The Problem in Haiti

Warning: this post is just the opinion of a girl who has only lived in Haiti 2 months.
* First off I have to identify what I term "problem"

1- Economic Orphans- people who otherwise love their children and would probably be good parents being forced to give up their kids due to their financial situation.

2- Restaveks- literally means "stay with". Poor people will often send their children to live with another family they then turn into child slaves ages 4-15, mostly girls, beaten and abused, abandoned and heartbroken.

3- Lack of the Basics- Food, Water, and Shelter. Everyone should have the ability to have these things.

*I just want to make it clear I do not think the problem is a lack of big screen TV's, sport camps, family trips, and cars.

Why the Problem-
1- Political Instability- I watched the other day when I was at the chop shop(think Adventures in Babysitting, dirty Chicago chop-shop) getting new rims with all the kids and the President drove by with his entourage. All these rough and tumble men started dancing and chanting and laughing. They were so excited to see their president whom I think the "common person" truly loves. However, there is such political instability here. I think it is a problem.

2- No God. Haiti is a country with a rich deep history of Voodoo. Just my opinion but, I believe a country not founded on God is in for a world of hurt when it tries to build strong citizens.

3- Work- there are very few large companies here to offer jobs. Most people are selling stuff on the street because that is all there is to do. But when you and the other 6 women around here are all selling mangos how are you going to make a living especially considering most of the population around you can not afford to buy them anyway. Plus a lot of people claim they need "certificates" to be hired to work. But getting a certificate is difficult to get. (See education below.)

4- Too many NGO's and short term mission trips that I am sure mean well, but end up doing more damage. I think it leaves people feeling they are not capable without the "white man" which leaves people with poor self esteem which leads to poor ability to move forward in life. Plus I think that we naturally bring our ways to people who don't always need or want our ways.

5- No respect for Land. People have chopped down all the forest and treat their streets like giant trash cans and oceans like liquid waste depository's. I would not usually consider myself a super "green" person, but there has to be some level of respect.

6- Education- Many of the adults are not educated with an estimated 50% literacy rate, I personally believe this is low. There is lack of ability to go to school as it is so expensive and without an economy where loans can be taken out this is a problem. I do not even want to get started on the economic problems because I don't really understand it all. I am beginning to see the social however.

7- Lack of a strong family unit- I feel this is the basic problem here. Fathers and Mothers have to leave their children in orphanages so they can go somewhere else to work, or at the very least one of them has to go far away to work. At the very worst they may sell their child as a slave or give them to another family who may or may not treat them well. I am in no place to judge this situation and again maybe I am being an ignorant American and would do the same thing if I were in the situation. I just feel like building strong family units is where it all needs to start. Nobody who loves their child and is a good parent should have to give up their child.

Again I write this as we are just beginning this journey and as a person very new to this country. I think probably in a few years when I re-read this I will have to laugh at my perspective at this point. But perhaps I will be less critical of others when I remember I once felt this way too.

Now, not that you can judge a country by its #'s, but here are some.
Total Population (2010)

Haiti
9,993,247

USA
309,050,816

More than 30 times more people


Electric power consumption per capita (2008)

Haiti
23.5KWh

USA
13,653.9 KWh

More than 571 times more per capita


Paved Roads (2008) Pre-earthquake. It is much worse now I am sure.

Haiti
24.3%

USA
67.4%


Mobile cell phone use (2010)

Haiti
40%

USA
97.2%


Internet use (2009)

Haiti
10.1%

USA
78.1%


Literacy

Haiti
52.9%

USA
99%


Violence Rate per 100,000 people

Haiti
5.6

USA
5.7

Brazil
52.2


Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population ages 15-49)

Haiti
1.9

USA
.6

Washington D.C.
3.0


Physician density

Haiti
.25/1000 (146th)

USA
2.672/1000 (49th)


Hospital Bed density

Haiti
1.3/1000 (131st)

USA
3.1/1000 (73rd)


Births attended by skilled health staff

Haiti
26.1%

USA
99.3%


Mortality rate under 5 years old per 1,000

Haiti
164.8 (48th worst)

USA
7.5


Life Expectancy

Haiti
61.4 years (181st)

USA
78.1 years (50th )


All of the statistic came from either UN Data or The World Fact Book by the CIA.
UN DATA: http://data.un.org/Default.aspx

The World Fact Book: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html