A Study about the Country of Hait - Report Example

Haiti…pg THE COUNTRY OF HAITI – A STUDY DUE Haiti…pg. 2 INTRODUCTION Haiti is a country that has always been constantly under pressure from different quarters as it faces political turmoil and unrest. This paper is going to make an investigation into the different aspects of Haiti in order to give us a better understanding of this country. Besides, finding out Haiti’s general features, the paper is going to examine in detail other aspects of Haiti such as its Agrarian Reforms and the impact it created with regard to the prevailing political scene with special emphasis on the rural changes that took place during that period. In addition to this, the paper would make an examination of the urbanization that took place in the country focusing on the aspect of the urban poor. The paper would also examine the revolutionary changes that had occurred over time and the impact that it had on the development of the country. The final section of this paper would deal with the Political economy within the country and how this has led to a Third World Development. The conclusion would be a sum up of all the main and relevant points already spoken of in this essay. Haiti…pg. 3 Agrarian Reform and the Politics of Rural Change Recently Cuba celebrated 50 years of Agrarian reforms (Prensa Latina, 2009) of the country on May 15th 2009 in commemoration of the Agrarian law signed on May 17th 1959, by Fidel Castro, the tireless leader of the Cuban revolution. This law brought about revolutionary changes with regard to the dealing of land because through its legislation expansive estates came to be condemned and foreign ownership of land was strictly outlawed. Arable land was distributed or given away as property to the people who worked for it. Historical documents are recorded that over 100,000 families have been benefited because of these new laws and have become the legitimate owners of their portion of land. The living standards of the poor Haitian’s was rather low and therefore for the 70% of those in the agricultural sector, the Agrarian reforms was the most important thing to them because it gave them a certain amount of guaranteed security and in the course of it averting a catastrophic crisis involving the environment. To put an end to the problem of soil erosion that leads to deforestation especially in the mountains, the Agrarian reforms were very necessary. These reforms also helped a lot when it came to employment for the peasants on the plains and putting an end to the concept of share- cropping Haiti…pg. 4 where the poor peasants had to give away half of their harvest to the landlords as a sort of rent to them. The Agrarian reforms not only sought to redistribute the land, but also helped to supply fertilizers and transport at very subsidized rates. Rapid Urbanization and the Politics of the Urban Poor Due to its long history that involved political unrest and instability, Haiti has developed into a very resilient society in trying to cope up with the difficult situations. Haiti has faced enormous problems of economic inadequacy, unemployment, unstable government, dire poverty, violence and inequality thus affecting the cultural, social, economic and political conditions of the country. In addition to these problems, Haiti has are very large population turnover and a high scale of new immigrants who swarm the country for jobs in spite of its poor infrastructure. In spite of the above scenario, the Haitian society has shown Social resilience (Dorte Verner, 2006) in trying to cope up with the situation by trying to break out of the conflict poverty trap and no making a slow but sure progress through various institutions involved in social and economic development of the poor urban minorities. On the Political front, the urban poor have Haiti…pg. 5 experienced a lot of stress and trauma due to the fundamental problem of policiticization and political interferences involving ‘corruption, smuggling etc. (HNP chief October 05) The core state functions of the Haitian state is responsible for the poverty, poor economic growth, inequality and conflict because it is dependent on the legitimate use of force within its state. Though 25 years has elapsed since the Jean –Claude ouster, but efforts towards urbanization has been complex and gradual due to polarized politics. Though pockets of urbanization can be seen, yet only good leadership and proper rules and regulations by the Haitians themselves could effect a major turn- around for Haiti. Revolutionary Change The poverty –conflict trap that seems to plague Haiti needs to be broken in order to come out of the clutches of stagnation and poverty and to bring about a revolutionary change. In order to bring about such a change, it is imperative and crucial for Haiti to come under strong leadership that is corruption free and transparent. International assistance and National planning should be based on the national framework of the country and all developments and progress should be closely monitored and its government and donors should be held accountable for Haiti…pg. 6 the ensuing results. The progress and development in Haiti are rather slow due to the influx of population and poor management of financial and other resources coupled with a poor infrastructure and rising conflict. A revolutionary change can be brought about only if the power in the hands of a small elite group be removed and placed wholly in the hands of the state that has good leadership to channelize its finances and other resources in a proper manner that is devoid of corruption and strictly enforce laws that give priority to all its citizens. The Political Economy of Third World Development In lieu of the Third World Development, Haiti’s progress has been very slow due to the socio- economic instability of the country. In addition to this, since a major portion of the power lies in the hands of only a select elite few, the State is not in a strong position to enforce its laws and bring corruption and political instability under control. François Dominique Toussaint LOuverture is considered to be one of the great revolutionaries of the Haitian Revolution who was one of the key players who trained the Haitian slaves to become more politically organized to aid them to Haiti…pg. 7 keep Haiti under their control and not lose it to the French, English or Spanish. On November 28th 1803 Haiti was declared to finally be a Republic. (Richard Hooker, 1996) But even so there were other problems such as child- trafficking, sexual exploitation and cheap labor that was linked with corruption and other criminal activities which were causes of the draining of the political economy. It has been estimated that about 1.2 million children are trafficked each year. (UNICEF, 2007) Another important point that is responsible for the political economy being in shambles is the illegal migration that takes place to countries like U.S and Canada because they are forced into cross- border bonded labor in order to repay their debts incurred through the smuggling of goods. The Haitian Government is not in a position to intervene on this issue and there is an escalation of political crisis. Haiti’s Political economy remains in shambles, because even though the interim government is taking help from the Brigade for the protection of Minors (BPM) and the Social Welfare Ministry (IBESR) (Haiti Info, 2005) yet due to dire lack of good leadership, resources and necessary equipment it finds it difficult to control or put an end to this endemic corruption. Haiti…pg. 8 Conclusion Weighing the pros and cons of the situation facing Haiti, we come to understand that it has a very long way to go before it makes proper development and progress. After analyzing the situation, we can draw conclusions to say that unless Haiti’s administrative mechanism changes and the menaces such as corruption, slave trade, exploitation and trafficking are wiped out. Another major problem that the Government has to put an end to is the illegal migration that takes place across the border due to bonded or forced labor to put and end to smuggling debts. Significant efforts have to be made on the forefront of conserving the resources that are available in the country and using the same constructively. The laws enforced by the government should be strict and binding without allowing power to go into the hands of a corrupt few. Once all these problems are laid to rest can Haiti hope for a better and brighter future. Haiti…pg. 9 REFERENCES Dimanche, (2005) Trafficking in Persons Report – Haiti Info www.haiti-info.com/spip.php?article3724 Dorte Verner (May 2006) Social Resilience and State Fragility in Haiti, A Country Social Analysis, World Bank. www.siteresources.worldbank.org/.../Resources/May_18-Dorte_Verner.ppt Julia Preston, Aristide Calls for Embargo of Haiti to Force out military, The Tech online edition, Washington Post, United Nations, 84 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 483, Cambridge, Mass. Vol. 113, Iss. 53, Friday October 29th 1993. www.tech.mit.edu/V113/N53/haiti.53w.html Prensa Latina (2009) 50 Years of Agrarian Reform, Haiti – Cuba – Venezuela analysis, CUBA, www.hcvanalysis.wordpress.com/.../cuba-video-may-17-1959-50-years-of-agrarian-reform/ Richard Hooker, (1996) The Haitian Revolution, The African Diaspora. www.wsu.edu/~dee/DIASPORA/HAITI.HTM The Haiti Interface – Land Reforms www.desk.nl/~haiti-if//select/artlond1.html UNICEF – Child protection from violence….. www.unicef.org/protection/index_exploitation.html Read More