tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight a conversation about haiti. causedernational aid has more harm than a curate including a devastating color out break. the book published last year. just out now in paperback. we will turn to a conversation with connie britton about her series on abc. we are glad you joined us. those conversations coming up right now.

♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: four years after the devastating earthquake in haiti it is clear that all good intentions have backfired. the country is worse -- in worse

shape than it was including an outbreak of cholera triggered by troops who poured raw sewage into drinking water. "the big truck that went by" is out in paperback. he has just won the press club award for the best international book -- best book on international affairs. i wondered whether are not i just read is actually correct to your mind is that haiti, that is a damning indictment. haiti is in worse shape than it was before the quake. is that accurate? things that are in arguably worse and some things that have improved since the afternoon of the earthquake itself for years ago. the real problem in haiti is that the legacy of international

assistance after the earthquake has been is it left the country and just as vulnerable a state as when the earthquake struck in the first place. you go back to the hummus is that bill clinton made and hillary clinton made and the international community made, that is not what they set out to do. >> we had a former world bank official making the same kind of argument about what the world bank intends to do in africa and other places around the world. how the intentions do not measure up to what happens in actuality. broadly speaking how is it that these international bodies can again be so well-intentioned and things goes or i? >> individual attentions are one thing but the new have the structures that are in place and it is hard for i well-intentioned individual to fight against those larger structures. the systems have been set up in a way sometimes intentionally or

inadvertently to create these disparities that cause these problems in the first place. those systems are still in existence even with a disaster like the earthquake or the cholera echoed -- epidemic strike. it is not that surprising that individuals have such a hard time changing the situation. is there redress for the haitian to have suffered from this inadvertent effort by the u.n.? >> it is a good system -- example of a system that is rigged against people. the problem with the cholera epidemic for instance, there is a much evidence to date, the scientists reports, there is a preponderance of evidence that the u.n. is singularly responsible for introducing cholera, a disease that had never existed before in haiti to the country. in most situations like that you expect there to be something that could be done to hold people accountable. armycorporation or foreign

for that matter were too dumb something in a river in the united states there are things you can do. you can bring people to court, you can sue them, you can force them to pay for cleanup at the u.n. does not want to. the u.s. has now gone on record recently of not wanting them to be held accountable. there was a lawsuit filed in casefederal court and that was pending for a little while. department weighed in on the side of date u.n. saying the u.n. should have absolute immunity from prosecution in these cases. there are a lot of reasons why they said that. there is a lot of self-interest. basically these powerful organizations further themselves, they are allied with one another and there is not anybody with the kind of power to really change things who is worried about the effects on individual people in places like haiti.

i knew a preacher, a black preacher who believes when he said something profound that the audience might have missed he would look into the crowd and said i think i just said something. i think you just said something that went over their heads that we did not process. i want to go back and get what i thought i heard you say a moment ago. bill clinton, our former u.s. president was the guy we put out front to lead this effort on our behalf are what we were going to do to help the country. of our formervel u.s. president. i thought i heard you say that that hisgovernment justice department or the government under his watch just went on record not wanting the u.n. to be held accountable. for poisoning the water in haiti. how is that possible? >> there are a number of reasons

why -- a number of probable reasons why they made that statement. among other things we're talking about a peacekeeping mission in haiti that is responsible for this epidemic. it is a peacekeeping mission that had been there six years before the earthquake. 10 years now. they u.s. has a lot of peacekeeping missions around the world. some are like the peacekeeping mission in afghanistan. it puts the quarter of the bill for the u.n. peacekeeping missions. if a peacekeeping mission were able to be held accountable for having done something awful through negligence -- negligence resulting in the deaths of 9000 people across the nation, that would leave other missions possible to possible redress and that can get costly. if the u.n. were forced to pay a reparation or if they were forced to foot a significant part of the bill that needs to be paid to the old infrastructure which is all that is needed to stop the cholera

epidemic and keep it from recurring again at the strengths we saw in 2010-20 11, then the u.s. would be left holding about a quarter of that bill. to be frank, the proof is in the pudding. where the u.s. has put their interest and where they put their statement. no fellow citizen would be told that he or she could not sue because it might be too costly. suing tohe purpose of get recompense. to make the other person pay for the damage they have done. we are not just suing for the sake of suing but the fact that we could be on the side of even the u.n. supporting a position that these haitians have no right to seek redress because it might be too costly, it might set a bad precedent.

they contract cholera, they die from this, and there is nothing that can be done. >> the whole problem in the first place is that the people of haiti did not have immunity because there had never been a diagnosed case of any kind of cholera. certainly the kind of cholera that has been circulating around the world since the 1960's. they had no biological immunity. the people seem to enjoy [inaudible] we do about that? what do we do when we hear that we have just cited with an organization that we know cause the death of people just off our borders essentially. we just let that go in one ear and out the other? the haitians have no recourse at this point but what do those of us who care about their plight, what do we do?

rex a lot of americans look at haiti and look at the situation with the cholera epidemic and they think this is a place that is so poor and it has diseases so what else is new so the u.n. brought this disease. why should i care about this and i think one of the things i can change is as people get better educated, as people understand what the actual background was and what has happened since and you actually are able to put statements that the u.n. makes in one day up against statements they make on another. this is the situation right now where the u.n. is out in front or they're trying to raise money telling people that they are not -- the donors are not coming forward with money and the infrastructure is not being built. the country remains vulnerable and cholera could recur. the new point man on the dollar issue has meet a number of direct statements about that and once they get criticized, then another report

or press release or story from the u.n. newscenter saying cholera is under control, we have done all this great work. americans, as people around the world, if people take time to look at that, they look at the contradictions and they look at the situation and they look at the effects it has had on real people's lives in than they bring their influence to bear however they want to, calling their congressman or getting better educated on the issue. you could see change. tavis: one could understand legally why eric holder might have taken this position. they are trying to cover their behind. i get that. i do not accept it but i understand with their argument is. but what have we done is the question i want to ask. you want to protect yourself from this potentially in the future but these people are still suffering from cholera. people are still dying.

the u.n. still did it. what have we done if we are going to take their side and we do not want to open ourselves up to a legal case in the future, what have we done, what are we doing? >> this is the real issue. cholera is a simple disease to stop. all you have to do is make sure that water is filtered and waste is not mix with water and food that people are consuming. you need sanitation. that takes the form of flush toilets and water treatment plants and sewers. one of the issues is that one of the people who are responding to this in the u.s. government of -- and the u.n. say look at the work we have done. they are not willing to make the serious investments that are necessary in order to build the infrastructure that is necessary to stop this epidemic and keep it from recurring. the haitian government has come forward along with the government of the day getting -- neighboring debate i can -- dominican republic. to fund the programs that are

needed and that money is not coming forth. the question is without accountability, is it possible that these steps that have to be taken will be taken? at the moment the answer has been no. i cannot predict the future. it is possible that things have changed. tavis: the book out in print is "the big truck that went by." written by jonathan katz. good to have you on the program. coming up a conversation with "nashville."on from stay with us. for time emmy winner connie britton has carved out an exceptional career on television. women onndependent series like "friday night lights." she plays ae"

country music star who is at a crossroads in her career. let's take a look. are you doing here? >> good news i do over the phone, bad news i put in person. you have been bumped. in and took her spot. >> how the hell does that happen? >> they will try to reschedule u.s. and is possible. just jeff promised them the moon. >> you mean the moon. >> i am not sure that is what happened. >> i am sure you did not but he is getting real personal. it is my launch week. he will but me off a national show with an unknown artist, come on now. if he wants a war he will get a war. tavis: she had a tough year this year. you almost died, divorced.

it's like a soap opera here. >> always the drama. tavis: as an actor you must enjoy the complexity and the opportunity to go in so many different directions for the character. >> i do and for me it is always about the challenge. every row that i play there is a different challenge involved. that was the ethical part to conquer and tackle. the challenge was the singing. it has been rewarding. it is true we have a lot of drama and high stakes and all that kind of thing. i think that is the nature of what the tone of this show is. i am always trying to -- we are,

it is a show called nashville. we are shooting in nashville. world andvery rich reality. to keep thefighting show as true to the storytelling of what that town is as possible. >> it seems to me that the city of nashville and the music that you referenced earlier, those two things are as significant a character or characters in the series as anything else. the city is a character. the music is a character. >> absolutely. in austin.e years we said that show had to be done in texas. no way that we could do it anyplace else. there were rumblings of we will move it to new mexico or north carolina or wherever. all lovely towns with great tax rebates. but it was so important because

that was such a huge character in the show. when nashville came along i had just adopted my son and i was in no place in my life to just pick up everything and move to a town that i knew nothing about and where i knew not a soul. we did it because they wanted to shoot it in nashville. we are doing a song -- a show about nashville. it is about the odd -- authenticity and integrity of the show. we have to shoot it in nashville. it has been so important and so rewarding because it is a wonderful town and they have been so welcoming to us there. certainly for me because i really was a newbie when it came to the world of country music. and not business. the business side of so much music is there. to be in it and surrounded by it all the time and get to meet the

greatest there is amazing. >> i know from your perspective you talk about country music. what is great about nashville is a lot of music is produced out of nashville. it is not just country. you have r&b and gospel. there is so much music now that is produced and distributed from nashville. a lot of great artists have moved to nashville because it is where everything is being done these days. you mentioned austin as the venue where you shot the city -- "friday night lights." it accused asher it occurs to me there are similarities between austin and nashville. they are two different cities, two different states. you have spent a lot of time in the south as of late. what have you learned living in the south question mark >> i grew up in the south. i grew up in virginia. don't you mess with me on that.

i grew up in lynchburg, virginia. that is the south. tavis: lynchburg is a little southern. -- south inhe arlington. >> that was always such a very important part of my life, a very specific world. a lot of my greatest influences came out of the south. my family was from tennessee. my mom was a yankee from connecticut. i definitely had a lot of southern influence in my life. it has been really fun because two of the most fun roles i have played have been southern. the first thing that i did, my big break, was a movie called "the brothers mcmullen" and we

shot that thing in long island and we were playing new yorkers. i was doing new york for quite a while before the southern thing came along. i am sure i will flip-flop back and forth and go do something completely different. there is something about the south that i just love so much. it is such a great world. tavis: for those of you who have not had a chance to see "nashville," i should tell you to tell us about the character. for those who have not seen it. >> the character is the queen of country music and she has had a very illustrious career. that is so much fun to play, too. to try to play somebody the likes of, i do not know. i think of bruce springsteen or someone like that who is kind of legendary. she is kind of self-made, but

she is still very beloved and very successful, but the music industry has changed so much. she came from a very strong tradition of making music and the way the business worked. when we find her in our show, she is dealing with how the music industry has changed and it is not working to her advantage and then we have the great character of juliett barnes, which is a great foil to that because she is a product of the way the music industry is now, which is very much about the internet and multimedia. and all that. it is a really great -- the character is a really great

representation of somebody who has worked hard to find her own voice and put it out into the world and is now having to find different ways of doing that. tavis: i mentioned these two characters. the city and the music. the show puts out a soundtrack every year. it is a delicious thing to listen to. the fact that you guys have this connection to t-bone in the first season, how lucky can you be? >> i have been such a huge fan of his for so long. how lucky to be able to work with her as well. when she came to me with this role and talked to me about it, she said that t-bone was going to be really involved. tavis: did you know that he was her husband? >> yes, i did. toying with the idea of playing

a character who is singing and the voice is so important, to have an opportunity to do it with t-bone burnett would be the most amazing thing. that was a big part of it. he was with us for the whole first season. i owe him so much in terms of being able to create the character because we spend so much time talking about music and history and the music she would have listened to throughout her life. he is so genius at being able to hone in on a character from a musical standpoint. the character just started to emerge and evolve as we worked together. it was really incredible. tavis: every actor wants to sing and every singer wants to act.

how much longer are we waiting for that connie britton cd? >> listen, i still can't believe that anybody asks me that. it has gotten -- every day and every week and every month and even every year, it gets easier and i get more confident and i have grown to really love the music and the performing. a lot of our cast is out right now doing this amazing concert tour that has sold out across the country. tavis: singing for the troops? >> one of the best days i have had on the show. it was incredible. i do not know. putting out an album is

tempting. tavis: i'm going to keep the seat warm. >> maybe another year. tavis: you will be back, i'm sure, with your new album. connie britton stars on "nashville" on abc. tomorrow night is the season finale. good to see you. that is our show for tonight. thank you for watching. and as always, keep the faith. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for tribute to barbara walters on her retirement in a conversation with maurice hines. that is next time. we will see you then.

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