IOM Aids Recovery Effort In Earthquake Ravaged Port Au Prince Through Comic Relief
IOM has produced a situation comedy, Sitcom, called Tap Tap, a
common name for public transport in Haiti, to bring comic relief to
the Haitian people, many of whom are still living in camps
and earthquake-ravaged communities two years since disaster struck
the country.
The five-part sitcom aims to raise awareness about the
challenges created by the massive displacement of so many in a
capital city. It also spotlights the leading role of the Government
of Haiti in the reconstruction and resettlement effort. The first
public showing of Tap Tap before a Haitian audience took place on
January 27th in Jalousie, a slum perched high above above
Pétionville, the commercial heart of the capital. In
Jalousie several hundred people gathered to watch and enjoy the
film and left asking for more.
Tap taps are brightly painted pickup trucks used for public
transportation. They are a symbol for Haitian movement and
quotidian daily life. The Tap Tap is a vehicle designed with
Haitian ingenuity resourcefulness and artisanal aesthetic. Haitians
love humour, and the sitcom draws on a rich of comic material to
bring some well-deserved relief to a population living under so
much stress and strain.
Links
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Also named Tap Tap, the series is being made by a talented young
Haitian director Laudel "Zaka" Chery and his team. The
sitcom is an original concept developed by IOM in Haiti which has
been transformed into film by Zaka and his filmmaking team. The
goal of Tap Tap is to represent real-life interactions in which
Haitians can recognize themselves, laugh about their challenges and
celebrate their vibrant culture. The first episode is being
screened in earthquake-ravaged neighbourhoods across Port au
Prince.
Tap Tap was in part inspired by the British sitcom Steptoe and
Son, broadcast in the UK the 1970s and 1980s. The sitcom is centred
on a hard-working family from urban slums, for which the Tap Tap is
a lifeline.
Like Steptoe, Tap Tap deals humorously with the
inter-generational conflicts between a father and son as he drives
through the capital.
"We are delighted to play a role in supporting young Haitian
film-making talent, particularly someone who understands the value
of using humour to build understanding among people," said IOM
Haiti chief of mission Luca Dall'Oglio.
The government and humanitarian community face enormous
challenge in persuading the over 500,000 or so people remaining in
camps to return home. Various strategies have successfully emptied
some of the most prominent camps. Some beneficiaries are offered
rental assistance or other direct aid to return home.
The sitcom also helps explain that as reconstruction gets into
full swing, it is time to consider other alternatives to staying
through another hurricane and rainy season.
In the film the beautifully decorated Tap Tap winds its way
through areas devastated by the earthquake, past ravines and
hillsides with camps clinging to the sides, through wealthier
areas. The Tap Tap travels through the very heart of the earthquake
ravaged capital as we follow the adventures of the owner-driver
Mercidieu, his Face book-loving son and theTap Tap manager who
endured the hardship of servitude as a restavek, when given away by
his parents as a young boy.
In the first episode the Tap Tap breaks down outside a camp
where the driver is robbed and then rescued by a dreadlocked young
man who emerges from a camp. He gets a job as the Tap Tap
manager.
The film is available here:
"paragraph-link-no-underline" href=
"http://tinyurl.com/TapTapOne">http://tinyurl.com/TapTapOne
And on Face book:
"http://www.facebook.com/TapTapHaiti" target=
"_blank">http://www.facebook.com/TapTapHaiti
Photos from the first episode:
"paragraph-link-no-underline" href=
"http://www.flickr.com/photos/haitilense2010/collections/72157628856610235/"
target=
"_blank">http://www.flickr.com/photos/haitilense2010/collections/72157628856610235/
For more information please contact:
Leonard Doyle
IOM Communications Haiti
Tel: +509 3702-5066
E-mail:
"mailto:LDoyle@iom.int">LDoyle@iom.int