208 Years of Independence and 2 Years Later!

Port-au-Prince from a layman's prospective

After the catastrophic earthquake that hit Haiti 2 years ago today(January 12). They are still questions as to the status of the rebuilding efforts on the island. It should be noted that their is still no clear indication as to the death toll in the area and this maybe related to the fact that there was no clear indication of the population in the area prior to this natural disaster. However, it is reported that they are still 634,000 people in the displacement camps as reported by the IOM.

On the brighter side the cholera out-break that hit the island subsequent to the earthquake did not affect the island as first anticipated and Cuba played an integral roll in insuring this outcome.

After this natural disaster some visionaries recognized that this may have been the opportunity they have been waiting for to address a problem that has long been identified but never rectified. The overcrowding, chronic unemployment, poor infrastructure and historical despair. As with previous attempts this seems to be running up against the same barriers experienced by this island over the years with the major obstacle being the lack consistent international interest and funding. This time we hope that with high powered people involved such as former United States of American President Bill Clinton, former Governor General of Canada and appointed Special Envoy for Haiti Michaëlle Jean just to name a few. This trend will dissipate and a new trend would emerge lead by the following flickers of hope.

These flickers of hope are being shown by companies from South Korea such as Sae-A, the biggest clothing manufactures, Marriott International in association with telecom giant Digicel will be building a 173 room hotel to be opened within the next 2 years. (We will be watching and hoping to be on the ground at the grand opening). Another economic driver to help stimulate Haiti's economy would be a return to agriculture to assist in the reduction of food imports which has drop significantly over the few years.

Our hope for Haiti and Haitians in this New Year is not to continue business as usual but be rejuvenated and reflect the pride of being the first independent island nation in the region celebrating 208 years of "drinking soup".