HAITI: Virtual Tour

The small nation of Haiti is located on the western third of the island that it shares with the Dominican Republic.

After an initial period of colonization by Spain, in the sixteenth century, France took possession of the land and quickly became rich from the lucrative sugar and coffee plantations.

To power these labor-intensive industries, slaves were imported from Africa.

The slaves revolted against the plantation owners in 1791 and by 1804 had succeeded in gaining indepence from France. These dates distinguish Haiti as the first Black Republic nation in the world.

It also means that Haiti was the second free republic in the Western Hemisphere, next in line to the United States.

Unfortunately, this early independence did not bring real freedom and opportunity to the overall population.

Plagued by almost two hundred years of political mismanagement, most of the people of Haiti have been kept in an uneducated, subsistence lifestyle.

Through a program of intimidation through terror, that played on the fears and superstitions of the people, the great majority of the population have been exploited and oppressed by a wealthy and powerful elite.

Sociologists, ecologists, and economists alike see Haiti as a nightmare gone bad.

Factors of high infant mortality, disease, illiteracy, poor education, overpopulation, deforestation, soil erosion, rapid urbanization, high unemployment and a weak infrastructure, all combine to bring misery to the people of Haiti.

Many people struggle to survive in such an oppresive environment.

With little in the way of natural resources, Haiti has virtually no exports to finance the many imports that it needs so desperately.

Apart from what it receives in humanitarian aid, the country has very little in the way of foreign income.

Despite the rugged beauty of the country and it's people, tourism is virually nonexistent for this Caribbean nation.

Because of the political instability, lack of infrastructure, and the abject poverty, tourist agencies direct their clients elsewhere.

Even though there is an eager and diligent work force that is content with extremely low wages, multinational companies refuse to establish any manufacturing or assembly plants in Haiti, due to the unpredictable nature of the political environment.

Governments, along with their policies, can change overnight, potentially rendering a multimillion dollar investment worthless.

One way in which some Haitians can make a little money to survive, has brought on devestating effects. The traditional fuel for cooking meals in Haiti is charcoal. In order to obtain this fuel trees are cut down, set on fire, buried and left to smolder for several days. When dug up, the pieces of charcoal are ideal for small, hot, clean fires.

With very little effort to replace the trees taken, however, this industry has brought on catastrophic effects that have only led to greater problems for Haiti. It is estimated that today only 5% of the original forests of Haiti remain. With this deforestation has come massive soil erosion. The mountains of Haiti, once covered with rich forest, are in many locations, now only rock. Water tables have dropped dramatically and the salinity of the remaining soil has been increased.

As each year goes by, the amount of land that is suitable for growing crops is shrinking. Haiti is considered as one of the most food-insecure nations of the world.

Seventy-five percent of the land area of Haiti is made up of steep mountainous terrain. This leaves very little livable land for the rapidly growing population of over seven million people.

Over the last 20 years there has been a rapid migration to the capital city of Port Au Prince. Lured by the prospect of employment, hundreds of thousands of people have left their villages in the country to seek a new life in the city.

Many have become squatters, setting up meager shelters in gullies, ditches and landfill sights. With little in the way of pure water or sanitation, these shanty towns are death traps of sickness and death.

The streams that flow down from the mountains into Port Au Prince are often the only source of water available. It is here that the people not only bathe and wash their clothes, but also where they collect water for drinking and cooking.

Contaminated with the refuse of man and animals, the water is filled with disease-causing agents. Many of the child deaths in Haiti are simply a result of drinking the tainted water.

One of saddest things about poverty is how it affects children. Haiti has one of the highest infant and child mortality rates in the world. Out of every 1000 children born in Haiti, almost 200 will never see their fifth birthday.

Most of these deaths are due to preventable diseases and simple malnutrition, both in the child and the mother. Many of the children who do survive, are mentally and physically handicapped for the rest of thier life, because of these factors.

Haiti's future lies wrapped up within the minds of its children.

Only as they are provided with education and opportunity will Haiti be able to pull out of the devestating poverty that it is currently in.

Thank you for visiting Haiti.