Haiti is facing a humanitarian crisis plagued by a variety of different socioeconomic and political problems. After Haiti’s United States ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, updated the United Nations in an emergency meeting held on Oct. 18 about the state of Haiti, it’s been made clear that the Carribean country is facing some serious challenges. Here are five things to know about what’s currently happening in Haiti.
- What exactly is happening in Haiti?
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In short, Haiti is currently lacking necessary resources to overcome a crisis plagued by a rise in political uproar and gang violence that have, in return, caused a domino effect of harm onto the nation. Most prevalent in the most recent crisis, Haiti has been working to overcome a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit the country in 2021, combined with mixed effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Haiti’s president Jovenel Moïse, was also assassinated in July 2021, opening up room for armed groups to take more control over the country. Their now prime minister, Ariel Henry, proposed a cut to fuel subsidies in 2022. With a lack of infrastructure throughout the country, armed groups began blocking access to fuel terminals, with their leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier having said a rise in fuel prices would harm the people of Haiti.
Since then, armed groups have inflicted violence upon the people of Haiti while quite literally blocking out essential resources like gasoline and diesel. Due to this lack of fuel, limited transportation methods have reduced the movement of basic supplies for the Haitian people, including food and water. While performing their blockage, the armed groups have kidnapped, abused, and killed many people.
- When did the crisis begin?
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The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Haiti dates back to 2019, when citizens began protesting a lack of socioeconomic resources and overall sense of political corruption. Though political instability was made evident that year when elections weren’t held, it’s important to note that Haiti has historically suffered to develop a thriving economy.
The physical location of Haiti in the Atlantic ocean has left the country in the direct pathway of many hurricanes, and more vulnerable to the tropical climate found in the Atlantic ocean. Haiti has been recovering for years after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the country in 2010, leaving 300,000 people injured and around 1.5 million homeless. In the more recent years, Haiti has been stuck in a rough economic place due to a combination of natural disasters like earthquakes, the spread of diseases, and an overall lack of political stability.
- How has the country been affected by the recent crisis?
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Haiti has been in a dire state of catastrophe since the earthquake hit the country and armed groups began their blockade of fuel terminals. Around 40 to 70% of Haiti’s schools in the southern region of the country were unable to reopen for the school year after being destroyed by the earthquake, which has halted children from being able to attend school. The lack of available schools has also led to people, in particular children, being highly more vulnerable to the violence by armed groups.
The rise of control by the armed groups in the country has inflicted a pain upon the people that is indescribable with words. Reducing access to basic necessities by limiting access to fuel has inflicted massive food insecurity upon the country. With a lack of safe drinking water and an already low rate of vaccination for the country, Haitian people have been directly exposed to more disease and contaminations.
Armed groups have, too, began inflicting fear upon their prisoners with the use of sexual violence. In an Oct. 14 report released by the UN, Nada Al-Nashif, Acting Human Rights Chief, reported, “Gangs use sexual violence to instill fear, and alarmingly the number of cases increases by the day.” The report also said, “The gruesome testimonies shared by victims underscore the imperative for urgent action to stop this depraved behaviour, ensure that those responsible are held to account, and the victims are provided support.”
- How are other countries responding to the crisis in Haiti?
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Haiti’s government recently allowed Henry to request an international decree for “specialized armed forces” to assist in combating the blockade caused by the armed groups. Though it’s unclear which countries Haiti may request support from, the Haitian government is allowing Henry to “solicit and obtain from Haiti’s international partners effective support through immediate deployment of a specialized armed force to stop […] the insecurity resulting from the joint actions of armed gangs and their sponsors.”
Both the U.S. and Mexico jointly announced they would embark on a “security mission” to help combat the ongoing crisis in Haiti. During the UN’s emergency meeting held on Oct. 18, Thomas-Greenfield reported they would create a “carefully scoped non-U.N. mission led by a partner country with the deep and necessary experience required for such an effort to be effective.”
Many have pondered if international influence would be helpful or harmful to Haitians in this time of crisis. In the past, the U.S. has inserted themselves into the political state of Haiti, often when assistance was not requested. Daniel Foote, a former American diplomat assigned as a U.S. special envoy in Haiti, has pointed out the issues that come with outside forces, particularly from the U.S.
When speaking with The New Republic, Foote noted, “There’s big risk with any kind of intervention because you’re sending foreign soldiers into an environment that they don’t understand. If you send a bunch of soldiers down there with an objective to go after ‘bad Haitian people,’ there is [an] enormous risk that they’re going to wind up confronting innocent civilians who are just trying to make their voices heard for a better life.”
- What can you do to help Haiti?
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There are numerous ways that you can help Haiti amidst this ongoing crisis. Hope for Haiti is a reliable resource for means and methods to assist the people of Haiti. The leading areas Hope for Haiti aims to nourish include education, healthcare, providing access to clean water, and overall economic development.
You can contribute a general monetary donation on their website, as well as an option to donate stocks and cryptocurrency in the form of Bitcoin. Under each subcategory of specific issue-based efforts on Hope for Haiti, there is a curated donation portal for users to contribute either a one-time donation or a prorated monthly donation.
Additionally, the organization holds events to cultivate awareness for the state of Haiti. Art auctions, special hiking experiences, and an annual gala are among the events you can get involved in to help Hope for Haiti.
If you don’t have money to spare, the simplest (and arguably most effective) way that you can help Haiti is by spreading awareness. Whatever that looks like for you, commuting the message of the current state of Haiti is one of the most powerful tools we can use to help Haiti. Whether that’s reposting an informational Instagram story or tweeting about the ongoing crisis, using your voice might be the best way to ensure people understand the true reality of the current state of Haiti.