Haitian History: Part 5 of 5
At 4:53 in the afternoon on January 12th, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake tore through Haiti killing 100,000 people in the hours after the quake. The densely-populated city of Port-au-Prince took the brunt of the blow from the earthquake and the aged and unsophisticated infrastructure only worsened the situation. The economy of Haiti was completely demolished by the quake as well as the government seeing that the Presidential Palace and Parliament lay in ruins following the disaster.
In the months following the earthquake, many Haitians attempted to flee to the Dominican Republic where the Dominican army tried to limit Haitian immigration which led to militarization of the border.
In response to the earthquake and mass casualties in Port-au-Prince, the UN and many aid organizations spent billions of dollars to help with rebuilding and bringing stability back to Haiti. While the streets have been cleared of rubble, there has been little done to rebuild. The Presidential Palace still lay in ruins and Parliament has been using temporary locations ever since the disaster. In places like Delmas 32, one of the densest districts in Port-au-Prince, there has been little to no reconstruction and the water system is dilapidated and neglected. The people there have been forced to adjust to the damage caused by the quake, since they do not have the resources to rebuild. Many of these people still live in tents and in temporary housing.
One of the biggest problems faced by the UN and other charities was the lack of organization in Haitian government and society. The earthquake not only destroyed buildings and infrastructure, but the already weak and unstable social fabrics of Haitian life. Haiti was in complete chaos.
Another development that resulted from the lack of drinking water was a severe cholera outbreak that continues to this day. The outbreak has infected 720,000 people since 2011 and killed 9,000. The global initiative to fight the outbreak has been crippled by the unreliability of the Haitian government to help their people and direct funds to the right places.
Since 2010, $13.5 billion in humanitarian aid has been donated and pledged to Haiti to rebuild from the earthquake, create a stable government, educate, and contain the cholera outbreak. That money has not produced results.
Last year, Hurricane Matthew tore through the southern peninsula of Haiti, a region comprised of agriculture and small villages. This area of Haiti was vital to the little economy the nation still possessed. Its destruction wiped out the southern half of the country. In fact, the conditions were so bad that groups of rural Haitians were found living in caves outside of Jeremie, a town in the Grand� Anse region of Haiti.
Haiti is currently under the leadership of President Jovenel Mo�se and Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant. Lafontant became the Prime Minister earlier this year in March when a new government was formed. Both leaders have little political experience and ambitious plans to revitalize the country. The government is still young, so it is hard to gauge whether Mo�se and Lafontant are staying true to their promises of exposing corruption and building up an economy.
Haiti is on the recovery, and it will be for many years. Hopefully, this new government will stabilize the country and put an end to centuries of political upheaval and economic stagnation. We shall see.
Sources:
�After 19 hours of debate � through the night � Haiti welcomes a new government.� miamiherald.com. The Miami Herald. Charles, Jacqueline.
�History of Haiti.� nationsonline.org. One World Nations Online. 2006.
�Massive earthquake strikes Haiti.� History.com. History.
�Political and Economic History of Haiti.� Sjsu.edu. San Jos� State University Department of Economics.
�Six months after Hurricane Matthew, food, shelter still scarce in Haiti.� miamiherald.com. The Miami Herald. Charles, Jacqueline.
�5 Years After Haiti's Earthquake, Where Did The $13.5 Billion Go?� NPR.org. National Public Radio. Knox, Richard.
Comments
Post a Comment