Politics In Haiti

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

Illness and disease along with poverty still plague Haiti today. The effort to try and recover from the most recent earthquake tragedy has Haitians concerned. The conditions that they have endured in the past just to survive are worse than the conditions brought on by the earthquake. Some Haitian natives feel the Government is moving a bit slow in cleaning up and getting

M. Catherine Maternowska writes a very insightful book on the socioeconomic politics of family planning in Cite Soleil that is both very complete and interesting from the perspective of a student writing his thesis prospectus on a subject that is related to the topic of her book (to a limited extent). Learning about Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, really put the lives of the people living there into perspective, even more so in light of Hurricane Matthew. Maternowska incorporation of history, gender, power, and culture with fertility theory make this an incredible ethnography that recreates how women experience health.

The Republic of Haiti has a unique and vibrant culture. It was once hailed as the "Pearl of the Antilles" for being the wealthiest colony in the world. This small Latin American island tells a story of slaves enduring resistance to the some of the most dominant forces abroad. In 1804, Haiti became the first free black republic and the second post-colonial country in the Americas. However, the days of being the wealthiest colony have since passed. Haiti is now considered to be the most impoverished country in the western hemisphere. The proud history of this country is overshadowed by alarming rates of poverty, violence, and inequality. This island nation’s government has been plagued with numerous military staged coups and misfortunes. I

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.

Purpose: To understand how Haiti became what it is and all the trials it has endured

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

The story of Haiti’s healthcare system is unfortunately tied all too closely to disaster, both man-made and nature-born. This paper will briefly discuss the pre-2010 earthquake healthcare environment in Haiti as the uncertainty that exists provides little opportunity to provide a reasoned understanding of its current national healthcare status.

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.

However, before diving deeper into Haiti’s current economic plight, it is necessary to first comprehend how economic well-being is derived. Economic well-being is certainly not easily reflected by one measurement, say GDP per

The Haitian government has been plagued with corruption from the beginning of its existence. Haiti has been faced with many foul leaders and thus brought times of despair for the Haitian people. The empowerment of poor leadership has led to a country that "has never known a period free of tyranny, repression, political conflict, racial animosity, and economic hardship" (Haggerty). Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, is a place where "kidnappings and street crime are rampant, and the undermanned police force is rife with corruption" (Williams).

America and Haiti are both democratic states but one is often viewed as the poster child for democracy- while the other’s democracy is on the verge of collapsing. While Corruption and politics goes hand in hand the systematic structure set within political systems is what differentiates a legitimate state from a failed or weak state . In countries where the political system have been successful in seamlessly integrating itself into the society, by providing for its citizens, politics goes unnoticed. In instances where the state failed to provide the basic necessities for its people , politics is a matter of life or death, it no longer becomes a matter of

On January 12, 2010 on of the world’s deadliest earthquakes struck Haiti. In his book, Humanitarian Aftershocks in Haiti, Mark Schuller analyzes the presence of humanitarian aid agencies following the disaster. He discusses the impacts the aid had on the environment, development and globalization of Haiti.

From the very beginnings of the crisis in Haiti, we can see the various policies adapted by the three different presidents who held office in the U.S. Through the Reagan, Bush, and finally Clinton administrations, there is an evolution of policy from that of silence, to a gradual increase of concern, and ultimately an objective of restoring democracy in Haiti. However, the one thing that remained constant throughout each administration was the U.S. policy and practice of interdiction and repatriation of Haitian refugees. This policy was indeed successful in curtailing the influx of Haitians into the U.S. (Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Haiti, 1994).

The response for the natural disasters that hit Haiti in 2010 was slow. Haiti improved the water supply of 340,000 people, supplied drugs to five cholera treatment facilities, provided free medical care to 39,000, and gave tools and seeds to help 23,000 people in farming households to help support themselves. These services not only improved shelters for 34,000 people but gave information to 116,000 people about disaster preparation. Volunteers ran literacy classes for 60,000 vulnerable women to help them support themselves and their families; additionally, they helped defend 25,000 residents from forced eviction. However, 3.5 years after the earthquake, the nation is still struggling with recovery with hundreds of thousands of people still living in tent camps.