IS THERE ANY HOPE LEFT FOR HAITI?
This past Thurday (January 12th) was the second anniversary of the day a 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area. Within 12 days of the earthquake, there were 52 aftershocks each measuring 4.5 or higher. The Haitian government reported that 316,000 people were killed, 300,000 were injured and 1,000,000 were displaced from their homes. It was also estimated that 250,000 homes/residences and 30,000 commercial buildings were severely damaged. Haitian landmarks like the Presidential Palace and
Le Cathédrale Notre-Dame de L'Assomption de Port-au-Prince were destroyed.
Some History and Facts
Haiti is probably one of the worst countries an earthquake had to happen in. Today, it is
the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere. Haiti was originally the French colony of
Saint-Domingue whose economy was driven by sugar production and slave labor. Inspired by the French Revolution of the 1780's and 90's, the African slaves of
Saint-Domingue, who outnumbered the French colonists, led a revolt against their slave masters. This
revolution, led by men like
Francois Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture and
Jean-Jacques Dessalines, became
one of the only two successful slave revolts that occurred during this time period. Without going in to too much detail, by 1804, Haiti declared independence from France and became
the world's first Black-led republic. In attempt to erase all memories of the French and slavery, Dessalines dismantled the sugar business in Haiti, crippling its economy. In an effort to prevent the Haitians from setting an example for other slaves, the United States and France refused to do trade with them. (
FUN FACT: President Thomas Jefferson once said that L'Ouverture was a barbarian 
) Also, almost every Haitian leader, from Dessaline to
Jean Bertrand-Aristide was corrupt. There have been 32 military coups in Haiti since the revolution.
In a nutshell, foreign racism and government corruption have ruined Haiti's chances of ever standing up on its own two feet and walking.
My Experience
I thought this anniversary would be a great opportunity for me to share a story with you all.
This past August,
my brother and I traveled to Port-au-Prince. My aunt, whom I do not see very often because she lives in California while I live in New Jersey, is a psychiatrist who travels to poor, war-torn or disaster-stricken countries that cannot afford to worry about mental health, gives presentations on mental disorders and does humanitarian work. This was my brother and I's first time leaving the United States. There, I met my Aunt's girlfriend (My Aunt's lesbian and the gf is a bisexual. They didn't tell me, though. I figured that out on my own.
) who was also presenting a seminar. Now, don't get me wrong. I had a great damn time. The hotel was nice. I swam in the pool everyday and ate as much as I wanted. **** was poppin'. But, seeing all the poverty was depressing. My aunt and I left the hotel to find and take pictures of statues twice.
We saw dirty water, naked, starving children and poor families living in tents. There were still about 600,000 people living in tents 1 year and 7 months after the quake. I was really heartbroken. But, the most bewildering thing to me was that
there was no construction being done at all. 
I saw no construction workers and the Palace as well as many buildings were still laying in ruin.
What the **** happened to the hundreds of millions of dollars of relief that was donated?
Where did it go?
Question for Discussion
Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western world. It has a history of government corruption. From what I saw in the capital, next to nothing was being done to re-build. Is there any hope for Haiti? Can the world's first Black republic ever be the great nation it was supposed to be? What must be done?
I took these pictures on my aunt's camera. Remember, I took these in August of 2011.
The Presidential Palace
The Cathedral
P.S. No, I'm not Haitian. 
