African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
7 p., A US nongovernmental organization has filed a lawsuit against the United Nations (UN), seeking compensation on behalf of victims of a cholera outbreak in Haiti, as well as funding to support programs to eradicate the disease and improve sanitation. Haitians deserve great sympathy for their plight, but a successful lawsuit could invite similar lawsuits, regardless of merit, thereby making the US and other UN member states vulnerable to significant financial costs, while leaving those actually responsible largely or entirely unpunished.
The problems associated with disaster relief assistance following the Haitian earthquake are described. International aid groups have been ineffective in reaching victims of the earthquake, as the poor administration of relief money has inadequately helped feed the population.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
20 p., Haiti has concluded its latest election cycle, although it is still finalizing the results of a few legislative seats. The US provided 16 million dollars in election support through the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Like many of the previous Haitian elections, the recent process has been riddled with political tensions, violence, allegations of irregularities, and low voter turnout. Other issues include the destabilizing presence of former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier and former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and the newly elected government's ability to handle the complex post-earthquake reconstruction process and its relationship with the donor community.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
160 p., Chronicles the history of slavery in Haiti through a recitation of the brutality of the colonisers and the often mundane and trivial ways in which they attempted to dehumanize Haitians. It seeks to illustrate how Haitians' 300-year journey to freedom was illuminated by the African philosophy of Ubuntu, a world view that embodies human solidarity, respect, dignity, justice, liberty, and love. In this philosophy, Africans found an unmatched strength to resist slavery.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
23 p., Argues that now is the moment to lift Haiti from under the dust and rubble and transform it into a less vulnerable and more equitable nation. The opportunity must not be lost.
At [Henry Christophe]'s death, Haiti was taken over by General Boyer and civil war ceased. It was Boyer who obtained Haiti's official independence from France for 150 million francs. Unfortunately, Haiti's employment is less than 30 percent and its illiteracy rate is above 50 percent. Though its official language is French, Haiti's most widely spoken language is kreyol. Ninety percent of Haitians are Catholic although 99 percent worship their native religion of voodoo. Despite its tropical resort geography, living conditions in Haiti are comparative to those of many Third World nations. The Haitian economy is almost entirely dependent upon U.S. companies who horde the country's resources and only pay slave wages.
Discusses the social conditions in Haiti in 1965. Prevalence of violence in the country; Disasters suffered by Haitians; Human rights violations committed by the government.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
10 p., In this submission, prepared for the Universal Periodic Review of Haiti in October 2011, Amnesty International raises concerns that key institutions for implementing reform of the judicial system have still not been established. The state has failed to provide security forces with adequate training and supervision in relation to the use of force. Haitian law does not provide a protective framework for children's rights. Hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless by the earthquake; and at the end of 2010, nearly a million people were still living in appalling conditions in camps.
Child trafficking, under the guise of intercountry adoption, is a form of human trafficking that is often misunderstood by policy makers, governments, the media, and nongovernmental organizations. Uses the 2010 abduction attempt of Haitian children by American missionaries as a case to demonstrate how existing policies are insufficient to provide protection to victims and to prosecute perpetrators of this form of child trafficking.
