Haiti

Haiti is situated in the western part of the island of Hispaniola and boarders on the Dominican Republic. During colonial times, Haiti was one of the richest countries in the Caribbean. To achieve independence from the former colonial power France, Haiti had to pay a lot of money for its freedom. The payments of the 19 century exceeded the solvency of the country considerably. Together with political instability and misgovernment, Haiti became the poorhouse of America. The abolition of large-scale land-holding and the distribution of the land among the people led to an export collapse. Several attempts to raise the productivity of the agriculture failed (Code Rural of 1826) due to the agricultural structure which consists of tiny parcels of land.
Besides, Haiti was governed by violent rulers for the most part of its history. The most notorious of them, Jean-Claude Duvalier - called "Baby Doc", was expelled in 1986.
Since february 2006, René Préval is governing Haiti.

Facts and figures:
Surface area: 27'750 sq km
Population: 8.7 million
Capital: Port-au-Prince
Urban population: 33%
Population growth: 2.45% per annum
Under 5 mortality: 120 per 1'000 live births
Infant mortality: 84 per 1'000 live births
Maternal mortality: 580 per 100'000 births
Fertility rate: 5 births per woman
Life expectancy: 57 years
Illiteracy rate women: 49%
Illiteracy rate men: 45%
Religion: 96 % Catholics or Protestants, 70% traditional religions (Voodoo)

A better life for street girls
For social and political reasons , many families have abandoned their region of birth for the growing slums. A large proportion of these are excluded from the employment market and live in misery caused by unemployment or structural adjustment. More

Nadège, Germita und Léonne
3 Portraits junger Frauen auf Haiti. More