Child circulation in disaster contexts: The case of the 2010 Haiti earthquake

Abstract

AbstractThis article examines how disasters and epidemics affect childrearing practices. Specifically, it looks at how the 2010 earthquake and cholera epidemic in Haiti affected transnational child circulation practices along the Haiti‐Dominican Republic border. Foster children and orphans were prominent in international humanitarian aid efforts. Our findings from ethnographic research conducted on the Haiti‐Dominican Republic border from 2004–2010 show that decontextualized child‐rescue focused interventions were more detrimental to children and families than the earthquake and epidemic themselves. While well‐intentioned, child‐focused measures increased the vulnerability of thousands of children and their families. They also restricted the pre‐existing transborder movement of children that characterized the area.