Why Haiti?

One of my main motivations for traveling to Haiti was to better understand the country and its people.  The statistics on Haiti are absolutely mind-boggling for a country in the Western Hemisphere.

     Haiti was "discovered" by Columbus in 1492.  The native Taino tribe reportedly welcomed him initially with open arms, only to be completely annihilated by the Spanish over the next 2 decades.  The western third of Hispanola was ceded to the French in 1697 at which point the country of "Haiti" was born. Haiti became the jewel in the crown of the French colonies.  It was the most lucrative of the colonies thanks to the sugar and wood industries.  Sadly, the French wealth depended upon the exploitation of slaves imported from West Africa.  The conditions were deplorable, which eventually led to a massive slave revolt under the command of Toussaint L'Overture in 1804.  The result was Haiti's independence and the formation of history's first black republic.

     Over the past two centuries the people of Haiti have endured an endless succession of coups, dictatorships and military violence against its people. Reports of political corruption have been much publicized and Haiti has been historically vilified has being one of the most corrupt countries in the world.    In 2006 Haiti finally democratically elected their own president and Parliament although their response to the recent earthquake has been much criticized by Haiti's people.

Haiti is only a few hundred miles from the United States but is truly a world apart.

• Life expectancy in Haiti is 59 years which is among the lowest in the world surpassed only by countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• The prevalence of HIV is 2.3% which ranks Haiti as 28th worst in the world.
• nearly 20% of children will die before their 5th birthday
• Its literacy rate is just over 50%
• Its unemployment rate is 80%
• 80% of Haiti's people live in abject poverty
• Haiti is now 97% deforested which severely has affected not only land fertility, but also has created a serious land erosion problem
• Its GDP ranks 203rd out of 228 countries worldwide

     These factors have resulted in a complete lack of infrastructure in Haiti.  Most people live without electricity or plumbing and survive by subsistence farming.  Haiti has also been unfortunate enough to be situated right in the path of 4 major hurricanes since 2006 and also lies on a major fault line.

     Despite this, the Haitian people have been described as very kind, generally happy and as possessing an "optimistic fatalism" by Haitian Creole professor Bryant Freeman.

     Their characteristic response to adversity is "Si Dye Vle!" which roughly translates as "It is God's wish".

     This rugged-stoicism in the face of centuries of severe hardships made me want to assist the Haitians all the more!

Si Dye Vle!!

pictures courtesy of traveljournals.net
facts courtesy of the CIA factbook