tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52196445078938405432024-02-20T16:54:23.540-08:00Haiti Today: A Reddit /r/HistoryofIdeas Course This blog is a series of lessons/essays about Haiti's history, culture, problems, and future from an anthropological perspective. This blog was originally created for a History of Ideas course on reddit, but it is free and open to all interested in the topics.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04743743536969892423noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5219644507893840543.post-71002732775870686132013-02-17T12:06:00.000-08:002013-04-03T16:26:01.964-07:00[HoI Course] Looking to the Future (Haiti Today 6/6)<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">WELCOME TO THE FIFTH LESSON FOR HAITI TODAY </span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">PART OF THE HISTORY OF IDEAS ACADEMY</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You can find the outline for the course <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryofIdeas/comments/10dk1n/haiti_today_teaser_for_upcoming_course/" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s; color: #f07300; display: inline; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;">here</a>, a brief history of Haiti <a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/09/hoi-pearl-of-antilles-haiti-today-16.html" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s; color: #f07300; display: inline; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;">here</a>, an introduction to Vodou <a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/10/hoi-getting-to-know-spirits-haitian.html" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s; color: #f07300; display: inline; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;">here</a>, a discussion of daily life <a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/10/hoi-course-daily-life-in-haiti-haiti.html" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s; color: #f07300; display: inline; outline-style: none; text-decoration: initial;">here</a>, an overview of NGOs and foreign intervention <a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/10/hoi-course-foreign-intervention-in.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: initial;">here</a>, and a discussion of zombies and spirits of the dead <a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/10/hoi-course-top-hats-skeletons-and.html">here</a>. Please post all comments, requests, and questions in the <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryofIdeas/comments/18pks9/hoi_course_looking_to_the_future_of_haiti_haiti/">Reddit post</a> rather than the blog. That way we can continue our discussion within the History of Ideas subreddit. I've also posted an album to accompany the post that you can view <a href="http://imgur.com/a/VzPCZ">here</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So far I've spent a lot of time talking about the problems past and present in Haiti. But there are some promising things too. The goal of this section is to look at some of the areas that have the potential to change Haiti's situation. In particular, I am focusing on projects that have large scale implications and not just small localized focuses. When possible, I've picked out a particular project I find interesting and promising.</span><br />
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Environment</h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Intensive logging, crops that have leached the top soil, erosion, pollution, deforestation, and contaminated water have created a dire environmental situation in Haiti. Like I laid out in a previous post, less than 2% of Haiti is currently forested and the erosion and poor farming techniques have led to reduced productivity of the soil. For a country that is food poor, this is a serious concern. USAID and NGOs have attempted to solve these issues in a variety of ways, but with little success. For example, there have been a number of attempts to reforest Haiti through planting trees. Often groups choose fruit and avocado trees in the hope that it will kill two birds with one stone. However, what the goats don't eat the local people often cut down to turn into charcoal. Charcoal is still the most popular fuel for cooking and wood is used for heating (the mountains actually do get cold in the winter.) This doesn't stop planting efforts from being the major method utilized by non-profits and aid organizations. It isn't that efforts such as those by the Timberland company are completely ineffective. But unless something larger changes, it merely slows the inevitable and provides a continuous supply of trees for fuel and goat feed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Attempts to modernize agriculture have been limited by lack of access to resources, lack of credit available to farmers, land tenure issues, and corruption. However, there are a few interesting projects under way. When I was in Haiti in 2011, I met the executive director of a project called CHIBAS who was trying to cultivate edible Jatropha that he hoped would solve three specific issues. Edible Jatropha is a plant already found in Haiti and is used for marking land boundaries and in some religious ceremonies. While it is edible, as its name suggests, the fruit is not very tasty. But it does provide practical resources. The oil produced from crushing the fruit is a great biofuel - it can replace diesel in a modified engine or be used as cooking fuel. The nuts can also be used like briquettes in place of charcoal. The mash that is left over from pressing the fruit can be used as livestock feed, something that is currently very expensive in Haiti and is almost all imported. The trees grow easily in a wide variety of soils in tropical regions - including sandy and nutrient poor conditions. And, goats don't like to eat them and the wood does not make good charcoal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Therefore, with some educational programs they hope to shift locals' use of charcoal to Jatropha nuts and biofuel as well as encourage them to use the mash for feeding livestock. Petroleum and food currently makeup two-thirds of Haiti's annual imports but there are always shortages of each. The Jatropha program is already underway with plants being started in a field and then replanted along the mountainsides when they are big enough. Similar projects have also been underway in places like India where they hope to turn the Jatropha oil into jet fuel. It is important not to overstate the successes of projects like this and retain a healthy level of skepticism. Yet, they do look promising and give hope that the next stage of the Green Revolution will be much more successful. In the past, certain projects like those in Bali failed because they did not take local contexts, concerns, practices, and needs into account when developing their projects. Agriculture has a huge domino effect on environment, nutrition, jobs, economy, gender relations, class, etc. CHIBAS' edible Jatropha projects do a much better job listening to local concerns and trying to address the multiple levels that their work will impact. It helps that the executive director of CHIBAS was born and raised in Haiti so he is able to apply his PhD expertise in genetics, agriculture, and plant biology in a culturally and locally sensitive manner. If you are interested in learning more you can visit informational sites about the project <a href="http://haitiinnovation.org/en/2010/09/22/jatropha-and-economic-development-haiti">here</a> and <a href="http://chibas-bioenergy.org/">here</a>. You can also watch a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjTFsBrRX_o">video</a> about the research going on though unfortunately it is in French.</span><br />
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Education & Economy</h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Education can empower people to be their own agents of change and open up new opportunities. Even just gaining literacy skills allows individuals to read newspapers, make informed decisions at the polls, apply for better jobs, navigate bureaucracy, and continue their education on their own. These benefits are even higher when educating women and this is especially true in Haiti where women often manage the money, are primarily in charge of selling in the marketplace, and make most decisions regarding health, nutrition, and education of the children. In short, education is one of the few things that we can provide for other communities that creates a lifelong change.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Yet, access to education and the ability to afford it is a major problem in Haiti. 57% of the population over the age of 13 is completely illiterate and more are functionally illiterate. 90% of schools in Haiti are private, and at an average of $109 in fees per child per year (about 40% of a poor family's yearly income) it is difficult for families to send one let alone all of their children to school. Most families do their best to send kids to a couple years of elementary school, which is reflected in the 2002-2003 enrollment statistics that show about 76% of children to to first and second grade. However, only 22% stay in school after that. In some areas high school level education is not available at all - public or private. Families that are interviewed for academic research and ones that I've spoken with personally overwhelmingly want their children to get a higher level of education and recognize its value in creating a better future for them. However, they cannot afford the fees, do not always have access to a school for their child, and may need assistance from children that requires them to attend only part-time or drop out completely. Once a child reaches an age where they could babysit younger children, help out on the farm, or assist with production and/or selling of goods the family may need their labor enough that school no longer becomes an option.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">The earthquake made this situation even more dire. At least 3,000 schools were damaged or destroyed and it will be years still before they are rebuilt. Additionally, the financial strain of sending a child to school is exacerbated when a natural disaster hits. Families lost homes and jobs and the influx of international aid workers has made prices for everything - food, shelter, water, clothing - increase dramatically. Many children and adults also experienced highly traumatizing events that may psychologically hinder them from working or attending school. And the recent cholera epidemic that has killed about 8,000 people has also created serious burdens for families. Therefore, it is important to remember that the ability and desire for attending school is not just about the child but the child's entire family and social context. Improved economic situations, child care services, cheap or free school expenses, better health services, and incentives like free lunches help children get educations just as much as access to schools.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">There are a ton of non-profits in Haiti working on the education issue. But, as I already discussed, simply building schools is not enough. They need resources to run and the other social conditions mentioned above also influence whether people can take advantage of them. Non-profits and NGOs that build structures without thinking about how the teachers, books, uniforms, school lunches, clean water, taxes, etc. will continue when the group moves on to their next project fail in their main goal. Often local politicians take them over and run them as a private school for the income with little concern over the quality of education. This is part of the reason why public schools, though they only make up about 10% of available institutions, often provide higher quality education. However, there are some promising developments on the education front and I'd like to mention a couple of them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">First, President Martelly (elected in 2011) ran on a platform that promised free public school education to all children ages 6-12. Surprising as it may seem, he was the first president to promise this and it was a large part of why he was elected. To fund this initiative he institute two taxes: $1.50 on every international money transfer and 5 cents per minute for every international call. The taxes were to only be paid by the international participant so that it would not be a burden to locals. Remittances (money sent from families living outside the country) make up about 20% of Haiti's GDP or roughly $2.32 billion per year. His administration estimated they could raise about $8.5 million per month towards their education goals. Now the president does not actually have the legal power to levy taxes in Haiti and many Haitians at home and abroad were upset that he ignored law and instituted them without Parliament or the nation voting on them. However, enough people were willing to overlook the legality of the situation because they supported the end goal. The National Fund for Education continued to put away money while Parliament planned for how they would implement the free education scholarships. But six months after the plan was put in place, some serious concerns about the funds began to arise.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">The fund was not overseen by Parliament, but they estimated at that point it should have about $60 million. The head of the fund said their math was off and they only had $28 million. But the bank announced there was only somewhere between $5-2 million in the account. Parliament demanded an investigation as did the head of Digicel - one of the major cell phone companies and remittance transfer services that had to collect and process most of the taxes. Digicel claimed they had sent $20 million to the fund. It turned out that many of the school fees President Martelly had claimed were paid by the fund had been paid by the Clinton Foundation but many schools were still coming up short. Many teachers had not been paid their salary for months and were threatening to leave. As of writing this blog the missing money is still not accounted for and no one has a solid accounting of how much is supposed to be in there in the first place. In all, it seems like a dismal failure and one more example of President Martelly's corruption.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">So why then am I listing this initiative as a positive step? Well, in recognizing the President's failures other organizations and politicians have stepped up to try and rectify the problem. There are a number of politicians who are trying to resolve the corruption and legal problems plaguing the program. There have been numerous protests against President Martelly's mismanagement of the funds, but it is clear that the people overwhelmingly support the concept. After being promised free education for their children, the people expect it and have been very vocal about their demands for such a program going forward. It looks like even if President Martelly never fully delivers future politicians will have to at least make a show of trying to provide free schools. Other organizations like Partners in Health and the Clinton Foundation are investing heavily in local schools to help makeup for the lack of promised funds from the government. Partners in Health is also building a teaching hospital where they hope to train a wide range of medical professionals. But perhaps one of the most interesting projects actually comes from the for profit side. Digicel - the aforementioned cell phone company - is doing some very interesting things in Haiti and this is the second example that I would like to focus upon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Digicel is an Irish owned cell phone company that is incredibly popular and profitable in Haiti. Mobile phone access has drastically changed life in countries like Haiti. In 2005 only 5% of the country had cell coverage, but by 2009 95% of the country was covered. Some people in cities have land lines, but cell phones are much more popular and available in rural areas where land lines are not. Cell phones are relatively cheap and minutes can be purchased from vendors on the streets in whatever increments people can afford. Today, Digicel has about 4.8 million subscribers and Natcom has about 500,000 (overall population is about 9.7 million). However, these numbers are a little misleading because couples, families, and even friends often share a cell phone meaning that many more have access to one.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Cell phones allow families and friends to stay in touch over distances in ways they couldn't before - whether that is someone going to the city for work, to the Dominican Republic to work in the sugar cane fields, or the the US. Like I discussed before, networks and relationships are incredibly important in Haiti as safety nets and for getting things done. Begging for charity is shameful in part because it indicates you don't have "people" i.e. you are not likable enough to have built up networks that would have prevented the need for begging. Cell phones may also be changing relationships within families because it allows fathers - who often leave for work - the ability to stay in touch with their children. Men often have photos of their kids on their phones and eagerly share their joy at being fathers with others through these pictures. Cell phones also allow rural communities the ability to stay in touch with urban populations and keep up to date on issues of politics, economy, and social changes that may not be covered in radio broadcasts. For example, coffee growers in the mountains used to be dependent upon middle men who would meet them at the base of the mountain and purchase the coffee to be sold in the city. Growers had to rely upon the middle men to tell them market price and were often shafted. But now they can call a cousin in Port au Prince to find out market price and this gives them the power to negotiate. More recently, the Bill and Meinda Gates Foundation funded a program for Haitians to be able to use their cell phones like bank accounts since 90% of the population does not (and cannot) use banks. People can transfer money to other users and store money like an account. They can then take their phone to a Digicel store and get their money. Adoption of the cell phone bank account has been slow, but the project is interesting because it allows poor Haitians access to services normally denied to them. Additionally, Digicel and other cell phone companies send out free texts to cell phones warning subscribers whenever a hurricane or other issue arises.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">All of this is to say that cell phones are great and it is good that Haitians have them now. But the educational possibilities come from the non-profit arm of Digicel. The company's billionaire chairman Denis O'Brien has made it a personal mission to improve the life of Haitians. O'Brien has also recognized that education is a major problem that the government seems unable or unwilling to tackle. So far Digicel has built 75 schools and plans to build 75 more. Some of these replace ones destroyed in the earthquake and others are aimed at reaching children in rural areas that never previously had access to education. They also have a teacher training program that plans to train 600 teachers over the next three years. The foundation also pays the salaries for the teachers and many other costs so that families only have to cover about $10 in fees for a school year - a huge savings from the national average of $109 a year. Additionally, they arrange for school lunches and vaccinations for students to be provided by other organizations.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">But more than just focusing on schools, O'Brien's foundation has recognized what I discussed earlier - increasing education of the populace requires improving the lives of the childrens' families and their ability to attend. Lack of education and its solution do not exist in a vacuum Rather, we have to acknowledge that they are embedded in complex contexts that are all interconnected. To this end his organization has also rebuilt a historic landmark and site of trade in Port-au-Prince called the Iron Market after it was destroyed in the earthquake. Digicel installed street signs in the capital, providing prosthetic limbs for those who lost theirs in the earthquake, and hosted entrepreneurship galas for local businesses. The foundation is investing in tourism and broke ground for the first Marriott in Haiti, moved the company's call center to Haiti to create more jobs, and their buildings allow both the mayor of Port-au-Prince and the Red Cross free offices. They are building clean water pumps, building temporary and permanent housing for people still in tents (which are now breaking down), and sponsoring the special olympics in Haiti. They also started a pilot Youth Enterprise School in Fondwa that teaches teens and younger adults business skills, financial knowledge, literacy, and skills for careers. The school also breeds animals and grows crops to generate revenue and encourage production of local food (currently most eggs, chickens, and produce is imported.) If this school does well the foundation hopes to expand to other locations. I often run into adults who lament being unable to to move beyond their current situation because they lack the business and financial skills that could help them get ahead.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">There are some Haitians who are understandably wary of O'Brien. He is a billionaire with a mission meaning he has the money and clout to bypass the corruption and politics of the system. But it also means he isn't beholden to the system. So far his efforts have been pretty amazing and it is fascinating to see how well placed and informed spending of money can have huge payoffs. It is also heartening to see the good corporations can do in a time when big business seems like a bad word in America. Yet, I do sympathize with concerns about one man making decisions that are having such a huge impact in a country that is not his own. And it is undeniable that these efforts have made Digicel incredibly popular in Haiti and is good for business. However, for now he seems to be able to balance the practices that lead to good business on the one hand and his efforts to genuinely help the island on the other. The fact that if Haiti's economy and quality of life improves it will mean more subscribers and data use for Digicel should not automatically signal a problem. Businesses and lives can thrive in tandem.</span><br />
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Tourism</h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tourism obviously falls under the heading of economy, but I've separated it out because there are specific programs and national goals for tourism that I'd like to discuss in depth. I've encountered a lot of negative articles and comments about Haiti's investment in the tourism industry suggesting that the nation is foolish to spend its money on hotels when so many other problems plague the country. And it is true that Haiti is very poor and has huge health, housing, education, and social problems. Yet, an improved economy that increases the standard of living across a broad range of the population can create opportunities for improving all of those categories. It is vital that efforts to improve Haiti's situation do not perpetuate the cycle of poverty by merely giving away free things or only treating one aspect of the complex situation as if it exists in isolation. Haitian President Martelly announced that tourism would be a major component of his plan to rebuild the Haitian economy. At first glance, many people do not think of Haiti as an ideal tourist destination. Yet, I would like to argue that President Martelly is not crazy to suggest tourism has a huge potential for the island and that it might be a much more positive and fruitful alternative to his other plan for economic growth: sweat shops.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Haiti used to have a thriving tourism industry that was vitally important to their economy. This shouldn't be that surprising since the Dominican Republic - the other half of the island of Hispaniola - still has a very active and profitable tourism industry. Caribbean beaches, great music, beautiful art forms, good food, and a long unique history all made Haiti an attractive place to relax and to party. Which is exactly what people like Mick Jagger, Jackie O, Jimmy Buffet, and John Barrymore went there to do. The Clintons honeymooned in Haiti. Graham Greene sat in the Hotel Oloffson and was inspired by it to write The Comedians. Luxury hotels, nightclubs, bars, and cafes lined the streets of Port-au-Prince in the 1970s1 waiting for the 150,000 tourists to arrive yearly. 25,000 jobs depended on the tourism industry. The recession that hit America in the early 1980s turned that number to 100,000 by 1981. But it was AIDS that really killed tourism in Haiti. Americans were terrified of AIDS and did not fully understand how it spread. Anyone suspected of carrying AIDS was ostracized. In 1982, the CDC named Haiti as one of the infamous 4-H Club. Overnight Haiti became synonymous with HIV/AIDS and Haitians in America suddenly couldn't sell their homes, lost their jobs, got kicked out of their churches, and lost friends. And Americans certainly didn't want to travel to an island full of potential carriers. By the end of 1982, only 10,000 Americans had traveled to Haiti. Hotels, restaurants, clubs, resorts, and activities began folding left and right. Throughout the 1990s, the political unrest made tourism undesirable and the earthquake in 2010 destroyed what little tourist industry had recovered. But oddly enough, the earthquake also created a space for many Americans to rediscover Haiti as a place of tourism.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Many volunteers at various non-profit and NGO efforts in Haiti get a few days off every so often for relaxation and sanity. It is common for these groups to organize day trips to beaches, <a href="http://www.bassin-bleu.com/">Bassin-Bleu</a>, <a href="http://bunnyhugs.org/2008/10/25/rhum-barbancourt-distillery-visit/">distilleries</a>, <a href="http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/nationalhistorypark.html">historic sites</a>, or areas to buy souvenirs. Though I've been cynical about the organizations themselves, many volunteers genuinely want to help and fall in love with Haiti while there. Tourism, therefore, is growing not only from the Americans who are stationed in Haiti for a short time but returning volunteers who would like to continue supporting the economy and share their experiences with friends and family. Also, many individuals who fled Haiti during the political upheavals, repressive regimes, and poor economy return frequently to visit family and enjoy the island. In 2011, tourism made up 4.4% of Haiti's GDP with projections for it to continue rising. In July 2011, President Martelly launched "Tourism Week," which aimed to bring attention to the different sites and attractions that might interest tourists. He has also pushed for preservation of historical sites like the Citadel, marketing campaigns, and building the infrastructure that will be needed to service tourists.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Currently, it can be difficult to be a tourist in Haiti. Roads are bad, public transit is worse, and there are few resources for planning trips. There are tour services such as Tour Haiti, which I've had great experiences with, but their website is lacking and in French. Figuring out which area of Haiti a tourist would like to visit and what to do there is easier now that Trip Advisor has Haiti reviews, but deciding where to stay is still complicated. I've stayed in some amazing hotels in Haiti, but most do not have websites, phone numbers, or reviews online making it difficult to arrange reservations from abroad. And many hotels do not have the services and staff at the levels many Americans expect. While there are some tourists who like the adventure of a destination like Haiti, to really attract large numbers they will need to address these issues. Currently, there are efforts to improve roadways, the state built an<a href="http://www.defend.ht/lifestyles/articles/travel/2685-jacmel-and-cayes-airports-to-open-for-international-flights"> airport </a>in the beach community of Jacmel, they opened a <a href="http://www.caribjournal.com/2011/12/21/haiti-to-revive-hotel-school/">hospitality school</a> in the South thanks to the Clinton Bush Foundation, and have made arrangements with international agencies to create tour packages. Port-au-Prince just hosted an international <a href="http://www.papjazzhaiti.org/">Jazz Festival</a> with some very well known New Orleans, Germany, France, and even Cameroon. Haiti's Minister of Tourism Stephanie Villedrouin has done an impressive job building up the services and attractions in Haiti as well as reaching out to the private sector to collaborate for investments. This has sometimes meant working with major hotel chains to give them incentives to build nice hotels. Collaborative efforts between the private tourism sector, non-profits, and the government have at times come under heavy fire from news sites and popular web communities such as Reddit. Yet, if tourism is truly going to be a cornerstone of Haiti's economic development the government has to invest in it and encourage outside investment as well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Tourism in Haiti has a lot of potential if there is investment and encouragement from the government and private sector. Haiti might not be able to compete with all inclusive resorts that are identical in all but name to other such resorts around the Caribbean. However, the country's history, culture, and traditions could be huge tourist draws. Haiti was the first free black republic in the world. You can tour historic landmarks from the revolutionary period with magnificent views. Because of its history and isolation, Haiti has its own art, music, and dance forms. The language, religion, and many cultural traditions can be traced back to West African forms. Though Haitians paint most of the paintings you purchase in the Caribbean and Latin America (even if it says another country at the bottom), there are items only available in Haiti such as drapos, rum, metal drum art, carved pieces, and handmade dolls. You can go from hip jazz clubs and art galleries in Petionville to a lazy day at the beach in Cayes-Jacmel swimming in the ocean and eating grilled seafood caught that day. In the North, there are Saints festivals in the summer with church services for the saints in the morning, food and craft items sold during the day, bands playing live music in the evening, Vodou ceremonies all night long, and then repeat the next day. Or you can take a donkey ride up the mountains to see the ruins of Haiti's first and only King's caste Sans Souci and his fort the Citadel and enjoy the spectacular view. If tourism is pursued not in the vein of all inclusive copycat resorts but as a place with a unique history and culture that cannot be experienced anywhere else tourism could be a major part of Haiti's economic growth. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Conclusion</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">While Haiti still faces many serious obstacles, there are reasons to hope that things will improve. It will take a combined effort from the government, non-profits, and for-profit investments but it is possible. Above I've discussed just a few areas where there are promising developments in the areas of education, quality of life, economy, and environment. As these projects move forward it will be important to keep an eye on them and periodically reassess. But for now I have hope that the Haitian people will be better off in the years to come. If you have any questions or would like to discuss an issue in more depth, I welcome you to ask questions on the Reddit History of Ideas post. As usual, I've also incuded a photo album of pictures I have taken that are related to the topics discussed. You can view that photo album<a href="http://imgur.com/a/VzPCZ"> here</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks to everyone who has read all or part of my History of Ideas series of essays on Haiti. If you would like to continue the conversation you can PM me on Reddit or email me at lcrocker@bu.edu. I may periodically update this blog in the future with my musings about Haiti. </i></span></div>
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Further Reading and Sources</h3>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Environment</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">http://haitiinnovation.org/en/2010/09/22/jatropha-and-economic-development-haiti</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">http://chibas-bioenergy.org/</span><br />
<a href="http://blog.acton.org/archives/51728-beyond-aid-the-flood-of-rice-in-haiti.html">http://blog.acton.org/archives/51728-beyond-aid-the-flood-of-rice-in-haiti.html</a><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Education & Economy</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/gpo19359/sr245.pdf</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">http://fletcher.tufts.edu/_Fletcher-Forum/Archives/~/media/Fletcher/Microsites/Fletcher%20Forum/PDFs/2011winter/McNulty.pdf</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.cgdev.org/files/2844_file_EDUCATON1.pdf</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/world/americas/07schools.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.haitispecialenvoy.org/about-haiti/education/</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">Sloand, Elizabeth, Bette Gebrian, and Nan Marie Astone. "Fathers’ Beliefs About Parenting and Fathers’ Clubs to Promote Child Health in Rural Haiti."</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">Qualitative Health Research</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"> 22, no. 4 (2012): 488-498.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"><b>Martelly's Education Issues</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">http://www.sopudep.org/story/246</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">http://canadahaitiaction.ca/content/education-plan-president-martelly-under-fire</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><b>Digicel</b> </span><br /><span style="line-height: 16px;">http://www.theage.com.au/small-business/entrepreneur/irish-entrepreneur-banks-on-a-smarter-haiti-20130117-2cvgc.html</span><br /><span style="line-height: 16px;">http://www.proparco.fr/webdav/site/proparco/shared/PORTAILS/Secteur_prive_developpement/PDF/SPD4/SPD4_Barberousse_Bernard_Pescatori_uk.pdf</span><br /><span style="line-height: 16px;">http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/16/us-haiti-digicel-obrien-idUSBRE90F0AQ20130116</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">http://finance.yahoo.com/news/mobile-money-plan-stumbles-start-haiti-142030133--finance.html</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">http://fondationdigicelhaiti.org/news/digicel-foundation-reaches-50-of-its-school-construction-goal/</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">http://www.imtfi.uci.edu/files/imtfi/docs/2012/taylor_baptiste_horst_haiti_mobile_money.pdf</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"><b>Tourism</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">http://www.wttc.org/site_media/uploads/downloads/haiti2012.pdf</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">http://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/29/world/for-haiti-s-tourism-the-stigma-of-aids-is-fatal.html</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/aids/countries/ht.html</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">Farmer, Paul. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">. No. 33. University of California Press, 2006.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">http://www.cntraveler.com/features/2009/09/Love-and-Haiti</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">http://www.haititourisminc.com/</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">http://www.tourhaiti.net/index.html</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/17/v-fullstory/3187729/branford-marsalis-headlines-haiti.html</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">http://ayitinou.com/article-posts/29-haitian-articles/3398-haiti-news-martelly-relies-on-tourism.html</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">http://www.caribjournal.com/2013/02/14/developing-tourism-in-haiti-an-interview-with-minister-stephanie-villedrouin/</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">http://www.hougansydney.com/landmarks-of-haiti.php</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/17/v-fullstory/3187729/branford-marsalis-headlines-haiti.html</span><br />
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<i style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">All photographs and essays are my own works. If you would like to reproduce this post whole or in part please contact me first. Thanks!</span></i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04743743536969892423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5219644507893840543.post-21753115415691024152012-10-31T18:21:00.001-07:002013-06-27T11:56:48.978-07:00[HoI Course] Top Hats, Skeletons, and Zombies (Haiti Today 5/6)<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">WELCOME TO THE FIFTH LESSON FOR HAITI TODAY</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">PART OF THE HISTORY OF IDEAS ACADEMY</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><span style="text-align: justify;"> You can find the outline for the course </span><a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryofIdeas/comments/10dk1n/haiti_today_teaser_for_upcoming_course/" style="color: #f07300; display: inline; outline: none; text-align: justify; text-decoration: initial;">here</a><span style="text-align: justify;">, a brief history of Haiti </span><a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/09/hoi-pearl-of-antilles-haiti-today-16.html" style="color: #f07300; display: inline; outline: none; text-align: justify; text-decoration: initial;">here</a><span style="text-align: justify;">, an introduction to Vodou </span><a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/10/hoi-getting-to-know-spirits-haitian.html" style="color: #f07300; display: inline; outline: none; text-align: justify; text-decoration: initial;">here</a><span style="text-align: justify;">, a discussion of daily life </span><a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/10/hoi-course-daily-life-in-haiti-haiti.html" style="color: #f07300; display: inline; outline-style: none; text-align: justify; text-decoration: initial;">here</a><span style="text-align: justify;">, and an overview of NGOs and foreign intervention </span><a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/10/hoi-course-foreign-intervention-in.html" style="text-align: justify;">here</a><span style="text-align: justify;">. Please post all comments, requests, and questions in the Reddit post </span><a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryofIdeas/comments/12fn0f/hoi_course_top_hats_skeletons_and_zombies_in/" style="text-align: justify;">here</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> rather than the blog. That way we can continue our discussion within the History of Ideas subreddit. I've also posted an album to accompany the post </span><a href="http://imgur.com/a/1Z7Y4" style="text-align: justify;">here</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> so you can see how the dead and zombies are represented in Haiti. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Top Hats, Skeletons, and Zombies</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bolder;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">A Haiti Today Halloween Special </span></span></div>
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</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">My original plan for this post was to talk about the future of Haiti. But I realized that since today is Halloween it would be much more fun and topical to talk about the spirits of the dead and zombies. We'll save the future of Haiti discussion next week. First, I will discuss the spirits of the dead, who have become part of New Orleans and even Hollywood popular culture as the skeleton wearing a top hat. Even James Bond got in on the theme with the film <i>Live and Let Die</i>. Then, I'll talk a little about the concept of souls in Vodou since All Saints Day and a big Vodou ceremony is coming up. And lastly, I'll tackle zombies in Haitian Vodou since they were the original source for all the zombies we see running around trick or treating today. So when your friends show up tonight in zombie outfits or share pictures on Facebook you can impress them all with your knowledge. I've also included a photo album of related pictures that you can browse <a href="http://imgur.com/a/1Z7Y4">here</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Spirits of Death and the Dead</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">We've talked a little already about the spirits of the ancestors and the <i>lwa </i>in my section introducing Vodou. But a brief recap might be useful. Ancestors are important actors in everyday life who deserve honor and feeding. They look after their family for generations or until they are reincarnated. The <i>lwa </i>are the living spirits that live in Ginen (Africa) but also animate the landscape around us. They form complex and life long relationships with humans where they expect to be honored and fed, but like the ancestors also look after their charges and can protect, heal, or punish. The <i>lwa </i>become extended but revered family members - called by terms of endearment such as father, mother, and cousin. Some humans even marry spirits. In the larger scheme of things, the beloved dead and <i>lwa </i>help retain balance and moral order. One such spirit we only briefly touched on before is <i>Baron </i>and the <i>Ghede</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The <i>lwa </i>are grouped into different nations and families that share some personality traits and often have interpersonal relationships with one another. The <i>Ghede </i>make up a family of spirits of the dead. But they are not the ancestors who are taken care of and remembered by the surviving family. Rather, <i>Ghede </i>are the Unclaimed Dead who have no one to look after them. The Barons are the spirits of death who head this family and look after the Unclaimed Dead and our own spirits when we die. Since the <i>Ghede </i>are dead, they have no inhibitions because they exist beyond such earthly constrictions and concerns of punishment. They are loud naughty pranksters who dance sexually, drink heavily, and love a good party even if it isn't thrown for them. When they show up they like to wear the formal but moth eaten clothes of an undertaker such as a top hat, a tux, and a cane. They also like to wear dark sunglasses, smoke, and powder their faces white like a skeleton. <i>Ghede </i>love liquor spiced with the habanero peppers and have enormous appetites. They always speak the truth (why lie when there are no repercussions for blunt honesty?) and love a good joke. Sometimes their jokes touch on subjects that the living are too afraid to speak about such as mocking dangerous political figures. Since they are part of the cycle of death and rebirth, they are also tied to sex and its consequences - i.e. children. Sometimes you'll see <i>Ghede </i>with a purple penis at the tip of their staff and they love to dance the banda (a type of sexual dance) with members of the party. But since they also care about children, they are fierce protectors of those who haven't yet led a full life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are also endless individual <i>Ghede </i>within the larger <i>Ghede </i>family and as the social and political situations in Haiti change, new <i>Ghede </i>appear to reflect that. For example, the economic situation that favors women has spurred female <i>Ghede </i>to appear and the ever present Protestant Preacher (who really, really does not approve of <i>Ghede's </i>sexuality) has even become a <i>Ghede</i>. A Protestant <i>Ghede </i>preacher drinking copious amounts of alcohol, making dirty jokes, and grinding on the dance floor is a pretty interesting commentary on religion, life, and politics. Most families have their own <i>Ghede </i>that only show up to their parties and have a personal relationship with them. But everyone has <i>Ghede </i>since everyone dies, and they are important spirits in part because they purposefully occupy the space between. Living in the boundaries, they provide powerful defense, vengeance, and healing against outsiders. They also provide a psychological release for dealing with death, political and cultural oppression, and the stress of living up to social norms.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Beginning on All Saints Day, which is November 1st, Haitian communities will begin holding their yearly <i>fet </i>(ceremony) for <i>Ghede</i>. This is always one of the biggest ceremonies of the year since everyone has <i>Ghede </i>and a need to honor the dead. In Haiti, these fets will go on for days. In the diaspora (i.e. immigrant communities living abroad), they usually last from about 9 PM to 9 AM. The community I work with here in the States will hold theirs in the upcoming weeks. Last year, the goal was to begin around 7 PM but most Vodou ceremonies happen on Haitian Standard Time, meaning they happen when they happen. The priestess made her way down into the tightly packed basement around 9 PM to begin the opening prayers. The vast majority of the people packed into the basement were Haitian immigrants or children of immigrants, though there were a few white visitors, scholars, and initiates. The altar was loaded down with <i>Ghede's </i>favorite fish, Halloween decorations of skulls and skeletons, white run packed with habaneros, and fabrics in <i>Ghede's </i>colors of black and purple. Though <i>Ghede </i>was the main attraction, all Vodou ceremonies have to go through the order of lwa and honor them all with at least a brief song or prayer. But Vodou ceremonies are less formal than church, so that people were dancing, talking, singing, and laughing throughout. Finally, around 2 AM it was time for <i>Ghede </i>to make an appearance. The drums began the beat of the banda and the congregation began singing songs for <i>Ghede</i>. The first <i>Ghede </i>showed up quickly, taking one of the manbo by surprise. But there is no mistaking when <i>Ghede </i>shows up. The usually demure and stately priestess's body took on the mannerisms of the lwa as her body began moving to the beat of the drums and the congregants brought <i>Ghede's </i>accouterments. Donning the tux, hat, powder, and sunglasses <i>Ghede </i>grabbed his staff and liquor. He drank some of the habanero packed rum and then poured it into his eyes. The fact that the priestess's eyes did not water or turn red was proof of an authentic possession. Then <i>Ghede </i>began the process of bringing his brothers to the party. He pulled attendees aside to dance with him, often spinning them around and around until they became dizzy. In this moment of dizzy confusion, it is easy for other <i>Ghede </i>to push out the person self and take over the body. Soon a host of <i>Ghede </i>were running around the cramped basement making sexual comments, cracking jokes, and dancing. One <i>Ghede </i>came up to me and invited me to dance by offering the end of his cane. We each put an end of the staff between our knees so that we were bound by the cane as we danced together. Though I am a rather horrible dancer, <i>Ghede </i>smiled his approval of my dancing and shook my hand afterwards. Then he was on to the next attendee. After a while, they began greeting individuals and giving advice, healing, and congratulating or predicting pregnancies. Then the drums picked back up and the dancing began again with everyone joining in. The <i>Ghede </i>and Vodouisants danced and celebrated for hours, the living and the dead joined together and laughing at and with the world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Body and the Soul</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Haitian Vodou concepts of the body and soul are influenced by both West African beliefs and Catholicism. The physical body is merely a vehicle for the soul, a material thing that eventually dies and rots. The most important part of the body is the head, which is the seat of consciousness and the space where sight, hearing, smell, and taste all reside. All experience is filtered through the head. The physical and metaphysical self is expressed in the concepts of <i>gwo bon anj</i> and <i>ti bon anj</i>, which are similar to our ideas of the soul. The consciousness and personality (<i>gwo bon anj</i>) are tied to the physical body, which is animated by the <i>ti bon anj</i>. These three things: body, the gwo bon anj and the ti bon anj make up the trinity of the individual self. The animating soul is not active in influencing personality or choices - it is just the force that keeps the body living. You might call it the spark of life. For the body to continue operating, this animating soul is necessary. For the person to have thoughts, beliefs, and emotions, though, they need their <i>gwo bon anj. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">During possession, the lwa displace the <i>gwo bon anj</i> and utilize the animated body. The possessed person cannot remember the experience, it is believed, because their <i>gwo bon anj </i>is not seated in the body and therefore is temporarily not connected to its actions. This same concept applies to the foods offered to the spirits and the dead. The <i>nanm</i> (soul) of the food is consumed by the spirits and ancestors even as the physical aspect of the food remains. Therefore, the trinity of body, animating soul, and personality soul can be separated at various points throughout life and then, of course, at death. After death, the<i> gwo bon anj</i> returns to <i>Ginen </i>(a heavenly Africa) and the <i>ti bon anj</i> lingers around the cemetery for a while since it no longer has a body to animate. It is the <i>gwo bon anj</i> that houses the ego, self, personality, and ethics of the person from life. A year and a day after death, Vodouisants can work to bring this soul back across the waters so that it can be an active and honored ancestor. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">People who are called to work with the lwa also have a <i>met tet.</i> The <i>met tet</i> is the ruler of the head, and the person has a very personal deep relationship and set of obligations to this lwa. During initiations, a ritual head washing opens the head to allow the <i>met tet</i> to permanently reside within the individual head. This spirit becomes part of the self, adding to the existing souls that makeup the complex of personhood. Though the conscious remains, unlike in possession, the spirit now has a direct line to the individual that allows them to interact in a much more direct manner. One spirit may have its foot in multiple doors, so to speak, thereby forming these bonds with many individuals so that the spirit can actively communicate with and guide them. Individuals are believed to grow along with this spirit, its influence guiding their maturity and development. Knowledge of an individual’s <i>met tet</i> is often protected because it may provide dangerous people with too much power, but close friends and relatives understand the individual in relation to their spirits. Therefore, in Haitian Vodou the concept of the self and personhood is made up of the body, the<i> gwo bon anj</i>, the <i>ti bon anj</i>, and the <i>met tet</i> (if applicable). <br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Zombies in Haitian Vodou</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Though few people are aware of it today, the original concept of zombies in pop culture came from Haitian Vodou. I'll get back to this at the end, but first I want to explain what zombies actually are within the religion because they are quite different from the rotting stumblers we see in movies and Halloween in America. Anthropologist Elizabeth McAlister argues that you cannot understand zombies without first understanding colonialism and slavery in Haiti. I've already discussed this in my section on history, but you'll recall that it was incredibly brutal even by chattel slavery standards. And that on the eve of the revolution up to 2/3 of slaves in Haiti had been born in Africa. Enslaved peoples dreamed of returning to Africa, so much so that some committed suicide on the way to Haiti and on the plantations in hopes that their souls would return to Ginen. Though the revolution instituted the first free black republic in the world, many people found themselves back working on plantations in poor conditions. Plantation labor has continued to be a reality for Haitians all the way up to the present. Many poor Haitian men today travel to the Dominican Republic where they work in near slavery conditions on sugar cane plantations. Other peasants work on farms owned by elites or US businesses. When poor families cannot support their children, they might send a daughter to live as a restavek with a well off family in the city. These children are often taken advantage of and rather than being given the opportunities of education that they were promised, they are trapped in these homes as servants. There are many cases of sexual abuse. During periods of political unrest, militias like the <i>Tonton Macoutes</i> sometimes grab local control and force people to do their bidding. Sweatshops run 24/7 and people work in dangerous conditions for very little pay for foreigners. Therefore, this legacy of slavery and exploitation of the poor and weak continues to be a running theme in Haiti. People dread the concept of slavery because of Haiti's history, because of the contemporary semi-slave conditions for many poor, and also because of the concept of <i>zonbi</i>. </span><br />
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</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Zonbi </i>(zombies) can happen in one of two forms. The first is a spiritual zonbi. Since the <i>ti bon anj</i> lingers after death, it is vulnerable to being captured and used by sorcerers. In Haitian Vodou, houngans (priests) and manbos (priestesses) promise to keep a strict religious morality and do not practice with the left hand. This means that they can only bring justice, only work with a certain families and nations of <i>lwa</i>, and promise not to belong to secret societies. Justice in this sense refers to balance - if someone does something to you, you can return the curse or sent illness to return balance. There is nothing immoral about self defense and balance, but sending a curse without justification is dangerous. Secret societies, however, are more willing to work with the left hand, <i>lwa</i>, and magic that is dangerous. This doesn't mean that all secret society members are bad or do harm - just that they play with fire more than most. Though members of secret societies go through initiations and training too, they are usually considered sorcerers called <i>boko</i>. These sorcerers have the knowledge of how to capture the animating spirit after death and use it to do spiritual work.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The sorcerer goes to the cemetery where he or she may ask permission from the recently dead to use their <i>ti bon anj</i>. Sometimes this permission is not asked, depending on the kind of work that will be done. Either way, a few pieces of the skeleton, cemetery earth, money, and other ritual items are placed into a bottle that is then dressed in fabric and items related to the work the <i>zonbi </i>will do. Often one skull will provide enough energy for multiple <i>zonbi </i>bottles, so that the <i>ti bon anj</i> is splintered and set to goals specific to each bottle's owner. This practice is likely influenced by the Kongo <i>nkisi</i>. They might be aimed at healing, getting money, love relationships, work, or other desires. Each <i>zonbi </i>is crafted by the sorcerer for a specific person and purpose. The owner has an obligation to feed their zonbi, but they must be careful not to salt the food or else the <i>zonbi</i> might break loose. These zonbi become enslaved souls working tirelessly for their owners until the time when God calls them back. In this sense, it is a reenactment of the process of colonialism and slavery. But like colonialism in Haiti, the enslaved can rise up if mistreated too long. If the <i>zonbi </i>are not fed they will begin to feed on the life force of the owner, just as the Haitian slaves rose up and killed their masters.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Spiritual <i>zonbi </i>can also be sent to attack other people, and McAlister gives an example of such a case in her own fieldwork. A teenage boy was diagnosed as having a sent zonbi eating away at his life force because he had been secretly sold to a secret society. The local Vodou community had to come together to trick the <i>zonbi </i>and restore his health. <i>Ghede Loray</i> possessed a participants body in order to conduct the delicate procedure. The boy was buried up to his neck in dirt for a mock funeral. The <i>zonbi </i>was tricked into staying in the grave when the boy was lifted out and then trapped. The boy was free from the <i>zonbi</i>, but still needed to be bought back from the secret society to ensure his continued health and safety. So they took the boy to the cemetery where they negotiated with Baron to buy back the boy's soul and keep it safe until God determined his natural lifespan was up. Thus, a boy was tricked into slavery, an enslaved soul was sent to eat at his own, in turn the <i>zonbi </i>was tricked, and the boy was saved by getting a benevolent being to buy him instead. This idea of selling someone else's soul also shows up in related cultures. In New Orleans, the self proclaimed inventor of jazz <a href="http://jazztimes.com/articles/20076-dead-man-blues-jelly-roll-morton-way-out-west-phil-pastras">Jelly Roll Morton</a> claimed his godmother sold his soul to the devil (in Haiti spirits outside of the official Vodou pantheon are sometimes called devils) and that is why he was doomed to die young. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">But there is also a second form of <i>zonbi</i>, which may be more familiar to avid movie fans. <i>Zonbi ko kadav</i> are somewhat controversial because everyone claims to know a person who knew a person who became one, but no one witnesses it directly. 1 Yet, the concept is still part of the popular idea of <i>zonbi </i>in Haiti and a powerful deterrent against serious moral transgressions. If someone does something that is so wrong and immoral that it completely fractures a family and community, the ultimate punishment of <i>zonbi ko kadav</i> might be meted out. When this happens, a sorcerer kicks out the <i>gwo bon anj</i> from the body leaving only the body and its animating force, the <i>ti bon anj</i>. Without the <i>gwo bon anj</i> the person has no self left - no personality, no hopes, no fears, no understanding of the world around him or her. Yet, the <i>ti bon anj</i> can be ordered by its master to do whatever he or she wishes. The body is then sold to a sugar cane plantation for money where it is worked night and day until it falls apart. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is said that the first <i>zonbi ko kadav</i> was Jesus. Romans standing guard over his grave overheard the secret words that God used to raise Jesus from the dead. These Roman guards took this knowledge and used it for evil, passing down knowledge of its use through secret societies. In Haiti too, not every <i>zonbi ko kadav</i> is someone who committed an inexcusable wrong. Papa Doc, the horrific Haitian dictator, claimed to be a sorcerer and even dressed as Baron to scare people into submission. It is believed that political dissidents were turned into <i>zonbi ko kadav</i> as punishment. Papa Doc had 60,000 people killed but reserved the punishment of <i>zonbi </i>for his most dangerous opponents because it was so horrific. The body becomes a walking corpse for all society to see and fear lest they be made one too. Some believed that Papa Doc's <i>Tonton Macoutes</i> were <i>zonbi ko kadav</i> too because how else could you explain people who raped, tortured, and killed their former neighbors? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Zonbi </i>in Popular Culture</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">So how did this concept of <i>zonbi ko kadav</i> turn into our walking dead of comic books and Hollywood? In 1932, Universal Studies released the horror movie <i>White Zombie</i>. If you're curious, you can watch the entire thing <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N5-UzUxBss">here</a>. It was the first full-length feature film and stared the famous Bella Lugosi. The main plot was that a white plantation owner in Haiti falls in love with a woman engaged to marry someone else. He hires a sorcerer to win the woman's heart, but instead she is turned into a <i>zonbi</i>. I won't ruin the end in case anyone decides to watch it, but this was the first time most American audiences had ever heard of the concept. The US Marine occupation of Haiti at this same time fueled rumors and interest from letters that the marines wrote home. In fact, <i>zonbi </i>and cannibalism were part of the arguments for why the marines needed to intervene in the first place and justifications for staying there. In the 1940s, other zombie films were released that also shared the idea of loss of bodily control to another, Vodou drumming, and forced manual labor. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">These early representations of zombies were highly influenced by the actual concept of <i>zonbi</i>, but they also reflected fears going on in America at the time: slavery to capitalism and the barbarism and backwardness of blacks. McAlister argues that ever since, zombies have been used to reflect contemporary fears. Over time, white Americans shifted their racist views and fears of black people, but this theme still appears in some representations of zombies. In 1968, Romero released <i>Night of the Living Dead</i>, which you can watch <a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/41065">here</a>. In this movie and the other two that make up the trilogy, issues of patriarchy, racism, traditional family units, consumerism, militarism, and the misuse of science are all addressed. From there, zombie movies took off and have become increasingly popular. And in each film, the cause and action of the zombies often reflects our fears. Today, it seems we fear science and epidemics. In the video game series <i>Resident Evil</i>, which began in 1996, horrific zombies and other mutations are created from a release of the T-virus by an evil corporation. In <i>28 Days Later</i> the zombies are caused by scientists accidentally releasing a virus they created. In the Walking Dead comics and tv show the zombies are also caused by a viral epidemic that infects everyone. You could even argue that Joss Whedon's thankfully short lived <i>Dollhouse</i> series was a modern twist on a zombie theme. An evil company takes people, wipes their minds using technology, and implants their memory and personality with whatever their owner wants them to be. Unchecked capitalism and the misuse of science are issues that many Americans still worry about. Zombie films provide an outlet for exploring these fears and battling with them. Perhaps, in some ways, our own representations of zombies aren't that different from the role that zonbi play in Haiti. There too, they provide a way for Haitians to deal with the fears of past and present and symbolically take control over them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Ethnobotonist Wade Davis once claimed in his book <i>The Serpent and the Rainbow </i>to have found a scientific chemical explanation for this type of <i>zonbi</i>. But subsequent scientists have argued this argument makes no scientific sense and faced with overwhelming evidence in the contrary, Wade Davis recanted his argument. He is also ahistorical, seems to not fully understand Haitian culture and Vodou, has a number of methodology issues, and tends to make an argument about the whole with only anecdotal local evidence. In short, it is a poor ethnography and does not stand up to expert scrutiny. Davis is not a good reliable source about zombies or Vodou.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Further Reading: </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">McAlister, Elizabeth A. 1995. “A Sorcerer’s Bottle: The Art of Magic in Haiti.” In Donald J. Cosentino, ed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou, 305-321. Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pagano, David. 2008. “The Space of Apocalypse in Zombie Cinema.” In Shawn McIntosh and Marc</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Leverette, eds. Zombie Culture: Autopsies of the Living Dead, 71-86. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Taussig, Michael. 1987. Shamanism, Colonialism, and the Wild Man: A Study in Terror and Healing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1049&context=elizabeth_mcalister</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />http://radioboston.wbur.org/2010/11/09/voodoo</span><br />
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My own photos related to the topic: <a href="http://imgur.com/a/1Z7Y4">http://imgur.com/a/1Z7Y4</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><i>All photos and text are original creations of the author. Please ask permission before using them. Thanks!</i></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04743743536969892423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5219644507893840543.post-10103655765735227852012-10-25T09:35:00.002-07:002013-02-17T14:19:57.802-08:00[HoI Course] Foreign Intervention in Haiti: From the US to NGOs (Haiti Today 4/6)<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You can find the outline for the course <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryofIdeas/comments/10dk1n/haiti_today_teaser_for_upcoming_course/" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s; color: #f07300; display: inline; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;">here</a>, a brief history of Haiti <a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/09/hoi-pearl-of-antilles-haiti-today-16.html" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s; color: #f07300; display: inline; outline: none; text-decoration: initial;">here</a>, an introduction to Vodou <a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/10/hoi-getting-to-know-spirits-haitian.html" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s; color: #f07300; display: inline; outline-style: none; text-decoration: initial;">here</a>, and a discussion of daily life <a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/10/hoi-course-daily-life-in-haiti-haiti.html">here</a>. Please post all comments, requests, and questions in the Reddit post rather than the blog. That way we can continue our discussion within the History of Ideas subreddit.</span></div>
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The goal of this post is to cover the different foreign influences in Haitian politics, government, infrastructure, and social services and the impact that it has had. The Haitian government is notorious for its corruption and inefficiencies, which is often the justification for outside involvement. Yet, they have also rarely had the recent opportunity to manage the country on their own. This post looks at the ways these outside influences and control have changed Haiti and how the Haitian people feel about it.<b> </b><br />
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<b>US Interventions</b></h3>
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As you'll recall from the history section, foreign intervention in Haitian government, economy, social services, environment, and other aspects of the nation have been frequent. But the United States of America has had the heaviest hand in Haiti's government, social services, and policies and so it is worth discussing their role in Haiti's history and current situation. In 1915, the US began its 19 year occupation of Haiti where this foreign nation literally controlled all aspects of the Haitian government and maintained control of Haiti's foreign finances until 1947. While there, the US instituted a new constitution which allowed foreigners and foreign companies to legally hold land in Haiti. US companies bought up land in the countryside for large plantation farms. Conditions were poor and so was pay, so many peasants moved to the cities for new opportunities. Unfortunately, the centralization of uneducated poor Haitians in the cities resulted in few chances for work and serious problems with urban slums and all the problems that go along with them. During Papa Doc's reign he courted the US for cheap manufacturing jobs, which did briefly provide economic opportunities. But many of these jobs paid very, very little and working conditions were often unsafe. Sweatshops rarely provide opportunities to improve local situations - at best they allow very poor people to just barely subsist while making huge profits for corporations. I'll talk more about this later.<br />
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Despite Papa and Baby Doc's brutal rule, the US had a close relationship at times with their government through economic investments and aid programs. This shouldn't be too surprising since the US was heavily involved in supporting dictators in other areas too at that time as part of an initiative to prevent communist governments and ensure the safety of US financial interests. In 1981, the USAID-World Bank worked together to create a new strategy of purposefully making the Haitian economy dependent upon the US. Part of this included encouraging farmers to produce cash crops so that 30% of arable land was shifted from growing food to growing items for export. However, cash crops are subject to fluctuations in price that are uncontrollable by local farmers and natural disasters such as hurricanes or droughts could easily wipe out a season's crops. It also meant a reduction in food grown for local consumption so that as the island's population grew, their food production was not able to keep up. In response to food shortages and American farmer's needs, in 1986 the IMF with US backing required Haiti remove the 50% tariffs on imported food in order to get a loan thus allowing the US to send heavily subsidized US rice to Haiti. This rice was significantly cheaper than local rice, effectively putting local farmers out of business. It also shifted local cuisine from one where rice was only eaten a couple times a week to a staple, pushing out healthier foods like squash and greens. In 1990, Haiti still produced all of the rice it consumed and only imported 19% of its food. In 1994, the US pushed Aristide to remove even more trade restrictions. Today 75% of the rice comes from the US and 50% of its food is imported. In many cases, American brands of soda, chips, rice, flour, etc. are cheaper than locally produced options. Without much international interest in importing Haitian food goods and a poor market at home, it is very difficult for local farmers and producers to survive. In 2008 when rice prices soared all over the globe, Haitians were hit harder than most since they could no longer afford imported rice but did not produce enough locally. Many people starved. This is why in 2010, former President Bill Clinton publicly apologized for the subsidized rice policy put in place during his administration. While it helped US rice farmers, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtTeDv5FbNw">Clinton</a> called it a devil's bargain and said, "I had to live everyday with the consequences of the loss of capacity to produce a rice crop in Haiti to feed those people because of what I did; nobody else." After the earthquake, Haiti was inundated with even more cheap and free food which while providing vital assistance immediately after the disaster it also served to <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35608836/ns/world_news-americas/t/food-imports-hurt-struggling-haitian-farmers/#.UIGdwuS7P-Y">destroy what economic opportunity farmers had left</a>. <span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><i> </i></span></span><br />
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The rice program was not intended to harm local Haitians - rather policy makers thought it would be a win win where US farmers were subsidized and poor countries got cheap food. But it is a good example of how even well intended programs can create a domino effect of damage. Another good example is the Peligre Dam, which while it would have highly benefited many of the American owned farms it was also supposed to help the local people. In 1956, the US Army Corps of Engineers helped plan and a company from Texas built the Peligre Dam, which dammed a large river in Haiti to create hydroelectric power. However, to do this they flooded the so called bread basket of Haiti, which included the lands of many peasants who had to flee. They did not fully understand what the consequences of the dam would be and many only realized their situation within hours of their homes being completely under water.This hurt local food production, but also completely disrupted the lives of hundreds of farmers. Some set up on the sides of the mountains where erosion and soil quality were worse. When the US killed off all of their black creole pigs in response to fears about swine flu, already desperate people lost the last of their savings. Destitute, people went to the cities for more opportunities where they also engaged in romantic relationships with people. Back home, women formed relationships with men for financial support, especially with soldiers that had been brought in for the project. Some of these were intended to be long-term relationships (though the men often still had multiple partners) and some were one night exchanges. There were also acts of rape or situations where women felt they could not say no. These movements of people and sexual relationships didn't just create unwanted pregnancies, trauma, and break up of family units. It also spread something much, much worse in a manner much faster than it otherwise would have spread.<br />
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<a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071029185102.htm">HIV first came to Haiti</a> via a traveler from Central Africa and was probably spread through the sex tourism trade around 1966. Around 1969, it was brought from Haiti to America where it was first spread through heterosexual relationships before taking root in more vulnerable populations such as the gay community. It took a decade before anyone noticed. In the early 1980s, doctors began reporting strange cancers, pneumonia, and autoimmune issues but it took years before the medical community really understood AIDs and how to treat it. But as part of their efforts they began to identify communities where the newly named AIDs was more prevalent. In 1982, the CDC listed four groups as risk factors for infection: homosexuals, hemophiliacs, heroin addicts, and Haitians. Haiti was blamed by the media and politicians alike with some prominent American figures even blaming voodoo rituals. Overnight, Haiti and Haitians became stigmatized as carriers of a disease that America was terrified about. Many people in the general public knew little about how AIDs was transmitted, so while it was sometimes seen as a punishment for immoral activities like drug use, homosexuality, and prostitution people were still afraid that just being near someone with AIDs could be enough for contamination. Haitian-Americans couldn't sell their homes, find jobs, and their children were ostracized at schools. Back in Haiti, tourism dropped 80% in one year. Previously, tourism had been an important industry with famous people like Mick Jagger (lead singer of the Rolling Stones) spending their holiday there. But no one wanted to vacation in a place where the CDC said they might catch AIDs. Further political instability and growing poverty due to a number of factors further diminished Haiti's tourism industry even more. Today, organizations like Partners in Health have made important inroads for treating HIV patients and help preventing transmission. And most people recognize that HIV and AIDs are not the fault of the victim and cannot be caught through normal day to day interactions. Tourism is increasing both from Haitians returning home from abroad and internationals. But Haiti has a long way to go in solving the problems of AIDs, rural and urban poverty, and reviving its tourism industry.<br />
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More recently, Wikileaks has provided an interesting and sobering insight into some of the other ways that the US and other international bodies have involved themselves in Haiti. For example, the US and other foreign governments forced elections even though they thought they were <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/161216/wikileaks-haiti-cable-depicts-fraudulent-haiti-election">fraudulent</a> because they did not want to see their democracy experiment fail. There were also admissions that the reason the US <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/162598/wikileaks-haiti-aristide-files">doesn't want Aristide to return</a> is that it would be bad for US business. The US Ambassador called Haiti after the earthquake a <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/161469/wikileaks-haiti-post-quake-gold-rush-reconstruction-contracts">gold rush</a> for American business opportunities. And the cables also reveal that the US worked together with Hanes and Levis to ensure that minimum wage for their textile factory workers <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/161057/wikileaks-haiti-let-them-live-3-day">did not increase</a> from $3 a day to $5 a day. Now, minimum wage increases usually do not improve life for the poor drastically because the economy quickly catches up. But the larger problem was that every other industry received the minimum wage increase so that textile workers' pay was kept artificially low. As the economy around them catches up to $5 a day as the norm, textile workers are left behind. According to recent studies done prior to the minimum wage increase, a family of one worker and two kids (remember that a mother and her children are the basic family unit in Haiti) needs $12.50 a day to meet basic needs. Therefore, even those who are able to take advantage of the minimum wage increase cannot meet their family's financial needs. The current Haitian President Martelly has welcomed factory jobs for Haiti, especially textile industries. In order to avoid the centralization issues of the past, the government set up free trade zones (which came from seizing farmer's land) in hopes that more rural factories will reduce pressures on the cities. But without living wages, slums still pop up near the factories and families rarely have enough to send their children to bed with full stomachs let alone get them an education. Though much of the American press touts these textile factory jobs as almost a charitable act by US businesses and the government, it is important to remember what these cables reveal - Haiti has almost no labor laws, their minimum wage is one of the lowest in the Americas and is fully competitive with China, and US officials have revealed their interest in taking advantage of Haiti's cheap labor. Building factories in Haiti is not about Haiti's best interest. It is about American business interests. These Wikileaks cables reveal that many of the US interventions in Haiti have been about protecting US financial interests more than helping the country. This shouldn't be surprising since governments are at heart about serving the interests of their nation over others. Even the Peace Corps is a soft propaganda program. But it is still disheartening.<br />
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<h3>
<b>United Nations: The MINUSTAH Mistake?</b></h3>
<br />
The goals of the UN is supposed to be above some of the self serving acts we saw from the US towards Haiti. The UN works towards world peace, economic development, global security, and human rights. However, while the UN has achieved some admirable things in Haiti they have also left a path of destruction and fear. The goal of this section is to discuss why the UN is still in Haiti, what they've achieved, and why most Haitians want them to leave. Right after Aristide fled for the second time in 2004, the UN sent in 9,000 troops to ensure stability. There were legitimate concerns that one of the Duvalier era thugs would try to take control again and the vacuum of power was dangerous. UN resolution 1529 stated that, <span style="font-family: inherit;">"<st1:country -region="-region" style="text-indent: 48px;"><st1:place>Haiti</st1:place></st1:country><span style="text-indent: 48px;"> constitutes a threat to international peace and security and to stability in the </span></span><st1:place style="text-indent: 48px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Caribbean."</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></st1:place>MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti) was created at the behest of the US, with the goals of stabilizing the government, ensuring democracy, and protecting human rights. However, Haitian democratic elections have been reestablished and the country is relatively stable and peaceful. Below you can see the very low murder rates in Haiti and compare them with nearby Caribbean nations. The goal of protecting human rights is also debatable considering the many human rights violations that UN workers have been accused of while in Haiti. The violence, rapes, cholera epidemic, and possible violation of the UN's own charter have led to many demonstrations by Haitians asking the UN to end its occupation. But so far it looks like the UN is staying put.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">2010 UN Country Data<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Murders per 100,000<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Jamaica<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">52.2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Puerto Rico<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">26.2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Dominican Republic<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">24.9<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">Haiti<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;">6.9<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">*Note that murder rates do not include executions and other political violence and therefore is only a small part of the overall issue of stability and safety. </span><br />
<br />
The UN did bring stability after Aristide's ouster, has provided social services, and has reduced the gang violence in slums like Cite Soleil. However, the means with which they did this were often violent and have made many Haitians scared of UN forces. Like many slums and shanty towns, Cite Soleil is often beyond the reach of the government and local gangs control the neighborhood. The UN identified these gangs as serious threats to the stability of the nation, despite their marginal influence beyond the neighborhood. To deal with this problem they sent in troops in armored cars to round up gang leaders. Since MINUSTAH troops are not from Haiti and very few speak the local language, they have little knowledge about the local gangs and how to discern thugs from innocent poor people who have no choice but to live in this neighborhood. This has often meant that locals get roughed up, large groups of people are rounded up to be sorted out later, and that when violence breaks out innocent people get hurt. Despite its stated purpose to combat gang violence, MINUSTAH usually goes into Cite Soleil in response to a political protest, even if it is peaceful. In 2006, after a large demonstration from Aristide supporters the UN did a sweep of the neighborhood that resulted in the deaths of at least thirty people, some of whom were women and children. Though the UN denies it, victims claim that the troops opened fire on unarmed civilians spraying crowds with bullets. Some also claim that the UN shot people from helicopters and dropped grenades. A declassified US Embassy cable from 2005, revealed that over a period of several hours MINUSTAH shot 22,000 bullets in Cite Soleil. The ambassador admits that given the shoddy construction of buildings in shanty towns it is likely that the bullets went through walls and hit people hiding inside. To date several such massacres have been attributed to the UN. Though these activities do sometimes pick off gang leaders, they also destroy lives, homes, livelihoods, and the trust of innocent people. You can watch an admittedly biased documentary about it <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7903623001730810789">here</a>, though I warn you it contains very graphic images.<br />
<br />
In Port-au-Prince far removed from the slums, many people are terrified of UN soldiers. I even realized I had picked up on this fear and also made sure to give soldiers and wide berth on the streets and never took their photo or spoke to them. Part of this fear comes from the violent responses I discussed above. But there are other reasons that Haitians fear the UN. There are numerous accusations of rape, beatings, and even murder of people outside the slums. Many of the rape accusations are hard to prove and seem even harder to prosecute since it is ups to the individual countries of the soldiers to do so. But there are a few well documented cases that have galvanized Haitian anger against the UN. In 2005, three Pakistani UN soldiers <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:QJZXy67cJF4J:www.ijdh.org/pdf/PressAcounts/2005/3.24.2005%2520The%2520Position%2520of%2520Aumohd%2520on%2520the%2520Sociopolitical%2520Situa.pdf+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us">gang raped a young girl.</a> In 2007, Sri Lanka <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2012/0613/Will-the-United-Nations-legacy-in-Haiti-be-all-about-scandal">recalled more than 100 of its troops</a> after accusations that they raped and abused Haitian <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2007/dec/15/world/fg-haitisex15">women and children</a>. In 2010, a 16 year old boy was found <a href="http://lo-de-alla.org/2010/09/death-of-youth-sparks-protests-against-minustah/">hanging from a noose </a>on a UN base in Okap. The UN did not release his body for 72 hours, but told the family the boy had hung himself even though the autopsy ruled out suicide. In 2011, MINUSTAH troops from Uruguay <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/sep/03/minustah-un-haiti-abuse">gang raped a teenage boy</a> and one perpetrator filmed it on his cell phone and uploaded it to the internet. Though the boy flew to Uruguay to testify against them and the video was shown in court, the perpetrators were released after only being found guilty of bullying. In 2012, three Pakistani MINUSTAH soldiers were found guilty for also <a href="http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/relief-and-reconstruction-watch/in-minustah-abuse-case-cover-up-goes-unpunished">raping a mentally challenged teenage Haitian boy</a>. Witnesses also claimed that after the crime had been reported the Pakistani UN mission kidnapped the victim and held him on a MINUSTAH base to prevent further investigation. Pakistan gave the rapists one year in prison.<br />
<br />
In October of 2010, a <a href="http://haitiannewsnetwork.org/17478/un-truck-dumping-feces-in-a-river-in-haiti/">photo</a> began making the rounds on the internet reportedly showing a UN truck dumping sewage into a Haitian river that people used for cooking, drinking, and bathing. Just a month before had been the first reported case of cholera in Haiti in over one hundred years. The disease was spreading fast and without quick treatment an infected person can die within one day. Clean water was difficult to access even before the earthquake and medicine very expensive if available. Haitians blamed the UN for bringing the disease to the island, but initially the UN denied any connection. However, forensic studies on the strain of cholera revealed it came from Nepal and most likely from the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20024400">Nepalese UN troops</a> at the Mirabalais camp. Some Haitians have filed a class action lawsuit against the UN for negligence in addition to demands that the UN work to install clean water filters around the island to end the epidemic they unintentionally started. To date over 500,000 have become sick and at least 7,500 people have died from cholera in Haiti. That is more cholera deaths in Haiti than the entire continent of Africa combined. This past summer aid organizations were able to <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/07/17/156920472/cholera-vaccination-test-reached-targets-in-haiti">vaccinate</a> 100,000 Haitians from vulnerable populations. Hopefully, this project along with clean water projects will greatly reduce the impact of cholera on the island.<br />
<br />
These well publicized events have influenced many Haitians to feel negatively about the continued UN presence in their country. Many liken it to the 18 year US occupation, especially since MINUSTAH troops tend to send a violent message whenever local people protest over political issues that are unpopular with the US. As the Wikileaks cables reveal, the UN has also played a large role in directing Haitian politics and preventing the election of anyone from Aristide's political party. President "Sweet Mickey" Martelly (whom the UN helped get elected despite his former association with the <a href="http://www.haiti-liberte.com/archives/volume4-22/MichelMartelly_Stealth_Duvalierist.asp">Tonton Macoutes</a>) says he does not want the UN to leave. However, the continued public demonstrations against the UN occupation suggest that his view is not popular with the masses. Regardless of your own personal views about the UN's presence in Haiti, it seems unlikely that the country will attain peace and stability as long as the main enforcers belong to a group that the people do not trust or respect.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Their Role in Haiti</b></h3>
<br />
Given the corruption of the government, the numerous problems with US aid intervention, and the violence from UN soldiers many people have turned to non-profits and NGOs to solve Haiti's many problems. The hope is that without a political agenda, organizations unaffiliated with any government agency can focus on humanitarian aid alone. The presence of such organizations has led to Haiti's nickname "The Republic of NGOs" and has unfortunately been well-earned for a couple of reasons. First, there are literally hundreds of groups in Haiti at the moment working on a variety of issues all over the country. You can see a map of a few of the official organizations <a href="http://haiti.ngoaidmap.org/">here</a>, though it is important to recognize that there are hundreds more church groups and small organizations that continually come in and out of Haiti to work on short-term projects. Official numbers of NGOs in Haiti even before the earthquake range from 3,000 to 10,000. Second, much of the population depends upon NGOs for services like healthcare, education, clean water, etc. more than its own government. Likewise, the government sees no reason to waste tax money providing services that are already provided by NGOs. NGOs in Haiti are a mix of successes and failures, with perhaps more negative examples than positive. You can read about the specific failures of NGOs below and then in detail in some of the books I suggest. However, Haiti provides a kind of microcosm of the problems with aid and NGOs all over the globe so I want to take a moment to discuss some of the larger issues.<br />
<br />
Though NGOs attempt to remove the political restrictions that government agendas have on nation-based aid giving, most NGOs are still beholden to their country of origin and their donors. Government agencies and donors often remain central in planning and implementation decisions. These plans and goals are set outside of the local contexts of a community's needs, so that at times they do not reflect what people actually want and the methods implemented are unrealistic and ineffective. Due to the realities of a home office outside of Haiti, there are usually multiple tiers within the NGO that allow for satellite offices and intermediaries. However, they also increase overhead spending, often include redundancies, and increase the odds of miscommunications. This bureaucracy also limits the ability of people on the ground to make substantive changes to the goals or methods of the project even if they see that they are being ineffective. The top down approach of most NGOs silences the voices of the very people they are trying to raise up. These processes are part of what some scholars consider the neocolonialism of aid and NGOs. Rather than working alongside local people to solve problems, NGOs and aid programs often treat local people as the problem. NGOs justify their presence by arguing that locals cannot manage their own situation and require an outside force to come in and take over. Part of solving the issue that the officials in the NGO and their donors have identified as the primary goal often includes reorienting communities towards the NGO home culture's own viewpoint. For example, rather than handing out condoms or examining reasons for multiple partners locals may just be chastised for promiscuity. But remaking a foreign culture into a model of your own does not necessarily solve the problem at hand and may inadvertently replicate the inequalities present in your own society. These communities also become dependent upon these outside forces, just like they did during colonialism, giving them immense power to sway local politics and creating devastating effects when the NGOs leave.<br />
<br />
The very problems that many NGOs set out to solve sometimes continue not only in spite of but because of NGO presence due to the local economy's reliance upon the NGO, problematic goals or implementation, and the fact that NGOs profit from having a continued issue to address. In Port-au-Prince, for example, apartments and business buildings are renting for sometimes triple what they cost prior to the earthquake. Even Haitians who have steady jobs are sometimes unable to move into more permanent housing because the aid organizations have rented most of them and those that remain are now out of locals' price ranges. In fact, some Haitians who were living in tent cities actually had homes that were untouched but they could rent them out to NGO workers for such high prices that it was worth staying in temporary housing a while longer. And why not? Not only could they save for the future when the NGO workers inevitably all run off to the next big disaster, but they could take advantage of the free food and education provided at some of the tent cities. The buying power of aid workers also meant that the local prices for food and other necessities sky rocketed. So NGO workers coming to address the tent city crisis intensified the pressures that kept people from moving out of tent cities, which of course provides more incentives for the heads of the NGO to say they should stay and demand more money from donors. There have even been accusations that aid organizations and NGOs have overestimated numbers of those living in tent cities and other issues to get more money. Though technically not government organizations, they often get large donations from governments who want to see proof of need. They also sensationalize suffering through photographs and stories, which opens pocketbooks for donations but closes them for vacations. When the NGOs do eventually leave the housing market will crash, Haitians will have difficulty finding local sources of food since they went out of business, and many people who relied on the NGOs for jobs will once again be out of work.<br />
<br />
It would be unfair, though, to categorize all NGOs in the same way. While <a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/we-donated-to-haiti-relief-and-we-re-angry">inefficiencies and misused</a> funds are often <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/01/13/132884795/the-nation-how-ngos-have-failed-haiti">the story of NGOs in Haiti</a>, some are improving. Many have realized the errors of the past and are making efforts to work with rather than in spite of local people and to incorporate local contexts and concerns into their plans. However, even the most well intentioned NGOs can sometimes fall back into this framework. After studying aid and NGOs in Haiti and the larger global scene, I have four main points where non-profits and NGOs tend to fail. First, there is the patchwork effect where the NGO takes a very narrow approach to solving a specific localized issue. Second, there are redundant and overlapping services. Third, there is a failure of communication both with other NGOs and the local people they want to serve. And fourth, they do not appropriately plan for the future and rarely have a sound exit strategy. These points are worth going into more detail about.<br />
<br />
<b>The Patchwork Effect:</b> Many NGOs go in with a specific solution and look for a location where it might be useful. For example, they might want to solve clean water problems and use a new filtration system. They will find a community in need and spend a summer installing filtration systems for local people. There is nothing wrong with this, but one city or even neighborhood over people might not be able to benefit. You can examine the<a href="http://haiti.ngoaidmap.org/"> map</a> I linked earlier and see that this is the case all over the country. For example, Asile has health care, but no other NGO help. Nearby San Luis de Sud has a school with a free lunch program, but no health care. Another nearby community Petit Trou De Nippes has a few health care providers, two housing projects, and a sanitation project but no education. Yet these communities could all use health care, education, and housing projects. Without stepping back to see the bigger picture the NGO's successes will be very localized and limited and there will be large disparities in services between communities. Reaching horizontally to work with other related NGOs can help solve this problem even if the NGO in question is too small or funds limited to have a broader individual impact.<br />
<br />
<b>Redundant and Overlapping Services</b>: Since NGOs often go in with a preconceived idea of what services they will provide, they may not take into account what other projects are already providing those services. Though some large urban centers may be populous enough to warrant multiple organizations providing the same thing, most rural areas are not. The narrow blinders on approach that creates the patchwork effect also allows for redundancies and overlaps. For example, a couple years ago my cousin was in Gonaives with a relatively new NGO that had first come to Haiti after the earthquake. One of their major projects was to build a school, which they had discussed with a local politician. One day on his way to the job site my cousin ran into someone from an older NGO. After talking they discovered that their NGOs were each building a school on the same block with permission from the same politician. They did sit down with that politician and explain only one school would be built. But by then both organizations had wasted a lot of time, money, and people on a redundant project. Their resources could have been much better served working on something else that was not being addressed. To be fair, they got swindled by a local politician who likely wanted to make money by turning at least one of them into a private school. But these kinds of overlaps are frequent, even without corrupt politicians intervening.<br />
<br />
<b>Failure to Communicate:</b> The redundancies could be eliminated if organizations were better at communicating with one another and coordinating horizontally rather than just approaching the situation vertically. Linking organizations with similar goals can allow for more effective services and sharing of resources, which cuts down overhead and can actually open up larger granting opportunities. But NGOs also need to communicate with the people they are servicing not only when planning their program but at regular intervals after it begins to ensure they are still being effective and relevant. Organizations also need to be willing to adjust their methods or even goals if necessary. Failure to do this often results in ineffective aid that at best does little good and at worst can harm communities. For example, many public health HIV prevention programs in Haiti have the goal of going into a community and teaching them about AIDs how to prevent its spread. Often local people are trained as educators who then hold classes for their community. Afterwards, participants are surveyed about their knowledge and the results are turned into pretty graphs and charts to prove the organization's efficacy to donors. However, when anthropologists later go in and ask the course participants if they plan to be abstinent or use condoms in the future the answer is almost always no. Abstinence only education fails in Haiti for many of the same reasons that it fails in the US. But condoms are rarely an option either because NGOs do not give them out or do not give out enough. Condoms in Haiti are very expensive if you can even find them for sale. Additionally, women feel uncomfortable demanding their partners use them and men dislike the feel. Children are also incredibly important, while steady male partners are not the norm. So women are not necessarily looking for a monogamous partner to have a child with. And lastly, rape and forced prostitution are sadly common and condoms are clearly not options in such situations. But despite all of these problems, many public health NGOs return to the states and report success to their donors. Another example is <a href="http://www.killingtrain.com/node/824">CARE</a>, who stepped in to help out with anticipated famine from a drought in the 1990s. They got the funding from USAID and began handing out food aid to farmers and fishermen. But six months after the drought ended they continued giving out free food. In fact, they did it for two years, which completely destroyed local food production. If they had bothered to reassess they could have directed that money somewhere else that would be more effective.<br />
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<b>Failure to plan for the future:</b> Many non-profits and NGOs operate grant to mouth. They depend entirely upon on or two grants with no other major sources of funding and no contingency plans for if they fail to get the grant one year. This has happened to many NGOs since grant funds have been drying up recently. Communities become dependent upon the services that NGOs promise to deliver, so even a year without a program can be devastating. Sometimes the grant money runs out and never comes back or the mission of the NGO refocuses on a different region. Organizations give up and move on to the next project, but locals are left to deal with the aftermath. NGOs also often fail to plan adequately for how the project will continue getting the funds they need once they leave. Building a school or a hospital is great, but more goes into running one than just the construction and initial start-up costs. These facilities continue to need supplies, trained paid professionals, electricity, clean water, to pass government inspections, etc. Without a viable plan for how they will obtain the funds for these things locals are often unable to actually see the plan through past a year or two. Haiti is littered with half built schools, abandoned NGO offices, and communities who once depended upon NGO services but are now struggling. Some NGOs do not even think about how to appropriately pull out and do so suddenly, which does not give local communities time to plan for life without their services. For example, NGOs are pulling out of tent cities and without the free clean water the water quality for these communities is quickly <a href="http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/relief-and-reconstruction-watch/as-ngos-begin-to-pull-out-of-idp-camps-access-to-clean-water-deteriorates">diminishing</a>. Considering the cholera epidemic, this is a serious issue. But Haitians have become understandably jaded by NGOs and many just try to milk the cow for all it is worth now because they know it won't be there in the future. This is bad for both the NGO and the local people. Irresponsible aid is dangerous and harmful to the very communities that such NGOs claim they want to help. If a NGO actually wants to make a long-term difference for a community they have to plan for both how they are going to complete their immediate goals and how to transition out so that communities can be self sufficient.<br />
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Though there are certainly other issues to examine when determining efficacy of aid and NGO programs, these four pieces are useful tools for analysis. Yet even using these sometimes the sheer number of NGOs in Haiti is just too overwhelming. Picking a good non-profit or NGO to donate to can be daunting if you care about making sure your money goes towards a good cause that is handled responsibly. The more I learn about the damage bad aid can do to a community, the more discerning I've become with how and where I donate. But it can take a lot of work to figure out not only if an organization is worth donating to but to trace back their affiliations. For example, the FEED project sells <a href="http://www.feedprojects.com/shopping_product_detail.asp?pid=49524&catID=3673">burlap bags</a> to raise money to feed hungry children and they have an arm dedicated specifically to Haiti. But they don't actually directly use this money for food programs. Instead, they give it to the World Food Program (WFP), which is a program of the UN. Setting aside my dislike of how the UN has handled itself in Haiti, I previously would never have supported FEED because WFP did not use local food sources. Dumping free food on a community destroys local economies and jobs. A program that feeds the kids for a day but puts their parents permanently out of work it isn't a good solution. But recently WFP has begun getting dairy and rice from local farmers rather than importing it. So they are now on my maybe list, though I would like to see even less imported for their program. But I am glad that they have listened to criticisms and adjusted their approach appropriately. The main issue will be planning for the future since families are now dependent upon.<br />
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While it would be impossible to go through every one of the thousands of NGOs and evaluate them here, I do think it is worthwhile mentioning a few others. The first two have been in the news both right around the earthquake and recently. The last you might not have heard of before, but it has an interesting approach that bodes well for the future of aid programs.<br />
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<i>Yele Haiti:</i> Started by Haitian-American musician Wyclef Jean in 2005, this non-profit was initially quite small. Up until the earthquake, Yele Haiti only had $37,000 in assets and mostly provided services through intermediaries. For example, they gave scholarships to poor students to attend a local school that Yele Haiti was not directly affiliated with. In 2009, they also worked with the Timberland Company to raise environmental awareness in Haiti. None of their pre-earthquake activities involved healthcare, emergency services, housing, water, etc. In fact, they were already in financial trouble for failing to report spending to the IRS and accused of shady manipulations of donations. A forensic audit reported that between 2005-2009 $265,580 was improperly funneled to Wyclef Jean and his friends.Yet, when the earthquake hit Wyclef Jean was very vocal about his charity's ability to help and Yele Haiti received $16 million in donations. Only $5.1 million of that went towards relief efforts, and even then the organization gave contracts to Jean's relatives for projects that were not all completed. He paid himself $100,000 for performing at his own charity's event, and later canceled another performance because Yele Haiti could not cover his fee. He hired his own mistress who had no qualifications. A Florida firm was paid over $1,000,000 for food distribution but there are no records of the firm ever existing. Money was spent all over the place, but rarely was it spent smartly. The New York attorney general's office still has an active investigation into the non-profit, but after Wyclef Jean declined to settle Yele Haiti was officially shut down.<br />
Yele Haiti fails on many accounts, especially since Wyclef Jean and the other board members mismanaged funds and were not transparent about how money was spent. That alone should be enough to disqualify any non-profit from being a good place to donate. But, even before all of this damning information came out it was clear that Yele Haiti was a poor non-profit choice because it also fails many of my points above. They focused on a seemingly random selection of activities without coordinating well with other non-profits or existing programs. So they tried to build schools, hospitals, job programs, food programs, houses, water, etc. all over the region in very localized spaces but without linking them together into a bigger vision. They also did not communicate with local people about what was really desired or needed so that their $5 million job programs just consisted of hiring people to clean sidewalks that were dirty again within a day. They also failed to plan for how they would actually carry out these programs and had no exit strategy. Before Yele Haiti even closed down, it left behind a string of unfinished projects. Some examples are $93,000 for temporary homes that were never built, $146,000 for a hospital that wasn't finished, and $230,000 for a revitalization of a plaza that was never completed. An orphanage that had become dependent upon $3,000 Yele Haiti gave them a month for food had to scramble when the stipend was unexpectedly cut off. Failure to plan meant not only a scandal for the non-profit but real world damage to vulnerable populations. You can read more about Yele Haiti's failures in this New York Times piece<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/12/world/americas/quake-hit-haiti-gains-little-as-wyclef-jean-charity-spends-much.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2"> here</a>.<br />
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<i><a href="http://www.pih.org/">Partners in Health:</a></i> By far, Partners in Health is the most respected non-profit in Haiti and where most scholars and Haitians alike suggest you donate your money. Paul Farmer, who has a medical degree and a PhD in medical anthropology, founded PIH in the central plateau of Haiti in 1987. Since then they've expanded to eight other sites within Haiti and five other countries. Paul Farmer pioneered the approach to treating drug-resistant tuberculosis that WHO recommends today. PIH's approach works closely with local people, takes into account impediments to successful treatment, and works to develop methods of implementation that are realistic, cost-efficient, and work within those cultures. Most of the paid workers in Haiti are Haitians, and they are committed to training them rather than keeping locals in only low level positions. They coordinate medical services with other organizations and work across multiple regions. They also try to address the many levels of issues that can prevent adequate care for the poor - lobbying politicians, working with pharmaceutical companies, coordinating with other health organizations, and developing ways to get care and medicine to people in rural areas. Some critics have said that Paul Farmer is too idealistic and while his call for healthcare as a human right is admirable, he provides few practical ways to enforce it. In the beginning, PIH also had funding issues in the beginning, but now they are large enough that their existence is relatively stable. For all of these reasons, charity review sites like Charity Navigator rate PIH very highly.<br />
However, PIH is not perfect. After the huge influx of money from earthquake donations, PIH set up a number of new projects. Since that burst of money has not been sustained, PIH is now trying to figure out how to scale back. For their fiscal year 2011, all of PIH had a deficit of $27,000,000 largely due to grants made to partner organizations after the earthquake. But utilizing the surplus from 2009 along with predicted donations and smart investments should make this up. PIH also does not have an exit strategy, but this is because they plan to stay indefinitely. The Haitian government has come to rely on their services some critics have questioned whether it is best to remove healthcare from government and private businesses. But these hospitals and clinics do provide training and long-term job opportunities for many Haitians. More concerning is the recent report about how PIH has been in a <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/10/05/161954259/in-haiti-aid-groups-squabble-over-rival-peanut-butter-factories">turf war</a> over peanut butter factories. In 2003, Meds and Foods for Kids (MFK) began using local peanut butter sources to develop a nutritional paste. After learning all about it from the MFK founders in 2006, PIH started their own peanut butter paste program. Meanwhile, MFK started a factory with UNICEF money so that everything needed for the nutritional paste could be produced in Haiti using Haitian peanuts and workers. Now PIH is building its own even bigger peanut butter paste factory. The problem is that there aren't enough peanuts grown locally for both factories and not enough demand for that much nutritional paste. This kind of redundant overlapping project does nothing to help people locally and just directs money away from other places where it could be spent.<br />
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<i><a href="http://www.prosperitycandle.com/about/foundation/">Prosperity Candles:</a></i> This young non-profit takes an entirely different approach that is interesting and worth investigating. They actually began in Iraq in 2008, where they began working with local women to teach them how to make candles and then provided a platform for them to sell the candles to an international market. They partnered with a local more established Iraq non-profit and worked with local concerns. Listening to the women they wanted to help, they arranged for them to do this work in their own homes since women's mobility is limited. Women were also trained not only how to make the candles but how to teach the skill to others and given basic business instruction so they could be entrepreneurs on their own. After the earthquake, Prosperity Candles began their plans to come to Haiti and established a candle factory in one of the industrial parks in the North. I recently sat down with one of the women who is highly involved in the Haiti arm of their project and I was impressed with their foresight and plans. The have now traveled to Haiti a few times and worked with local existing non-profits and community leaders to develop a plan of action that would adapt their models used elsewhere to local concerns and needs. Unlike in Iraq, women in Haiti move about freely so a factory made more sense. It also increased the prestige of working there because the job would be considered steady work (<i>travay</i>) unlike craft items made out of the home. They have a clear exit strategy where they want to train the women in candle making and business skills so that they can slowly hand over the business to the women. At the end of their project the women will fully own the business and be able to run it completely on their own and have all profits gained through selling their candles, while still providing the platform to sell them. They recognize the problem for many women of leaving their children behind to go to work, so they are arranging for flexible working schedules and investigating options for child care. While their goals are very localized, they are reaching out to nearby non-profits that focus on women and families to coordinate. And they are trying to use local beeswax rather than importing it. They are young and their Haiti project just getting under way so we will have to wait before we can evaluate their lasting impact and effectiveness. But their commitment to local input, working with other non-profits, and a strong exit strategy look promising.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hopefully this discussion has helped make sense of the frustration and protests against foreign presence in Haiti. Many Redditors have been involved with non-profits either directly as volunteers or just through donating funds. US Redditors also have their tax money used on many of these projects in Haiti and elsewhere. Therefore, I hope you'll find this discussion useful not only for understanding Haiti but for being a better informed citizen and donor. <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">If you have any questions or want to discuss a topic, please post your comments in the reddit thread <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryofIdeas/comments/122mkv/hoi_academy_foreign_intervention_in_haiti_us_un/">here</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">. I have also put together an album of relevant photos I have taken that you can view <a href="http://imgur.com/a/Mm6gx">here</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">. If you would like to do your own research on these topics I have included some suggestions below. Thanks for reading!</span></span><br />
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Further Reading<br />
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Crewe, Emma and Elizabeth Harrison<br />
1998 <u>Whose Development? An ethnography of aid</u>. University of Michigan Press<br />
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Farmer, Paul<br />
2003 <span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Pathologies of Power:Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor</u>.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">University of California Press. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Farmer, Paul</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2005 <u>The Uses of Haiti Updated Edition.</u> Common Courage Press.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Farmer, Paul</span><br />
2006 <u>AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame</u>. University of California Press.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">Schuller, Mark </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">2012 <u>Killing with Kindness</u>. Rutgers University Press. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Schwartz, Timothy T.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2008 <u>Travesty in Haiti: A True Account of Christian Missions, Orphanages, Fraud, Food Aid and Drug Trafficking</u>. Charleston, South Carolina: BookSurge Publishing.</span><br />
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http://www.ijdh.org/pdf/PressAcounts/2005/3.24.2005%20The%20Position%20of%20Aumohd%20on%20the%20Sociopolitical%20Situa.pdf<br />
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http://www.potomitan.net/downloads/Schuller-Invasion-or-Infusion.pdf<br />
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http://aidskeptic.blogspot.com/2008/10/from-neo-colonialism-to-ngo-colonialism.html<br />
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http://www.killingtrain.com/node/824Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04743743536969892423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5219644507893840543.post-45554125615597087332012-10-11T07:08:00.001-07:002013-02-17T14:20:15.119-08:00[HoI Course] Daily Life in Haiti (Haiti Today 3/6)<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">WELCOME TO THE THIRD LESSON FOR HAITI TODAY, </span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">PART OF THE HISTORY OF IDEAS ACADEMY</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You can find the outline for the course <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryofIdeas/comments/10dk1n/haiti_today_teaser_for_upcoming_course/" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s; color: #f07300; display: inline; outline-style: none; text-decoration: initial;">here</a>, a brief history of Haiti <a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/09/hoi-pearl-of-antilles-haiti-today-16.html" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s; color: #f07300; display: inline; outline-style: none; text-decoration: initial;">here</a>, and an introduction to Vodou <a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/10/hoi-getting-to-know-spirits-haitian.html">here</a>. Please post all comments, requests, and questions in the Reddit post rather than the blog. That way we can continue our discussion within the History of Ideas subreddit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Daily Life In Haiti</span></span></div>
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What does it mean to be Haitian?</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The news tends to show a very limited view of what life in Haiti is like. We see image after image of poverty, tent cities, and starving children. These are real and present issues in Haiti. But we miss out on the context of these pictures and the fact that this is a very limited view of Haitian daily life. My goal for this lecture is to use a few different categories as windows into aspects of what it means to live in Haiti. My approach will naturally leave out some things in order to highlight others. If there is an aspect of Haiti that I do not cover but you would like to know more about, just let me know in the comments.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">
Family and Work in Rural & Urban Haiti</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> After the revolution, most Haitians continued to work on the land as farmers producing their own food and selling any extra in nearby <a href="http://i.imgur.com/mRsBah.jpg">markets</a>. Families staked out plots of land where they farmed together as a unit. As children grew up and started families of their own they might build their own house on the familial land or claim an unused plot to begin their own farm. Each <a href="http://i.imgur.com/ERYzW.jpg">family plot</a> had space for agriculture, housing, cooking, religious obligations, and a graveyard for the dead. The eldest male of the family unit was usually in charge of religious duties to the spirits and ancestors. Nearby families came together for special religious and social celebrations, to trade, socialize, and help one another. Individual success was dependent upon communal success and so the tradition of a <i><a href="http://i.imgur.com/aes7rh.jpg">konbit </a></i>became an important part of rural life. A <i>konbit </i>is similar to the concept of an Amish barn raising where everyone in the area comes to help out with harvesting, planting, or building. In return when they need assistance, the community will show up to help them. This allows people to do more in less time, helping ensure local success for everyone. It also means that the whole community is fully aware of how many resources every family has available. This helps stem stinginess and hoarding of resources and people are expected to share their successes with others in the community. Yet, they are also fully aware that to get ahead they need to save and reinvest. Some academics argue that this tension between individual and community is fundamental to understanding Caribbean and Central American cultures.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> These communities were usually bounded by geographical features such as rivers and mountains, isolating them to a certain extent for day to day purposes. Once a week women often took extra produce, cooked foods, and handmade goods down to a nearby market to sell. These market women could be absent for a day or two, depending on how long and difficult the journey was. They tended to stay in groups for safety and sometimes sleeping in the open air marketplace at night. They were shrewd negotiators who had to quickly discern local price changes and adapt their strategies to maximize their profits. In times of drought or other misfortunes that prevented families from growing enough produce, they sometimes sold their private "land" i.e. their bodies so they could purchase food at the market. This was only done if absolutely necessary and was not something they were proud of, but mothers did what they had to do in order to feed their children. In the end, the main moral obligation is to one's children and any action that serves to support them cannot be locally considered immoral. Back home, the earnings from the marketplace were usually controlled by the women and were used to send kids to school (when available), buy clothes and other goods in the marketplace, and save for the future.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The reason that most of my description of rural life so far has been in the past tense is because few people are able to continue living this way. It is still the idealized way of life for many Haitians, the same way we idealize rural American life in TV and movies as an important source of authentic values and principles for the country. And three-quarters of Haitians rely upon agriculture for food or cash crops. Yet, making a living off the land has become increasingly difficult in Haiti due to environmental and socio-economic changes. Haiti has become increasingly deforested due to overpopulation, poor agricultural practices, a push towards cash crops like tobacco, and the need for charcoal. By 1954, only 8-9% of Haiti remained forested compared to 60% in the 1920s. In the 1950s, the need for charcoal grew and the easiest local source were the trees. Today, some of the poorest people in Haiti still make their own charcoal and sell it on the streets of the cities. As of 2008, less than 2% of Haiti is forested. The deforestation has caused <a href="http://i.imgur.com/4hjZ1h.jpg">erosion</a> of the entire countryside, destroying the topsoil and polluting the water. Additionally, the push for cash crops meant a less stable market and less food crops for when the prices of tobacco and coffee were low. Prices for food crops decreased as tariffs on imported goods were lowered and projects like the USAID's free rice to Haiti program destroyed demand for local rice. Animal domestication suffered a serious blow when the USAID killed 1.3 million Haitian pigs in 1982 due to fears of swine flu. Like I mentioned in the history section, these Creole pigs were bred for the environment and were a safety net that could be sold or butchered in times of need. In short, the environmental devastation meant that farmers had a harder time growing crops, the market meant they had a harder time selling them, and the loss of their savings accounts on hoofs meant they had no backup.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The increasingly inability to sustain an agricultural lifestyle meant more and more people went to the cities looking for work. With few non-agricultural skills and low levels of education, most people had to take menial jobs if they could even find them. Slums grew along the edges of cities, creating extremely condensed spaces of poverty and violence. The most well known example is Cite Soleil, a shanty town right outside Port-au-Prince which grew quickly after the slaughter of the Creole pigs and then again when President Delatour (who succeeded Baby Doc) encouraged people from the countryside to come to the neighborhood for industrial jobs. Unfortunately the industrial sector broke down after 1991, and most people living there have little to no education, half the houses are built from scrap, about 65% of the homes do not have latrines, and armed gangs are a serious problem. The damage from the earthquake was devastating to these <a href="http://i.imgur.com/U8s2Lh.jpg">shanty towns</a>, especially since many of these homes were barely standing to begin with. However, there is a public school Lycee National where parents can try to send their children. And these neighborhoods provide free or extremely cheap places for people to use as a launching pad to better their situation. The problem, of course, is that it can be difficult to find the jobs necessary to afford better housing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> In the <a href="http://i.imgur.com/y8a7L.jpg">city</a> there are more job opportunities for women than men like doing laundry, cooking, caring for kids, and cleaning. Women still dominate the markets, though men also sell goods there too. Men with trade skills like carpentry might find a job working in a warehouse or doing construction. If they have some education they might be able to find a job working in a store or hotel. Most government jobs are doled out to friends and family, though some people do earn those positions through higher education. Jobs that pay a known amount at a known time are called <i>travay </i>and are highly coveted but very hard to come by. The vast majority of Haitians do what is called <i>commerce</i>. This is when someone sells goods or food on the street for a profit. Early in the morning Haitians will purchase items cheaply from a source, cook or make goods, or gather items like coconuts. They then go out into the streets to hawk their wares for the day. In Port-au-Prince pedestrians have to walk in the street with the cars because every inch of the sidewalks are covered in goods for sale. In this sense, all Haitians are entrepreneurs. But most days they are lucky if they can make enough to feed their families for the day and buy items to sell the next. If they do manage to save, however, they might build a stand, send their kids to school, and move their families out of the slums. However, without access to higher education, most people reach a plateau since even if they understood the process of buying property and starting a business they could not get the loans to do so.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> These days many people migrate back and forth from rural to city many times over their lifetime. Rural families have few economic opportunities, but can provide housing and support for extended family members. Mothers who are unable to care for their children might send one or more of them to live with well-off extended family or rich families in city. These children are called restaveks, and in its ideal form they children do chores in exchange for free housing, food, and education. Unfortunately, many restaveks are taken advantage of and there are numerous cases of sexual abuse or children who are treated like slaves. When the restaveks become adults they usually go home or transition into being domestic servants for a well to do family in the city. Adult men may leave their children and partners behind in the city or rural family homestead in search of job opportunities, splitting up families. But this also extends networks across multiple spaces allowing people the ability to tap into extended family and friends for help wherever they move. Modern day technology of cell phones are cheap and easily accessible, meaning that even when separated in different cities people can stay in touch and maintain networks in ways previously impossible. Fathers who were no longer able to live with their children will pull out their cell phones to proudly show me tons of photos of their kids. Coffee farmers can call down from the mountains to check prices to avoid getting ripped off by middle men. And family that has immigrated to America can call home and easily send money. Modernization and technology have only increased the importance of networks and family and the ability to connect to them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Family is an incredibly important part of Haitian life because it is the foundation for the networks that help people succeed. In small rural communities everyone is a cousin if you go back far enough, which intensifies the bonds and obligations to assist one another. In cities it is harder to keep families together since often only one or two members left the homestead at a time and apartment or shanty spaces are much smaller. But fictive kinship (like your uncle who isn't <i>really</i> your blood uncle) can fill those spaces. Vodou houses have adapted to this reality, and in the South where people undergo initiations they become spiritual brothers, sisters, and children to other members in the group. These relationships provide familial networks allowing relationships similar to those found in rural regions to continue in urban spaces. Over time, these Vodou familial networks extend across rural and urban as well. All of these relationships provide friendship, assistance in times of need, links to news and gossip, and comfort.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Class</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> In 1825, Haitian peasants were legally made second-class citizens. In 1945, the law required <i>paysans </i>(peasant) to appear on their birth certificates. This was eventually repealed, but the repeal was not implemented until 1995. Therefore, the <a href="http://i.imgur.com/otyqqh.jpg">divide between rich and poor</a> has always been a part of the Haitian socio-political system. Though this divide is sometimes explained in racial terms with the elites being light skinned mulattos and the peasants dark skinned without French heritage this is not how it always plays out in reality. <i>Mulat </i>and <i>Neg </i>(mulatto and black) are more economic and social classes than racial ones, since people can easily transcend skin color barriers through economic status changes. There are <i>mulats </i>who are quite dark skinned and <i>negs </i>who are light skinned. Rather than using skin color and other racial markers, class is maintained through cultural aspects of language, dress, education, and behavior. Language plays a major role in this, with elites using French for all official purposes such as government, business, and education. Peasants usually only speak Haitian Kreyol fluently, which is a different language. Members of the lower class who have gone to some school may claim to speak French because that is the only language in which education takes place and therefore indicates they have some schooling. Yet, they are rarely fluent and at most speak a broken form of French. Access to education is a serious problem for many Haitians, but once there it can be difficult to adjust to instruction in a new language that is not taught as a second language. Children tend to sink or swim, and even if they catch on poor families can rarely afford to send their children to school past elementary age. This lack of education and language skills often prevents members of the lower class from achieving financial and social success, regardless of their intelligence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> In rural and city areas there are hierarchies within the peasant class. Women gain status through success in the marketplace and marrying up (hypergamy.) If they save up enough from selling items in the market they can start what is called a boutique, which may be a store in a permanent structure or a business they run out of their house. These businesses have more stability than <i>commerce </i>on the street and tend to carry nicer items. Women who marry in a church wedding also gain a certain status in part because of the lavish public parties and conspicuous consumption required of a wedding and in part because they tend to have husbands who can support them. Men are often lumped into either <i>gwo neg</i> or <i>ti neg</i> (big man and small man). <i>Gwo neg</i> are financially and socially successful, often having small businesses like a <a href="http://i.imgur.com/waLIPh.jpg">taxi servic</a>e or store. They maintain their status through sponsoring dances, Vodou fets, and Rara parades. <i>Ti neg</i> are men who are not as successful and are dependent upon female family members. Machismo can be proven other ways, however, through excessive drinking and sexual prowess. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The elites make up about two percent of the entire population in Haiti. The vast majority live in big cities such as Port-au-Prince and Okap. They have the ability to send their children to school, hire domestic servants, and often have significant influence over governmental policies and decisions. While there have been presidents and prime ministers from the lower class, they require the support of elites to stay in power and get things done. Socially it is important to maintain the class hierarchy and hegemony, so that children are often forbidden to speak to the maid in Creole (even though they know the language) or even at all. As adults they are expected to marry within their class, get a college education, and go on to a job that is appropriate for their station. Though many experts recognize the importance of overcoming these class barriers to helping Haiti succeed, elites who do so commit class suicide and can result in being ostracized. Therefore, while educated elites may speak of treating everyone equally and working towards a unified Haiti, they rarely interact with the lower class. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The middle class is made up largely of foreigners, who are called <i>blans</i>. Most businesses like hotels, <a href="http://i.imgur.com/jhqbxh.jpg">grocery stores</a>, book stores, etc. are owned by <i>blans</i>. They are often from the Middle East (sometimes just referred to locally as Arab) and represent a wide variety of backgrounds such as Lebanese, Palestinian, and Algerian as well as religious affiliations such as Jews, Muslims, and Bahai'i. Many are refugees from regions that were politically unstable or where they were persecuted. In Haiti they often band together for business and social purposes, leading to the oft heard joke that the only place in the world where Muslims and Jews get along is the Caribbean. Because they are isolated from most of Haitian society, they have maintained many of their own cultural traditions and their money tends to stay within their class or go abroad to help those back home. There have been frustrations with some of these financial aspects since many lower class Haitians feel they are prevented from entering into certain business opportunities because they are dominated by <i>blans</i>. Some have also taken advantage of the fact that embassies are not considered Haitian soil so that businesses built there are not subject to local taxes. However, they do provide jobs to many Haitians and are important for the economy and providing access to the goods they sell. </span><br />
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Gender and Relationships</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> In 1805, right after the revolution, Dessalines declared that unlike under French rule children born out of wedlock were legitimate heirs. This made sense considering the fact that after the white population either ran away or was killed, most of the Haitians who remained never even had the opportunity to marry. Some had also engaged in a formalized mistress relationship called placage prior to the revolution. This was common in many French colonies where white French men would marry white French women, but keep a placagee as a mistress in the city with her own household and promises that their children would be free. Eventually, this also became the term used for any couple that cohabitated without marriage - slaves included. This became the norm and continued after the revolution. To this day, church marriages are expensive and unnecessary from both legal and social viewpoints. Plus, avoiding legal documentation means avoiding the government, which given the history of corruption and violence in Haitian politics can be a wise decision. There are formal names sometimes given to partners or the relationship (<i>fiyanse, renmen, marye, placage, viv avek</i>) but outside of marriages documented by church and state none have legal ramifications. Most women engage in relationships with men one at a time (though some do have multiple partners) while many men may have loose arrangements with one or more women. Sometimes women are aware of their significant other's partners, but accept this as normal. Remember that in addition to what I've mentioned above, two-thirds of slaves at the time of the revolution had been born in West Africa where polygamy is common among many of the communities. Polygamy was important in rural areas of Haiti for a long time as a practical way to increase the labor needed for working the farm. Terms for female companions were <i>fanm marie </i>(married woman/spouse), <i>fanm kay</i> (house woman), and <i>fanm jadin</i> (garden woman). Today these more formal arrangements are less usual and relationships tend to be less well defined - especially since men can rarely stay on the family homestead.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> When couples cohabitate or have children together, it increases the odds that the man contributes economically to the household. But in most cases women are the primary caregivers and financial supporters for the children. Women are called the <i>poto mitan</i>, a term for the central pillar that holds up a house. Since men so often must leave for work or because a relationship has ended, <a href="http://i.imgur.com/oYaGah.jpg">women and children </a>are the primary familial unit in Haiti. Women and girls take care of all household duties such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, and child rearing. They sometimes help out in the fields and also engage in certain folk crafts such as basket weaving. They are also in charge of selling any items the family makes in the market, though men and boys also help sell items in commerce. In the past, boys were sent to school much more often than girls often because if the family could not afford to send all of their children they chose the males. Men were thought to put the education to better use and girls were more valuable at home. Yet, today the literacy rates and enrollment rates are quite close for girls and boys. Since more jobs are available to women than men, families may be beginning to see the value of educating their girls. Women also played an important role in fighting for their own education through the <i>Mouvement Paysan Papay </i>in the 1980s. As adults, poor women have a fair amount of autonomy and freedom. They control the finances, set prices for goods being sold, make most of the decisions regarding the household and children, and can end or being relationships with men as they see fit. Some researchers argue that upper class women have less freedom since they do not work and therefore are dependent upon their husbands and more limited to the household. However, it is important to remember that poor women are expected to do all household chores, some work in the fields, care for the children, and engage in commerce - an exhausting list of activities.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Like many Caribbean societies, there are sexist views about women and their ideal roles. To be fair, anthropologists argue that women are second class citizens in every society on earth so that what we see in Haiti is just a local form and expression of ideas that exist everywhere. But every time there is an issue of political unrest that requires movement of people, military, and/or temporary camps it is <a href="http://i.imgur.com/ch1nyh.jpg">women </a>who often bear the brunt of the violence and sexual assault that seems to go along with such events. Haiti is no different but their frequent political unrest, the occupation of the island by various foreign nations, and the tent cities have led to upsetting amounts of violence and sexual assault against women. Women in dire economic situations may also find that their only option for feeding their children is <a href="http://i.imgur.com/2epPG.jpg">prostitution</a>. Not only is all of this traumatic, but it leaves women burdened with children they may not be able to raise and diseases they cannot afford to treat. Paul Farmer documents how these factors played a large role in the spread of HIV in Haiti, an issue I will take up in a later lecture. Despite all of this, in recent years Haitian women have fought for their rights and education. Women have formed organizations to support one another from domestic violence, to train other women to do jobs traditionally done by men, to teach women to read and write, and even purchase land together in order to farm without the assistance of men. Today there are a number of female Haitian politicians such as former prime minister Michele Pierre Louis who today is an ardent promoter of women's rights in Haiti. Many experts believe that economic empowerment and education are major factors in improving women's status and safety in Haiti.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Men also have a social role and set of expectations to fulfill, though few are able to sufficiently do so. From a young age, boys begin helping their fathers in the field and carrying out duties considered too difficult or dangerous for women and girls. The traditional space for men is one of social authority, the head of the household, and the family member whose labor provides the financial support for the family. However, as I've explained above, for the most part this is no longer a role that men can completely fill. This tension is part of the reason why men so often out migrate from their families and plays a role in violence against women. From the day they are born men are told to expect this status and position, yet rarely are able to attain it. With few job options at home, men often tap into their networks of friends and family to find job opportunities outside their hometown. This might mean going into the city, traveling to another rural region for farm work, or going to Cuba or the Dominican Republic to work in the sugar cane fields. Sugar cane work promises guaranteed pay, but working conditions are often <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp_EkCesIp8&f&fb_source=message">terrible</a>. During periods of political instability men can temporarily gain status through joining militias such as the <i>Tonton Macoutes</i>. But these positions of power never last longer than the political power, which in Haiti can be quite fleeting. In the end, many men cannot find long-term work or the social positions society has told them to expect. Many turn to commerce, but some also become alcoholics. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <i>Mansisi</i>, a somewhat negative but prevalent term for gay men in Haiti, are another category that are worth mentioning. In anthropology we recognize that gender is not necessarily linked to sex in that our concept of what makes someone an appropriate woman or man is cultural rather than biological. Once we step back and recognize the variety of ways people are good men and women across the world, we can also see that this binary is not cross-cultural. Some societies have more than two genders, which we sometimes call third gender. In Haiti, it could be argued that <i>mansisi </i>can fall into a third gender category. Homosexuality is stigmatized in everyday Haitian life, but many men still choose to live openly as gay through specific dress, mannerisms, and occupations. Most openly gay men work selling clothes, and as such are considered good at this position and they can become financially well off through a pathway closed to most straight men. They also find a safe haven in Vodou communities where homosexuality is religiously sanctioned. There are a variety of explanations, from a ritual to change their sexuality for financial gain to a spirit such as <i>Erzulie Freda</i> controlling their head and imprinting her desires onto their own. Many <i>mansisi </i>can attain social status through Vodou initiations, and in Okap I once saw an entire Vodou house made up of <i>mansisi </i>who for all the world looked like Haitian versions of <a href="http://www.athletics.wsu.edu/arc/Favorites/Neither/PDF/Chapter0001.pdf">Hijras</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> These gender ideals and realities are reflected in the Vodou religion. <i>Erzulie Freda </i>is sometimes characterized as the <i>lwa </i>of love but this is not quite correct. She is the seductive virgin, the excitement of the first blush of love, the possibility of everything that could be. She is light skinned - the ideal of beauty in Haiti - and desires all things beautiful and luxurious. But she often cries because she cannot reach the very ideals she represents. In another nation (<i>lwa </i>are grouped in the spiritual nations that reflect their West African geographical & cultural origins) <i>Ezili Dantor</i> is a very different kind of woman. She is tough, dark skinned, and a devout mother. In her Catholic form she holds a baby - but this child is a daughter because daughters are more highly valued. Her <i>veve </i>is a pierced heart that may bleed but still stands strong. She is the peasant woman's reality. These are just two female ideals present in the Vodou pantheon, but they stand as contrasts to one another. They are what women want to be, what they are, and what they cannot always attain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> For men, <i>Ogou Feray</i> represents the powerful warrior king who is attractive, manly, a good father, and a leader. In this sense he represents what men could and should be. But unable to attain this, many men also find reflections of their reality in other <i>Ogou </i>members of the <i>Nago</i> nation. The <i>Ogous </i>are brothers that at times work together but might also fight one another. Some are healers, father figures, or elders. But some are also womanizers, drunks, and are vain. <i>Ogou </i>is the lover of <i>Ezili Dantor</i>, but in this form he is unreliable and does not provide economic assistance. Thus, their relationship mirrors the reality for many Haitians. But there are also positive examples of relationships through <i>Azaka</i> and his wife. He is a hard working peasant farmer and his wife is a shrewd market woman. Together they make a formidable pair and represent the achievements of hard work not only for material things but relationships as well. Of course, <i>Azaka </i>sometimes partakes of his wormwood laced alcoholic drink a little too much. But he is not abusive or cruel as a drunk - merely bratty and sleepy. Drinking is a common pastime in Haiti but men without concerns about their machismo can enjoy it as a social activity rather than a way to prove themselves. There are still spaces and opportunities for men to be successful and content with their lot in life, and <i>Azaka </i>is one example of how that can be achieved. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Conclusion</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> These categories have hopefully provided windows into the Haitian world and what life is like for many people living there. Despite the length of my lecture, it is obviously incomplete and at times simplified. You can also see my obvious anthropological bias given that the categories I chose fall in line with topics covered by many classic ethnographies. However, these categories of kinship, gender, economy, and class are real concerns and important aspects of the Haitian people. I've built this paper around my readings but also my personal experiences and conversations in Haiti. If you have any questions or want to discuss a topic, please post your comments in the reddit thread <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryofIdeas/comments/11b5kz/hoi_course_life_in_haiti_haiti_today_36/">here</a>. I have also put together an album of relevant photos I have taken that you can view <a href="http://imgur.com/a/geG5q">here</a>. If you would like to do your own research on these topics I have included some suggestions below. Thanks for reading!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br /><br /><br />'Fanm Se Poto Mitan': Haitian Woman, the Pillar of Society<br />Author(s): Marie-José N'Zengou-TayoReviewed work(s):Source: Feminist Review, No. 59, Rethinking Caribbean Difference (Summer, 1998), pp. 118-142<br /><br />Women's Moral and Spiritual Leadership in Haitian Vodou: The Voice of Mama Lola and KarenMcCarthy BrownAuthor(s): Claudine MichelReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Vol. 17, No. 2 (Fall, 2001), pp. 61-87</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oswald, Laura. Culture Swapping: Consumption and the Ethnogenesis of Middle‐Class Haitian Immigrants.<br />Journal of Consumer Research. Vol. 25, No. 4 (March 1999), pp. 303-318<br /><br />Kovats-Bernat, J. Christopher. Sleeping Rough in Port-Au-Prince: An Ethnography of Street Children and Violence in Haiti <br /><br />Of Men and Gods - A documentary about Haitian sexuality http://www.der.org/films/of-men-and-gods.html<br /><br />Melville J. Herskovits. 1937. Life in a Haitian Valley. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books.<br /><br />Mintz, Sidney “The employment of capital by Haitian market women,” in Firth, R., and B. Yamey, eds., Capital, Savings and Credit in Peasant Societies: 256-86. 1964.<br /><br />http://open.salon.com/blog/timotuck/2011/04/30/polygyny_in_haiti</span><br />
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<i style="font-weight: normal;">All photos and text are my own original work. </i></div>
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<i style="font-weight: normal;">If you would like to reproduce them in whole or in part please contact me first. Thanks!</i></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04743743536969892423noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5219644507893840543.post-27183903386604843222012-10-02T12:43:00.004-07:002013-02-17T14:34:59.312-08:00[HoI] Getting to know the spirits: Haitian Vodou (Haiti Today 2/6)<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">WELCOME TO THE SECOND LESSON FOR HAITI TODAY, </span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">PART OF THE HISTORY OF IDEAS ACADEMY</span></h2>
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You can find the outline for the course <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryofIdeas/comments/10dk1n/haiti_today_teaser_for_upcoming_course/">here</a> and a brief history of Haiti <a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/09/hoi-pearl-of-antilles-haiti-today-16.html">here</a>. Please post all comments, requests, and questions in the Reddit post rather than the blog. That way we can continue our discussion within the History of Ideas subreddit.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Getting to Know the Spirits</span></div>
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An Introduction to Haitian Vodou<br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"> When slaves were brought over from West Africa they were not tabula rasa. Rather, they retained their religious beliefs, cultures, traditions, and memories from their own complex and highly developed societies. These experiences and bodies of knowledge informed the ways in which they understood being enslaved and the new cultures they encountered. In Haiti, this meant that while slave owners were required to baptize and instruct their slaves in Catholicism, slaves found ways to retain their own beliefs in spite of them being outlawed. Remember that at the time of the revolution 2/3 of the slaves in Haiti had been born in Africa so they had already grown up with their own cultural and religious beliefs. When they were introduced to Catholicism, they found creative ways to use the saints as a facade for their own spirits. For example, the <a href="http://i.imgur.com/CjOxw.jpg">snake spirit Danballah</a> became associated with Saint Patrick because icons of Saint Patrick often include snake at his feet. This allowed them to pray openly to Danballah via the name and image of Saint Patrick. Over generations, however, this relationship became more than a facade. Today, Catholicism and West African religious traditions exist in Haiti both as parallel traditions and in a form that mixes the two. In other words, sometimes people really are praying to Saint Patrick the long dead Catholic Irish man. But other times people are specifically referring to Danballah as the ancient African creator spirit. And yet these concepts are not contradictory - Danballah is <a href="http://i.imgur.com/DArws.jpg">both an ancient African snake <i>and</i> Saint Patrick</a>. </span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"> It is hard for many people in America and Europe to fully understand this because we're often raised with the idea that you have to pick just one religious worldview and that to do otherwise is insincere or even hypocritical. But much of the world does not see religion in this way. In many areas of Africa and Asia people hold overlapping religious views without it creating anxiety about cognitive dissonance. And if we really look hard at our own cultures we'll see that people in America do this too. A Christian might believe in both the Bible and a form of reincarnation and karma, without this jeopardizing their mental health or views of their own damnation. And if we look at this cross-culturally and historically we'll find that religions and cultures overlap, intersect, and influence one another constantly. These moments create traditions through a process we sometimes call syncretism, creolization, or hybridity. These terms come in and out of favor but the important thing is to recognize that Haitian Vodou is not unusual in this sense. In fact, many other colonial communities in the Caribbean and Central & South America created similar religious responses. Lukumi (Santeria), Candomblé, Obeah, Orisha, and Vodou are all cousin religions in that they were created through the process of <a href="http://i.imgur.com/0Rwfl.jpg?1">slavery, colonialism, West African traditions, and Christianity intersecting</a>. If you have studied any of these traditions you might notice similarities, though of course each religion is unique and a product of its own history and people. </span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"> The revolution in Haiti began with a Vodou ceremony and today religious system retains some
of its revolutionary aspects, and has been a source of inspiration to guerilla
fighters and political dissidents. Yet, it also encourages a harmonious
relationship with society and nature, providing ideal examples for behavior
that fit within rather than against legal and social systems. It provides an
encompassing worldview that connects individual, society, environment, luck,
health, and action. However, this system also retains a huge range of
potentials that allows individuals to creatively respond to different
situations in a way that works with their current conditions. Like many African
traditions, two or more aspects that at first seem like internal contradictions
are juxtaposed to suggest that together they create a third deeper truth, a
mystical knowledge that touches upon the really-real. Therefore, while there
are general ways to characterize the religious system of Vodou, it is also
important to recognize its plasticity that allows practitioners to adjust it for
changing socio-political conditions in Haiti and the experience of diaspora. My goal here is to give an overview of the religion as it is practiced in Haiti, while acknowledging that there are variations. There is no pope of Vodou or overarching governing body. Each religious house gains and retains status through recognition by other houses, but they are their own traditions and no house has control over another. My description of Vodou comes not just from scholarly research but from working with Vodou communities, studying the religion hands on, and going to ceremonies for over four years. Most of my information here is about how the religion is practiced in Southern Haiti, though I am happy to discuss some variations found in the North in comments. <a href="http://dreamsofginen.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/whose-vodou/">This blog post</a> from a Vodou scholar is also useful for understanding the variation in the religion. </span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"> Vodouisants believe that spirits (<i>lwa</i>) and ancestors are active agents in the material human world, and this belief is a given - a post that holds up the reality of the
system and which other cultural beliefs exist in relation to. These beings
exist without a material body and on a spiritual plane, but this plane can be
accessed through divination, dreams, ritual, possession, and geographical and
temporal spaces of bleed through. Contact provides a way to mitigate
relationships with these beings who otherwise could impact lives without
individuals having the ability to negotiate their situation. These spirits and
ancestors have individual personalities and preconceived notions about proper
behaviors that can cause them to help or hinder people as they see fit.
Engaging with these beings allows humans to gain their aid and take control
over their own luck. However, this usually requires a pledge of either a direct
exchange of offerings for services or a lifelong commitment to serve and honor.
Failure to uphold a person’s end of the deal or to recognize when a spirit is
making a demand can result in punishment that affects luck, health, personal relationships, and financial situations. Since it can be difficult to decipher exactly what a spirit wants and which spirit is affecting a person’s life, religious
professionals are consulted to ensure that life is being led in harmony with
these beings. These beings also become part of an extended spiritual family,
and as such individuals love them and provide offerings because they enjoy
making their spirits and ancestors happy. This bolsters the spirits and
ancestors, because they need humans in order<a href="http://i.imgur.com/ppwJzh.jpg"> to be fed</a>. Thus, humans and spirit
beings exist in a symbiotic relationship.
</span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> The arrangements of social and familial obligations, relationships, and
interactions move outwards from this central spiritual worldview. Vodou morality is not a black and
white understanding of right and wrong, but rather a contextual response that
above all works to maintain harmony in the community. The universe exists in
harmony as a natural state, and any action that creates discord is a moral
transgression. It would be a mistake to consider this the same way that Catholics view sin. Moral transgressions are not individual acts that permanently taint the soul and change the outcome of the afterlife. There is no defined concept of heaven in Haitian Vodou and reincarnation is not affected by the sins of the past life. Rather, these moral transgressions change the circumstances of the individual and community in the here and now but can be overcome and moved past. Also important is that </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">the moral violation of harmony by one individual can
affect the morality of the group and cause repercussions from spirits and
ancestors that affect the community. This places a huge focus upon the
collective and tends to downplay the individual. Yet, it would be wrong to
characterize the Haitian worldview as solely a collective one. Individual action is an
important part of disrupting, maintaining, and repairing balance. Also, religious leaders and elders of the community
hold a special place in social hierarchies. Outside of the racial economic
divide of elite mulattos and peasant blacks, the countryside divides the
community according to age and status achieved. Children are at the bottom and elders at the
top since they are the closest to becoming future ancestors. This arrangement
is similar to many African societies. As future ancestors, elders are the
bearers of wisdom and deserve extreme respect for their position. Elders who
are Vodou </span><i style="font-weight: normal;">oungan asogwe</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> or </span><i style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/S1O0Nh.jpg">manbo asogwe</a></i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> (high priests and priestesses)
and who have had children are the most respected, having gone through all rites
of passage besides death. If properly honored now, they will also be more
likely to respond positively after death and if they are not immediately reincarnated they
will provide assistance and guidance as ancestral spirits. </span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> Vodouisants often grow up in households where these spirits and ancestors are part of their extended families. Home altars dedicate a space to honoring and feeding them, dreams bring messages, and daily experiences reinforce their presence. A whiff of perfume when no one is nearby indicates that a spirit who likes that perfume is spiritually close. A song that suddenly comes to mind might be related to a spirit and a reminder of the message in the lyrics. These everyday moments and experiences introduce people to these <i>lwa </i>saint-spirits and they get to know their personalities, preferences, tendencies, and attitudes. Over time they often develop personal relationships with certain spirits. These spirits make frequent appearances in dreams and visions and are believed to provide assistance. For example, <a href="http://i.imgur.com/ZF45gh.jpg"><i>Ogou</i> the warrior king</a> may appear in dreams as a father figure, policeman, and protector. He might make his presence known during times of difficulty through the scent of the cigar he loves to smoke, reminding the person he is there for them. And at group ceremonies he might even possess a body and use that to speak directly to individuals, lay hands to heal, and perform important rituals. Spirit possession in the West is often seen as something scary. But in Haiti and many other places it is a welcome event. Spirits do not have corporeal bodies but they enjoy corporeal things such as drinking, eating, smoking, dancing, and talking. In certain contexts practitioners can give up their own bodies so that the spirits can temporarily use them. The person retains no memory of the event and no aspect of their personality or self-hood should show during the possession. The body is just a vehicle and the spirit is believed to push out the current driver and seat him or herself behind the wheel during possession. Group ceremonies are a chance for practitioners to come together as a community to honor spirits on their special day but also to gain direct contact with the divine. </span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> Once these experiences build up a person may recognize that he or she is called to have a deeper relationship with the spirits. Each person has a spiritual court, meaning that particular spirits show interest in them and become intertwined in their lives. Everyone's spiritual court is different and people must learn to recognize their spirits so they can effectively work with them. Vodou is sometimes mischaracterized as a tradition similar to some other faiths where you select spirits most relevant to your issue at hand and attempt to work with them. While <i><a href="http://i.imgur.com/iNE2m.jpg?1">Ezili Freda</a>,</i> for example, is sometimes represented as the spirit of love and romance if you do not have a relationship with her you would not approach her for help in that arena. Rather, you work with the relationships you've already developed and the spirits most likely to be interested. To determine a spiritual court, a person can go to a <i>oungan </i>or <i>manbo </i>(priest or priestess) for a card reading. Many people then use this knowledge to create a home altar where they can strengthen these relationships and focus their attention. For individuals who are called further they may choose to have a head washing, which connects them permanently to their <i>met tet</i> (ruler of the head) who is the spirit most closely aligned with them. The next step would be to initiate into the religion into one of three stages: <i>hounsi </i>(congregation member), <i>manbo </i>or <i>oungan </i>(priestess or priest), and <i>manbo asogwe </i>or <i>oungan asogwe</i> (high priestess or high priest.) These levels of initiation (<i>kanzo</i>) are not decided by the individual but by the spirits and revealed through dreams, card readings, and other forms of communication. This is a permanent life-time commitment and each level requires different duties to spirit and community. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> In Haitian Vodou, men and women can both attain equal status levels as </span><i style="font-weight: normal;">manbo asogwe</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> and </span><i style="font-weight: normal;">houngan asogwe</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">. This doesn't mean that there aren't issues with sexism and in the countryside the traditional arrangement was to have the eldest male hold the highest level of power for the family compound. Yet, changing economic situations have meant that women have better odds finding work than men - especially in the city. In the past forty years more and more female led spiritual houses have popped up. In the countryside religious houses were usually made up of actual family members. In cities, members may not be blood related but through initiation they become spiritual family members with the same obligations and responsibilities they have towards blood kin. The priests and priestesses become the fathers and mothers of this extended family and the religious community becomes a place where members can receive healing, shelter, food, counseling, a loan, and other assistance. The temple is often a space that between services is used for <a href="http://i.imgur.com/5V6QC.jpg">sleeping, cooking, and socializing</a>. These spaces and communities are important places for disenfranchised people to gain status and help. Since homosexuality is religiously sanctioned, Vodou houses are often safe havens for gay men and women who otherwise can be persecuted in Haitian society. Poor people - especially single mothers - also often find Vodou to be an avenue to bettering their lives.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> Access to the spirits and the power of religious officials provides ways to use their faith to make what they believe are real world changes. However, these networks and the religious philosophy also encourage people to change their situation in non-religious ways too. It is important to counter claims by people such as <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704533204575047163435348660.html">Lawrence Harrison</a> that Vodou encourages laziness and is somehow progress-resistant. First, almost everything in Haiti gets done through social networks and relationships. Being part of a Vodou community links you into an important network and provides a safety net. This is especially important for people who leave their family homestead for opportunities in cities. Second, Vodou encourages people to take individual responsibility and proactively work to fix their situation. It is not enough just to pray or make an offering. This can help open doors, but it is the person's responsibility to walk through them. Hard work, supporting their family, fighting injustice, and respecting the environment are all important aspects of Vodou religious philosophy. The <i>lwa </i>also provide models of how individuals can succeed through appropriate behaviors. For example, <i><a href="http://i.imgur.com/eBXz9.jpg?1">Azaka</a></i> is a hard-working peasant farmer who is dedicated to his wife and a smart businessman. Likewise his wife is a shrewd negotiator in the market place, the one who controls the money in the marriage, and a dedicated wife. Together they provide a model for marriage and hard-work, but they are not perfect in the way Christians would describe Jesus or Muslims Mohammad. Sometimes <i>Azaka </i>drinks too much or the two fight. They are flawed because they represent real models of living - not an idealized model that is unattainable for the normal person. </span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> Like any religion, Vodou is a lived tradition meaning that there are overarching religious tenants but people bring these with them out from the temple and altar into the world where they live. Religion permeates every aspect of life so that it is difficult at times to separate out religious beliefs from ideas about family, the land, economy, and other daily concerns. This is why it is helpful to learn about Vodou if you want to understand Haiti but also to learn about Haiti if you want to understand Vodou. The two are intertwined and impossible to fully untangle. Though people do convert to Protestant forms of Christianity that reject any mixing with African based traditions, they still <a href="http://i.imgur.com/3d4JA.jpg">grow up in a world</a> where Vodou folkstories, songs, art, dietary restrictions, and religious calendars are important parts of the culture. People may find that claiming to be purely Catholic or Protestant useful for gaining certain positions or access to NGOs, but then turn to Vodou for healing when the doctor fails. These lines are porous and overlapping and in the end people often do what works for them and is meaningful at that moment. These negotiations and tensions become complicated for Haitians who immigrate to other areas such as New York, Miami and Boston. Here they have to rethink what it means to be a Haitian Vodouisant outside of the context of Haiti. Also, in response to the negative stigmas we often see of Vodou in movies and the media, many practitioners have sought to educate people about their faith. Therefore, Vodou is in an interesting moment where practitioners are thinking about their religion both as insiders and outsiders and figuring out how to present it to the world. This has also meant a sudden interest in the religion from some New Age and Neo-Pagan traditions, which has created mixed feelings from Vodouisants. On the one hand it helps legitimize their faith and make it seem safe. On the other, the Neo-Colonial attitudes of some people who co-opt their religion and represent it in ways that are <a href="http://www.voudongnosis.org/">very offensive</a> to Haitians is highly upsetting to them. </span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> These issues of negotiating diasporic experiences through Vodou are what my own dissertation work focus upon. In addition to answering any questions about Vodou in general I am also happy to talk about experiences of Vodouisants in the diaspora. Below you will find suggestions for further reading if you would like to do your own scholarly research. I've also added a <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5219644507893840543#editor/target=post;postID=4725621385370747308">brief excerpt</a> from some of my early fieldnotes that I typed up a few years ago. You can also see some photos I've taken along with descriptions for clarity <a href="http://imgur.com/a/EpMpB">here</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">If you have questions or want clarification please comment on the HoI post here so that we can hold our discussion via Reddit. Thanks for reading!</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
<a href="http://dreamsofginen.wordpress.com/">http://dreamsofginen.wordpress.com/</a></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://blog.vodouboston.com/" style="font-weight: normal;">http://blog.vodouboston.com/</a><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Bellegarde-Smith, Patrick and Claudine Michel</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">2006. Haitian Vodou: Spirit, Myth, and Reality. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">- 2006. Vodou in Haitian Life and Culture: Invisible Powers. New York: Palgrave</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Macmillan.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Brown, Karen McCarthy</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">1987. "Plenty Confidence in Myself”: The InitiationMcAlister, E.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">- 2002. Rara! Vodou, Power, and Performance in Haiti and Its Diaspora. Berkeley and</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Los Angeles: University of California Press.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">- 2001. Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn. Berkeley: University of California</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Press.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">- 2001. “Mimesis in the Face of Fear: Femme Queens, Butch Queens, and Gender Play in</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">the Houses of Greater Newark.” In Linda Schlossberg and Maria Sanchez, ed. Passing:</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Identity and Interpretation in Sexuality, Race, and Religion. New York: NYU Press.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Deren, Maya.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">1953. Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti. Kingston: Documentext</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Desmangles, Leslie</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">1992. The Faces of the Gods: Vodou and Roman Catholicism in Haiti. Chapel Hill:</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">University of North Carolina Press.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Drewal, Henry John</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">2008. Sacred Waters: Arts for Mami Wata and Other Divinities in Africa and the</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Diaspora. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Richman, Karen</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;">2005. Migration and Vodou. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-weight: normal;">All photos and text are my own original work. </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-weight: normal;">If you would like to reproduce them in whole or in part please contact me first. Thanks!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</h4>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04743743536969892423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5219644507893840543.post-47256213853707473082012-10-02T12:40:00.000-07:002012-10-02T12:40:18.617-07:00An Excerpt From My Early Fieldnotes<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;">Friday, October 30th Carol, her babalawo's wife and daughter, and I all took a trip down to Brown University in Rhode Island for a Haitian Vodoun presentation. The talk was held in a rectangular room with dark wood floors, elaborate cream molding, and light green walls. Crystal light fixtures framed tall draped windows, and portraits of European ancestors were spaced along the walls. In front of the cream and marble fireplace was a long table covered in a white cloth. On top of it were all the offerings for the spirits: rum, grapes, flowers, pineapples, cake, lit candles, peanuts, liquors, apples, bananas, rice pudding, and more. The offerings for the rada spirits were on the right, those for the petro on the left. To the right of the table a low basket lined with a white cloth and filled with sweets for the community sat in a plush salmon chair. To the left of the table, next to a stately grandfather clock, were staffs and a top hat - the accouterments of gede, the spirits of the dead. In front of the table someone had drawn a veve (symbol representing a specific spirit) in cornmeal on the ground. Normally there would be veves for at least five spirits, but we were told that this one was a veve for all the spirits called Milocan, one I had never seen before.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><br />
<div class="" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;">
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F_2UWckNyEhx4%2FSv3c7QrYHYI%2FAAAAAAAABaY%2FYWFKAOT1Zpo%2Fs1600-h%2FIMG_4577.JPG&h=bAQGBPZwc&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="https://fbexternal-a.akamaihd.net/safe_image.php?d=AQCSOwR0lz1ko_YX&url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F_2UWckNyEhx4%2FSv3c7QrYHYI%2FAAAAAAAABaY%2FYWFKAOT1Zpo%2Fs320%2FIMG_4577.JPG" style="border: 0px; max-width: 493px;" /></a></div>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;">There was an open space in front of the table, chairs for the members of the house along the wall on the left, and the three drummers on the wall to the right.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><div class="" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;">
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F_2UWckNyEhx4%2FSv3c801tbFI%2FAAAAAAAABag%2FFR7AJRJcpgI%2Fs1600-h%2FDrummers.jpg&h=OAQGPjkVG&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="https://fbexternal-a.akamaihd.net/safe_image.php?d=AQDYZsTREpai09i9&url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F_2UWckNyEhx4%2FSv3c801tbFI%2FAAAAAAAABag%2FFR7AJRJcpgI%2Fs320%2FDrummers.jpg" style="border: 0px; max-width: 493px;" /></a></div>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;">The rest of the room had chairs for the audience. The presentation opened with one of my Haitian Kreyol professors speaking briefly at a podium. He introduced Mambo M, his spiritual mother, who in addition to being a high Vodoun priestess (Mambo Asongwe) is in the process of getting her MA in psychological counseling. He also introduced Jean, the very talented dancer and houngan who teaches the Haitian folklore dancing courses. Jean spoke then about embracing Vodoun and dance as a way to heal after his family's traumas. He also gave a brief but beautiful dance dressed as gede. Then Manbo M spoke about Vodoun and explained that it is a healing tradition through which the community comes together to worship, celebrate, and repair. She then told us that she had asked the spirits and they had given her their blessing to hold an abbreviated ceremony that would only be able to honor some of the lwas. With that, she and the members of her house began the ceremony.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><div class="" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;">
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F_2UWckNyEhx4%2FSv3c_SLYuZI%2FAAAAAAAABao%2Fm0n-g3tKaXk%2Fs1600-h%2FIMG_4578.JPG&h=cAQGx4TV4&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="https://fbexternal-a.akamaihd.net/safe_image.php?d=AQBgPVvmFWIQmgQ_&url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F_2UWckNyEhx4%2FSv3c_SLYuZI%2FAAAAAAAABao%2Fm0n-g3tKaXk%2Fs320%2FIMG_4578.JPG" style="border: 0px; max-width: 493px;" /></a></div>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;">White candles were lit and placed upon the hardwood floors in front of the altar and drummers. Mambo M took her place on the small wicker chair in front of the table and began the action de grace, a series of prayers that can last hours or even days. The sheer number of prayers and songs that she has memorized is astounding. Then, individual spirits were honored through song and prayer as the drums beat out a rhythm to the rituals. Carol and I initially tried to follow along with our handout, but eventually we gave up and learned to just relax and enjoy the festivities. Members of the house offered candles, libations, and liquor to the lwas as the songs built up from honoring the border between worlds, to spirit of the drums carrying our messages, to the road of the spirits and then Legba, the guardian of the crossroads. Then they sang praises and offered sacrifice to the Marasa (sacred twins), Loko (the first houngan), Ayizan (the first mambo), and then many, many others.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><div class="" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;">
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F_2UWckNyEhx4%2FSv3dDnKS6lI%2FAAAAAAAABaw%2FDgeJAIXXWRM%2Fs1600-h%2FIMG_4581.JPG&h=_AQFVtsvN&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="https://fbexternal-a.akamaihd.net/safe_image.php?d=AQAXNKuGQ2zpT_ah&url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F_2UWckNyEhx4%2FSv3dDnKS6lI%2FAAAAAAAABaw%2FDgeJAIXXWRM%2Fs320%2FIMG_4581.JPG" style="border: 0px; max-width: 493px;" /></a></div>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;">The beat of the drums filled the room, dictating the steps of the dancers and guiding the cycle of prayers, songs, and offerings made to each spirit in turn. The audience swayed in their seats and the petitioners moved their bare feet in time to the drums, throwing back their shoulders and swinging their hips as they called to the lwas. The drums cried out an intense and irresistible rhythm, refusing to be ignored as they thumped and pounded, demanding movement as they tapped into the eternal biorhythm of our bodies, calling forth step and spirit, dance and devotion. And then the spirits came.</span></span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;">At first the lwas come briefly, but as the ceremony heats up so too does the length of their stay. During the song for Ezili Freda, the beautiful lwa of love, luxury, and femininity, Mambo M stumbled the misstep of possession as her body and spirit fell out of sync. The others caught her as the spirit mounted, and Ezili awoke with wide eyes and examined the audience. The others adorned her with a shiny pink cloth and sprayed her with perfume. Once settled in the body, Ezili Freda began by hugging the men in the room, embracing each and giving a kiss on the cheek. As the flirtatious virgin, she enjoys the attention of admirers. As she walked through the audience, greeting the men (and women with unisex hair and clothing), she went behind two girls seated next to each other. She rolled her back on theirs and soon went on her way, but it was clear the girls were very uncomfortable and confused. Later we learned that one of the girls was Haitian, but her family disapproved of Vodou, and the other girl was American Christian. Neither had ever seen a possession and may not have even realized what they were in for when they decided to attend the presentation.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;">After making her rounds, Ezili Freda returned to the front of the room where I was seated. She smiled at me and reached out both hands. I returned the gesture and she clasped my hands, guiding me out of my chair and holding hands we danced in a circle for a few moments. She then hugged me, pulled back, placed a hand on my chest and gave me a motherly look that seemed to say she understood and felt my pain. She then moved on to another individual and I returned to my seat. Soon after she left and the mambo returned to her own body, though she seemed disconnected and tired, almost as if she were hungover.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;">Next, I remember Zaka, the cousin mounting first one woman and then another. His stay was not as long as Ezili's, but he donned his hat and bag and through the second woman shook our hands.</span></span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;">The last of the spirits was guest of honor Ghede. As the spirits of the dead, Ghede is celebrated in November since All Saints Day represents the connection between the living and the dead. Ghede is a sexual, free spirit who represents death and fertility, the end that is not an end, and a celebration of all parts of human existence. As Ghede there are no inhibitions, and this is evident in the way he dances. He took over one of the female initiates and donned his top hat and cane, inviting women to dance with him. He called to one of the girls mentioned earlier but at first she was reluctant, having seen the sexual gyrations expected of someone dancing with Ghede. But encouraged by the members of the house, after a pause she joined Ghede, the staff placed between them as they danced. Then Ghede took her hand and spun her around, something he often does in order to call down other members of his Ghede family. Unfamiliar with any Vodou traditions, she was still almost overwhelmed by the experience, and losing control she stumbled as members of the house caught her and guided her to a chair. She remained seated for the rest of the ceremony, looking dazed and almost hungover. Later she asked what had happened and when Carol suggested she get a reading from the mambo she agreed.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;">However, Ghede was unfazed and continued inviting people to dance. He came over to me and guided me out into the floor where he placed his staff between both of our thighs and we danced. Then, he moved on to other members of the house celebrating his birthday party with more dancing, liquor, and cigarettes. Eventually the professor and the mambo closed the ceremony because, unlike the usual all nighters, Brown expected us to leave by a certain time. Ghede didn't want to leave at first, but the party was over once it became clear that there was to be a serious question and answer section.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px;">While I found much of the discussion interesting personally, I won't bore everyone with my academic notes. After it was over, we talked over some pizza and piled back into the car and headed back to Boston.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04743743536969892423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5219644507893840543.post-87546952231150000682012-09-26T10:22:00.000-07:002013-02-17T14:49:45.101-08:00Introduction<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">WELCOME TO THE INTRODUCTION FOR HAITI TODAY </span></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">PART OF THE HISTORY OF IDEAS ACADEMY</span></span></h2>
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</h3>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">In January of 2010 an earthquake hit Haiti that killed somewhere between 60,000-316,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. Overnight, news programs and internet sites blew up with stories about the island. They covered not only the immediate natural disaster but paraded every person that had ever looked sideways at Haiti to provide an opinion. Though Haiti is rarely front page news these days, it continues to pop up in news stories about the cholera epidemic, Hurricane Isaac, and the UN. Throughout, Haiti has been defined by terms such as diseased, evil, poverty stricken, lazy, and hopeless. Lots of people are involved in charities, NGOs, and mission trips to save Haiti. Reddit even organized some successful donations. Yet, few people really know much about actual Haiti. In a series of weekly posts and discussions I'd like to help change that.</span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b> </b>I plan to go through some of the major topics that I think are very misunderstood or just really interesting. The outline of my course is below, but I'm happy to adjust if anyone has specific requests. My first post will be Wednesday and the lesson will remain open for questions and discussion until next Wednesday when the subsequent lesson is posted.</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/09/hoi-pearl-of-antilles-haiti-today-16.html">History of Haiti</a></b> - It is really more interesting (and messed up) than you'd think </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/10/hoi-getting-to-know-spirits-haitian.html">Vodou/Voodoo</a></b> - Strong female leadership, it permits homosexuality, and no sin? No wonder Pat Robertson hates it. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/10/hoi-course-daily-life-in-haiti-haiti.html">The People</a> </b>- Being Haitian is more than just being poor and living in a tent city. Learn about daily lives, gender, jobs, and relationships. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/10/hoi-course-foreign-intervention-in.html">The Republic of NGOs</a> </b>- The international presence in Haiti or in other words what happened to that $10 you texted after the earthquake? </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2012/10/hoi-course-top-hats-skeletons-and.html">Top Hats, Skeletons, and Zombies</a></b> - What to Haitians actually believe about the spirits of the dead and zombies? </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="http://hoihaiti.blogspot.com/2013/02/hoi-course-looking-to-future-haiti.html">Haiti's Future</a></b> - Hope, tourism, and education. What might actually help?</span></li>
</ul>
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</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b> </b>This will be part of the new History of Ideas Academy courses. The idea is that scholars, experts, and academics can use this opportunity to teach about what they study in a format that is interesting and accessible to the average person. This week we'll start the first two courses: Haiti Today and Hindu Religion and Indian Mythology. I hope you'll follow both. This teaser is a chance to see what the course will offer, make comments, and request anything related to the topic that you're interested in. Once it begins you can follow the entire course or just check in on the week you find most interesting. You can check the right hand side of the HOI subreddit at any time to see what courses are going on.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b> </b>The format of my course will be a post each week on the relevant topic along with links to photos I've taken and suggestions for further reading. Then, just like a live lecture, the post will be open to questions and discussion on Reddit. But we'll stretch it over a few days so that both readers and I have time to respond. Please be sure to comment on the appropriate Reddit post so that we can hold the discussion within the <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryofIdeas/">History of Ideas subreddit</a>. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b> </b>And in case you're wondering, here are my credentials. I'm a PhD anthropology student working on Haitian Vodou (Voodoo) practitioners in Haiti and America. I already have a MA in anthropology and have spent the past four years working with Haitian Vodouisants and traveling to Haiti. Anthropology stresses a holistic approach meaning that to fully understand anything going on in a community you really need to look at history, economy, politics, religion, kinship, language, etc. in order to put it in context. Looking at just one aspect out of context can result in a flawed understanding of the situation and poor decisions if you're trying to fix it (as is evidenced by some of the UN, USAID, and NGO approaches in Haiti.) I believe that anthropological approaches can be truly beneficial for organizations that want to make a difference in Haiti. After all, you have to understand what is wrong before you can fix it. But more than that, Haiti is an interesting and beautiful place that is incredibly misrepresented in the popular media. Come learn about the first free black republic in the world, an island that was once the richest colony in the world, a complex and beautiful religion, and a fascinating culture.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04743743536969892423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5219644507893840543.post-59166276103472712332012-09-26T09:16:00.001-07:002013-02-17T14:31:32.255-08:00[HoI] Pearl of the Antilles (Haiti Today 1/6)<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">WELCOME TO THE First LESSON FOR HAITI TODAY, </span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">PART OF THE HISTORY OF IDEAS ACADEMY</span></h2>
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</span></h3>
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You can find
the outline for the course <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryofIdeas/comments/10dk1n/haiti_today_teaser_for_upcoming_course/">here</a>. Please post all comments, requests, and questions in the Reddit post rather than the blog. That way we can continue our discussion within the History of Ideas subreddit.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">History of
the Pearl of the Antilles </span></div>
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Alternate
title: How dafuq did Haiti get <i>here</i>?</div>
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The island of Hispaniola, as it
was originally called, was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492. The
island was inhabited by the Taino who called the island Haiti/Ayiti, which
meant Mountainous Land. Columbus was impressed with how good the locals had it
– only a few hours of work a day and the rest spent relaxing, playing, and visiting
with friends. Good old Christopher was a pretty awful human being, though, and he quickly
enslaved the Taino, took their resources, and brutally killed many of them.
Many of the survivors of his rule died from smallpox so that the Spanish soon
realized they would need another source for slaves. Conveniently for them
(though quite unconveniently for the slaves) Europeans had discovered slave sources
in Western Africa and they began shipping in enslaved peoples to work the land.</div>
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Spain initially claimed the
island, but France decided it wanted a piece of the pie and went for the old
squatters’ rights argument. In 1697, Spain gave in allowing France to
officially take over the Western half, which they called San Domingue. France
focused on sugar and it paid off big time. It exported more sugar than all of
the British colonies combined and more coffee and rum than all the colonies of
Spain. In short, San Domingue became the richest colony in the West Indies and
a huge cash cow for France. However, this profit came at a steep price. Unlike
many other colonies, San Domingue did not focus on reproducing the slave
population but rather on constantly replacing it since most slaves could not
survive the harsh conditions long enough to raise children. In fact, the
average life expectancy for a slave in San Domingue was 21 years. Despite these
difficult material conditions, social mobility was more flexible in many French
colonies for two reasons: the Code Noir (France’s legal code for slavery) provided
a way for slaves to make their own money and purchase freedom and the
popularity of <i>plaçage</i> in which male French colonialists kept mulatto women as
mistresses. The children of these arrangements were usually granted freedom,
and eventually the free people of color became an important merchant middle
class in Haiti during colonialism called the <i>affranchis</i>. <br />
<br />
At the time of the
revolution, 90% of San Domingue’s population were enslaved and 2/3 of these
slaves had been born in Africa. This is why the Haitian revolution is often
called an African revolution and a good reason why so many African traditions
and cultural aspects were retained. But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, it
is important to note that about 40% of those slaves came from the Kongo. Why
does that matter? Well there was a big civil war going on in the Kongo at that
time over who would be the next Christian King or Queen of the nation. Both
sides captured one another’s soldiers and sold them to slave traders in
exchange for resources. (Side note: most slaves were not sold for weapons, but
this is one case where the old stereotype holds true.) Some scholars such as
Linda Heywood and John Thornton have suggested that this meant many of the
Kongolese slaves in Haiti were trained soldiers. So not only did you have an
island where 500,000 people (90% of the population) were enslaved in a very
brutal form of slavery but up to 200,000 of those might have been trained and very
angry soldiers. Second, it is important to look at the demographics of the
rest of the population. There were about 31,000 whites, some of whom were
successful plantation owners (<i>gran blans</i>) and some of whom were just
merchants (<i>petit blans</i>.) There were also about 28,000 <i>affranchis</i>, some of
whom were in direct competition to the <i>gran blans</i> as plantation owners
themselves. Therefore, the <i>affranchis</i> were not necessarily on the side of the
slaves but rather you had an island with three populations all pitted against
one another. <a href="http://imgur.com/CqjBF.gif">It was a ticking time bomb.</a> And in
1791, it exploded.<br />
<br />
August 14, 1791, elite
slaves from plantations in the northern plain gathered on the Lenormand de Mezy
plantation at a place called <a href="http://imgur.com/iPeMk.gif">Bois Caiman</a> to plot
a revolt. They held a Vodou ceremony where they sacrificed a black pig and a
slave named Boukman prayed for success. Folklore holds that Boukman’s prayer
went, <i>“<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">The god who created the earth; who created the sun
that gives us light. The god who holds up the ocean; who makes the thunder
roar. Our God who has ears to hear. You who are hidden in the clouds; who watch
us from where you are. You see all that the white has made us suffer. The white
man's god asks him to commit crimes. But the god within us wants to do good.
Our god, who is so good, so just, He orders us to revenge our wrongs. It's He
who will direct our arms and bring us the victory. It's He who will assist us.
We all should throw away the image of the white men's god who is so pitiless.
Listen to the voice for liberty that speaks in all our hearts.</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><i>"</i> While
this prayer is very likely not what he actually said, it does reflect the anger
and search for justice that many slaves must have felt being ripped from their
homes, enslaved in horrible conditions, and being forcibly baptized into
Catholicism. <br />
<br />
The rebellion in the North
soon spread like wildfire and was incredibly violent, but it was not initially well
organized. This was in part because some original leaders such as <a href="http://i.imgur.com/bRaXK.gif">Toussaint Louverture</a> originally wanted to work with France rather
than fight. Louverture was born a slave but gained his freedom at age 33 and
became a well educated <i>affranchis</i>. He joined the revolution early on rising
up from being a doctor to a military commander in a short amount of time. Once
the island was fairly secure, he reached out to Napoleon to try and broker a
deal. The goal was not to become free from France – just to gain freedom for
slaves and become equal citizens. He shocked the French by writing incredibly
eloquent letters that justified the revolution using the same philosophies that
justified the French Revolution (hence the nickname for him and the other
revolutionary leaders as the Black Jacobins.) Unfortunately for him, Napoleon
was not the least interested in losing the workforce for his prized colony that
was going to pay for his empire’s expansion. So in 1802, sneaky Napoleon sent
his brother LeClerc to the island where he lured Louverture in with a dinner
invitation, kidnapped him, and then forced him into exile where he died.
Unfortunately for Napoleon, however, due to a combination of yellow fever and
military losses he was never able to regain control of the island despite the thousands
of troops he threw at Haiti. Without his cash cow and with other military
engagements looming, Napoleon made the decision to sell the Louisiana Purchase
at a famously good price. In 1804, the military leaders of the Haitian
revolution declared the island free and independent. Thus, Haiti became the <a href="http://i.imgur.com/qmg2D.jpg">first free black republic in the world</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> However, becoming a free black
nation through a slave uprising in a time when African slaves were awfully
popular in the Western world doesn’t happen without consequences. It scared American and European countries, who refused to acknowledge the new
nation and maintained an embargo until 1863. France also demanded that Haiti
pay restitution of 150 million gold francs to the plantation owners who lost
their land, slaves, and sugar cane or else they would invade again. Allowing
for inflation and the insane interests rates France charged, this came to $22
billion, which was a crippling amount to the new nation. <i>But they paid
it back</i>. Oh it wasn’t easy. By 1900, 80% of their GDP went towards payments.
And to do this they often had to take out loans from other countries. Yet, by
1947, they had paid it all off. But, by then they were also the poorest nation
in the western hemisphere. <br />
<br /> Now this is not the sole reason Haiti is poor. But it is a very important
factor. And I think it is a bit mindblowing that while in America people
discuss the US government paying reparations to descendents of slaves <i>in Haiti</i> descendents of slaves had to pay France reparations for their own freedom. 200
years after the revolution, Haitian president Aristide demanded that France’s
president Chirac return the money. Not too surprisingly, these requests were denied.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> After the
revolution, racial and political tensions were still problematic. <a href="http://i.imgur.com/nIHRj.jpg?1">Henry Christophe</a> declared himself King of Haiti and
took over the North, while another military leader Alexandre Petion took over
Southern regions. (Also, little known fact, but Petion provided refuge and help
to Simon Bolivar. And, in 1820, Haitians assisted Greece in their struggle for
independence against Turkey. This continued a tradition begun in 1799, when 750 Haitians fought in the American revolution.) Christophe instituted a brutal feudal system
while Petion maintained a republic, which is why when Petion died no one in the
South wanted Christophe to take over. Instead they elected Jean-Pierre Boyer.
When Christophe became ill he committed suicide and Boyer took over not only
the North but the entire island, liberating Santo Domingo from Spain. But the payments Boyer agreed to make to
France for their freedom were disastrous for the economy and he had to flee to
Jamaica when the people revolted. By the 1860s, Spain regained the DR and Haiti
began its history of electing and appointing presidents that rarely lasted long
and were often corrupt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> For example, in 1915,
President Sam made the unpopular decision to execute 167 political prisoners.
The angry populace overtook the French embassy where he’d fled, killed him, and
then tore his body to pieces in the streets. The US decided to use this as an
excuse to occupy Haiti and President Woodrow Wilson sent 3,000 marines to
control the island. They spent 19 years controlling every aspect of the
government, not even allowing the Haitian flag to fly at the capital, which was
why guerilla forces outside the cities attempted to regain control. They were
never successful and thousands of Haitians died in these skirmishes. The Catholic Church also used this opportunity
for an Anti-Superstition Campaign aimed at wiping out all Vodou practices.
People were forced to burn their religious icons and altars. They renewed these
campaigns a few more times after the US left. However, the US did build a lot
of infrastructure and brought stability to the island. Today the Haitian people remember the US
occupation with a mix of feelings. Some see it as just another way that Haiti
has been colonized, used, and disposed of by the West. Others wish the US would
return and make Haiti into a territory like the Philippines and Puerto Rico. After
all, the <a href="http://imgur.com/MPmd7">US has continued to play a heavy hand</a> i</span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">n Haitian
politics ever since. <br />
<br /> In 1934, the US officially left Haiti and they were able for the first time in
19 years to fly their flag and elect their own leaders. However, on the other
side of the island Rafael Trujillo Molina had just recently taken control of
the Dominican Republic. He institutionalized <i>antihatianismo </i>(anti-Haitian
sentiments i.e. racism) and made it part of the school curriculum. Ever since
colonization, the border between the two nations had been porous with families
straddling the lines and people freely moving between both countries for work.
In October of 1937, Trujillo ordered the ethnic cleansing</span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> of every
Haitian living in the Dominican Republic. The borders were sealed and for five
days ethnic Haitians within the Dominican borders were actively hunted down and
murdered with machetes, guns, and clubs. Haitians sometimes call it the Parsley
Massacre because soldiers would hold up a sprig of parsley and ask people what
it was. The Spanish word for parsley is <i>perejil</i>, but most Haitians cannot
trill the “r” in the word. If someone could not pronounce it correctly, they
were killed. At the end of five days 38,000 ethnic Haitians were murdered, some
of whom had been born in the Dominican Republic. President Roosevelt and the
current Haitian president eventually convinced the Dominican government to pay
reparations of $30 a victim, though most of that never made it to the families.
Trujillo remained in power. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /> In 1957, a medical doctor named Francois Duvalier was elected on a populist and
black nationalist platform. It is important to note that in Haiti there is a
social divide between the mulattos and blacks, the two local racial types.
Mulattos claim heritage from the French colonials and typically are better
educated, well off financially, and use French to differentiate themselves from
the masses. They are the social and political elite. Blacks make up the
majority of Haitians both in the cities and countryside. They tend to be less
well educated, poorer, and speak Haitian Kreyol. It would be easy to assign our
own racial understandings to these classifications, but in reality it is more
complicated than that. They have more to do with class than genetics. A local
proverb goes, “Neg rich se mulat, mulat pov se noua" meaning a rich black
man is a mulatto and a poor mulatto is black. I’ll talk more about this in
another post, but for now it is sufficient to understand that there is a <a href="http://i.imgur.com/mRvWK.jpg">fair amount of resentment</a> from the lower class
against the elite upper class. Duvalier was highly educated, but came from the
black class and therefore it was a big deal for the people when he was elected
in a landslide. Unfortunately, Papa Doc (as his patients had fondly called him)
turned out to be an evil dictator. <br />
<br /> Now I’m an anthropologist and I don’t use the world evil often. But if Papa Doc
wasn’t evil when he was elected he sure became it. In 1958, he turned
the military into his own personal army to ensure he retained power and
appointed all new chiefs of staff that were loyal to him. He kicked out all
foreign born bishops (which initially got him excommunicated) thereby removing
any influence from the Church. In 1959, he created the <i>Tonton Macoute</i> a rural
militia named after a boogeyman from stories used to scare children into
behaving. People joined for a chance to have power for the first time in their
lives. This led to the <i>Tonton Macoutes</i> not only carrying out the violent
political whims of Papa Doc but also establishing their own little dictatorships
in the countryside. Opponents were burned alive, stoned, forced to rape their
own mothers, and their corpses displayed as a warning to others. Papa Doc had
also studied Vodou as an outsider when he was younger, and he used this
knowledge to convince the people that he had a dangerous spiritual power (in
local terms he practiced with the left hand meaning he was a sorcerer.) In
1963, he rigged his illegal re-election and in 1964 made himself President for
Life. It is estimated that around 60,000 Haitians were killed during his reign
for crossing his path.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> Papa Doc died
in 1971, but he passed on his dictatorship to his son Jean-Claude Duvalier AKA
Baby Doc who was only 19 at the time. He preferred being a playboy to being a
politician, though he did ease some superficial aspects of his father’s regime.
He turned over most of the decisions to his father’s advisors and instead
focused on his $3 million USD wedding to a mulatto woman. Neither the price tag
nor the choice of wife was seen favorably by the people. Things continued to go
downhill for Baby Doc from there. In 1978, the US government decided that to
prevent the swine flu from affecting American pigs they had to kill all of
Haiti’s black creole pig population. Peasants in Haiti used the pigs as walking
savings accounts – a pig could pay for a child’s education, a new house, or any
number of other life events. Overnight their investments disappeared and the
breed, which was well suited to the island, is gone for good. In the early 80s,
AIDs became a huge problem in Haiti, especially since most people had no access
to doctors. I'll talk more about AIDs later, but it was devastating to the island. Finally, the people had had enough and began large scale revolts.
In 1986, Baby Doc fled to France where he lived in exile. For a while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> Elections in
1987 were fraught with violence, but in 1991 a former priest named
Jean-Bertrand Aristide was democratically elected. He had been a strong social
advocate for the people and a liberation theologian and therefore an enemy of
the Duvaliers and the Catholic Church. Before his term even began, a former <i>Tonton
Macoute</i> attempted to claim the presidency. Within a few months Aristide was
run out of Haiti by a coup d’état. The coup regime stayed in power in part due
to violent repercussions against Aristide supporters and in part due to their
lucrative relationship with the Cali Cartel. In 1994, with the help of the US, the coup regime backed down and Aristide returned but he was only allowed to
finish out the remainder of his term. He was re-elected in 2001, and instituted
a number of reforms that helped the poorer class to the anger of the elite and
the US textile companies who opposed raising the minimum wage. However, some
argue he often did this through less than democratic means. In 2004, Aristide
claimed that the US showed up in the middle of the night to force him to resign
and whisk him away to exile. He and many of his political allies found a safe
haven in South Africa and he remained there in exile. For a while. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> In January of
2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti killing somewhere between 60,000 and
300,000. Why the disparity? Well, mostly because the hardest hit areas were
slums and shanty towns in Port-au-Prince. These buildings never had a chance of
surviving the earthquake, and many were built right on top of another.
Afterwards, it was difficult for agencies to figure out how many people had
lived in the destroyed areas just by looking at the structures and most people
were not registered in any way. The streets overflowed with bodies to the point
that mass graves were dug and the dead unceremoniously dumped. Not that there
were many other options, but it violates religious beliefs and prevented many
people from knowing for sure what happened to their loved ones. Plus, no one
kept count of the bodies buried. The Haitian government claimed the dead
numbered more than 300,000, but the USAID later conducted polls of surviving
neighbors and determined the number should be somewhere around 60,000. The same
2011 report also used polling of neighbors to determine the displaced number
was around 895,000 rather than 1.5 million and those living in temporary camps
375,000 rather than 670,000. There were accusations that the Haitian government
exploited international aid using inflated numbers. The Haitian government
claims that their numbers are correct, and that since aid from the US is based
on such numbers there is a conspiracy about a conspiracy to avoid giving more
aid. In the end we’ll probably never know about the true number of dead, but
regardless of the final tally it was absolutely <a href="http://i.imgur.com/rIwHU.jpg">devastating to the nation</a></span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> Then, in a
bizarre turn of events, in 2011 Aristide and Baby Doc both decided to return to
Haiti. Baby Doc was arrested, but so far has not been tried for any of his
crimes. Everyone was nervous that they would try to interfere with the
presidential election, but nothing happened. Today both former presidents are
residing in Haiti and the world is waiting to see what they are up to. Until
then, we’ll just have to watch and wait. Meanwhile, Haiti faces a serious
cholera epidemic, the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac, a lack of housing, heavy
handed influence from other countries and NGOs, and (as always) corrupt
politicians. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br />
I will leave details about the aftermath and reconstruction for another post. But
to understand the contemporary situation in Haiti, I believe it is important to
understand the country’s history. Though my sketch is simple and obviously
leaves out some things, I hope it sets the stage. If there is anything missing
that you would like to know more about just ask. Next week I’ll talk about the
Vodou religion and how it is lived by the people. But for now I’d like to open
this up to questions, requests for clarifications, and discussions which I welcome you to post <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryofIdeas/comments/10ihjp/hoi_course_pearl_of_the_antilles_haiti_today_16/">here</a>. Also, below
you’ll find a list of books for further reading if you’re interested in doing
your own scholarly work. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Further Reading and Sources</span></h3>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Trouillot,
Michel-Rolph. (1995) Silencing the Past: Power in the Making of History. Boston:
Beacon Press.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Fatton, Robert
Jr. (2002) Haiti’s Predatory Republic: The Unending Transition to Democracy.
Lynne Rienner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Dupuy, Alex. (2007)
The Prophet and Power: Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the International community, and
Haiti. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Dupuy, Alex. (1989)
Haiti in the World Economy. Westview Press.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Wilson, Samuel
Meredith (1990) Hispaniola: Caribbean chiefdoms in the age of Columbus. Tuscaloosa:
University of Alabama <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Hallward, Peter
(2007) Damming the Flood: Haiti and the Politics of Containment. London:Verso<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title=Main_Page">http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title=Main_Page</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/documents/FRIDE_Haiti_PearlToDesolation.pdf">http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/documents/FRIDE_Haiti_PearlToDesolation.pdf</a><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">All
photographs are my own taken during trips to Haiti and the writing is my own. If you would like to reproduce this post whole or in part please contact me first. Thanks!</span></i></div>
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