Through the use of media, Caribbean migrants have been able to develop a stronger sense of transnationalism. The availability of information regarding the current events or political and economic status of their home countries has allowed them to maintain connections from abroad. Furthermore, those who have chosen to remain in Caribbean countries have access to updates regarding progress made in their diasporic communities or policy decisions made abroad that will affect their domestic life.


Haitian migrants, to point out one ethnicity in particular, have quite an impressive network of information available through The Haitian Times. The Haitian Times is a weekly newspaper based in Brooklyn, New York that provides access to news updates that occur in Haiti as well as cities in the United States that have large communities of Haitian immigrants. Through this, Haitians living abroad can be informed about the events occurring in Haiti, and vice versa. Through this news medium, Haitians can receive updates pertaining to the ongoing cholera crisis. Alarmingly, Haiti is experiencing an increase in deaths as a result of cholera. Cholera is an infectious disease spread through contaminated water that has been plaguing Haiti since 2010. According to the UN, 9,145 people have died from cholera, and 779,000 have been afflicted. Cholera cases increased in 2016 after Hurricane Matthew struck the country.

However, environmental factors are not solely responsible for the increase in cholera cases. UN clinics that provided vaccinations closed due to lack of funding. The original budget of $2.2 million was not enough to sustain the crisis. Along with vaccinations and treatment, Haiti needed immediate improvements to their sanitation infrastructure and water sources, the cost of which was estimated to be around $400 million according to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. A majority of Haitian citizens view that it is the UN’s responsibility to solve this crisis due to the fact that UN peacekeepers stationed in Haiti played a role in introducing cholera to the country. The peacekeepers had arrived from Nepal, where the strain of the disease originated, and was spread throughout Haiti from a UN camp in the upper Artibonite Valley.

                              

A lawsuit had been filed against the UN in October 2013 in the Southern District of New York in an effort to seek justice, however it was dismissed by a U.S. judge. This resulted in outrage amongst Haitian communities across the diaspora, which led to several anti-UN protests. Ultimately, in December of 2016, the UN apologized for the cholera epidemic. The Secretary General at the time proposed a solution called the “New Approach” which required $400 million in funding. Unfortunately, they have only been able to raise $2 million of the required funding. Haiti’s Ministry of Health, and other organizations, are working to increase efforts to fight the disease. For instance, the Ministry of Health launched a vaccination campaign to bring one million oral vaccines, and are being supported by UNICEF, Partners in Health, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, International Medical Corps, the Pan American Health Organization/ World Health Organization, and others.

Furthermore, Community2Community, a non-profit service organization founded by Haitian-American Marie-Yolaine Eusebe, is focusing on repairing the water distribution system of the Haitian community of Petit-Goâve. They have also partnered with the International Black Women’s Public Policy Institute to provide rain boots to Haitians to help avoid contact with contaminated water. These organizations aim to offer those across the diaspora and those with a heart for Haiti an opportunity to be a part of something greater than themselves. They are just two examples of international networks created as a result of diasporic transnationalism. Additionally, support for these organizations has accumulated as a result of the spread of information via the media. A few months ago, the Haitian Times published an article to promote C2C and IBWPPI and their efforts to fight cholera. This has allowed the cause to reach significantly more people looking to provide aid to their home country, thus highlighting the connections formed as a result of online and print media.