There are fundamental issues. You just said that it might not be your role to handle them. I think it would be terrible to have an exercise like this one today without mentioning them, at least briefly. I am talking about issues that are at the very root of Haiti's extreme poverty.
One of the big problems is deforestation. When we fly over the neighbouring countries, we see that they are green. Then, when we get to Haiti, we see that the island is bare. All the forests have been burned down because the citizens use wood to cook, among other things. There, we were told that, as long as wood is cheaper than other combustibles, like propane gas, this was going to continue. As soon as trees are planted, they are immediately cut down and burned by the citizens. That means that, when it rains, all the soil goes into the sea, which ruins the possibilities for agricultural development.
The other big problem is the free market. Per hectare, the yield of Haitian land is very low. Take rice for example. A lot less rice is produced per hectare than on American farms. Also American rice is subsidized, so that Haitians eat only American rice, when they can buy it, of course.
With that in mind, don't you sometimes have the impression that, in Haiti, you are only putting band-aids, that are no doubt necessary, on the deep and pus-filled wounds that cannot be cleaned and will always continue to fester?
