Coproducer and director of the video documentary about Haiti, Lafanmi Selavi graciously took some time out to field a few questions from posthoc.

Q.: What initially drew you to examine the current situation in Haiti?

A.:  My step-daughter, Laura Flynn, returned to Haiti with Aristide after the coup to work as his assistant in foreign affairs.  Simultaneously, I was studying for my masters in social and cultural anthropology.  My particular interest is representation of the other, particularly, embedded racism in the media.  I began to pay more attention to Haiti because of Laura, and I was upset by the disparity in what I experienced during my visits to Laura and the images I found in the media regarding Haiti.

Q.:  What time period did you spend in Haiti and how long did you stay? What were your accommodations during while in Haiti?

A: I visited Haiti a few times.  The actual shooting time was about twenty days.  We stayed in a great hotel, and had a driver in an ancient Land Rover that looked like something from "Out of Africa".  We were quite comfortable.

Q.: while you do a superb job of getting the people to open up for the camera, I imagine you must have encountered some resistance among the Haitians to your project.  How much and what kind of  resistance? Did you ever find yourself in danger?

A: It depended on the situation.  Caitlin feels it was the most difficult shooting she’s done and she’s a really brave lady who has shot in many developing countries.  There’s a lot of footage with Caitlin’s hand over the lens.  During the coup, those people who cooperated with journalists were often tortured or killed and there was also torture or threats to their families.  We had bodyguards when we entered the slums. They were not official bodyguards, but residents of the areas we were visiting. They were there to lend credibility to us and to protect us.  However, people were very concerned about being on camera. We also had to do some drive by covert shooting.  At other times when we would be in a public space in Port-au-Prince, interviewing someone, huge crowds would gather.  The Haitians like to give suggestions --- both to us and to the person being interviewed.  It was a very humorous and joyous experience.

Q.: Since the title means, “The Family is Life”, what your perceptions are about the similarities and differences between the notions of Family in Haiti and here in the U.S.?

A: This is a good question but it could be another thesis.  The colonialists did not encourage marriage during plantation times.  It was a way to control the slaves.  Consequently, for the peasants "family" can mean many things. The title refers to an extended family and a strong sense of community with people caring deeply for one another and bonding together to survive whether or not they are related.

Q.: what is the current relationship between the U.S. and Haiti?

A: . The relationship is tenuous.  We found no resentment towards the U.S., quite the contrary.  I think Aristide frightens many U.S. politicians because he is not a pawn.  He cares fiercely about his people and although he would like help, he cannot be bought. He wants to find a way for more jobs and self-sufficiency with foreign aid.

Q.:  Haiti looks to be a greener country than I expected, yet the environmental news we hear suggests otherwise.  Does the Haitian government have any plan to deal with their environmental problems?  Are they getting any outside assistance?  Are there any independent environmental groups within Haiti working on the same issues?

A: There are many groups working on the environment.  Unfortunately, without potable water, sewer systems or education for the majority of the population, deforestation is not the highest priority.  People cut the trees for money or fuel because they are starving.

Q.: At the end, we’re told the Lafanmi’s live-in program at Lafanmi was closed after the “rebellion” by the former residents, yet it doesn’t seem to be clear exactly why.  Could you elucidate further?

A: After losing the lives of children in the past the Aristide Foundation felt that the children were not safe.  It was a matter of infiltration by opponents of Aristide.  This is one of the many areas of good work the foundation does and it is a good way to discredit him by making it appear that the children are not well treated.

Q.:  How do the people regard the current Haitian administration?  What are Aristide’s chances of regaining office at this point in time?

A: President Rene Preval is the current president.    A small number of voters turned out for his election which was viewed as a sign of apathy by the Haitians.  In fact, it was a response to the decision to not allow Aristide  to complete a full term in the country.  The peasants wanted him to serve additional time as president to make up for the time he was in exile in the U.S. after the coup.  Aristide will run again and the great majority of people expect him to win.

Q.: The documentary states that Haiti is isolated from the global economy. Is it possible for them to find their own way to prosperity under such circumstances without joining in the hyper-hubbub of global capitalism?

A: Sorry, this is a great question and one I could answer in a few pages. The largest problem for developing countries is that that must compete with world trade competition and they find themselves further and further away from their ability to feed themselves.  The U.S. subsidizes our rice farmers so we then export it to Haiti undercutting the price of rice of local farmers.  Individual farmers cannot compete with large corporations or subsidized crops from the big 7.

Q: what are your next projects?

A: I don’t know.  I’ll have to see what seems to be upsetting me the most in another six months.