our local audience, but listeners across the state of Florida and the nation as well.