History of Haiti, earthquakes, and hope for the future.

1. Haiti: History and Hope

2. “Haiti was France’s most profitable colony and
over the course of 200 years, Millions of enslaved
Africans were forced to toil on spectacularly
Bountiful plantations, which produced 60 per
cent of all coffee and 40 per cent of all sugar
consumed in Europe, more than all of Britain’s
Caribbean colonies combined.”

3. “During the 18th century, Saint Domingue
(Haiti) surpassed Brazil as the leading sugar-producing
colony. The number of slaves brought to
the tiny island of Haiti equaled more than twice the
number imported into the United States. The
vast majority came during the 18th century to
work in the expanding sugar plantation
economy”

4. “Haiti’s early history is characterized by remarkable economic
output. On the eve of the Haitian Revolution, Saint Domingue
had become the most lucrative colony on earth. It was the
world’s top producer of sugar and coffee and among the global
leaders in indigo, cacao and cotton (which was rising rapidly in
importance). Indeed, Saint Domingue, occupying only a small
territory, out produced the entire Spanish empire in the
Americas. One in eight people in France derived their living from
the enormous trade joining France with this small and distant
place, 4800 nautical miles away. The reasons for this
extraordinary performance can be explained from a number of
factors – qualities of land and climate, government support, and
more than anything, the presence of a huge number of enslaved
Africans who propelled this extensive economic system with
their labor…To be “as rich as a creole” was a famous boast of the
time, and Saint Domingue was lionized as “the pearl of the
Antilles.”

5. Impact of the emergence of the Revolution and
The Destruction of Slavery in Saint Domingue
from 1791 to 1804;
•The Sale of Louisiana in 1803 as a consequence
the losses France suffered in Haiti
•The Birth of Haiti on January 1, 1804;
•The Export of the Revolution;
•Influence on the US (Denmark Vessey,
•Gabriel Prosser, Nat Turner)
•Influence on Latin America (Simon Bolivar)

6. Major Waves of Migration
• 1957-1971: Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier Era
– Political instability prompted significant middle & upper class
migration
– Brain Drain: massive exodus of professional and educated citizens
• 1971-1986: Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier Era
– Continued political migration
– Economically motivated migration intensifies: “Boat people”
• 1987-1990: Transition/military rule
– 1987 Constitution
– Return of many Haitians, departure of others
• 1990-Present: “Democratic” Period
– Sustained economic and security related migration
– Politically motivated migration: coup d’etats, military rule, foreign
intervention.

7. The Cholera Outbreak
According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), as of August 4, 2013, 669,396
cases and 8,217 deaths have been reported since
the outbreak first began in October 2010. MINUSTAH
was linked with introducing the disease to the country
by sources such as the CDC, the American Society
for Microbiology, Yale Law School and the School of
Public Health. The cause of the disease was
attributed to faulty construction of UN sanitation
systems in its base located in the Haitian town of
Méyè. Many reports from Méyè stated that people
had seen sewage spilling from the UN base into the
Artibonite River, the largest river in Haiti that is most
often used by residents for drinking, cooking, and
bathing.

9. Haiti Before the Earthquake
•Haiti was 145th of 169 countries in the UN Human Development
Index, which is the lowest in the Western Hemisphere
•More than 70% of people in Haiti were living on less than $US2 per
day
•86% of people in Port au Prince were living in slum conditions -
mostly tightly-packed, poorly-built, concrete buildings.
•80% of education in Haiti was provided in often poor-quality private
schools, the state system generally provided better education but
provided far too few places
•Half of people in Port-au-Prince had no access to latrines and only
one-third has access to tap water

10. Impact of the 12 January earthquake by
disaster emergency committee
• 7.0 Magnitude Quake struck near Port au Prince
• 3,500,000 people were affected by the quake
• 220,000 people estimated to have died
• 300,000+ people were injured
• Over 188,383 houses were badly damaged and 105,000 were destroyed by the earthquake
(293,383 in total), 1.5m people became homeless
• After the quake there were 19 million cubic metres of rubble and debris in Port au Prince –
enough to fill a line of shipping containers stretching end to end from London to Beirut.
• 4,000 schools were damaged or destroyed
• 25% of civil servants in Port au Prince died
• 60% of Government and administrative buildings, 80% of schools in Port-au-Prince and 60% of
schools in the South and West Departments were destroyed or damaged
• Over 600,000 people left their home area in Port-au-Prince and mostly stayed with host families
• At its peak, one and a half million people were living in camps including over 100,000 at critical
risk from storms and flooding
• Unrelated to the earthquake but causing aid response challenges was the outbreak of cholera in
October 2010. By July 2011 5,899 had died as a result of the outbreak, and 216,000 were
infected

11. Damage to infrastructure in the 2010
Haiti earthquake
•extensive and affected areas included Port-au-Prince, Petit-Goâve,
Léogâne, Jacmel and other settlements in southwestern Haiti. In February
Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive estimated that 250,000 residences and
30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged. The
deputy mayor of Léogâne, which was at the epicenter of the earthquake,
reported that 90% percent of the buildings in that city had been destroyed
and Léogâne had "to be totally rebuilt." Many notable landmark buildings
were significantly damaged or destroyed, including the Presidential Palace,
the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the main
jail. The Ministry of Education estimated that half the nation's 15,000
primary schools and 1,500 secondary schools were severely damaged,
cracked or destroyed. In addition, the three main universities in Port-au-
Prince were also severely damaged. Other affected infrastructure included
telephone networks, radio station, factories, and museums. Poor
infrastructure before the earthquake only made the aftermath worse. It
would take half a day to make a trip of a few miles. The roads would also
crisscross haphazardly due to disorganized construction.

12. “HAITI: WHERE HAS ALL THE
MONEY GONE?”
•Since the 2010 earthquake, almost $6 billion has been disbursed in official aid
to Haiti, a country with a population of just under 10 million. An estimated $3
billion has been donated to NGOs in private contributions in addition to official
aid. The United States Government alone has disbursed almost $2 billion of
this total amount and has pledged over $3 billion for relief and reconstruction.
•Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and private contractors have been
the intermediate recipients of most of these funds. The Government of Haiti
has received just 1 percent of humanitarian aid and somewhere between 15
and 21 percent of longer-term relief aid. As a result, NGOs and private
contractors in Haiti have built an extensive infrastructure for the provision of
social services. Yet, these entities appear to have limited accountability;
despite the use of public funds, there are few evaluations of services
delivered, lives saved, or mistakes made. Most importantly, Haitians are
disillusioned with the overall lack of progress, and with the lack of
transparency and accountability.
•It is likely that NGOs and private contractors will continue to dominate service
provision in Haiti for some time to come
•

13. MARTELLY’S INHERITANCE AND WHAT HE HAS
DONE SINCE TAKING OFFICE IN 2011
Housing: 1.5 Millions Homeless. He has placed 90% in housing;
Rebuilt all of the national government buildings such as parliament, Supreme Court and others that
were destroyed in Port-au-Prince;
He has worked on electrification that includes the introduction of solar panels for street lamps, the
repair and build of numerous energy generating sources throughout the country;
He has built health centers and hospitals;
Achieved yearly economic growth of 4.3% per year;
Has engaged in an aggressive tourism program that has standardized the various hotels of the
country and attracted investments leading to the building of 4 new airports I major cities
outside of P-au-P;
Renovation of the Toussaint Louverture International in P-au-P; ,
Build 700 KM of road plus other public works project of canalization to minimize destruction
from heavy storms and rain, build bridges;
Has attracted investment leading to building the Industrial Park Caricol in Plateau Central,
Marriott, Best Western, Royal Oasis and the renovation of several others;
Has improved security; Reopen theatres that were all but shuttered;
With the construction and improvement of the airports came increased airlines servicing Haiti.
In addition to American Airlines, Jet Blue, Spirit, Delta, United and others;
Education: Subsidize 1.5 children for free education, food and transportation; build numerous
schools; Safety nets of food programs and distribution of seeds for planting;

14. HAITI’S LONG TERM PROGRESS
REQUIRES SELF-DETERMINATION
Reintegration of the human resources from the Diaspora is one of its best hopes in light of the volatility of
foreign aid.
The volatility of official foreign aid to the Haitian government undercut an already weak
public sector. To date, the Haitian government has few resources and little revenue;
even during years where foreign assistance to Haiti remained relatively stable.
In FY2010 it increased from $93.6 million to $225 million. As of June 2011, it was only $48.8 million for
FY2011.20 This unpredictability further complicates the ability of the Haitian government to create long-term
plans for recovery and economic progress.
Extreme volatility in foreign assistance levels has undermined human and economic
development in Haiti.
Any increments in social progress - increased school enrollment, higher vaccination rates, or judicial
reform – during the years that Haiti received aid were offset by decreases in the years when the
country was subjected to aid embargoes;.
Poverty reduction was always a secondary goal in the disbursement of foreign aid; assistance was
primarily used as a reward or punitive measure to influence Haitian politics.