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On January 12th, 2010, the small Caribbean nation of Haiti was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. This was the worst earthquake to hit the region in over two centuries (BBC News). More than fifty aftershocks measuring over 4.5 followed within the next two weeks. The earthquakes left Haiti in shambles and exacerbated their conditions. There were 3.5 million people affected and over 220 thousand killed (Disasters Emergency Committee). Major damage was caused at the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. The country was manifestly unprepared for this event and Haiti was propelled into a downward spiral. The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a devastating event which furthered the country’s social, economic, and political instability.
The earthquake had a significant impact on the people of Haiti. It has been described as the most destructive natural disaster to occur since World War II, causing nearly $13.2 billion in damage (Inter-American Development Bank). 300,000 homes were destroyed leaving millions of Haitians homeless. As a result, millions of displaced Haitians were forced to settle into makeshift tent camps. These camps were built by the government to offer Haitians temporary sanctuaries. However, for many, they ended up being permanent. Although, these tent camps were inexpensive and simple to construct, numerous issues surrounded them. These tents were not secure; they were unsafe. Inhabitants found themselves worrying about their tents collapsing because they were unable to withstand severe weather conditions. In addition to being structurally unsound, the tents had poor sanitation. When it rained, people were left wading through a mixture of mud and feces due to the floorless tents (McNeil). Clean water was not accessible to...
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...lopment." Global Post. Global Post, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.
"Key Statistics." Lessons from Haiti. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.
Mcneil, Donald G. "HAITI: Cholera's Second Fever: An Urge to Blame." The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Nov. 2010. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.
Melia, Mike. "Ex-drug Lords' Property Used by Haiti Government." U-T San Diego. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.
Miller, Talea. "Haiti’s Farms Sow Hope for Rebuilding." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.
"Million Plus Remain Homeless and Displaced in Haiti: One Year After Quake." Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. IJDH, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.
Trenton, Daniel. "More than Half U.S. Aid for Haiti Earthquake Went to U.S. Firms: Study." CTV News. CTV, 5 Apr. 2013. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.
"World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide." World Food Programme. WFP, 11 Jan. 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.
The Haiti earthquake that occurred on January 12, 2010 just fifteen miles south of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince was a severely large-scale earthquake, at a magnitude of 7.0. The initial shock was then followed by a series of aftershocks with magnitudes ranging up to 5.9. Over three hundred thousand people died due to this extreme chaos. Many buildings collapsed and disintegrated under the force of the quake; both the cathedral and National Palace in Port-au-Prince were heavily damaged. In the aftermath of this tragedy, efforts to aid the people of Haiti with medical assistance, water, and food were hampered by the loss of communication lines as well as by roads blocked by debris. Over one million people were left homeless due to this quake. Two days after the earthquake, journalist Leonard Pitts wrote “Sometimes the Earth is Cruel,” an article describing how the people of Haiti responded to the disaster. In “Sometimes the Earth is Cruel,” a major theme is that some things are inevitable.
The content of Paul Farmer’s AIDS & ACCUSATION: Haiti and the Geography of Blame, was very boring to begin with. Quite literally, I was sleeping while reading the beginning of it. However, it did pick up towards the middle as it caught my interest; I found that the book was particularly funny. Before reading this book, I had no clue what I was in for other than the title and who would’ve guessed; the title says it all. It was actually about what the title said. The United States blames Haiti for the AIDS and vice versa. Although, Haiti didn’t start with that; the Haitians believed in sorcery and voodoo. The idea of anyone that has someone with ill intent or maliciousness towards them can cause them to become sick with diarrhea, was a chortle. Farmer goes deep into the book as he gives descriptions of three people who came across AIDS. However, these Haitians all believed that it was sorcery or some malign magic of someone who had despised them. The curiousness of one the cases was Manno, one of the Haitians that Farmer had interviewed, who was said to be kind, “Manno never hurt anyone; on the contrary, one thing he was known for was his ready smile. So why would someone wish to harm him?”(Farmer, 76)
Schmidt, Hans. The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1995. Print.
Casimir, J, & Claypool, M 2012, ‘Going Backwards Toward the Future: From Haiti to Saint-Domingue,’ The Global South, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 172-192.
www.msh.org - Management Sciences for Health - Republic of Haiti. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2010, from http://www.msh.org/global-presence/latin-america-and-the-caribbean/Haiti.cfm
“Human Rights Violations In Haiti On The Increase.” Washington, D.C.: National Public Radio, 1994. ProQuest. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.
On January 12, 2010, while vacationing in Santo Domingo, DR. Tragedy hit and my strong foundation no longer stood. An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 shook and uprooted homes, places of business and my sense of peace. After hearing news of the earthquake, I rush to Port-au-Prince to check on my family. I was reassured that my family was secured and had no life threatening injuries, but the same was not said to my grandparent’s neighbor. Their neighbor suffered from a head injury and deep laceratio...
Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters to happen in the United States. The storm resulted in more then US$100 billion in damage when the cities flood protection broke and 80% of the city was flooded (1). The protection failure was not the only cause for the massive flooding, the hurricanes clockwise rotation pulled water from north of New Orleans into the city. 330,000 homes were destroyed and 400,000 people from New Orleans were displaced, along with 13,00 killed (1). Although the population quickly recovered, the rate of recovery slowed down as the years went on leading us to believe not everyone
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.
Kovacs, P.(2010).Reducing the Risk of Earthquake Damage in Canada: Lessons from Haiti and Chile.Toronto, ON, CAN: Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction,2010,3-9.
After Hurricane Katrina the number of homeless multiplied four times more than the previous number. Natural disasters often cause current housing situations to become untenable and costly repairs are often simply not feasible. With the destruction left by natural disasters, come criminal problems like robberies and other social problems such as lack of basic services, insecurity, and health problems. Disasters leave the middle classes near poverty, and the poor, homeless. With this drop in the quality of life, it’s harder to resolve homelessness, and people end up waiting for help that may never come. This increase of poor and homeless people, leave this population more vulnerable toward future disasters (Homeless in the US and Natural
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...
In the article Sometimes, the Earth is Cruel by Leonard Pitts we read about the damage that came from the earthquake in Haiti. What happened on that day changed so many lives in ways that are unfixable. The crazy part about disasters is that they can also create more of a community. They give a chance for renewal and allow others there to help. This article gives a look into some of the small details and feelings happening in Haiti and all over the world. The earthquake created a support system for recovery, it also brought new strength to the people struggling, this allows the people better understand why the Earth does cruel things.
Kay, Joseph. "Hurricane Katrina: a calamity compounded by poverty and neglect." World Socialist Website. N.p., 31 Aug. 2005. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
In the past few years alone, Haiti has been the victim of constant hurricanes, mud slides, and flooding in addition to a severe drought in the