Haiti

Where Is It?

It is on the same island as the Dominican Republic (Hispanolia) Half of the island was owned by the Spanish and half of it was owned by France Population just under 10 million people Capital city = Port au Prince Haiti has two official languages: French and Haitian Creole Haitian Creole is based largely on 18th century French with influences from Portuguese, Spanish, English, Taíno, and West African languages Ever heard it spoken before? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dML5Iy0VcWM Information

Literacy 47% of Haiti's population is illiterate There are not enough public schools Many kids are forced to attend private schools which charge between $100 and $200 a year per student For poor families, these fees are out of reach, and their children do not attend school Literacy

Poverty Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere 80% live below the international poverty line of $2 a day 54% are living in abject poverty surviving on just $1.25 a day Very high infant mortality rate Life expectancy = 62 years (In Canada it is 81 years) More than two thirds of Haitians lack formal jobs Poverty

The Cite de Soleil slum

Voodoo About half the population practices some form of voodoo Voodoo is one of the official religions of Haiti, it is a mix of old African religions and Christianity They believe in God, but also in a multitude of spirits that live in everything During religious rites, believers sometimes enter a trancelike state https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpeLdXeIbwA 5:20 Voodoo

History of Haiti In 1492 Christopher Columbus landed on the island The island remained under Spanish control until 1698, when it was split into two separate colonies (one Spanish, one French) The white colonizers made a lot of money in sugar, rum, coffee, cotton, and the slave trade Once known as San Domingo, it was the wealthiest colony of the pre- revolutionary French Empire History of Haiti

There was a slave revolt in 1791 led by Toussaint L'Ouverture, who became the first President of Haiti Then there was a 13 year civil war The slave armies claimed victory over the French in 1803 In 1804 they declared themselves free Haiti established itself as the first black-ruled modern political republic They re-named the country ‘Haiti’, or ‘Ayiti’ in Creole, meaning “mountainous country” Rebellion and War

The USA refused to recognize the country for 60 more years. The US was still enslaving millions of its own citizens and feared recognizing Haiti would encourage slave revolution in the US. The USA also had economic sanctions on Haiti until 1863 France also had a crippling embargo put on them The French government demanded a fee from Haiti in order to recognize its liberation as an independent nation. The fee of 150 million gold francs was at the time 10 times the size of Haiti’s annual income and is thought to be worth about US$20 billion today. Haiti was paying France back until 1947. Haiti was forced to borrow money from French and American banks Impact of Freedom

More turmoil Another civil-war 1807 – 1820 The Spanish tried to re-conquer them American Marines occupied the country from 1915-1934 The US controlled customs, collected taxes, and ran many governmental institutions. In spite of all this, until the 1960s, its score on the Human Development Index was roughly on a par with that of Australia and Canada

The US supported these dictators economically and militarily because they did what the US wanted and were politically “anti-communist” Dr. Francois Duvalier was President in 1957 The corrupt Duvalier, better known as ‘Papa Doc’, changed the constitution to make himself ‘President-for-Life’ Duvalier stole millions from Haiti and ran up hundreds of millions in debt that Haiti still owes Tens of thousands of Haitians were killed or exiled on his orders  He died in 1971, and his 19 year old son, Jean Claude, became President “Baby-Doc” was even worse than his father, killing and torturing thousands Dictators

Haitian Earthquake 12 January, 2010 Catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake 52 aftershocks Death toll 100,000-220,000 250,000 houses and 30,000 buildings collapsed or were severely damaged Haitian Earthquake

Why was it so devastating? Many things exacerbated the death toll: Poverty National debt Poor housing conditions It led to the worst outbreak of cholera in recent history From 2010-2013, cholera killed 8,231 Haitians and hospitalized hundreds of thousands more while spreading to Dominican Republic and Cuba Why was it so devastating?

Haiti initially started to see a boom in its tourism industry in the post-war era. Many tourists flocked to the capital, Port-au-Prince, for its waterfront, which had recently been developed to be able to accommodate regional cruise ships. Tourists came to see Haitian art and so-called ‘voodoo shows’, while Americans came to gamble By the 1970s, tourism to the island had reached 150,000 visitors a year Even a newlywed Bill and Hillary Clinton frequented the island for a vacation. However, political volatility and an eventual civil war destroyed the tourism industry in Haiti for the remainder of the 20th century. Tourism Then

In 2014, the country received 1,250,000 tourists (mostly from cruise ships), and the industry generated US$200 million in 2014 Several big hotels were opened in 2014 With its favorable climate, second longest coastline of beaches and most mountainous ranges in the Caribbean, waterfalls, underground caves, colonial architecture and distinct cultural history, Haiti has had its history as an attractive destination for tourists Tourism Now

In 2012, the industry generated US$200 million (mostly from cruise ships) Flight arrivals in Haiti are on the rise, and more and more accommodations are popping up. Tourism can benefit Haiti so much

https://www. youtube. com/watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja9vKdFccbI Haiti: Paradise Lost and Found, 4:05 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDVOrNLQmj4 Haiti Tourism Progress, 9:52 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WvKeYuwifc Vox Borders, 15:51

Why Haiti Deserves Visitors 1. What misconceptions do people have about Haiti? 2. Why is voodoo so important to Haitian history? 3. Who were the Taino people? 4. What is a huge environmental problem they have there now? 5. What kind of tourist would be most interested in coming to Haiti? Who would you market it to? Why Haiti Deserves Visitors