Haitian Autonomy and National Identity

It could be said that Haiti is the least “western” country in the western world. With its extreme poverty and trade deficit, it is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere and is considered to be one of the least developed. In its past, Haiti has been without the labor productivity and the foundation of strong democracy that Fareed Zakaria’s book The Post- American World argues are crucial to a country’s success. A continual colonial presence and occupation inhibited Haiti’s ability to develop economically and politically.

 

Zakaria recognizes non-governmental organizations as one of the major players that power is shifting to in the so-called “post-American” world. However, Zakaria also stresses the idea of legitimacy as power.  He explains that legitimacy is what provides the means to establish agendas and to assure support for these initiatives. These two concepts collide in an important way in Haiti.

Over the years Haiti has played host to thousands of NGOs. Even before the 2010 earthquake, Haiti had more NGOs per capita than any other developing country other than India The constant an often overwhelming presence of NGOs in Haiti has in effect undermined the legitimacy of the Haitian government. In a New York Times article entitled the “The NGO Republic of Haiti” Kathie Klarreich and Linda Polman state that NGOs in Haiti have set their own priorities and have largely excluded the government.

 

Harvard professor Steven Lawry of The Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, expresses a similar view point. He explains how NGOs challenge the Haitian government by creating their own infrastructure (setting up their own health, water, education and agricultural systems) with little reference to governmental oversight. He says that because of this, “funding channeled through international NGOs failed to help build the capacity of Haitian public institutions.”

This dynamic has undeniably affected Haitian nationalism. It has been argued that Haiti’s weakened state, economic instability, and lack of central authority have negative impact on Haitis’ national self-image. The Institute for Research in Socioeconomic and Public Policy indicates that the issues caused by the 2010 earthquake have had a particularly negative effect. Feelings of unrest, loss of control, and non-determination have weakened national identity. However, since the 19^th century Haiti has been a hub for Black Nationalism. The spirit the contributed to the successful slave revolution in the 1800s has endured in various forms. It is particularly recognizable in Haitian art and music. It is clear that Haitians remain a proud people despite their national troubles.

http://www.thenation.com/article/170929/ngo-republic-haiti#

 

http://irsp.org/1157

 

http://hausercenter.org/iha/2011/12/09/paul-farmer’s-call-for-a-new-conversation-on-aid-to-haiti/

http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2010/01/19-haiti-kaufmann

 

Haiti’s Political and Economic History

Haiti has two distinctions in the Western Hemisphere. Firstly, it is one of only two nations that have French as their official language. Secondly, and perhaps more significantly, it is the poorest nation on the western side of the globe. Both of statistics are revealing about the status and experience of Haiti.

 

Between the 1400 and 1600s, both the French and the Spanish laid claim to the island of Hispaniola (of which modern Haiti occupies the western third). In 1697 the two European nations settled hostilities by diving the territory in half. The French received the western half and named it Sainte-Domingue. They quickly established permanent settlements and developed plantations. The primary crop was sugar cane, but land was also dedicated to indigo and coffee. These were all important exports, from which the French profited intensely. To sustain their agricultural endeavors, the colonist imported slaves en mass. The island was one of the harshest and most brutally effective slave colonies. Due to backbreaking labor and tropical disease, more than a third of slaves died within the first year in Sainte-Domingue. Admits these conditions many planters and overseers took advantage of slave women. As a result a substantial mixed race population developed. Many were freed by their fathers and went to live in communities of “gens du couleur libre” (free black men). These people lived separately from both slave and white society.

 

Inspired by the French Revolution, the slave population of Sainte-Domingue revolted in 1791. After the revolution, the island was renamed for the Amerindian name for mountains. The current president recognized that not all the former slaves spoke French and wanted the nations name to reflect that. To this day Haiti is the only nation to be born out of a slave revolt. The French eventually agreed to recognize the independence of the island in 1838 in exchange for a large sum of money. However, their autonomy did not last long, as the U.S came to occupy the nation until the late 1930s. When the United States discontinued its presence, Haiti was taken over by the Duvalier family, a line of dictators. Only in the 1990s did Haiti moved to a system of general election.

 

Haiti’s history has been shape by its lack of self-governance. Early on, Haiti was crippled by the massive sum of 150 million francs to the French. Furthermore, as an upstart country, Haiti was isolated internationally. Few nations were willing to invest in the new nation. In more modern times, first world countries such as the United States have benefited from Haiti’s low labor costs and tariff free access. This exploitation has contributed to Haitis high inflation rates and extreme trade deficit. Haiti has also suffered greatly from internal official corruption, lack of access to education, and reliance on traditional technology.

 

Since the removal of the Duvalier Haiti has made attempts to remove its economy with increased focus on trade and tariff liberalization. Haiti also worked with World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to help stimulate private sector growth. However, political uprisings and natural disasters since the early 1990s have greatly undermined Haiti’s efforts to achieve economic stability.

 

According to the Haitian newspaper Haiti Progress, Haiti is at a crossroads. In an article about the grand opening of a Haiti Best Western, the paper suggests that the country is looking towards the tourism industry as a means for economic improvement. The article explains that many Haitians are hoping to see new luxury hotels and accommodations, “make a change in infrastructure.” However, it is clear that not all Haitians feel this way. Haitian Times expresses very different views. In an article discussing the possibility of cruise ships setting up on the island, it states that with 400, 000 still in tents after the devastating 2010 earthquake, it is still too soon.

 

Sources:

http://haitianhistory.org/

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-6107857.html

 

http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/History/Haiti-history.htm

 

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0323/p15s01-bogn.html

 

ttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/flags/flagtemplate_ha.html

 

http://www.heritage.org/index/country/haiti

 

http://www.usip.org/publications/haitis-economic-challenge

 

http://www.haiti-progres.com/article.php?id=696&type=2

 

http://www.haitiantimes.com/with-400000-still-under-tents-its-too-soon-for-carnival/

 

Haiti in a Post Earthquake World

In recent years the small Caribbean nation of Haiti, has become almost indistinguishably associated with its tragic earthquake of 2010. The earthquake, measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale, occurred on January 12, 2010, with its epicenter about 15 miles west of the country’s capital Port-au-Prince. The results were absolutely devastating. The quake decimated the population, killing 316,000, injuring 300,000, and leaving 1,000,000 homeless. It also destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure, damaging roads, airports, hospitals, residences, and commercial buildings. All together, damages are believed to have exceeded $14 billion.

Sanitation conditions after the initial disaster were, and have remained a major issue. After the earthquake, morgue facilities were overwhelmed.  For weeks, dead bodies lay by the thousands in the streets. In many cases, unidentified mass graves were dug or bodies were simply burned. The earthquake is also believed to have led to the rampant cholera outbreak that began in October of 2010. Since this time, the ongoing epidemic has killed almost 8,000 Haitians and has caused the hospitalization of thousands more.

Almost immediately preceding the earthquake, there was an overwhelming humanitarian response to the disaster. With two months, over $3 billion had been given or pledged by countries and organizations. Haiti, itself, was flooded by thousands of non-profit organizations from around the globe. Yet despite the intention, these NGOs may have actually added to the countries woe. As journalist Linda Pullman highlights in her book What’s Wrong with Humanitarian Aid: The Crisis Caravan, misunderstanding and mismanagement on the part of aid organizations often contributes to the chaos.  MU French professor and Haitian scholar Valerie Kaussen, asserts that this was the case in post earthquake Haiti. Of the billions of dollars in aid, she states that only an estimated $1.5 billion as actually gotten to relief projects on the ground. Kaussen, who was there at the time of the disaster and throughout the rebuilding process, feels that there was a complete lack of coordination and communication. Many of the organizations were completely unfamiliar with the area. They did not possess the tools or the knowledge to act effectively and correctly link resources with need.

Perhaps the biggest issue with reconstruction in Haiti was the lack of Haitian participation. While the various organizations attempted to set up a cluster system to organize and work with each other, the Haitian government was largely left out of the loop. Only a few executives were involved in the meetings. Even then, these proceedings were conducted primarily in English, while the official languages of Haiti are French and Creole. According to Kaussen, the presence of so many foreign NGOs undermines the government and the security of the state. This is a sentiment that Pullman also expresses in her book. She explains that the Tutsi regime in Rwanda was unique in its ability to maintain power over these organizations and remove those that they saw as unhelpful.

As it stands, Haiti is facing a major dilemma. Many of the non-profits that have been in Haiti over the past three years are beginning to pull out. As few of these charities worked with the government, there will be no one to continue the work. Furthermore, the removal of aid and foreign investment will likely throw the economy into even greater turmoil. But despite the grave state of things, Kaussen asserts that the Haitian people will pull through will their enduring sense of spirit.

 

Sources:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/09/AR2010020904447.html)

http://www.myhaitianfoundation.com/quake.htm

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2013/0111/Three-years-since-Haiti-earthquake-Learning-the-art-of-listening

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/12/haiti-earthquake-recovery-2013_n_2451267.html

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2010-02-17/news/36856782_1_haiti-quake-haiti-funds-quake-damage