The Crisis
How bad is the
human rights situation?
PADF looks at human rights in a number of areas, including exploitation, forced labor, trafficking and violence.
Trafficking in Persons: The U.S. State Department reported June 2009 that: “Haiti is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation.” Up to 300,000 children are the victims of this type of exploitation. As many as 65 percent are girls aged 6 to 14, the government estimates.
To learn more, please click on the link below to see a video on Haiti's restaveks and other victims of exploitation:
Haiti restavek video
What is the cause of the human rights problems?
Haiti’s human rights situation is rooted in the economic crisis. Haiti is the poorest country in the hemisphere. Indeed, 80 percent of the population lives in poverty. Of that, about half live on a dollar a day.
The economic crisis pushes families to make unspeakable choices, such as abandoning them or forcing them to earn what they can through any method possible.
Children become prostitutes, work as forced laborers, pressed into gangs or other horrible situations. Their childhood is stolen and the nation loses a generation of kids.
You say Haiti needs help. Just how dire is the economic situation?
Haiti needs our urgent help. The poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere sank even deeper after a series of hurricanes and tropical storms struck the island in the second half of 2008. The world’s attention has moved on after the natural disasters, but the overwhelming problems confronting Haiti remain. Consider the statistics:
o Haiti’s ranking on the UN Human Development Index is lower than that of Sudan and Bangladesh
o More than 6 million of 9 million Haitians live in poverty – half of them on less than $1 a day
o One of eight children will die before the age of five
o Haiti’s 2008-2009 Winter harvest nosedived by 20 percent; 3 million people are classified as “food insecure.”
Didn’t Haiti get all the help it needed after the hurricanes?
In the fall of 2008, Haiti was in the news as four back-to-back storms hammered the impoverished island. Its fragile economy shrunk by 15 percent and years of economic development work washed out to sea. While many governments and thousands of people provided urgently needed assistance, it was not enough.
Consider New Orleans and other areas that were hit Hurricane Katrina. With all the financial support from the U.S. government, as well as foundations and individuals, many areas damaged and destroyed by Hurricane Katrina are still trying to rebuild. Haiti, with few resources and a relatively tiny economy, needs so much more assistance.
Why should we help Haiti when there are so many problems in the United States?
While the United States is confronting its own set of challenges, it is one of the most industrialized nations in the world and has a safety net. In contrast, Haiti is our hemisphere’s poorest country without any way to help its most vulnerable citizens. The United States will eventually pull out of its economic troubles. However, if Haiti doesn’t receive our help, it will never recover.
How many Haitians live in the United States?
The number of foreign-born Haitians living in the United States ranges from 500,000 to 2 million. The Census Bureau estimates that there are nearly 505,000 foreign-born Haitians in the United States in 2005. The Inter-American Development Bank places the number at 1.5 million.
The Census Bureau reports that nearly 80 percent of those in its count arrived before the year 2000. Almost half, or 237,000, have become U.S. citizens. Florida and New York have the largest number of foreign-born Haitians. There are also vibrant communities of Haitians in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Boston.
That official number only includes Haitians born outside of the United States who have identified themselves.
Second-generation Haitians – children of immigrants born in the United States – adds greatly to the number.
Do Haitians in the United States help their own country?
Yes, Haitians living in the United States send back money (called “remittances”) to family and friends on the island. They also send supplies.
About 1.1 million adults in Haiti receive remittances, typically 10 times a year, at an average of $150 at a time, according to a 2006 study by the Inter-American Development Bank. About half the families that receive money from abroad have incomes of less than $500 a year.
During the 2008 hurricane season, a telethon helped to raise $300,000 primarily from Haitians living in the United States. That money is being used to reconstruct 14 schools that will directly benefit 6,000 people.
PADF looks at human rights in a number of areas, including exploitation, forced labor, trafficking and violence.
Trafficking in Persons: The U.S. State Department reported June 2009 that: “Haiti is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation.” Up to 300,000 children are the victims of this type of exploitation. As many as 65 percent are girls aged 6 to 14, the government estimates.
To learn more, please click on the link below to see a video on Haiti's restaveks and other victims of exploitation:
Haiti restavek video
What is the cause of the human rights problems?
Haiti’s human rights situation is rooted in the economic crisis. Haiti is the poorest country in the hemisphere. Indeed, 80 percent of the population lives in poverty. Of that, about half live on a dollar a day.
The economic crisis pushes families to make unspeakable choices, such as abandoning them or forcing them to earn what they can through any method possible.
Children become prostitutes, work as forced laborers, pressed into gangs or other horrible situations. Their childhood is stolen and the nation loses a generation of kids.
You say Haiti needs help. Just how dire is the economic situation?
Haiti needs our urgent help. The poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere sank even deeper after a series of hurricanes and tropical storms struck the island in the second half of 2008. The world’s attention has moved on after the natural disasters, but the overwhelming problems confronting Haiti remain. Consider the statistics:
o Haiti’s ranking on the UN Human Development Index is lower than that of Sudan and Bangladesh
o More than 6 million of 9 million Haitians live in poverty – half of them on less than $1 a day
o One of eight children will die before the age of five
o Haiti’s 2008-2009 Winter harvest nosedived by 20 percent; 3 million people are classified as “food insecure.”
Didn’t Haiti get all the help it needed after the hurricanes?
In the fall of 2008, Haiti was in the news as four back-to-back storms hammered the impoverished island. Its fragile economy shrunk by 15 percent and years of economic development work washed out to sea. While many governments and thousands of people provided urgently needed assistance, it was not enough.
Consider New Orleans and other areas that were hit Hurricane Katrina. With all the financial support from the U.S. government, as well as foundations and individuals, many areas damaged and destroyed by Hurricane Katrina are still trying to rebuild. Haiti, with few resources and a relatively tiny economy, needs so much more assistance.
Why should we help Haiti when there are so many problems in the United States?
While the United States is confronting its own set of challenges, it is one of the most industrialized nations in the world and has a safety net. In contrast, Haiti is our hemisphere’s poorest country without any way to help its most vulnerable citizens. The United States will eventually pull out of its economic troubles. However, if Haiti doesn’t receive our help, it will never recover.
How many Haitians live in the United States?
The number of foreign-born Haitians living in the United States ranges from 500,000 to 2 million. The Census Bureau estimates that there are nearly 505,000 foreign-born Haitians in the United States in 2005. The Inter-American Development Bank places the number at 1.5 million.
The Census Bureau reports that nearly 80 percent of those in its count arrived before the year 2000. Almost half, or 237,000, have become U.S. citizens. Florida and New York have the largest number of foreign-born Haitians. There are also vibrant communities of Haitians in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Boston.
That official number only includes Haitians born outside of the United States who have identified themselves.
Second-generation Haitians – children of immigrants born in the United States – adds greatly to the number.
Do Haitians in the United States help their own country?
Yes, Haitians living in the United States send back money (called “remittances”) to family and friends on the island. They also send supplies.
About 1.1 million adults in Haiti receive remittances, typically 10 times a year, at an average of $150 at a time, according to a 2006 study by the Inter-American Development Bank. About half the families that receive money from abroad have incomes of less than $500 a year.
During the 2008 hurricane season, a telethon helped to raise $300,000 primarily from Haitians living in the United States. That money is being used to reconstruct 14 schools that will directly benefit 6,000 people.