Haiti's past, present and future.
For today's workshop we had a discussion about regional and national history. Well... I don't really know where to start, there is too much happening in my head right now. The session left me with too much to say. I guess I'll start with more general things and then move into Haiti specifically.
To start, this has been in my mind for a while now, but why is Columbus considered a hero? For wiping out entire populations? For causing genocide in Haiti and other countries (30 years after Columbus came to Haiti, 80% of its original population was wiped out- from his men killing them and also from diseases he brought with the rats from his ship. After 100 years, 100% were dead). Or is he considered a hero for causing such damaging after effects in some countries that today, 521 years later, the countries are still suffering? What did he do to deserve the title and national holiday that he carries today? It's worth mentioning when talking about Haiti's history, because as far as I understand, that's when things really started going wrong for this country: when Columbus and his men started land-grabbing.
Haiti. Well, first off, what did Haitian people- the ones who repopulated the land after all the initial people were killed- do to deserve any of this? In the 70's and 80's it was actually a huge touristic country, it's the country that brought tourism to the rest of the Caribbean, which now gets about 25 million tourists annually. For crying out loud it was where Bill and Hillary Clinton spent their honeymoon. Now look at it. How can a country like that, end up being one of the poorest in the world? They, literally, got stripped of everything they had: their current, existing resources, are practically none, they have faced a number of horrible natural disasters and have been exploited by so many other countries.
I didn't know about Haiti's (and other countries) debt relief in 2000. You would expect Haiti to not be the way it is today after an opportunity like that and yet, 13 years later, it is. Already. Why? Sure, there was the 2010 earthquake and that had many negative impacts, but that's not all. Even the aid they got is questionable to have even helped... Food aid lowered local food prices and as a result farmers went out of business for having too low of an income. So when food aid ran out, famine started becoming widespread for lack of food suppliers.
Monetary aid was in one of two forms: a gift with conditions or a loan. The former would be, as an example, you can have this money, but you have to buy all your cars from our country. This hurt local businesses and the Haitian economy as well as greatly increased money spent on imports. So, it might have helped for a short while, but after that, in the long run, the negative effects outweigh the positive ones. The latter, similarly, helps at first, but then since the local economy is failing due to a number of factors (including "gift aid"), they don't have the means to pay back the loans thus increasing the countries debt and adding to its numerous, numerous problems. So tell me did this "aid" help more than it hurt? Didn't think so.
Not to mention the IMF, the World Bank, France and so many other people screwing Haiti over. (After Haiti became the first black republic, France decided to make it be the last. To do this, in 1825, they forced Haiti to pay $21 billion over a period of 30 years for its own loss of men and slave colony as well as for France's recognition of Haiti as an independent republic. This was the beginning of the country's current debt of $900 million).
These are all the aftereffects of one Italian man, going to the Spanish queen and asking her to fund his trip to the Indies. Every event afterward is related and goes back to that. If one small action in the past could have put this country in the state it is today, it makes me wonder which events that are happening today will destroy a country for a long time to come. Will the current Egyptian Revolutions leave the country in a low position for the next 400 years? How can we know? Did you think Columbus and his men could've known about all this?
One last point, quickly, did you know Hurricane Sandy hit Haiti? Pretty hard actually. In fact, Haiti is one of the first places the hurricane hit. Why didn't I know? Media focused, yet again on the USA and left out so many other countries. If you ask someone where did Hurricane Sandy hit? I promise at least 80% of the people will say the US. Only. If you look up 'Hurricane Sandy Haiti' there are only three major news sources (The New York Times, BBC and The Guardian) who have anything mentioned about it. Three. In some senses, it impacted worse here than in, for example, Florida because there, the houses are hurricane ready and people are more prepared. And even if they weren't they have the means to recuperate afterwards. Haiti didn't. It makes me wonder what else the media is leaving out. And what else the news leads you to the wrong assumption about.
(Yes, I understand that, despite everything I've said about Columbus, if it hadn't been him then it would have been somebody else. European nations were part of an ongoing race to discover new territories, and it just so happened that Columbus was the one who "found" the countries that he did).
LM
To start, this has been in my mind for a while now, but why is Columbus considered a hero? For wiping out entire populations? For causing genocide in Haiti and other countries (30 years after Columbus came to Haiti, 80% of its original population was wiped out- from his men killing them and also from diseases he brought with the rats from his ship. After 100 years, 100% were dead). Or is he considered a hero for causing such damaging after effects in some countries that today, 521 years later, the countries are still suffering? What did he do to deserve the title and national holiday that he carries today? It's worth mentioning when talking about Haiti's history, because as far as I understand, that's when things really started going wrong for this country: when Columbus and his men started land-grabbing.
Haiti. Well, first off, what did Haitian people- the ones who repopulated the land after all the initial people were killed- do to deserve any of this? In the 70's and 80's it was actually a huge touristic country, it's the country that brought tourism to the rest of the Caribbean, which now gets about 25 million tourists annually. For crying out loud it was where Bill and Hillary Clinton spent their honeymoon. Now look at it. How can a country like that, end up being one of the poorest in the world? They, literally, got stripped of everything they had: their current, existing resources, are practically none, they have faced a number of horrible natural disasters and have been exploited by so many other countries.
I didn't know about Haiti's (and other countries) debt relief in 2000. You would expect Haiti to not be the way it is today after an opportunity like that and yet, 13 years later, it is. Already. Why? Sure, there was the 2010 earthquake and that had many negative impacts, but that's not all. Even the aid they got is questionable to have even helped... Food aid lowered local food prices and as a result farmers went out of business for having too low of an income. So when food aid ran out, famine started becoming widespread for lack of food suppliers.
Monetary aid was in one of two forms: a gift with conditions or a loan. The former would be, as an example, you can have this money, but you have to buy all your cars from our country. This hurt local businesses and the Haitian economy as well as greatly increased money spent on imports. So, it might have helped for a short while, but after that, in the long run, the negative effects outweigh the positive ones. The latter, similarly, helps at first, but then since the local economy is failing due to a number of factors (including "gift aid"), they don't have the means to pay back the loans thus increasing the countries debt and adding to its numerous, numerous problems. So tell me did this "aid" help more than it hurt? Didn't think so.
Not to mention the IMF, the World Bank, France and so many other people screwing Haiti over. (After Haiti became the first black republic, France decided to make it be the last. To do this, in 1825, they forced Haiti to pay $21 billion over a period of 30 years for its own loss of men and slave colony as well as for France's recognition of Haiti as an independent republic. This was the beginning of the country's current debt of $900 million).
These are all the aftereffects of one Italian man, going to the Spanish queen and asking her to fund his trip to the Indies. Every event afterward is related and goes back to that. If one small action in the past could have put this country in the state it is today, it makes me wonder which events that are happening today will destroy a country for a long time to come. Will the current Egyptian Revolutions leave the country in a low position for the next 400 years? How can we know? Did you think Columbus and his men could've known about all this?
One last point, quickly, did you know Hurricane Sandy hit Haiti? Pretty hard actually. In fact, Haiti is one of the first places the hurricane hit. Why didn't I know? Media focused, yet again on the USA and left out so many other countries. If you ask someone where did Hurricane Sandy hit? I promise at least 80% of the people will say the US. Only. If you look up 'Hurricane Sandy Haiti' there are only three major news sources (The New York Times, BBC and The Guardian) who have anything mentioned about it. Three. In some senses, it impacted worse here than in, for example, Florida because there, the houses are hurricane ready and people are more prepared. And even if they weren't they have the means to recuperate afterwards. Haiti didn't. It makes me wonder what else the media is leaving out. And what else the news leads you to the wrong assumption about.
(Yes, I understand that, despite everything I've said about Columbus, if it hadn't been him then it would have been somebody else. European nations were part of an ongoing race to discover new territories, and it just so happened that Columbus was the one who "found" the countries that he did).
LM
