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A Promise in Haiti

A Reporter's Notes on Families and Daily Lives
by Mark Curnutte
A Promise in Haiti: A Reporter's Notes on Families and Daily Lives. Vanderbilt Univ. Aug. 2011. c.232p. photogs. bibliog. ISBN 9780826517838. $25. SOC SCI
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Curnutte (Cincinnati Enquirer) presents the stories of three struggling families in Gonaives, Haiti, a city of 200,000, located approximately 60 miles north of Port-au-Prince. During visits to Gonaives, mainly in 2006 and 2008, Curnutte met and interviewed the Henrisma, Cénécharles, and Louis families. He describes their dire financial situation, poor living conditions, limited employment prospects, and lack of educational opportunities. Despite Haiti's history of natural disasters and ongoing economic and political problems, Curnutte highlights the strength and resiliency of these families, paying particular attention to their faith and religion. Curnutte unfortunately was unable to visit these families after the devastating 2010 earthquake—conditions on the ground made it impossible—but he reports on the situation around Port-au-Prince after the devastation.
VERDICT A timely book that will appeal to a general audience, although the title does not make clear that it is primarily about Haiti before the earthquake. The author's reflections on his internal struggles as a privileged American journalist in Haiti are honest, sincere, and refreshing. Curnutte writes of being influenced by James Agee and Walker Evans's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Recommended to those interested in foreign aid on a personal level and the lives of the poor in Haiti.
Reviewed by Karen Okamoto, John Jay Coll. of Criminal Justice Lib., NY , Jul 01, 2011
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