Millions are made by the agencies and institutions who say they are doing "development" and "humanitarian aid" or "helping the poor." They can be just as corrupt or misguided as crooks and scammers. But how can journalists in the so-called "beneficiary" countries look into these oft-powerful organizations, who portray themselves as not-for-profit benefactors? What can a journalist do when there is little documentation or no open records laws? How to make arguments that pit the public interest against what some say is "development"?
The panel features journalists Daniela Arbex of Brazil, Lafontaine Orvild of Haiti, and Malou Mangahas of the Philippines. The group will talk about a series of major investigations: one which exposed a "holocaust" at a gruesome hospital-turned-prison and death camp, and another which shed light on how, with the help of the World Bank and the Haitian government, Canadian and U.S. companies are poised to exploit most of Haiti's mineral wealth. In both cases, the victims were or are the poor, the exploited and the cast-offs, those with the least access to journalists and to media outlets. Mangahas will speak about her work at the pioneering Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism investigating corrupt foreign assistance and government contracting. As they talk about they work, the panelists will share some of the tricks, tactics and techniques they used, and they will also make the case for investigative journalism that looks into the so-called "good works" of the powerful institutions and agencies working in the "global South."
