REFRAKA's offices were also destroyed, but Salomon endured a profound personal and professional loss--a loss that cannot be measured or chronicled on videotape or explained fully in conversation.
Myriam Merlet, a huge force in the formation of Salomon's work ethic, was the Chief of Staff of the Haitian Ministry of Women. She perished in the rubble of her collapsed home. This was a defining moment for Saloman and many Haitian women who had come to depend upon the guidance of Merlet, a woman who is recognized as one of the most influential feminists in the world. Merlot brought international attention to the use of rape as a political weapon.
The quake may have cost women an important leader, among many women activists lost, but that did not stop Salomon, who continues to challenge herself. She is taking a class from Regan at the State University of Haiti, where Regan has developed a curriculum in investigative journalism. This offering, through the faculty of Human Sciences, is the first time investigative journalism has been offered in the history of Haiti. Currently, there are 26 students in the class doing real-world investigative reporting as they learn the ins and outs of newspaper and broadcast journalism. Regan is teaching them the rudiments of film editing using the Mac iMovie program.
Post-earthquake, in what is known as the "reconstruction" phase, there is plenty to investigate. Salomon's guest shot in the cholera video was one of a series that examines aid and reconstruction from the point of view of Haiti's poor--poor that make up the majority of the population and speak Creole. The producers and writers know the language, the culture, and the history. They translate the content into French, English and Spanish for audiences in Haiti, in the Haitian diaspora (in Creole and English), as well as in North America, Latin America and throughout the world.
Saloman pushes herself constantly to learn more, to do more, and to "Get the Haitian perspective across to the world. "We see that it is mostly foreign journalists who are talking about what is happening in Haiti when there is a need for us to show how we see things."
It is also difficult for women journalists to be heard in Haiti.
The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) issued a white paper on gender equality in media.
Currently women are only a small percentage of professionals in the Haitian media, despite very active organizations of female media professionals. Gender equity is an important component of the modernization of the media landscape in Haiti. In addition to including women's perspectives in the media, improved access to training and jobs for women provides a more equal society. This cannot be achieved solely by increasing the number of women trained, but requires comprehensive support for women's media organizations and for the position of women in the media.
"A lot of (Haitian) radio stations that are not doing the work they should be doing. They do the breaking news, but as a listener, I want to know more," Saloman says.
When asked about equal opportunity for women in broadcasting, she is blunt.
"It's not an equal business. Women are used more for their pretty voices."
It is a difficult road, but Saloman vows to press on.
"As long a women are not free they will keep marching."
Salomon has traveled the world, to Spain, Mexico, Canada, Ecuador and Jamaica on behalf of women's right to be heard. Meanwhile, she says she "would like to have work that is a marriage between women's issues and communication; something that is valuable to society."
And then Salomon offers a final statement--another unscripted response to a question that was not asked.
"I want to move forward as a journalist. I want to achieve, and I want to move forward as a feminist journalist."
Salomon's words echo that of her inspiration, the late Myriam Merlot, who offered this observation in her article "The More People Dream." This excerpt is from Walking on Fire: Haitian Women's Stories of Survival and Resistance.
