The Struggles Of Haiti Throughout History And Today

“Haiti is a proud nation, rich in heritage and spirituality. How they have been able to not only survive but thrive is a testament to how the Haitian people have come together to rebuild, create new families, and care for one another. ” This is a quote by American stage director Michael Arden when he was helping in the creation of a musical named Once on This Island. It creates a nice contrast to the conception that Haiti is a depressing, poor and disease-ridden country. Even if this might be true for some areas of it, to assume the entirety of the country is like this would be false. This particular country has been wrought with natural disaster, disease, the economic and political struggle for a very long time. Some beginner background information is very useful and will be explored more in depth later. The Island itself was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492, It was occupied by natives and was claimed for the Spanish. It soon came under French influence and the island was split between the Spanish and the French. The French revolution inspired the people of Haiti to revolt against their occupiers and claimed the island back for themselves and declared it their own nation in 1804. The country itself has been unfortunately struck with multiple hurricanes and earthquakes since its discovery. This has gone hand in hand with its issues involving disease and economic instability. Displacement of trash and bad soil mingling with clean water, mixed with poor housing creates a perfect breeding ground for disease.

Humanitarian efforts by the United States began back in 1973. The major Earthquake in 2010 attracted particularly large amounts of foreign aid. Haiti has also been in a particularly large amount of political turmoil as of late 2018 due to large amounts of protest. These protests call for the resignation of the current President of Haiti, Jovenel Moise, over misuse of a fund. This caused the U. S. State Department to urge Americans to not travel there, leaving many Americans void of the ability to help those in need. As for the future of their economy, it's up for debate but given the issues surrounding their economies like deforestation, Illegal trade, disease, and low wages, it's possible that the growth that Haiti has been experiencing lately could grind to a halt very soon. Taking a closer look at Haiti’s overall development could shed some light on what could be coming in Haiti's future. Back in the seventeenth century, when the French had control over the now Haitian lands, slavery, poor housing, and disease were problems that the Haitian people still face today. Haiti was France's main exportation source for sugar and coffee making them one of the most productive colonies at the time. The labor force then consisted of enslaved locals, Africans, and some French. Over time, one particular slave named Toussaint L'Ouverture, inspired by the message of the French Revolution, led the large portion of slaves to fight back against the French people. This led to a prolonged struggle which led to the declaration of their independence. The freedom of the Haitian people came with a cost, leaving them to pay an indemnity to the French. This led them to be the first country led by former slaves. Since the country foundation in 1804, its economy has constantly under fluctuation due to their unfortunate geographic location and political turmoil. After the French were removed from Haiti, the local people would be hindered economically by a couple of things for a long time. When they were under French rule, the local economy was based on plantation, growing large quantities of sugar and coffee. When the French left, it caused them to switch to subsistence agriculture. This meant that instead of increasing economic output and creating trade between other countries, their economy became focused inward and meant only growing enough crop for their own people. Since they had an indemnity with France, most economic growth or trade profit went towards it for the next thirty years. The following ten years were not easy either as they were still avoided by other countries for being primarily black-led.

For a while, Haiti didn’t grow significantly economically. It wasn’t until around 1972 that Haiti finally began to make a significant change. Currently, Haiti suffers from a lot of the same issues that have plagued its growth in the past. Political unrest and Natural disaster are probably some of the first things that come to mind when Haiti is brought up. As of now, Haiti’s GDP currently sits at 9. 72 billion, which is the highest it has been since 2014. Reasons for the dip during the three and a half year period were due to a couple of reasons. As of 2017 the current president of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, was accused of misuse of several billions of dollars in development money that were meant to go towards the Venezuelan Petrocaribe fund. This fund is an alliance between many Caribbean states to be able to purchase oil. These funds were not used appropriately and were found missing or misused, thus the public became appropriately angered. Many people protested violently but others may have stopped producing an excess crop. Ever since then, the United States has even advised that travelers don't go due to the riots and political protests that have been taking place. With the Government's focus being diverted to silencing these protests, it’s possible that the country could experience another dip in their GDP. Another one of Haiti’s economic pitfalls is that nearly two-fifths of Haitians rely on its agricultural. This can cause significant issues because of its vulnerability to the elements. Because it relies heavily on agriculture, farmable land is a must. Most of the land in Haiti is usually constrained to certain types of crops. Displacement of soil and mixtures of trash can kill or prevent the growth of the healthy crop. As for the future of Haiti and what the next big event they have to prepare for is, it’s up for debate. Since 1804, Haiti has experienced a total of 32 natural disasters. These being a mix of hurricanes and earthquakes.

This means that in the past 200 years, Haiti has experienced about one disaster every six years and 3 months. Not every disaster is of the same magnitude but each one has injured or killed people. Now if we were to assume that Haiti’s GDP were to grow at the current rate, it would reach around 11. 37 billion by 2022. Meaning that the country should gain one billion extra every four years. Given its past, usually, the major disasters cause a dip in Haiti's GDP. Again this is completely dependent on the size of the disaster, where it takes place and what kind of response is needed to help the people. One solution to mitigating the effects of these disasters is to build or modify structures to be able to withstand the effects of high winds and earthquakes. This would take a large amount of money as it would have to be applied to the entirety of Haiti. Even if the project took an extensive period of time, the long term benefits of such a project might well be worth it. Haiti has gone through plenty of turmoil in its past and will most likely have its own unique problems to face in the future that cannot be predicted. We’ve seen how natural disasters, economic troubles, and political turmoil have destroyed countries over time. The Haitian people are tough, they will most likely always be in a unique place that most other peoples are not accustomed to being in. There are many other variables that could completely alter the course of Haiti's history, economy and culture.

The biggest threat facing the nation right now is its protests but other dangers are looming over the horizon. Hopefully, other countries in the future assist in creating solutions that prevent or mitigate the effects of geographical dangers instead of helping to clean up the mess that it leaves behind.