Haiti Adjustment Report

Haiti is a prime example of how human needs in one area of the world are interdependent with social conditions elsewhere in the world. Haiti, for most of its history has been overwhelmed with economic

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.

Haiti was once the first black independent republic in the world and the richest island in the Caribbean. Today Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest countries in the world. What could have happened to Haiti in almost two hundred years of history? The country experienced repeated civil war and foreign intervention. Haiti is not isolated from the international world. Thus, it was not out of concern for ordinary Haitians that the United States intervened in Haiti. It was out of concern for profit and stability within the United States' own backyard. The purpose of this paper is to show the negative aspect that the United States had played in the government of Haiti.

One of the greatest challenges I had to face was my transition from Haiti to the United States. During that transition, I was faced with a lot of adversity. It varied from fitting in, academic struggles and remaining focus. Throughout all the trials and tribulations that came with it, I was able to be resilient. In my own words, to be resilient is to allow challenges to impact me in a positive way where at the end I can say I am an overcomer.

Safety and security is a big risk in most underdeveloped nations, and Haiti is riskier than most. Finally, the provision of broad based orientation to this new market as it applies directly to business operations in this new market.

It’s safe to say that Haiti is poor. Especially compared to the U.S. One of the causes for Haiti being so poor just happens to be humans. They are entrenched in greed and power. The rulers there have ensured Haiti’s despair. Things like soil erosion, bad education system, illiteracy, unemployment, inadequate roads, water systems, sewerage, and medical services are also some of the causes of Haiti’s despair. The international community also has a lot to do with Haiti being so poor. But the main root of Haiti’s problems comes from their government. The rulers there have used beatings, killings, illegal

For the most part, the interaction between the colonizers of Haiti—the Spanish and the French—was negative, and lastingly so. Haiti has remained a turbulent and impoverished landscape. Social and economic indicators remain doggedly low, year after year. Haiti, although technically independent as of 1804, has never been able to support itself. There is a lot of heartfelt sympathy for Haiti, and the hope is that the legacy of colonization is not unending fate. But it will take a lot of work to get Haiti to a place of true freedom and independence, and sometimes outside help, however well intentioned, only unwittingly fuels the legacy.

By understanding the development of the Haitian State, one can therefore derive the dynamics of power built into the rising nation. Moreover, James analyzes well the external forces of control on Haiti, which allows a better understanding of the ability of the state to control its own future. Together, these arguments provide excellent examples of the inequalities within Haiti and externally effecting the nation, and the development of these inequalities as an inherent part of the Haitian and world economies. In such arguments, The Black Jacobins supports the assertion that the changes created in the revolution survived only because of the static qualities created after the

The quote by Lawrence E. Harrison, introduced by David Brooks in the New York Times, seems to be blaming the victim in this situation. Lawrence E. Harrison is for the modernization theory, however, not considering the actual factors on why the people in Haiti can’t attain modernization but instead blames their cultural influences. There are several countries in the world that still have a strong hold on their culture and seem to succeed economically, Japan and Singapore being an example. These countries are doing amazing when it comes to their human development, with excellent health care and educational systems, while at the same time inputting culture into their society. Isbister (2006) mentions in his book, Promises not kept, “From an economic

At the same time, Haiti’s economy continued to struggle with debt service in the place of national development. Thus, Haiti’s economy by GDP stands at only $6.95 billion, compared to France’s $ 2.85 trillion. With such an impoverished history, the Haitian economy was not set for a healthy development from the beginning, as the reparations took up a considerable percentage of Haiti’s annual production (Wroughton, 2010).

Haiti’s independence created new difficulties and led to a spiral of independent debt. “The prospect of slave rebellion terrified every slave-holding elite and now their own restless slaves had a bloody example to emulate.” (Phillips, 4) Other colonies relied heavily on slave labor and could not risk losing property, which resulted in Haiti being quarantined to hide the independence. Slave plantations in Haiti were French owned, but when the country became independent the French lost property, or slaves, and forced

Since 1804, after Haitians slave revolution brought independence from France; Haiti is a very unstable country. With its high corruption, crime rate, poverty and natural disasters it’s one of the poorest areas in the Americas. The enormous earthquake from January 2010 made their situation even worse. Already struggling country had to face even more difficulties to raise their economy. Even though Haiti received very generous amounts of donation their economy is still in a bad shape. The World Bank “ranks Haiti as the 162nd worst place in the world to do business out of 183 economies” (Adelman, 91). Moreover Haiti is the most corrupted country in the world. Therefore, “Approximately 54 percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day and 78 percent on less than $2 a day” (Adelman, 92). So why the aid Haiti received was not effective in repairing the country? What happened with all the effort and plans that were supposed to rebuild Haiti’s economy?

It may shock some to learn that, for instance, up until the 1880s and the major world recession that greatly affected Haiti’s coffee industry, the country was not doing too bad financially. I suggest reading Victor Bulmer-Thomas’ The Economic History of Latin America Since Independence, in contains a very well-written chapter on “Haiti from Independence to US Occupation”. Furthermore, while the indemnity did take an important (if not the most important) segment of the Haitian economy for most of the nineteenth century, there is usually little outcry outside of Haiti for how much the Haitian army and other government expenditures (such as useless and expensive diplomatic posts given to men of good families) also absorbed what little money the Haitian state had. Additionally, it goes without saying that the problem of political instability also greatly played into Haiti’s underdevelopment in this period (in fact, I would say it is a vicious circle when one problem helps reinforces the other). My point is that while we must absolutely look at the question of the indemnity, it should not be done at the detriment of starting a broader conversation about how the Haitian government has dealt with its finances if indeed the question we are trying to answer is what are the root of Haiti’s

How Funding from International Monetary Fund and UN agency and different money establishments Affects Haiti’s Economic and Political Development

However, due to external help from the international community and the private sector, the Haitians have made improvements in infrastructure, increasing approaches to health and education, and steps towards reduction of poverty. Haiti’s challenges could be greater due to the unstable political situation after the earthquake, as there were varying delays in holding elections, thus leaving the country with an interim government. This could have lead to the delay in constituting and enforcing laws and regulations that could have allowed growth in human development as well as the economy. Nevertheless, in recent years, the political situation seems to have become more stable. Although the Haitian economy has been in recovery since the earthquake, development has been passable. The general inflation has been controlled and the stability of the macroeconomy has been preserved. The hindrance of economic growth occurred mostly due to unfavorable weather conditions that left an effect on agricultural production, as well as delays in budget approvals. With unequal income distribution and a low HDI, Haiti still faces many challenges.