“Yon Lòt Ayiti Posib”: Glimmers of Another Haiti Following the 2010 Earthquake and 2016 Hurricane Matthew

Abstract

Research, mainly within sociology, demonstrated that disasters can be stages for extraordinary human growth and solidarity. However, research documenting and specifically theorizing local communities as first responders has had limited impact within official disaster response policy and practice, and it is still relatively uncharted within anthropology. Policymakers and journalists alike tend to dismiss local initiatives. Ethnographic research is poised to evaluate the hypothesis of pro-social behavior following disasters and explore ramifications for policy and practice. This article aims to correct this erasure: documenting, analyzing, and theorizing the contributions of Haitian communities as first responders to two disasters, the 2010 earthquake and Hurricane Matthew, in 2016. Analyses from survivors offer glimpses of another Haiti imagined and temporarily brought into being following these events. An estimated 630,000 people left the capital following the earthquake for the provinces. This article focuses on the Grand'Anse, one of the most isolated provinces yet where a large number of people returned. The Grand'Anse was also one of the most affected by Hurricane Matthew. This article documents Haitian people's roles in saving their own and their neighbors' lives in an attempt to inspire disaster researchers to focus more attention on this critical if underacknowledged aspect of disaster response.