Why is haiti so poor?

[Steve]

The story of Haiti is depressing.

Haiti, once called The Jewel of the Antilles, was the richest colony in the entire world.

There are many factors which contribute to the lack of education,

Education is mainly in French, a foreign tongue to the masses of Haitians.

books are still primarily in French, and after the 5th year in school, even classroom instruction reverts to French. More importantly is the indoctrination that only French is the language of intelligent and well educated people. Thus peasants, who speak only Creole, despise their own real language and demand that their children be educated in French, thereby assuring that their children will not succeed in school.

and they blame the elite?

wealth is not the problem.. poverty and ignorance is..

 

[don]

you'll also find evidence of american meddling to get aristide overthrown. accepted the cia did not want a democratic govt in haiti.

 

[Kato]

This explains a lot of it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Haiti

Right from the start... one corrupt government after another.

 

[Steve]

Upon assuming power, General Dessalines authorized the Constitution of 1804. This constitution, in terms of social freedoms, called for:

1. Freedom of Religion (Under Toussaint, Catholicism had been declared the official state religion);
2. All citizens of Haiti, regardless of skin color, to be known as "Black" (this was an attempt to eliminate the multi-tiered racial hierarchy that had developed in Haiti, with full or near full-blooded Europeans at the top, various levels of light to brown skin in the middle, and dark skinned "Kongo" from Africa at the bottom).
3. White men were forbidden from possessing property or domain on Haitian soil.

so who were the "elites" that are often blamed? laws favored blacks..

 

[Mike]

There are no "self sufficient" black countries on the planet. They are all in poverty and receive millions & billions in foreign aid. Haiti is just one.

 

[Steve]

you'll also find evidence of american meddling to get aristide overthrown. accepted the cia did not want a democratic govt in haiti.

maybe you could explain this then?

Most Haitians continued to resent the loss of sovereignty. At the forefront of opposition among the educated elite was L'Union Patriotique,, which established ties with opponents of the occupation in the US itself, in particular the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

 

[Steve]

you'll also find evidence of american meddling to get aristide overthrown. accepted the cia did not want a democratic govt in haiti.

or this...

After three centuries of Spanish rule, with French and Haitian interludes, the country became independent in 1821 but was quickly taken over by Haiti.

seems the country not satisfied with ruling themselves struck against their neighbor?

 

[Steve]

How Haitians respond to charity and humanitarian aid..

Bill Clinton's Dictatorship in Haiti (UPDATE 4) -

On March 8, Haiti's house of Representatives, a large majority of which belongs to Preval's party, voted for a highly controversial State of Emergency law that allows an Interim Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti (CIRH), led by former U.S. president William J. Clinton, to run the country for a supposed 18-month State of Emergency.

Editor's Note: Like common thieves secretly gathering after the robbery, the CIRH, led by Bill Clinton, meets to divide up the spoils after exploiting Haiti's tragedy to gain military control of her people, land and resources.

Enter Michelle Obama on April 14th. What did she do during her surprise visit to Haiti, besides drawing fishes and comparing them to the more advanced art of the Haitian elementary-school children? What inducements or threats did she bring to the Senate on behalf of the U.S.? Might her statement of the innocent-sounding proverb "Little by little, the bird makes its nest" have been a signal that a deal was made for the occupation?

http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_59478.shtml

rantings of a madman.. or how Haitians really think?