HAITI | FALL 2008

Since 1804, when it became the world’s first black republic after a successful slave revolt, Haiti has seen few periods of stability. Today the small Caribbean nation faces the most significant challenges of any country in the Western Hemisphere. In this failed state severe poverty, endemic corruption, high unemployment, pervasive hunger, and little access to health care mean life is a constant struggle for the majority of Haitians, and make the country almost totally reliant upon foreign aid.

Haiti’s problems are complex, and all of them need to be addressed simultaneously for the country to become self-reliant.  But herein lies one of the nation’s biggest dilemmas: Haitians depend on international aid to survive, but this assistance prevents the country from growing beyond a state of dependence.  The country hovers so closely to a breaking point, that it basically drifts from one humanitarian crisis to the next.  Much of the international aid that the nation receives comes after natural disasters, like hurricanes, and at best only helps people to barely survive until the next one. Ultimately, humanitarian aid provides some relief during the crisis, but does little to address the roots of why Haitians are living so close to the edge to begin with.

Grafitti in the fishing village of Labadie reads "The coup d'etat is not over", referring to the forced exile of President Jean Bertrand Aristide. His supporters - most poor Haitians - hope for his return to power.

Street market in Port-au-Prince.

Portrait of teenagers in Cap-Haitien. Although there are few opportunities for Haiti's youth, and many of them dream of leaving the country, there are those like these teenagers who are enrolled in literacy programs and dream of helping their country become self-sufficient.

In Port-au-Prince's most infamous slum, Cite Soleil, where hunger is rampant, children hold birds they have captured and plan to eat.

Early morning activity in Cap-Haitien's oldest street market.

Three weeks after Hurricane Ike devastated Haiti, a man from Cap-Haitien waits outside of the Venezuelan Embassy after a rumor spread that there were going to be food hand-outs.

Haiti is totally dependent on international aid - like this food aid being unloaded in Port-au-Prince, and bound for victims of Hurricane Ike. Local food production has been devastated by soil erosion, storms, and the introduction of subsidized rice from the United States in the 1990's.

UN troops from Sri Lanka patrol through the hillside slum of Martissant in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Although the presence of UN troops has brought a decrease in crime and kidnappings, many Haitians feel as if their country is under occupation.

Former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide is part of a mural in the Bel-Air neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. Aristide was removed from power in a US-backed coup in 2004, but he is still hugely popular amongst poor Haitians, and many hope that he can one day return to power.

One of the matriarchs of Labadie village, Leonisse Myrbel, sings a religious hymn inside her small house.

A young boy fetches water for his family in the early morning near Hinche, Haiti. Child labor is common in Haiti - especially in the countryside where children start working as soon as they are able.

To view a multimedia piece from this work on the International Reporting Project website, please click here.

To view additional work by Bear Guerra, please see www.bearguerra.com