Haiti - Overview

History of Haiti

Haiti holds the regrettable distinction of being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti lies in the Caribbean Ocean and shares the island of Hispanola with the Dominican Republic. It occupies about 1/3 of the island or about 10,714 square miles. The tropical climate of this region is especially suited to growing sugarcane. Thus Haiti exports limited amounts of sugarcane, coffee and citrus fruits. An estimated 6 million people reside in Haiti where Port-au-Prince serves as the capital. French is the official language with Creole, a mixture of French, Spanish and African dialects, being the more popular tongue.

Originally the Spanish, then the French controlled Haiti. The afro people were brought to Haiti as slaves several hundred years ago. After much servitude and mistreatment by the elite French land owners, the black slaves rebelled killing many of the them and taking over the country. Due to lack of education the people were unable to find adequate jobs or prosper. This is still true today as a large portion of the population remain illiterate. Thus economically, Haiti has deteriorated over the centuries.

In addition to the mistreatment of the African nationals, the wealthy French literally raped the country of all natural resources. At one time 80% of the country was forested. As a result of no reforestation or efforts to replace the resources, ecologically the country is in dire straights. Only 30% of Haiti, an Indian word meaning "mountainous country," is suitable for farming. In addition, soil erosion is so severe that most of the land not suitable for farming is literally washed into the ocean with each rainstorm. This in turn kills much of the coral beds which provide feeding sources for fish, making fishing as an industry impossible.

Essentially the only resource left within the country is the people themselves. Without an opportunity for education and vocational training their plight seems hopeless. Lifeline and other missions are making education, including Christian training and vocational training, a major ministry. We hope and pray that in some way we may be a model to the children, giving them the opportunity to impact their country.

Political History of Haiti

Politically, Haiti has gone from being a monarchy to dictatorship and now is attempting to become a democracy. In December 1990, the people had their first "free" election. The popular candidate of the common people, about 85% of the population, was a former Catholic Priest named Jean Bertrand Aristide. He was elected for a five year term as President of the Republic of Haiti. However, after about nine months in office, he was ousted by a military group of opportunist dissidents. The OAS, United Nations and all major nations of the Western Hemisphere asserted pressure. This included economic sanctions and trade embargoes to force the return of Aristide to his rightful place as President of Haiti. Since the majority of Haiti’s goods are imported, the embargoes had a devastating effect on the already poor people of this country. All efforts to avoid foreign military intervention were taken.

In July of 1993, Lt. General Rauol Cedras, Haiti’s self proclaimed leader, signed an agreement allowing Aristide to return to office by October of that year. Cedras and his military leaders defaulted on their agreement and by September of 1994 peace keeping forces were sent to help stabilize and rebuild the deteriorating country. Aristide was finally returned to power on October 15, 1994 where he remained as President until the next national election. As of February 1996, Rene Preval was the candidate chosen by the people to succeed Aristide as President.

Religious History of Haiti

Although the "official" religion of the country is Catholicism, a major portion of the population is steeped in the African based superstitious religion of voodoo. Only about 10% of the population admit to practicing voodoo. Voodoo, the "common," popular religion of Haiti involves the worship of over 100 false gods such as the god of money, the god of crops, the god of good health, etc. A popular misconception about voodoo is that it is "Satan Worship." Although Satan certainly uses voodoo to keep people from the one true God, the practitioners of voodoo do not consider themselves Satan worshippers. In fact, most voodoo services usually begin with a prayer to Bon Dieu…the one true God. Due to their past history of not being permitted to worship with the white man in church, they do not realize that God is a personal God for all men. They believe they cannot personally approach God to meet their needs or answer prayer. Interestingly, most Haitians have heard of Jesus Christ, but again have not learned that He has come to redeem all men. In addition, voodoo is a religion involving spirit worship and therefore the Haitian people easily understand the Christian teachings relative to God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit - the Trinity. They are easier to evangelize than those who worship idols or animals.

Protestant denominations began working within the country over 50 years ago. The Church of Christ Christian churches began making inroads in Haiti in the early 1970’s. Approximately 15 Christian church mission groups are working throughout the country representing as many as 50 missionaries with over 200 independent Christian Church congregations.

Lifeline's History in Haiti