Thomson Reuters Foundation. Haïti troubles

Publié par siel sur 5 Février 2014, 15:28pm

AT A GLANCE

Haiti was the world's first black republic and the first Caribbean state to achieve independence, but decades of violence, dictatorship, coups, debt and national disasters have left it the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere.

The country is still recovering from a massive earthquake which hit in January 2010, killing more than 200,000 people, destroying much of the capital and making 2.3 million homeless. The 7.0 magnitude tremor was the country's worst in 200 years. For more, see our Haiti earthquake briefing.

A major cholera epidemic broke out in October 2010 and quickly spread across the country. It was Haiti's first in decades and, by January 2011, it had killed 3,600 people. By January 2014, nearly 8,500 people had died and 690,000 people had been infected.

More than 60 percent of Haiti's 10 million people scrape by on less than $1.25 a day. Parts of the country are at the mercy of well-armed gangs.

A U.N. peacekeeping force was sent to Haiti in 2004 after an armed uprising against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who fled into exile but returned in 2011.

IN DETAIL

In January 2010, a powerful earthquake destroyed much of the capital and surrounding towns, killing more than 200,000 people and making 2.3 million people homeless.

The government faces the daunting challenge of rebuilding the capital and uniting the anarchic country where the rich and poor are bitterly divided, and unemployment rates hover at 40 percent.

At the root of Haiti's social problems is the huge wealth gap between the predominantly Creole-speaking blacks who make up about 95 percent of the 10 million-strong population and the French-speaking mulattos who own the bulk of the country's wealth.

Chronic political instability and violence have plagued Haiti for decades.

Several towns and cities, including parts of the capital Port-au-Prince, are at the mercy of armed gangs, some of them with links to political parties. Murder and rape are commonplace.

Groups of former soldiers are funded by wealthy elites and operate in rural areas. They helped oust President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004.

Haiti’s criminal networks are often linked to powerful families.

A U.N. peacekeeping force has been in Haiti since 2004 to try to contain political and gang violence. But there has been public unease over the U.N. role in Haiti. Anger rose over allegations of rape, on top of allegations that poor sanitary conditions at a camp of U.N. troops from Nepal was responsible for introducing a cholera epidemic to the country.

The outbreak was Haiti's first in decades and quickly spread across the country. It began in October 2010 and, by January 2011, it had killed 3,600 people. By January 2014, nearly 8,500 people had died and 690,000 people had been infected.

The country has one of the highest rates of HIV infection outside sub-Saharan Africa.

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C'est assez surprenant leurs propos sur ce qu'ils appellent "l'éviction " d'Aristide

et les relations, d'après eux, étroites entre la bourgeoise et les bandits.

"Groups of former soldiers are funded by wealthy elites and operate in rural areas. They helped oust President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004.

Haiti’s criminal networks are often linked to powerful families."

Des groupes d'anciens soldats sont financés par les élites riches et opèrent dans les zones rurales. Ils ont aidé à mettre Aristide dehors du pays en 2004.

Les réseaux criminels d'Haïti sont souvent liés à des familles puissantes.

Des affirmations qui ne se disent pas dans les média dominants, lesquels, généralement, blablatent sur la malédiction d'Haïti, démonisent la population haïtienne en l'accusant de tous les maux d'Egypte, faisant d'une population sur-exploitée, négligée et violentée la seule responsable de ses propres conditions de vie misérables.

Et, avalisant la théorie raciste que les agresseurs, les sans foi ni loi, sont les seuls qualifiés pour gérer le pays. Les agressés étant assimilés à des adeptes de la servitude volontaire réclamant- descendants d'esclaves oblige- le fouet pour être menés.

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