Geographically and
politically isolated from
the rest of the country,
Port-de-Paix remains
stagnant in abject poverty.
|
Haiti is a country in the West Indies. The West Indies is comprised of hundreds of some of the most beautiful islands in the world, with an ideal climate. They extend in a large arc like a giant unclasped necklace of jewels. reaching from the coast of Florida to the Northeast coast of South America. These island are so close together that many are in sight of each other. Others are little more than a day's sailboat trip apart. Haiti covers the Western third of the island of Hispaniola. The remainder of that island contains the Dominican Republic. The two countries are separated by a highly secured border. Hispaniola lied between Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea. It is about fifty-five miles from Cuba, and six-hundred miles from Miami. Haiti is about the size of Rhode Island. Most of Haiti is covered with rugged mountains, the highest rising to almost 9,000 feet. The name Haiti comes from an Indian word meaning "high ground".
|
HAITI TODAY
Haiti is one of the most densely populated and poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. The population is almost six million, almost ten times the density of the United States. There are nearly 600 people per square mile. Few Haitians can read or write. Most of them are farmers who raise barely enough food for their families. The average annual rural income, excluding a few wealthy land owners, averages about $44,00 per year. The average minimum wage in the city is $1.75 per week. With such marginal income of the poor, the effects of inflation in Haiti are devastating. Five percent of the people have most of the wealth, and are mostly Mulattoes (the first generation offspring of pure black and white parents). The wealthy live in comfortable, modern homes and are prosperous merchants, doctors, lawyers, and professional people and many have been educated in France. A few Americans, Europeans and Syrians live in Haiti. Most Haitians speak Creole, which stems from African languages and buccaneer French from pirate days.
The country has only a dozen hospitals and about 300 doctors. Most medical care is out of reach of the average Haitian according to the missionaries. Haitian doctors charge up to $50.00 just to lance an abscess. Because of the poor diet and lack of medical care in the rural areas, the average Haitian lives thirty-three years. It is not unusual for women in rural areas to lose half of all live births to infant diseases. A child of two is called "a little escape from death". Most of the people are descendants of Africans brought to Haiti as slaves. They are jammed together in the over-crowded coastal plains and the mountain valleys of Haiti, where the soil is most productive. Most of the mountains have been denuded of erosion-controlling trees for firewood. Much of the soil erodes and washes into the sea. The climate is comfortable, with temperatures ranging from 70-95 degrees on the coast, and 50-75 degrees in the mountains.
|
THE LIFE OF A FARMING FAMILY
A typical Haitian farm is a tiny patch of land less than two acres in size, and was once part of a plantation where the farmer's forefathers worked as slaves. Those who try to farm the mountainsides sometimes tie themselves to the mountain to keep from falling off. The Haitian farmer raises beans, corn, rice, and yams for their own food, and if he is lucky, he may have some chickens, a pig, or a goat. He lives in a small one-room hut that has a thatch roof and is made of sticks covered with dried mud. Most of these people still follow some of the customs their fore fathers brought with them from Africa.
|
DISCOVERY BY COLUMBUS
Christopher Columbus discovered Hispaniola on his first voyage to the New World in 1492. One of his ships, the Santa Maria, ran aground on reefs off the Northern coast. Columbus' crew used the ship's timbers to build a fort, and some of the crew stayed in Haiti while Columbus returned to the Old World with news of his discovery. He exhibited some of the Arawak Indians he had captured on Hispaniola. These Indians had migrated up the island chain from the mouth of the Amazon in South America. They were relatively peaceful. Some of the islands were inhabited by the cannibalistic Carib Indians, also from the Amazon. The word "cannibal" derives from the name of these Indians. Columbus' men mistreated the Arawak Indians, and the Indians killed the men and destroyed the fort before Columbus returned on his second voyage. Columbus later discovered gold. The Spanish settlers rushed to the island and forced the Indians to mine gold and raise food for them. They treated the Indians so harshly that within a few years only a few hundred were still alive. The settlers then brought in slaves from Africa to work for them. John Newton, the author of the well-known hymn "Amazing Grace", had been the captain of a slave-trading ship. He brought slaves from Africa to the West Indies.
The Spanish began leaving Hispaniola for more prosperous settlements in Peru and Mexico. The pirates took over the Northern and Western coasts, which they used as a base to attack ships carrying gold and silver to Spain. France later gained control of the island and brought in thousands of African slaves to develop coffee and spice plantations. In the 18th century, the island became France's richest colony. During the French Revolution, the slaves rebelled against their French masters. A thirteen-year struggle saw the slaves destroy the plantations and towns, and take control of the government. In 1804, Dessalines, the leader of the rebel slaves, proclaimed the colony an independent country, making Haiti the first black republic, and the second oldest independent country in the Western hemisphere. The United States was the first in 1776. In 1957, Duvalier, a country doctor, was elected President for life, and ruled until his death in 1971. he chose his son, Jean-Claude, to be his successor, and he is the president of the country today.
|
If you can help with any of Haiti's needs for the people of Haiti, or would like more information, please respond to:
Open Your Heart to Haiti
P.O. Box 27106
Oakland, CA 94602-9332
|
|
