Haiti
The climate of Haiti depends upon the season, terrains and the locations. The rainfall occurs during the months of April and July. The low-land areas have a tropical climate. The overall climate of Haiti is moderate.
Haiti is two-thirds mountainous, with the rest of the country marked by great valleys, extensive plateaus, and small plains .Haiti achieved independence from France in 1804. It is the poorest and the most illiterate nation in the western hemisphere. The head of the government is the Prime Minister and head of the state is the President. Current Prime Minister and President of Haiti are Jean-Max Bellerive and Rene Preval respectively.
History
Haiti is a country whose population was created by the enslavement of thousands of Africans by Spain and France in the 17th and the 18th century. Nobody actually migrated to Haiti and therefore the descendants of these slaves are the people of Haiti today. Haiti is the only country in the world which have experienced dozens of dictators and leader suddenly illegally or by force. Many native groups lived in Hispaniola before Christopher Columbus discovered it. He claimed the island of Hispaniola for Spain. Spain and France divided Hispaniola in the 1700 and the western 13 part of it became Haiti ruled by the French. Hispaniola was an island of fertile plains and splendiferous rain forests which required thousands of slaves to work for the farming industries, particularly sugar-cane. In 1697, Haiti became the French colony of Saint Dominique, which became a leading sugar-cane producer dependent on the slaves. In 1804 history took a strange change as slaves revolted and created the first black-republic. United States of America, the dominant neighbor of Haiti still excuses slavery. Haitians freedom is still not recognized and they are isolated as they were before. Foreign commercial interests are controlling the Haitis economy for the past hundred years, which has resulted in very small upper class and vast socio-economic class. United States occupied Haiti in 1915 in order to have a commercial control.
(Duke University Press, 2004)
Culture, Life-style and Religion
Culture, Life-style and Religion are the important elements of a developed and an independent state. It reflects ones identity in the outside world. Traditions and culture of any country is of great value and it is one of the component by which one can differentiate between his identities with the others.
During the period in which the Haiti was in isolation, the social class developed distinct traditions in cuisine, music, dance, rituals, dress, dance, religion etc. Few elements were similar to those of the Africans. The culture of Haiti has a variety of Haitian traditions, from native customs during the French colonization ad Spanish imperialism. Te national dance is Meringue. Two languages are spoken in Haiti, Creole and French. The official state religion is Catholicism. Haiti is famous for its popular religion known as Voodoo, which is an African religion which was brought by African slaves and later it synchronized with Catholicism. Voodoo is famous for black magic and its specialist actually earn their income from curing the sick rather than from attacking their victims.
Misconceptions about Voodoo have given Haiti a reputation for sorcery and zombies. Most Protestants strongly oppose Voodoo. The followers of Voodoo belief in family spirits called Lwa , who are inherited through maternal and paternal lines. It is their belief that these Lwa protect their children from all the misfortunes. The families also have to feed Lwa with food, drink and other gifts. Haitians famous Holy place is a waterfall at Saut dEau, they believe it to be a sacred place as waterfalls are considered as the home of spirits. (Dash, J. Michael, 2001).
In rural and urban areas men have an exclusive control over the market. Only they work as jewelers, mechanics, labors etc. Usually women do all the domestic activities but, they have now made path in the field of medicine and are getting more aware in order to get educated. In rural areas men and women perform complementary roles. Men focus on farming and other difficult task and women do harvesting and weeding. The husband and wife both share their income. The income earned by women not from agriculture but from some other tasks is not shared with their husbands. It is considered as their own. There is a large difference between the elites and the masses and the lower class of Haiti. Social status is marked with French words, western dresses and etc. It has been noted that the elites are mostly have light skinned or white complexion this may be because of the intermarrying of elites with white merchants from different countries. Haiti was the first black republic in modern times directed from the French colonization. This has a profound impact on the world. The system of enslaver has established coercion in controlling the others and there is problem of racial discrimination in the colonial system which survived under the black republic. Therefore, mostly the elites with white complexion are considered to have a major part in the countrys economy and politics.
Haiti has a lot of artistes, predominantly painters, metal and fire workers and etc. Their artistic work is considered as very simple and nave and many painters and artistes of the world praise it.
Import and Exports
Imports and exports are the most important activities of all the major and independent countries. No country can sustain without it. This is because not all the states of the world are well- sufficient in all the natural resources. There is a need of trade between countries in order to establish good relations with the other nations. No country can survive in isolation and trade is one of the best way through which many countries can have major impact on each other.
The major export items of Haiti are coffee, sisal and manufacturing items. Its export partners are particularly United States of America, Canada and the Dominican Republic. The major import items include food, fuel, energy items and capital goods, and its importing partners are United States of America, Japan and the Dominican Republic.
Food
Food is important to survive and to face the worldly challenges as it makes one strong and healthy so one can take better measures in his life.
Nutritional drawbacks in Haiti are not caused by the insufficient knowledge but it is due to the poverty. People do take care of their diet and try to keep themselves healthy and strong by eating nutritious food. The peasants sell their family harvest and use that money to buy household food. Haitians eat two meals a day the breakfast in which they prefer juice, bread and coffee and then the lunch which should have rice. Haitian food is a mixture of Caribbean cuisine. Haitian cuisine is based on Creole and French cooking style. Haitians have maintained an independent and unique flavor and the pinch of strong pepper and other spices set their food apart. Rice and beans are the two most important national dishes which are eaten by most of the people in their daily routine. Traditional staples include sugar-cane, corn, millet, peas, cow, pigeons, bread and etc. Citrus fruits like pineapples, oranges, mangoes, and grapefruit are also eaten regularly.
Dress
The citizens of the nation are also recognized by the dress they wear.In their costumes, Haitians are influenced by American cuts. There is no specific or traditional dress of Haiti. Mostly people wear casual clothes like jeans, t-shirts and etc. Girls mostly do not wear short-skirts. The people usually buy second hand clothes which they buy from the streets and these clothes actually come from America. In general Haitians are very well-dressed people.
Holiday Celebrations and their differences as compared to U.S.A
National holidays are celebrated by all the states of the world. These are of special importance. The common national holidays of Haiti and U.S.A are New-year, Christmas, and Independence Day. Both the countries celebrate Christmas and New- year in almost the same way. New-year is considered as the biggest day of celebration for both the nations as the world steps into the new beginning and into the new hope of surviving. At the eve of the new-year and Christmas the natives of both the countries decorate their homes with flowers and lights. Other than this other major holiday of Haiti includes Discovery day (the day when Christopher Columbus discovered Haiti.), Heros Day (on this day the people pay homage to their ancestors), National Sovereignty day (this day is dedicated to the head of the state and to the culture of Haiti), and etc.
All the countries of the world are somewhat interconnected and do have an impact over each other either economically, socially or politically.
Impact of Haiti on America
Throughout its history Haiti has always lacked good relations with the foreign countries. It achieved some prominent name in the world after its remarkable revolution but the government of some slaveholding countries completely ignored Haiti during the first half of the nineteenth- century. In the United States a big debate held in order to recognize Haitians and to abolish slavery. The momentous arrival of the Civil War forced the American government to recognize Haitians. Haiti has managed to maintain a strong and a positive relationship with U.S.A. Both the countries have had critical economic ties. Haitis trade partner in exports as well as in imports is the United States. American government is responsible for almost all the foreign assistance for Haiti and the primary target of Haitians emigration.
Haitians have a profound impact on America as a whole. Haitians have been living in America since its independence. Number of immigrants came to America, which resulted in political and economical misery. Haitians have been on the top line mainly due to their illegal migration to America.
Impact of America on Haiti
America has a major influence on Haiti from religion to the customs, on culture and civilization, economical and political etc. America is the major trading partner of Haiti and the economical conditions are getting better and better with the help of America. The economical and political influence of the United States in Haiti is more powerful than the influence of any other country of the entire world.
On January 12th 2010, Haitis Capital Port-au-Prince faced a catastrophic earthquake. The earthquake measured 7.3 on the Richter scale which lasted for 35 seconds and it devastated the Capital along with some other areas of the West province. An estimated 3 million people have been affected by the quake. Millions of people were injured and a huge number of men, women, and children are left homeless. Death toll is still increasing. Weeks of improbable rescues, tearful reunions and astonishing display of resilience have been followed by the people of Haiti. Thousands of Haitians Red Cross volunteers and hundreds of other Red Staff members of the other countries immediately came forward to rescue the suffered ones.
Almost all the countries including America provided Haiti with financial and physical aid. The world rallied to raise money funds and several other relief measures are being taken. America has been helping the Haitians from the moment this destruction occurred. It has also planned to change its immigration policy in order to let Haitians to enter in U.S and survive. America is providing both civilian and military disaster relief and humanitarian assistance. (John D. Garrigus, 2006)
Conclusion
In all we can say that Haiti is a nation which is poor but highly urbanized. The people are getting aware and are struggling for the betterment of the economy. They are doing well in their trade and have good relations with the world. It is seen that Haiti is not politically strong due to the sudden changes which have been made in the government ranking but still they are moving towards the growth and betterment. The world must expect Haitis political and economical instability and violence in such an island until the gross economic imbalances are addressed and basic education is provided. The United States should take appropriate initiatives to scrutinize those who are entering and exiting the troubled island.
Haiti still cannot count itself among the democratic nations on the earth, despite the sincere hope and desire of its people. The world should come forward and help Haiti to become a democratic nation
Categories:
0 comments:
Post a Comment