And here am I, again in a country I had never thought I'd go to and I am here to call it home for the next months.
I started reading some things before and the past days I got even more info so let's start with some data. This is as far as objectivity will go in this blog, you should be aware of it :)
In 1492 it was discovered, in 1804 it becomes a republic. This was the first independent black nation, wow right!
150 million francs (modern equivalent of $21 billion) was the debt France imposed to the country in return for its independence.
In May 2010, the World Bank seems to have finally waived on the country's remaining debts. The value of the waiver was $36 million. (Wikipedia)
On January 12th 2010, the country got struck by a really strong earthquake (7,0 magnitude in the Richter scale). The numbers are unclear but there could have been from 40,000 to 300,000 of deaths. Many governmental and commercial buildings collapsed, 80% of the schools in the capital were destroyed. The financial impact of this catastrophe is esteemed to have been 8 billion dollars, or around 120% of the country's GDP (World Bank).
Misery seems to enjoy company and in October 2010 an outbreak of cholera was identified and until now more than 8,500 people died from this epidemic (UN). This is a problem of public health which requires better hygiene habits and access to clean/treated water and sanitation infrastructures (ie. it all starts with latrines).
50,5% of the population lives in urban settings (UNFPA), particularly in the capital, which condenses the investments, the NGOs and the health, education, work services.
50% of the population is below 18 years old, 90% of the primary students are educated in international or church-run schools (versus public schools, which are neither for free) and illiteracy rate is around 52% (Wikipedia and PNUD).
Its life expectancy is the lowest (62,5 years old) and its fertility rate is among the highest in the Americas (2,98% children per woman, according to CIA).
In fact, 77% of the population lives with less than 2 USD per day (World Bank), so it's not surprising that people wouldn't have access to the most basic rights of education, health, proper living conditions. It is the poorest country in the Northern hemisphere.
1% of the population holds half of the country's wealth (or 2% holds 85% of it), making it one of the most unequal countries in the world (see Gini coefficient).
Added to that, only 2% of the country is forested and due to intensive agricultural practices as well the soil has lost its productivity up to 75% (PNUD).
But there is more to Haiti than these figures.
And without the specifics of the dates, names, indexes, a lot of other nations have been in a similar place - and got out of there.
The next posts will be about everything else that numbers can't tell. About my experience and therefore a very subjective and biased account of the matters that I will live here. But that will definitely shape my world view in a different way that media tries to.
I started reading some things before and the past days I got even more info so let's start with some data. This is as far as objectivity will go in this blog, you should be aware of it :)
In 1492 it was discovered, in 1804 it becomes a republic. This was the first independent black nation, wow right!
150 million francs (modern equivalent of $21 billion) was the debt France imposed to the country in return for its independence.
In May 2010, the World Bank seems to have finally waived on the country's remaining debts. The value of the waiver was $36 million. (Wikipedia)
On January 12th 2010, the country got struck by a really strong earthquake (7,0 magnitude in the Richter scale). The numbers are unclear but there could have been from 40,000 to 300,000 of deaths. Many governmental and commercial buildings collapsed, 80% of the schools in the capital were destroyed. The financial impact of this catastrophe is esteemed to have been 8 billion dollars, or around 120% of the country's GDP (World Bank).
Misery seems to enjoy company and in October 2010 an outbreak of cholera was identified and until now more than 8,500 people died from this epidemic (UN). This is a problem of public health which requires better hygiene habits and access to clean/treated water and sanitation infrastructures (ie. it all starts with latrines).
50,5% of the population lives in urban settings (UNFPA), particularly in the capital, which condenses the investments, the NGOs and the health, education, work services.
50% of the population is below 18 years old, 90% of the primary students are educated in international or church-run schools (versus public schools, which are neither for free) and illiteracy rate is around 52% (Wikipedia and PNUD).
Its life expectancy is the lowest (62,5 years old) and its fertility rate is among the highest in the Americas (2,98% children per woman, according to CIA).
In fact, 77% of the population lives with less than 2 USD per day (World Bank), so it's not surprising that people wouldn't have access to the most basic rights of education, health, proper living conditions. It is the poorest country in the Northern hemisphere.
1% of the population holds half of the country's wealth (or 2% holds 85% of it), making it one of the most unequal countries in the world (see Gini coefficient).
Added to that, only 2% of the country is forested and due to intensive agricultural practices as well the soil has lost its productivity up to 75% (PNUD).
But there is more to Haiti than these figures.
And without the specifics of the dates, names, indexes, a lot of other nations have been in a similar place - and got out of there.
The next posts will be about everything else that numbers can't tell. About my experience and therefore a very subjective and biased account of the matters that I will live here. But that will definitely shape my world view in a different way that media tries to.
No comments:
Post a Comment