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«Tap
Tap», a Haitian sitcom humorous
IOM has produced a situation comedy,
Sitcom, called Tap Tap [a common
name for public transport in Haiti],
to bring comic relief to the Haitian
people, many of whom are still
living in camps and
earthquake-ravaged communities two
years since disaster struck the
country.
IOM has produced a situation comedy,
Sitcom, called Tap Tap, a common
name for public transport in Haiti,
to bring comic relief to the Haitian
people, many of whom are still
living in camps and
earthquake-ravaged communities two
years since disaster struck the
country.
Tap taps are brightly painted pickup
trucks used for public
transportation. They are a symbol
for Haitian movement and quotidian
daily life. The Tap Tap is a vehicle
designed with Haitian ingenuity
resourcefulness and artisanal
aesthetic. Haitians love humour, and
the sitcom draws on a rich of comic
material to bring some well-deserved
relief to a population living under
so much stress and strain.
Also named Tap Tap, the series is
being made by a talented young
Haitian director Laudel "Zaka" Chery
and his team. The sitcom is an
original concept developed by IOM in
Haiti which has been transformed
into film by Zaka and his filmmaking
team. The goal of Tap Tap is to
represent real-life interactions in
which Haitians can recognize
themselves, laugh about their
challenges and celebrate their
vibrant culture. The first episode
is being screened in
earthquake-ravaged neighbourhoods
across Port-au-Prince.
Tap Tap was in part inspired by the
British sitcom Steptoe and Son,
broadcast in the UK the 1970s and
1980s. The sitcom is centred on a
hard-working family from urban
slums, for which the Tap Tap is a
lifeline.
Like Steptoe, Tap Tap deals
humorously with the
inter-generational conflicts between
a father and son as he drives
through the capital.
"We are delighted to play a role in
supporting young Haitian film-making
talent, particularly someone who
understands the value of using
humour to build understanding among
people," said IOM Haiti chief of
mission Luca Dall'Oglio.
The government and humanitarian
community face enormous challenge in
persuading the over 500,000 or so
people remaining in camps to return
home. Various strategies have
successfully emptied some of the
most prominent camps. Some
beneficiaries are offered rental
assistance or other direct aid to
return home.
The sitcom also helps explain that
as reconstruction gets into full
swing, it is time to consider other
alternatives to staying through
another hurricane and rainy season.
In the film the beautifully
decorated Tap Tap winds its way
through areas devastated by the
earthquake, past ravines and
hillsides with camps clinging to the
sides, through wealthier areas. The
Tap Tap travels through the very
heart of the earthquake ravaged
capital as we follow the adventures
of the owner-driver Mercidieu, his
Face book-loving son and theTap Tap
manager who endured the hardship of
servitude as a restavek, when given
away by his parents as a young boy.
In the first episode the Tap Tap
breaks down outside a camp where the
driver is robbed and then rescued by
a dreadlocked young man who emerges
from a camp. He gets a job as the
Tap Tap manager.
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