Haiti

Haiti once was a paradise. Nowadays, it has become the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. More than 60% of the population lives on less than 1.25 US$ per day, while the members of the privileged upper class take advantage of the situation. Whoever can afford to leaves the country.

Haitis decline started with its colonization. In the 16th century, the conquerors from Spain and France all but exterminated the original Taino population. They brought Africans onto the island as a workforce.

Haiti then became France’s richest colony. Sugar cane, fruit, coffee and wood were exported massively. In 1804, Haiti was also the first country to gain its freedom. But since its independence, it has been caught in a spiral of power struggles, violence, poverty and corruption.

The island has always been struck by frequent natural disasters. Overexploitation caused the rain forest to disappear almost completely. Nowadays, an estimated two percent of the Haitian territory remain covered by forests. Heavy rains sweep the island’s fertile soil into the sea. This is one of the reasons for which most of the food has to be imported.

According to the statistics, Haiti currently has more than 10 million inhabitants. Over 40% are less then 18 years old. In their budget, most Haitian families see school fees as an absolute priority. And according to the Haitian constitution of 1987, access to education is a basic right for every child. President Michel Martelly, who is in office since 2011, triggered a Ministry for Education program for school enrolment*. Nonetheless, children’s and youths’ situations remain precarious in many parts of the country and the State often struggles to perform its duty. Only twelve percent of the schools are state-financed; they cater for approximately one fifth of the school-aged children. Few parents are able to pay private school fees. What is more, there are no official regulations applying to the quality of education in private schools. Many schools do not have toilets or a kitchen. Part of the PSUGO funds disappear into the pockets of corrupt officials, while the teachers are underpaid. Often, several grades are taught by one teacher in the same classroom.

*The Programme de scolarisation universelle, gratuite et obligatoire (PSUGO) aims at enabling every child between six and twelve to go to elementary school for free; this means that more than one million children should be enrolled within five years.

References:

• UNICEF (statistics): http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/haiti_statistics.html (sourced on 14.06.2014)
• UNICEF (education): http://www.unicef.org/haiti/french/education.html (sourced on 14.06.2014)
• Ministère de l’Education Nationale et de la Formation Professionnelle MENFP : http://www.eduhaiti.gouv.ht/systeme_info.html (sourced on 14.06.2014)
• Alter Presse, Réseau alternatif haïtien d'information : Haïti-Éducation : Le programme gouvernemental « école gratuite », une victoire ? (13 February 2013), http://www.alterpresse.org/spip.php?article14095#.U5xwPSjsEdU (sourced on 14.06.2014)
• Werner Pieper: Haiti besser verstehen, Der Grüne Zweig 270 (2012)

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