The country of Haiti has become extremely poor. Haiti currently has the third highest poverty rate, with the majority of people earning under 2 US dollars a day (IN-TEXT CITATION). This was attributed to Haiti’s colonial history, which caused the country undergo many regime changes and now there is an unstable political structure in which corruption has become the norm. For example, under the rule of President Duvalier (1970-1986) corruption was very widespread. State finances were bankrupt For example, under President Duvalier (1971-1986) corruption became an extreme problem of the country as he was accused of “[bankrupting] state finances” by using money for his personal business and having a “slush fund for which no balance sheets were ever …show more content…
The Haitian political class is totally interested in its corporate interests, period. There is such a thing as the absolute desire on the part of that political class to keep power, and not to relinquish power”. Another example is President Aristide ()who diverted public funds. “ A 2005 report by the Financial Intelligence Unit Central (UCREF) stated that virtual companies called SEPA-N food supplies, Quisqueya store, and VJLS COCSOBFO were founded by Aristide and used to divert public funds. Aristide’s government, according to the UCREF, had funneled more than 21 million USD in public funds into private shell companies. The Pime Minister Pierre Louis () was accused of corruption on the grounds that much of the foreign aid received after a series of hurricanes in 2008 had purportedly gone missing on her watch. The last President () Martelly's corruption has been criticized above all “for its effect on the judiciary, where the criminal cases of some people close to the president have stalled or disappeared,”[19] and where prosecutors who questioned presidential interference “were fired or fled. cracked down on rights activists and
Serpico (1973) is a movie that reveals the true story of Frank Serpico who was the only honest cop in the New York police sector at his time. The film shows the realistic view of the corruption that was evidenced in the New York police and highlights the character of Frank as being honest and courageous. Although he started as an inexperienced cop, he later worked as an undercover officer and was determined to bust all the criminal activities especially the drug dealers and pushers. Unlike the other cops, Serpico refused to take any bribes from the wrongdoers. More so, he felt that the other officers were doing wrong by accepting bribes and wanted to expose the situation. The other officers were so corrupt that they collected more money through bribes than the salary they earned, a situation that did not please Serpico. His strong stand concerning corruption made his friends turn against him, placing his life in danger. The anti-corruption efforts of Serpico jeopardized his life at the hands of his colleagues. He was later transferred to the Narcotics Squad where he was shot by a drug dealer after his partners betrayed him by failing to support him. The cop was then rushed to hospital. The shooting made Frank deaf since it affected the brain, rendering
The current authoritarian regime could not produce that democratic power. The upper class originally wanted Charles-Henri Baker, one of the richest person in Haiti, to be president, however he was not even close to the threshold. The socialites chose the second best alternative, Martelly, and want to keep him(and them) in power forever. Haiti may never attain democracy, or it may suddenly become democratic just after one night. Haitian government needs to not go back to its Duvalierst back trail and increase government transparency, otherwise Haiti will never complete the transition from the poorest to the second
In David Brooks’ op-ed “The Undying Tragedy,” he discusses four main hypotheses regarding poverty and aid in Haiti. His ideas about poverty, as viewed through the modernization, dependency/world-systems, and post-structural theoretical perspectives lead to three different conclusions. Specifically, as viewed through a modernization lens, the “truths” Brooks puts forth seem fairly in accordance with the perspective, with some minor addendums needed. The dependency and world systems theories again agree with some of Brook’s hypotheses, but would disagree with some of the assumptions he makes in regards to culture and paternalism. Finally, the post-structural theory would find the most problems with Brooks’ claims, likely disagreeing with his assumptions about the effects of culture on poverty and his view of the development process.
Historically Haiti’s government has not been a provider of services to its population. One study found that even before the 2010 earthquake, NGOs provided 70 percent of healthcare and private schools funded by NGOs accounted for 85 percent of the national education (Ramachandran, 2012, p. 2). Charities and NGOs have become t...
Haiti is a small country in the West Indies and is the western third of the island Hispaniola (Rodman, Selden). According to Selden Rodman Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and after the earthquake in 2010 they are way worse than they were before. The Earthquake changed a lot for everyone living there rich and poor. “Over 200,000 people died as a result of the earthquake another 2.3 lost their homes” (Haiti). This quote shows how bad the 7.0 Haiti Earthquake was that happened in January of 2010. The conditions are already awful for the people there and all the human rights violations happening are not helping. The conditions are so bad many are trying to flee their country and come to the United States even though they know that the chance of making it there is very slim (Human rights violations…). According to Richard Horton and William Summskill the United States did a survey test called the lancelet to get results from the Haitians on human rights violations happening. The survey showed us murders, women getting raped and other human violations numbers. This showed the United States that we should take action, because we had real evidence from the victims of the human rights violations in Haiti. One of the problems is that the United States does not know how to help. Haiti is so behind in everything; technology, inexperienced policemen, lacking a judicial system and their economy is very unstable. We should take action in Haiti because of these human rights violations; police and government abuse, women not getting their rights, and poor people not getting their rights.
Haiti as a rich history, filled with many peoples’ blood and countless hopes of freedom. With such a rich history, the country has yet to become financially stable because of their past. From the beginning of the French settlement where slaves were brought over from Africa to harvest crops, to the dictatorship of the Duvalier family. Haiti has yet to see a time when they are not in need of help. After the racial caste systems were set in place, many people would not see a truly independent country. When France finally gave independence to Haiti, they did it for a price. After they paid that price, the US occupied them because of their location and many resources. Every year in Haiti’s history as a nation and before has effects on the world today. These effects are not hidden in fine print, but blatantly found within Haiti and those who have been involved with Haiti.
The economics of Haiti has deceased in the last 4 years after the devastating earthquake that struck it 4 years ago. The Haiti economy has become very poor and one of the poorest country in the south, Central America and Caribbean region making it ranked 24 out of 29 countries in this area and its overall score is below average. Haiti’s economic freedom is 48.1 making it economy the 151st freest country while in the last several years Declines in the management of government spending, freedom from corruption, and labor freedom make its overall score 2.6 points lower than last year. Recovering from the disastrous earthquake in 2010 with the support of the U.S. recovering efforts “Haiti’s post-earthquake reconstruction efforts continue, assisted by substantial aid from the international community. Governing institutions remain weak and inefficient, and overall progress has not been substantial. The parliament has not renewed the mandate of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, which had been tasked with overseeing reconstruction efforts but was unpopular.”( .heritage.org). The open market of Haiti trade weighted to be 2.1 this is because the lack of tariffs hamper the trade freedom of Haiti. Foreign investors are given national treatment but the investment is small and the financial sector is remained underdeveloped and does not provide any adequate support.
Several of the problems that Haiti faces today have their genesis in the country’s colonial history. The country was like a toy being fought over by spoiled children. The first of these children arrived in the early sixteenth century in the form of Spanish settlers in search of gold. They enslaved the native Taino population and, poisoned by avarice, nearly eradicated the indigenous work force. Thousands of African slaves were brought in to take their place. Eventually, the Spanish left the island to grab their share of newly discovered treasure in other lands. Tiring of their toy, the Spanish
Haiti was once the first black independent republic in the world and the richest island in the Caribbean. Today Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest countries in the world. What could have happened to Haiti in almost two hundred years of history? The country experienced repeated civil war and foreign intervention. Haiti is not isolated from the international world. Thus, it was not out of concern for ordinary Haitians that the United States intervened in Haiti. It was out of concern for profit and stability within the United States' own backyard. The purpose of this paper is to show the negative aspect that the United States had played in the government of Haiti.
Haiti is drenched in poverty, corruption, and lack of education. Due to these aspects Haiti is “the least developed country in the western hemisphere”. With only one-third of suitable land...
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. Agriculture is one of the incomes of the population. However, everything changes after the 2010 earthquake. The losses caused by the quake were between 8 billons and 14 billons dollars (Haiti earthquake). Joblessness, the lack of Foodland, the lack of clean water, further affected the economy because people chose to emigrate to other places for work such as the Dominican Republic (Haiti earthquake). Furthermore, “Haiti was a Republic of non-governmental organization to become a Republic of unemployment,” and in order to accomplish an economical growth Haiti needs the investment of companies that can help many of the people find jobs. Companies such Royal Oasis, are creating hundreds of jobs for many Haitians. Thayer Watkins, an economics teacher at San Jose State University, provides his review in his analysis of the Political and Economic History of Haiti, which states more than 80 percent of th...
Fatton Jr. , Robbert. Haiti's Predatory republic :The unending transition to demcracy . Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2002.
Haiti is home to about 9.8 million people. Two million people live in Port-au-Prince, which is not only the most populated city, it is also the capital. The city was established in 1749 and did not grow very rapidly because of earthquakes. Half of the nation’s capital lives in poverty. They have no or rarely any access to safe drinking water or electricity and there is hardly any sanitation. Out of all the Americas, the two largest slums are right in this city. The other half of the city lives in an urban area. It has attractions for tourists and has many hotels. Port-au-Prince also has many industries. A few of these include textile, clothing, footwear, food, and consumer goods. Port-au-Prince, being the most populated city in Haiti, also holds a lo...
Conceptualizing Corruption in South Africa Conceptualizing Corruption in South Africa Amr Taha El Baba Lebanese American University SPECIFIC PURPOSE: To persuade my audience that corruption could cripple the progress in South African societies. Crime and corruption are not relevant to the degree of poverty present in a country as some of you might think. Corruption is a social phenomenon that every society deals with, regardless of the level of development in the country. What makes corruption a dangerous social phenomenon is its ability to adapt to the conditions present in any country.
In simple terms Public Corruption can be defined as the misuse of public office for private gain.Corruption is an outcome and reflection of a country’s economic,legal,cultural and political institutions. Transparency International(2005,2008) found that more than 65% of Indians had a first hand experience of paying bribes and nearly 45% used contacts to get job done.Institutionalised Corruption has long been prevalent in India.Big Business and individuals dictate bureaucratic norms by breaking law,paying off public servants just to gain access to elements of governance.