"As we learn more about our counterparts in other countries, they become real to us, and our worldview cannot help but change. We will think of others as we think of those we know" (unknown source). With this said, I will be writing a little about Haiti's history, people and current situation.
When Christopher Columbus landed on the island in 1492, the island was inhabited by Taino, an Arawakan people. Columbus claimed the island for the Spanish Crown and named it La Isla Española and later known as Hispaniola. Enslavement, murder, and diseases wiped out Haiti's indigenous population, eventually the last full-blooded Arawakan person died. In 1697, Spain officially gave France the western part of the island, where tobacco, indigo, cotton and cacao were being grown, thus unfortunately, the importation of African slaves began. In 1790, free men of color claimed they were also French citizens, which precluded a civil war.
After years of forced invasions, hangings, burnings, and drownings, in addition to other acts of torture and violence, Dessalines declared independence and created a new nation. He reclaimed the Taino name of Haiti "Land of Mountains." While the new nation was now independent, France did not officially recognize Haiti's sovereignty until 1825 in exchange for 90 million francs, which would lift the embargo by France, Britain and the United States. Haiti had to take out huge loans to be able to pay the 90 million off, the loans were attached to high interest rates; therefore, the loans were not paid off fully until 1947 (that's 122 years!).
Years of shifts in power, revolts and coups took place. In the early 1990s, Aristide, the president at the time, was over thrown by a coup and General Raoul Cedras took power. This was a very violent time in Haiti's history, 3,000-5,000 Haitians were killed. From 1991-1992 41,342 Haitians were caught fleeing to the United States-most were sent back to Haiti. The 2004 Haitian Rebellion was controversially based around Aristide and the international community. Peace keepers were brought to the country in 2004. Elections were held in 2006, and the current president Rene Preval took power (Wikipedia, 2010).
Today, Haiti's population is around 10,000,000. 95% of the population is black and 5% mulatto and white. The official languages are Haitian Creole and French. 80% of the people profess being Roman Catholic, 16% Protestant and Haitian Voudo is practiced by about half of the population. The culture is a vibrant mix of French, African and some native Taino.
Before the earthquake, 30-40% of the national governments budget was from foreign aid. Today, seven days after the 7.0 earthquake rocked Haiti's way of life, millions of dollars of aid are pouring to the country from around the world to help. It is amazing the global response to this catastrophe, but it is not enough. People are not getting the supplies to sustain life.
With the history of turmoil, often news talk is about the threat that chaos may breakout soon with peoples desperation taking over. I hope chaos will be minimal so that efforts can be focused on meeting peoples basic needs. How is it that the enormous agencies, governments, and non-profit organizations-organize such huge efforts, on a global scale, in the wake of destruction? I will be following up, in the days and months to come, as communities begin to rebuild what is salvageable.
How to Help Haiti-Care2 provides a list of organizations that are taking donations-listed below
Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia. (2010). History of Haiti. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Haiti
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Rebecca Young (2010). How to Help Haiti. Care2.http://www.care2.com/causes/human-rights/blog/how-to-help-haiti/
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