American Intervention In Haiti

American Intervention in the Republic of Haiti

"L'Union Fait La Force." This is the powerful phrase inscribed in the Coat of Arms of the Haitian flag, meaning "In Unity There is Strength." The founding fathers of the Republic of Haiti were able to capture the very essence of the idea of "uniting as one" to lead the suppressed black slaves in a struggle for their independence from France. However, in the two hundred years which followed their glorious triumph over the French, Haiti has undoubtedly endured countless political, economical, and social hardships which have not seemed to show much sign of improvement, even in the 21st century. In the hearts of many of the natives, hope is steadily diminishing. The outlook on the future of their beloved country appears dim. However, if Haiti and America unite, using the same principles utilized by Haiti's founding fathers, there is a chance to conquer the escalating problems that have made this country the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Despite the numerous hardships suffered by the people of Haiti over their two-hundred year history, this current third world nation has the potential to evolve into a land of stability, opportunity, and peace if America assists by developing a strong educational system for the country's youth, byproviding finances for advanced healthcare, and by restructuring the current corrupted government.

An issue that has plagued Haiti over the years has been the poor education offered to its youth around the nation. This problem has deep roots and stems all the way back to the days of colonial settlement. During this period, the French plantation owners refused to provide schools for the black slaves to be educated. As a result many generations after them were left illiterate and uneducated (Rodgers 39). This trend managed to continue, regardless of countless attempts to establish an educational system, mainly catering to the superior mulatto population, following Haiti's newfound independence (40). While education has been promoted, at least in principle, by Haiti's post-colonial leaders, a comprehensive, accessible school system never developed. Much of the problem today has been caused by the unbalanced concentration of schools among urban and rural areas. Generally, there is an urban advantage as far as quality education and access to schools. Only twenty-three percent of rural children have access to formal education, compared to more than ninety percent of urban children of school age (Metz 352). Moreover, only twenty percent of educational expenditures go to rural areas where the vast majority of the population lives (353). Due to the lack of available schools in outlying rural areas, many children are forced to walk several miles in order to receive a decent day to day education (Cheong-Lum 61). Many do not even bother since they are not able to afford the private and Catholic schools existing in the major cities and towns and are needed, instead, to help out with the labor in their immediate surroundings. The private schools offered in the countryside are very poor and consist of very few literate instructors (Arthur 31). Although public education is free, textbooks and other school materials are not, which only adds to the financial burden of many struggling rural families (Cheong-Lum 60). The array of educational faults in Haiti has resulted in the devastatingly low 52.9% literacy rate (CIA np). As the increasing number of school-age children add to the several dilemmas in Haiti's current educational system, it is obvious that schooling is a definite cause for concern (Arthur 30).

Many consider the overall health of Haiti's people to be deprived and unreasonably unsatisfactory. A greater part of the inhabitants do not have access to clean water for drinking and cleaning purposes and must use the dirty water found in nearby rivers (Rodgers 41). Throughout most of the country, the sanitation is ridiculously inadequate. Frequently, citizens do not receive a healthy variety of foods to choose from and in turn seventy-eight percent of the children suffer from malnutrition (42). Furthermore, Haiti suffers from a severely high infant mortality rate as 76 out of 1,000 births results in an infant death (CIA np). An estimated thirteen percent of children die before reaching the tender age of five. Life expectancy is also low as the average in Haiti is merely 56 years of age (Cheong-Lum 62). Such insufficient conditions all factor in to the cause for the native's vulnerability to disease such as malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhea infections, and AIDS/HIV (Rodgers 41). The amount of people in need of healthcare is, unfortunately, not matched by the amount of available medical services in the country, however. In spite of a population of over eight million citizens, there are sadly only a little more than one thousand physicians able to offer their help (Cheong-Lum 62). Alas, there are approximately ten thousand inhabitants for every physician to take into their care (Rodgers 41). Furthermore, just as in the situation with schools, the countryside is isolated from several hospitals located in urban areas. Many people seek medical attention to no avail and wind up dying of a fatal disease. Modern health services in Haiti are known to be mostly private and largely urban (Arthur 32). The poorer majority must instead turn to national governmental organizations and international organizations who offer medical assistance. However, these organizations are often times forced to follow the demands of their sponsor instead of adhering to the needs of the recipients of aid (qtd. in Arthur 34). In essence, if the healthcare crisis is not alleviated in the future, help may be too late for many Haitians.

Since the day Haiti first recognized itself as an independent nation, it has yet to see a government, or a leader for that matter, lead the country into overwhelming success and opulence as a democracy (Cheong-Lum 31). For the majority of Haiti's political history, the people serving as government functionaries have risen through the system as beneficiaries of patronage and the spoils system rather than elected public servants (qtd. in Metz 432). Such terms as "kleptocracy" have been applied by social scientists to describe the corrupt Haitian system of taxation, patronage, and public as well as private monopolies protected by the state. Much of the finances gathered from the heavy taxation upon the citizens is used to compensate government salaries instead of funding public services or establishing efficient programs in education and healthcare (433). The population no longer depends on the government, which has been nothing but an obvious bully of the common man. Another obstruction of the current government is the existence of rural exclusion and urban dominance.