Like most people I know, all week I was tracking the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. And as predicted by many, yesterday morning, I woke up to a new headline: AFGHANISTAN’S GOVERNMENT COLLAPSES

A second headline read: 7.2 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE STRIKES HAITI

Lower in headline streams, was information about COVID-19’s Delta variant, floods in Turkey, fire in northern California, crisis in Lebanon, and re-openings of schools around the US.

Last night, in a mainstream television special about Afghanistan, “experts” on Afghanistan were interviewed about the crisis, but no effort was made to include Afghan scholars, even those in the diaspora. The “war” in Afghanistan was discussed in the context of 9-11, and there was no mention of Ronald Reagan’s covert war.

In the meantime, coverage of the earthquake that hit Haiti’s south-western peninsula remains on the lower tier of mainstream headlines. The death rate in the area has reached 1,300 while hundreds are still missing. A tropical storm is expected over the next day, and the situation remains dire for the thousands who are on the streets without shelter.

On days like today, I am grateful for alternative news such as Democracy Now!

August 17, 2021: Listen to author Edwidge Danticat talk about the earthquake on Takeaway’s podcast.