Foreign Aid In Haiti

The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster is an inside look into the realities behind international aid and intervention. The book answers the question of whether or not international efforts in Haiti really benefited the nation in the long term. The book argues that the international community failed in their efforts to rebuild Haiti due to their mismatched military approaches, failed monetary pledges and how the how billions of dollars were ineffective, having served only short term needs instead of, rebuilding solid foundations and institutions that would serve as the first step toward sustainable development.

However, in Haiti’s case, it is so entrenched in debt that the government has problems far beyond water and sanitation. In 2008, Haiti was $1.85 billion in debt to other countries, and that figure is only growing (Varma et al., 2008, p. 68). Additionally, countries that were helping reconstruct the physical water system and infrastructure, such as the United States, have been backing out because they know it is unlikely Haiti will repay them. Failed international involvement is a crucial side-effect of a government in disarray. Other nations do not trust Haiti and do not want to enter the scene of turmoil. Consequently, such a shortage of financial resources is harming multiple facets of Haitian lives. For example, the country does not even know how much water it requires for self-sufficiency because the government has not allocated funds to research and development (Stoa, 2015, p. 5). Moreover, water transportation is currently ineffective. The natural geographic location of individuals relative to the water supply puts the metropolitan areas at an advantage. Wealthier individuals have cisterns and can pay a premium for water whereas rural residing Haitians often travel on foot carrying their water in buckets (Varma et al., 2008, p. 70). However, developing more efficient water distribution procedures for the population at large is costly and requires funding the government cannot

This free market system allows low labor costs and tariff-free access to the US for many of its exports. However, Haiti’s economy as struggled for decades. Within the last 7 years, Haiti has experienced substantial roadblocks on the path to economic growth: poverty, natural disasters, weak infrastructure, such as access to electricity, deforestation, soil erosion and inadequate supplies of potable water. Economic recovery has been impeded by the 2010 earthquake and 2012 hurricanes which adversely affected agricultural production and slowed public capital

Their GDP and unemployment have never been at the top of the economic chart, even before the disastrous earthquake in 2010. Although natural disasters are not the only contribute to this nations terrible luck; dangerous diseases such as AIDS are spreading distressingly among the inhabitants, and unemployment is a mass marvel that affects more than two thirds of the country’s population. Haiti’s citizens have never been financially stable, with about eighty percent of its population below the poverty line (haitiearthquake).

But that is not all – many of the products that the USA has donated to Haiti such as wheat, rice, bananas, and yams, have made thousands of Haitian farmers and businesses insolvent as they cannot compete with the subsidised American products. In 1998 Haiti produced 47% of the country’s consumed rice, which plunged to a mere 15% by 2008 - entire industries have been destroyed and the country is now almost exclusively dependent on imports, primarily from the USA. Unemployment skyrocketed and it damaged the Haitian economy and markets to the point where the government of Haiti even had to call for an end to large-scale food aid in 2010. But food aid continues to this day despite its harm. It is critical to realise that the situation in Haiti does not look much better today than it did in 1994 despite all the aid.

Haiti’s current social, political, and economic predicament is a grand result of the government’s failure to provide the society with their basic human rights. Unfortunately, this failure to provide such basic rights is due to the corruptive state of the government itself, hindering any progress in the country. The country’s political system, which entered a state of crisis in the late 1980’s, led to unrest and instability throughout the country (http://countrystudies.us). The government’s authority and ability to provide a sense of equilibrium was lost, hence creating an era of chaos.

Haiti remains poor with a still fragile education society, poor and expensive health facilities and high unemployment. “Haiti was already the poorest

Overall, Haiti’s lack of development stems directly from the failures and ignorance of both governmental and commercial foreign aid organizations. All modern-day wealthy nations developed entirely on their own, while underdeveloped nations such as Haiti lack wealthy economies despite massive foreign aid input. Eisenhower Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton and foreign aid and global poverty expert Angus Deaton believes that all foreign aid is antidemocratic because it allows local leaders to govern without the consent of those they are governing. In “The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality,” he wrote, “Western-led population control, often with the assistance of nondemocratic or well-rewarded

Society must have wonder how could the first powerful black nation become the poorest country in the western hemisphere in just two centuries. Though many things could have contributed to the fall of Haiti, however the shot that delivered the biggest blow to the country’s economy was the accepted 150 million franc loan from France in 1838. This set-up loan gathered up such a ridiculously amount of debt over the course of 80 years that kept Haiti’s economy in a downwards path to destruction and poverty. People could even say that this loan was France’s ploy to punish island for its past rebellion that gained them their independence. With that being said my proposed topic is the investigation of economic development and growth through governmental decisions and how these decisions is affecting Haiti present-day economy.

Finally, commercial aid throughout Haiti has had no positive impact on the impoverished communities throughout Haiti, and instead negatively impacts the country, thus donor aid must have stricter regulations to avoid this. Foreign aid often serves commercial interests and creates a poverty industry that leads to the exploitation of underdeveloped countries. After the 2011 Haitian earthquake, The Red Cross raised nearly half a million dollars in aid, promising to build homes in the Port-Au-Prince neighborhood of Campeche. However, not one home was built in Campeche, and only six permanent homes were built by The Red Cross in all of Haiti (Elliott).

However, by purchasing imported food instead of locally-grown food, the prosperity of local farmers becomes undermined. This highlights Haiti’s lack of self-sufficiency as a country. Haiti has become extremely reliant on other countries for it to barely scrape by. In response to the horrific earthquake, the world rallied together and pledged over $4.5 billion in aid to help alleviate Haiti’s troubles. Of the pledged aid, $2.3 billion has already been disbursed (Washington Post). Yet, years after the incident, the country is still struggling to recover. The money is crucial for restoration, but it does not create opportunities for the people. The unemployment rate before the earthquake was at a staggering 70 percent (Global Post). Instead of empowering locals, projects have been created to provide instant, quantifiable results. As the country becomes more reliant on foreign aid, their development as a nation is hindered. This, in turn, continues the vicious cycle of unsustainability. To quote a Chinese proverb, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” International aid would also have been more beneficial if the Haitian government had an honourable reputation.

January 12th, 2010 Haiti faced a catastrophic earthquake that shook the whole country apart and had left the country in ruins. The world looked at Haiti as a nation in a desperate situation to revive itself to the country that it was before. But few have realized that Haiti was already in a place of disorder and as an underdeveloped country it has been struggling to succeed as a nation. From the way that Haiti handles itself, it is evident that this nation is not striving enough tobecome a developed country by taking necessary actions to improve the countries resources and itslifestyle. With the political structure being erratic and facing environmental issues like nothaving proper structural buildings, Haiti has been hurt deeply after the earthquake. This showsthat Haiti presents no urgency or immediate action to further improve its global status. Haiti still needs the support of developed countries such as the United States, to aid its way to have consistency in the political, social, and environmental structure of the country. The idea thatdeveloped countries need to show their global responsibility in reconstructing Haiti to pursuesuccess puts the pressure on developed countries to take actions. This is inexcusable as theearthquake is overshadowing Haiti’s problems within the nation, which has not been brought out.

Haitians have watched supposedly democracy. Their lives never got better after the election, it got worse, and they've become disillusioned, even more now” (1). The problems in Haiti are very much still present today. It is almost not possible to begin a personal business because of the costs. The country has continued to struggle with their trade since the blockade during the 1800’s.

Although Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere: the country suffered serious natural disasters and political instability, which is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. But in recent years, Haiti's government is focused on economic development. With good political relations and the support of senior leaders of the two countries (Vietnam-Haiti) along with applicable taxes for businesses and Haiti's import tariffs are lower than the average of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, Caribbean, Vietnam enterprises will have more favorable conditions to operate in this

This article from the Wall Street Journal begins by vividly describing a decrepit hospital in Haiti that was granted funds after the earthquake, but emphasizes that it is still in the same detrimental state it was in directly after the earthquake hit. This introduction successfully illustrates how Haiti has struggled to capitalize on the aid sent by other nations. This biased idea in itself makes readers question the significance of assisting Haiti, if so minimal changes have resulted from the deliverance of financial support and aid. The article furthermore compares the short term relief efforts of many countries to “a classic case of giving a man a fish instead of teaching him to fish” (Córdoba). This simile once again projects this media outlet’s perspective on