Germain in Haiti: The start of a journey

[Anthony Germain is on a week-long assignment covering Team Broken Earth, a group of Newfoundland and Labrador nurses and doctors, in Haiti. Each day, Anthony will file observations of what he sees; you can hear his reports on the St. John's Morning Show.]

Day 1

Saturday, March 29, 18:30. Arrived in Port-au-Prince an hour ago. Tense excitement is building as nurses and surgeons get ready to get this clinic rolling for the next week. A day of relaxed people travelling from St. John's, chilling in airport lounges. Lots of blunt jokes — the candour that comes from being on the road. 

Journalistic process starting to unfurl in my mind the way it does on all big "shoots." Saw a few injured people on the way in, but we've yet to unpack our gear and test it.

Some challenging questions arise: How do I cover what these people are going to do over the next week without exploiting the Haitian patients? Or, without deifying what this team of Newfoundland health-care professionals does? 

Don't want to sensationalize, but this is a life-and-death place. 

Take a deep breath. Adjust to the heat, the smells. Keep the coverage real. 

Let's see how I do.