Donate NowMark Stanley, Pulitzer Center
The worst earthquake to strike Haiti in 200 years rattled the country yesterday, leaving the infrastructure in shambles and thousands dead. The quake hit just as many believed Haiti was achieving some semblance of stability; relative political repose under President René Préval and heavy United Nations presence enabled economic growth and promised increased foreign investments.
Pulitzer Center grantees Jason Maloney and Kira Kay recently reported on these hopeful developments. In their project on fragile states, they write:
For decades, Haiti has struggled to pull itself out of failure. But just as things would start to look promising, chaos would strike again, in the form of coups, gang wars, natural disasters, or often a combination of several of these crises at once.
Their work aired January 11 on PBS NewsHour. View the Special Director's cut above.
Also check out related Pulitzer Center reporting on HIV and child slaves in Haiti.