Haiti - Belleville intelligencer
07/04/11 19:56 Filed in: Haiti
Filmmaker: Nothing can prepare you for Haiti
By LUKE HENDRY THE INTELLIGENCER
Doug Knutson spent a week looking for some hope in hell. The filmmaker and owner of Belleville's Windswept Productions returned April 28 from filming a documentary in Haiti.
"It's hard to believe you're on the same planet," said Knutson. "Nothing can really prepare you for it." He said the "overwhelming" experience began the moment he left the air-conditioned plane and moved "from breathable air to pollution and stench and dust." Knutson was there with workers of Montreal-based charity Vision Citadelle.
He first met Joseph Aristal, a Haitian pastor, in 2006 while in the Dominican Republic. Moved by the pastor's efforts to help his people, Knutson began raising funds -- and donating much of his own money -- to help Aristal. He later joined forces with Vision Citadelle and now aids his friend through the organization. Staff of the charity visited Knutson's church, Belleville's Victoria Baptist, in 2008.
His film, Haiti: Finding Heaven in Hell, documents the work of both Vision Citadelle and Aristal.
"Pastor Joseph does an almost impossible job in an impossible situation," Knutson said this week.
That situation has been far worsened by the Jan. 12 earthquake. "In Port-au-Prince, you wonder why there's anybody there, and there's eight million people there, all living in tents," said Knutson. "One was a bedsheet over a stick in the mud. "I remember thinking, A, what am I doing here, and B, where on Earth would you ever start? "The kids just break your heart," he said, recalling a visit to one of his friend's two schools. "They welcome you like royalty. They line up; they sing. "When school's over, they all march down the road 500 feet to the tent city."
Safety was a concern throughout the trip. Knutson was told by Aristal to take only his smallest camera into one area. "If a little kid comes up to you and asks for that camera, you give it to him -- or he could shoot you dead," said Aristal. Knutson said he was told children as young as eight have become "beggars, prostitutes or killers."
Despite the suffering of millions of people, oppressive heat, and culture shock, Knutson found reasons to be hopeful. Haiti has been largely deforested. The Citadelle group visited a reforestation project, home to a new school and fruit tree nursery. "Five years ago it was nothing but a desert -- just hard, dry ground," Knutson said. It now has annual yields of tens of thousands of fruit. "Maurice (Chavannes, of Vision Citadelle) said that when they first got there people ran away from strangers. Now when strangers arrive they run toward you." He said a goat farm was also in the plans as a way of supporting one of Aristal's schools and a poultry farm aids not only its farmers but four schools. "Any education is a little bit of hope. "They have a lot of wells and water filtration systems that they are putting all over the place," he added.
Seeing bright spots amid the quake's aftermath inspired his film's name. He said it's unknown when the project will be completed. He said Haitians are trying bravely to rebuild their lives. "They're not beaten. They're really strong. They're proud." Some still attend Sunday church services in their finest clothes, he said. Knutson said he was encouraged by Haitians' faith and asked one man why their faith remained so strong despite having nothing. "He said, 'How come you have everything and you don't show any signs of faith?'" Knutson said. "Touché.
"It was the hardest thing I've ever done, the hardest place I've ever seen," he said. "I kept saying, 'If I ever get out of here, I will never come back.' "But it's all I can think of since I got here, and I probably will go back." He urges others to continue to help Haitians recover. "There is a lot of need there. "It's faded from the headlines, but it's not over and it won't be over for decades. What really worries me is here are these people living in tents and what if a hurricane blows through? It'll just sweep them out to sea." Even without a storm, he said, it seems doubtful the tents will last the summer.
"I would encourage people to do their research and make sure what they're doing is not a handout but a hand up. "Just don't forget."
lhendry@intelligencer.ca
By LUKE HENDRY THE INTELLIGENCER
Doug Knutson spent a week looking for some hope in hell. The filmmaker and owner of Belleville's Windswept Productions returned April 28 from filming a documentary in Haiti.
"It's hard to believe you're on the same planet," said Knutson. "Nothing can really prepare you for it." He said the "overwhelming" experience began the moment he left the air-conditioned plane and moved "from breathable air to pollution and stench and dust." Knutson was there with workers of Montreal-based charity Vision Citadelle.
He first met Joseph Aristal, a Haitian pastor, in 2006 while in the Dominican Republic. Moved by the pastor's efforts to help his people, Knutson began raising funds -- and donating much of his own money -- to help Aristal. He later joined forces with Vision Citadelle and now aids his friend through the organization. Staff of the charity visited Knutson's church, Belleville's Victoria Baptist, in 2008.
His film, Haiti: Finding Heaven in Hell, documents the work of both Vision Citadelle and Aristal.
"Pastor Joseph does an almost impossible job in an impossible situation," Knutson said this week.
That situation has been far worsened by the Jan. 12 earthquake. "In Port-au-Prince, you wonder why there's anybody there, and there's eight million people there, all living in tents," said Knutson. "One was a bedsheet over a stick in the mud. "I remember thinking, A, what am I doing here, and B, where on Earth would you ever start? "The kids just break your heart," he said, recalling a visit to one of his friend's two schools. "They welcome you like royalty. They line up; they sing. "When school's over, they all march down the road 500 feet to the tent city."
Safety was a concern throughout the trip. Knutson was told by Aristal to take only his smallest camera into one area. "If a little kid comes up to you and asks for that camera, you give it to him -- or he could shoot you dead," said Aristal. Knutson said he was told children as young as eight have become "beggars, prostitutes or killers."
Despite the suffering of millions of people, oppressive heat, and culture shock, Knutson found reasons to be hopeful. Haiti has been largely deforested. The Citadelle group visited a reforestation project, home to a new school and fruit tree nursery. "Five years ago it was nothing but a desert -- just hard, dry ground," Knutson said. It now has annual yields of tens of thousands of fruit. "Maurice (Chavannes, of Vision Citadelle) said that when they first got there people ran away from strangers. Now when strangers arrive they run toward you." He said a goat farm was also in the plans as a way of supporting one of Aristal's schools and a poultry farm aids not only its farmers but four schools. "Any education is a little bit of hope. "They have a lot of wells and water filtration systems that they are putting all over the place," he added.
Seeing bright spots amid the quake's aftermath inspired his film's name. He said it's unknown when the project will be completed. He said Haitians are trying bravely to rebuild their lives. "They're not beaten. They're really strong. They're proud." Some still attend Sunday church services in their finest clothes, he said. Knutson said he was encouraged by Haitians' faith and asked one man why their faith remained so strong despite having nothing. "He said, 'How come you have everything and you don't show any signs of faith?'" Knutson said. "Touché.
"It was the hardest thing I've ever done, the hardest place I've ever seen," he said. "I kept saying, 'If I ever get out of here, I will never come back.' "But it's all I can think of since I got here, and I probably will go back." He urges others to continue to help Haitians recover. "There is a lot of need there. "It's faded from the headlines, but it's not over and it won't be over for decades. What really worries me is here are these people living in tents and what if a hurricane blows through? It'll just sweep them out to sea." Even without a storm, he said, it seems doubtful the tents will last the summer.
"I would encourage people to do their research and make sure what they're doing is not a handout but a hand up. "Just don't forget."
lhendry@intelligencer.ca