HAITI UNDER DEVASTATION: HOPE FOR THE HOPELESS

A UNO soldier in Haiti

Tina wants to talk about her experience visiting the Caribbean Islands, especially, Haiti, a beautiful island full of kind and nice people who are suffering a drama after a drama without stopping. Hurricanes, floods, earthquakes are moulded the idiosincrasy and the character of Haitian people, the inhabitants of a country, which is the poorest in the American continent.

Tina thinks that this is the real drama of the island: the poverty. If the International Community doesn't help Haitian population with honest and true intentions, Haiti will always be a poor country without resources which can not fight against the natural disasters with a minumum of guarantees.

Haiti is a sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere, North America. The country is located on the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Haiti is 27,750 square kilometres in size and has an estimated 10.6 million people, making it the most populous country in the Caribbean Community.

More information: United Nations News Centre

The name Haïti or Hayti comes from the indigenous Taíno language which was the native name given to the entire island of Hispaniola to mean, land of high mountains.

The region was originally inhabited by the indigenous Taíno people. Spain first discovered the island on 5 December 1492 during the first voyage of Christopher Columbus across the Atlantic. When Columbus initially landed in Haiti, he had thought he had found India or Asia. On Christmas Day 1492, Columbus' flagship the Santa Maria, ran aground north of what is now Limonade. As a consequence, Columbus ordered his men to salvage what they could from the ship, and he created the first European settlement in the Americas, naming it La Navidad after the day the ship was destroyed.

A Cuban doctor helping Haitian people

In the midst of the French Revolution (1789–1799), slaves and free people of colour revolted in the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804), culminating in the abolition of slavery and the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte's army at the Battle of Vertières. Afterward the sovereign nation of Haiti was established on 1 January 1804, the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean, the second republic in the Americas.

The gene pool of Haiti is about 95.5% Sub-Saharan African, 4.3% European, with the rest showing some traces of East Asian genes; according to a 2010 autosomal genealogical DNA testing.

Vodou, a religion with African roots similar to those of Cuba and Brazil, originated during colonial times in which slaves were obliged to disguise their loa or spirits as Roman Catholic saints, an element of a process called syncretism and is still practiced by some Haitians today. Since the religious syncretism between Catholicism and Vodou, it is difficult to estimate the number of Vodouists in Haiti.

Download MINUSTAH Map Actions in Haiti (UNO)

The two official languages of Haiti are French and Haitian Creole. French is the principal written and administratively authorized language, as well as the main language of the press, and is spoken by 42% of Haitians. It is spoken by all educated Haitians, is the medium of instruction in most schools, and is used in the business sector. It is also used in ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations and church masses.

Haiti is one of two independent nations in the Americas, along with Canada, to designate French as an official language; the other French-speaking areas are all overseas départements, or collectivités, of France. Haitian Creole, which has recently undergone a standardization, is spoken by virtually the entire population of Haiti. Haitian Creole is one of the French-based creole languages. Its vocabulary is 90% derived from French, but its grammar and influences are from some West African, Taino, Spanish, and Portuguese languages. Haitian Creole is related to the other French creoles, but most closely to Antillean Creole and Louisiana Creole variants.

More information: Primature République d'Haïti

We want to remember the figure of Isabel Solà, a Catalan nun who was living and working in Haiti until she was killed by robbers in Port-au-Prince.

Isabel Solà in Haiti

Isabel said: You think how is possible I'm still living in Haiti in the middle of poverty and misery, suffering earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and cholera. The only thing I could say is that Haiti is now the onlt place where I can be and heal my heart. Haiti is my home, my family, my work, my pain, my happiness, and my meeting with God.

Last night, a new hurricane, Matthew, destroyed Haiti again and left hundreds of deaths. We hope a strong and real action of the International Community to help Haitian people who are alone again.

The first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity 

with other human beings.

Albert Schweitzer