Hurricane Matthew: More misery for Haiti

The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti, is bracing itself for another possible ‘natural disaster’ - Hurricane Matthew. The almost forgotten nation that suffered a catastrophic earthquake nearly seven years ago that killed over 200,000 people, followed by a preventable cholera epidemic, finds itself ill-equipped to deal with a force 4 hurricane battering its shores.

Two factors that make Haiti particularly vulnerable is the fact that many of its citizens still live in makeshift homes as a direct consequence of the 2010 earthquake. Furthermore, experts are worried about potential landslides due to the mountainous region there.

There has been a call for residents to move to safer ground but many are reluctant to leave for fear of losing what little possessions they have, from those how might take advantage of their desperate plight.

If we lose our things we are not going to get them back!”

Toussaint Laine, an unemployed man who lives with his family in a shack in Tabarre, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, told the Associated Press.

Many Black people in the UK particularly mindful of Black History Month, will be reminded of the impoverished plight Haiti has and its direct lineage to its enslaved history and rebellion almost two centuries ago.

The peoples of Haiti having freed themselves from the French, Spanish and English, with the aid of their heroic leader Toussaint L’Ouverture, during the 1790’s, were then forced to pay the French reparations in 1825 through ‘Gun boat diplomacy’ a sum of 150 million francs - (today $21 Billion), which is two and a half years the nations GDP .

One can’t help but think that the misery caused to the Haitians as a result of natural disasters would be much lessoned if those who so badly exploited her and its people paid their restorative dues so it could better support itself during these difficult times.

Simon Woolley