Haiti Food Crisis

Abstract

On the 12th of January 2010, a terrible and deadly Tsunami struck the small country of Haiti. A 20 meter wave following a 7.3 amplitude earthquake a few hundred miles offshore. The second poorest country found itself confronted with 300 000 deaths and 1,2 million homeless. One day a quiet and agricultural nation, the next, a nation making the headlines of every newspaper. The damages, material or human, were tremendous and rescue teams had to act fast to save the survivors. The only help came from outside the country, from the international community. Entire hospitals were transplanted in Haiti, in the hope of saving as many as possible. Funds were made available within days of the disaster, funds that should have helped rebuilt the demolished country. However, two years later, nothing has changed. No homes have been rebuilt using the aid. No roads either. Where has this money gone? What happened with it? Who is responsible?

Introduction

Haiti is a developing country and one of the poorest in the world. It is the second one after Madagascar. Haiti or the republic of Haiti is one of the Carabien Islands, which makes it a sort of paradise on earth. In fact, Haiti was the first destination in tourism of the Carabien Island in the years 1950, 1960, 1970. It was called "la perle des caraibes" in French. The island is the only independent French-speaking country in the Caraibiens.

Haiti, after a tumultuous past, has finally settled down and is now a democratic republic. There are still some tensions with its neighboring country, but far less than before, and none of those have turned into an armed conflict in the recent years.

As you would expect for any under--developed country, its economy is mainly based on agriculture and fishing. The majority of the Haitian population lives along the coast line, it is one of the rare strips of land which is flat. Moreover, most people live with less than 2$ a day, causing extreme poverty, starvation, and insecurity. Many inhabitants have no choice but to live in the slums surrounding the cities, thus chasing away any and all potential investors.

Today, the country of Haiti is just a mountain of ruins. After surviving a tsunami which destroyed the lives of thousands of people in 2008, the infrastructures as well as the economy and the institutions have yet to have been rebuilt. But 4 years later, after having lost one third of its territory, there are not a lot of things that are still standing up or have been rebuilt. It has chosen the new experience of a democratic political system and tries to organize after the disaster. The country had exactly the same landscape as its neighbor, the Dominican Republic, who lives relatively well compared to Haiti.

The natural catastrophe that hit Haiti was devastating not only that one day, but for the months that past. It caused severe diseases, a huge increase in crimes, and put light on the fact that the government was totally unfit to handle the situation. Help was long to arrive, and people aired the streets for days, desperately trying to find food. The only real aid came from the international community (as an example France gave 100million euros), the UN and the Red Cross.

I .Background information about Haïti

1. Geographical background

Haiti shares its island with Dominican Republic. It occupies 36% of the island that to say 27,750km² on the western cost. We also note that Haiti is comprised of two peninsulas separated by the Gulf of Gonave. Haiti is divided into ten departments headed by a delegate appointed by the government. The capital, Port-au-Prince, is by far the largest city in the country, with 1.1 million inhabitants and is located in the Gulf of Gonave. Haiti's population was estimated at 8.3 million in 2005. Approximately 74% of the population lives in rural areas. Almost all Haitians, or 95%, down from the black slaves, the rest of the population consisting of Mulattoes (from a blending of African and French).Today it is estimated that almost 400,000 people (about 5%) speak French. As for Creole, it is virtually the entire population of Haiti who speaks it as mother tongue.

2. Haiti's history and its relationships with Dominican Republic

The two countries coexist in one small island of 76,480 km². Conflicts arise almost every day between the two governments. These conflicts are the result of a long history of fight. In fact, theses cultural differences were culminating in the murder of more than 25,000 Haitian by the Dominican dictator, Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molinas in 1937.

The present day division of the island of Haiti and Dominican Republic is a consequence of a French and Spanish struggle for control of the New World during the 17th century. When Spain ceded the entire island to France in 1795, Dessalines, a Haitian lieutenant, fought against the French for the independence of the country. He carried on the revolution and defeated the French, creating the State of Haiti. Haiti became independent on January 1, 1804 and Dominican Republic on November 30, 1821 under the name of Spanish Haiti. In 1936, the definitive border between Dominican Republic and Haiti were settled.

But when Trujillo was elected president of Dominican Republic in 1930, he defined his own country as Spanish and so Catholic and White as opposed to Afro-French Haiti which largely practiced "voodoo" religion.

He claimed that Haiti was as both a threat and the antithesis of Dominican Republic. His fear of Haitian "darkening" of the Dominican population led him to conduct a policy of "Dominicanness" which ultimately led to the murder of more than 25,000 Haitian on the Haitian-Dominican border.

The old Haitian-Dominican conflict was used by Dominican politicians to keep themselves in power. Haiti and Dominican Republic were united twice in their history, from 1795 to 1804 and from 1822 to 1844. Now, there are still as much conflicts but they seem to calm down.

3. Political background

Haitian politics have been contentious: in its 200-year history, Haiti has suffered 32 coups d'Etat. Haiti's is the only country in the Western Hemisphere to undergo a successful slave revolution, but a long history of oppression by dictators - including François Duvalier and his son Jean-Claude Duvalier - has markedly affected the nation. France and the United States have repeatedly intervened in Haitian politics since the country's founding, sometimes at the request of one party or another.

According to the annual survey by the Berlin-based organization Transparency