But for all the outrage, he's not wrong. Haiti is a terrible place. Compare it to the Dominican Republic which is the other half of the same island and draw your own conclusions.
If the U.N. wants to condemn something, it shouldn't the President who was impolitic enough to speak the unvarnished truth. They should condemn the government of Haiti, go in, take over, and rescue the next generation of Haitians. The cleanup alone will take decades. Rebuilding the government, educating the populace, and creating a sustainable economy could occupy the U.N. for the rest of the century.
And just to be clear, if I was a Haitian, I'd be trying to get to the United States too. We'll know that the U.N. effort was successful when people from the United States are trying to sneak into Haiti.
Some statistics:
And because a picture is worth a thousand words:Poverty
- Haiti ranks 168 out of 187 on the 2014 Human Development Index (UNDP 2015)
- Gross National Income per capita (at Purchase Power Parity) is $1730. The average for Caribbean/Latin American developing countries is $14,098. (World Bank 2014)
- 59% of the population lives on less than US$2 per day (World Bank 2012)
- 24.7% lives in extreme poverty on less than US$1.25 per day. (UNDP 2013)
- Over two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs. (CIA Factbook 2014)
Education
- 50 percent of children do not attend school. (World Bank 2013)
- Approximately 30% of children attending primary school will not make it to third grade; 60% will abandon school before sixth grade. (UNICEF 2008)
- Only 29 percent of Haitians 25 and above attended secondary school. (USAID 2015)
- Almost 80 percent of teachers have not received any pre-service training. (USAID 2015)
- Half of public sector teachers in Haiti lack basic qualifications. (USAID 2015)
- 90% of primary schools are non-public and managed by communities, religious organizations or NGOs. (USAID 2007)
Health & Nutrition
- Life expectancy is 63 years. (World Bank 2013)
- 30% of the population is considered food insecure. (World Food Programme 2015)
- Infant mortality: 55 per 1000 births (UNICEF 2015)
- 59 per 1,000 born in Haiti die before reaching their first birthday (Ministry of Health 2012)
- Under five mortality rate: 88 per 1000 live births (Ministry of Health 2012)
- “An estimated 1 in 285 births will result in a woman’s death, a ratio about 16 times higher than in the United States.” (Partners in Health 2014)
- Prevalence of stunting (moderate to severe) is 22%. (UNICEF 2015)
8 comments:
Do we know that he said it? After a year of Fake News, this is from an anonymous source.
Quite frankly, I'm taking the story with a HUGE grain of salt.
"If the U.N. wants to condemn something, it shouldn't the President who was impolitic enough to speak the unvarnished truth. They should condemn the government of Haiti, go in, take over, and rescue the next generation of Haitians. The cleanup alone will take decades. Rebuilding the government, educating the populace, and creating a sustainable economy could occupy the U.N. for the rest of the century."
As awful as Haiti is, asking the Haitians to take one for the team that way is a big ask.
One thing that isn't in your summary is the systemic corruption that has characterized Haiti for ... I don't know; probably as long as there has been a Haiti.
Haiti is relatively close to my place. It's so convenient that every church I know in the area goes there on mission trips or has permanent missions there. Several friends have been there on these trips. Another friend I worked with grew up back and forth between South Florida and Haiti; his father was a pastor on continuous mission trips there.
Haiti is completely resistant to attempts to improve it and has been for probably as long as there has been a Haiti. After the news of how the money for the '08 earthquake relief was being skimmed away and not making it to suffering people the friend I mentioned shrugged and said "it's just Haiti". That's the way it is.
Borepatch,
If he didn't say, I'd guess he implied it, and it's the truth by any measure. Letting an unlimited number of Haitians leave the island won't fix anything until, as SiliconGB pointed out, the corruption of the Haitian government is addressed.
If Trump didn't say it, he should have.
No doubt his critics would have agreed if Obama had said it
The last time the UN went to Haiti, they brought cholera with them. Only the UN could make things worse.
When the Clintons went there, they stole tons of money and tried to grab children off the streets and ship them ... somewhere.
https://scout.com/college/ohio-state/Board/104375/Contents/Doctor-who-exposed-Clinton-Foundation-corruption-in-Haiti-Dead-112175898
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-25/clinton-silsby-trafficking-scandal-and-how-media-attempted-ignorecover-it
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