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Latest update: 15/01/2010
Haiti, a cursed land
The earthquake that struck Haiti is the latest blow suffered by the impoverished Caribbean nation. Decades of political instability, violent social upheaval and natural disasters have turned Haiti into one of the world's poorest nations.
Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, is particularly ill-equipped to handle the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck near its capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday.
Occupying the island of Hispaniola along with the Dominican Republic in the Greater Antillean archipelago, Haiti was ravaged by a series of hurricanes that killed approximately 800 people in 2008. Roads, houses, and farms were destroyed, and the damage was estimated at roughly 15 percent of Haiti’s national wealth. The country was left extremely vulnerable to floods because of widespread deforestation caused by the hurricanes.
Haiti is ranked 146th out of 177 in “human development” by the United Nations Development Programme. Nearly 80 percent of the country’s 9 million inhabitants live below the poverty line (surviving on less than 2 dollars a day) and half of the population lives in extreme poverty (surviving on less than one dollar a day). More than one out of four Haitians is malnourished, and the unemployment rate is near 65 percent.
Lack of security and political stability
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In 1990, after about thirty years of dictatorship, the former French colony elected its first president by universal suffrage. That president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, elicited great hopes that were quickly dashed by a coup d’Etat. Rene Preval, a prominent ally of Aristide, was voted into office in 1995 in elections which received widespread praise. Subsequent elections -including the restoration of Aristide as president in 2000- however, were plagued with allegations of fraud.
In 2004, groups opposed to Aristide seized control of cities throughout Haiti, causing Aristide to flee to South Africa. Preval was elected president once again in 2006.
In 2008, rising oil and food prices hit Haiti particularly hard, provoking violent hunger riots in Port-au-Prince and several other cities. The unrest led the Senate to dismiss Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis.
Nearly 9,000 workers from the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti -- established in 2004 -- were in the country at the time of the earthquake. Against the backdrop of political instability and a battered economy, their job is to maintain a semblance of an institutional framework.
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Comments (5)
I HOPE THEY ARE OKKKKKKKK?
I HOPE THEY ARE OKKKKKKKK? AND I LOVE THEM.
Yes, ignorant and idiotic are
Yes, ignorant and idiotic are the words i would use for this report. Anyone with half a brain cell would do the research and investigative work required to understand Haiti's past as not just an "impoverished" country, but a country driven into poverty by colonial and neo-colonial powers (ie. France, the United States and Canada). I commend the people on this board for their acknowledgement of that.
Haiti's Only crurse are Corporations
To be honest, I knew very little about Haiti until this terrible earthquake. After hearing the words of so called Christian Pat Robertson, I decided to do my own research. Below are links I found that seem to speak more truth about Haiti's history and present situation then any news outlet would dare tell the public.
God, Satan and the birth of Haiti by Jean R. Gelin,PH.D.
part 1
http://www.blackandchristian.com/articles/academy/gelin-10-05.shtml
part 2
http://www.blackandchristian.com/articles/academy/gelin-11-05.shtml
part 3
http://www.blackandchristian.com/articles/academy/gelin-12-05.shtml
UN thugs in Haiti (also on google vid)
http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/513.html
My belief of the reason that both Clinton's & Bush are running to the 'rescue' of the Haitian people have little to do with the people and alot to do with their own god.....MONEY, their own personal investment in the slave labor in Haiti is what they so value. Don't let these crooks fool you.
We all need to be praying and do whatever we can for the people of Haiti. However I personally will be giving my donations to The Wyclef Jean Foundation. I feel that I can feel more assured that the money I give will go to the people with Wyclef then with any goverment agency. Here it is 5 days since the earthquake, and most of the people have NOT even received water! Reporters are able to reach these areas, and some have even reported that the roads are clear and they themselves can not understand why no one is helping these people. They are reporting that the airport is full of supplies, trucks are there ready, but still no one is comming to help these people. I can't help but wonder if these goverment officials are wanting these poor starved, injuried people to start rioting to give them reason to kill them, or should I say those that are still alive. Now that the US is in charge, I can't help but have flashbacks of Katrina. Please read and watch the links I provided, then share them with all you know. Don't trust the media for truth and facts, do your own research about Haiti and all other issues happening worldwide.
Here is a link to Wyclef's page. Please ignoe the rumors that have been started that he is taking this money for his own. This man is a citizen and friend of Haiti. HE has been helping his people long before now, and it just seems too strange that now we have the Red Cross and the Whitehouse asking for money, these rumors are started. I do not know Wyclef personally, but I know his work with Haiti. I trust him to do what is in the best interest of the people, alot more then any goverment agency.
Please pray and help the people of Haiti.
http://www.yele.org/
God will heal haiti People
The Bible said, if my people that are call by my name re-turn back to me, I will Heal their land, however, let all us join hand with our Haitian brothers and sisters to prayer to God to remove all generational curses that have been aflicting this Nation, may God bless all the Nations and invidual persons that sretch the hand of humanitarian compassion to this nation, amen.
France's colonial past
It's astonishing to read a report on france24 that chooses to tell the story of Haiti's "cursedness" as though it had no roots in the hellish exploitation of the people and the environment in Haiti by France. And to ignore that French (and American) geo-political interests and fears of demands for reparations for historic injustice were not decisive in the political instability of recent years. Are france24 editors hopelessly ignorant and naive or merely hypocrites?
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