HAITI / DKDR FACTORY

The Korean-owned DKDR garment factory reopens in Port-au-Prince as weary Haitians return to their jobs, struggling to find ways to cope with the economic devastation caused by the earthquake. MINUSTAH

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:29
• Production Date: 28 January 2010
• Asset Language: Original
• Subject Topical: ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
• Geographic Subject: HAITI; UNITED NATIONS STABILIZATION MISSION IN HAITI - MINUSTAH
• MAMS Id: U100128e

Description

STORY: HAITI / DKDR FACTORY
TRT: 2:29
SOURCE: MINUSTAH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: CREOLE / ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 28 JANUARY 2010, PORT AU PRINCE, HAITI / FILE

Shotlist

28 JANUARY 2010, PORT AU PRINCE, HAITI

1. Wide shot, exterior of entrance to SONAPI industrial park in Port-au-Prince
2. Med shot, exterior of DKDR textile factory
3. Wide shot, exterior of DKDR textile factory
4. Wide shot, workers at sewing machines inside the textile factory
5. Med shot, worker in textile factory
6. Wide shot, workers in textile factory
7. Med shot, worker
8. Close up, hands at sewing machine
9. Wide shot, general manager walks through an empty portion of DKDR textile factory
10. SOUNDBITE (Creole) Moran Ceremie, Worker:
"We are the ones who survived. Working is a good thing, it is a positive step to go back to work. We need to subsist economically. Even if we are still grieving the loss of our family and friends."
11. Med shot, empty machines
12. Wide shot, an empty portion of the factory
13. Med shot, worker hanging sports jackets
14. Wide shot, two women cutting fabric
15. Med shot, woman sorting jackets
16. SOUNDBITE (English) C.H. Lee, General Manager, DKDR:
"From this Monday, we started to work with our workers. They would like to work also. But at the same time they are afraid of earthquakes. With any small noise, they can not be staying inside the buildings. They would like to go outside. So I would like to give them more rest."
17. Med shot, hands at a sewing machine
18. Wide shot, interior of the factory with a pile of t-shirts
19. Wide shot, a pile of sport jackets

FILE – 27 OCTOBER 2009, PORT AU PRINCE, HAITI

20. Wide shot, GMC garment factory floor
21. Med shot, female worker
22. Med shot, workers sorting fabrics

Storyline

A garment factory reopened this week (Mon 25 Jan) as Haitians struggled to find ways to cope with the economic devastation caused by the 12 January earthquake.
DKDR Haiti, a Korean-owned factory located at the Sonapi Industrial Park near the Port-au-prince international airport, survived the earthquake but its cracked walls show some signs of damage.

About half of the total 1,300 Haitians employed at the factory, turned up for work despite the trauma of being in a building. Many are still missing; some have died and others may have left Port-au-Prince for the countryside.
SOUNDBITE (Creole) Moran Ceremie, Worker:
"We are the ones who survived. Working is a good thing, it is a positive step to go back to work. We need to subsist economically. Even if we are still grieving the loss of our family and friends."
C.H Lee, the factory’s general manager, said he allows his workers to take a break and step outside if need to as many of them are still afraid of any little noise or tremor.
SOUNDBITE (English) C.H. Lee, General Manager, DKDR:
"From this Monday, we started to work with our workers. They would like to work also. But at the same time they are afraid of earthquakes. With any small noise, they can not be staying inside the buildings. They would like to go outside. So I would like to give them more rest."
Factories like DKDR make men’s suits and tuxedos for US retailers such as Jos A. Bank and Men’s Wearhouse.

In 2008, the US Congress passed trade laws known as “HOPE II” to allow garment makers tax-free imports into American markets. The law was expected to create up to 25,000 jobs in Haiti and allow the country to develop a competitive edge on the world market.

DKDR had seen a big increase in their 3rd quarter exports to the US - but now the quake has disrupted operations.
The GMC garment factory, also located in Port au Prince, assembles t-shirts for big US companies like Walmart. It is also up and running despite sustaining a few damages.

The garment industry in Haiti, which employs nearly 10 percent of the nation’s formal work force, accounts for 90 percent of Haiti’s export revenues. Factory workers make about (USD) $170 a month on average, a modest salary given that nearly 70 percent of Haitians make less than (USD) $2 a day.