Haiti's Hard Times

As powerful and disastrous as the Haitian earthquake was, unfortunately it’s not the first devastation washed upon the Haitian people. Formally invaded and controlled by Spain, France, and even the US at a time, Haitians have fought a long time for freedom only to result into military-controlled elections and father/son dictatorships by “Papa” and “Baby” Doc. Thousands of journalists, politicians, and anyone who spoke freely against the military-controlled government was either exiled or killed. After the dictatorships finally ended, Haitians were still stuck in poverty lacking basic essentials like food and water and held strong distastes for government officials, both factors resulting in a high rise of crime. The US has failed many times when it has come to helping Haiti, but our country’s spirit of fulfilling justice has always stood strong. We can’t take back what we did or failed to do, but this earthquake has given the US a chance to help our future relationship with Haiti. A chance which would be wise not to be passed up.