Do U Know The Country That Is Suffering With The Worst Political Condition???

The social, political, and religious factors as they exist now in Haiti will have an impact on military planning for Haitian contingencies, as will the military establishment described below.
A BROKEN COUNTRY
Haiti is a country in which nearly everything needs help. The unsettled political situation and sinking economic vitality, exacerbated by the U. S. embargo since autumn 1991, has left Haiti in disarray. In Port-au-Prince and other built-up areas, electricity is produced but 10 hours a day, and water (nonpotable) is available about one hour a day. Garbage is collected intermittently, and transportation is difficult.
Public transportation is unreliable, and although seemingly chaotic to people experienced with modern mass-transit, the brightly colored jitneys or tap-taps (buses) work well enough to service Haiti's limited infrastructure. Roads throughout the nation are in disrepair to the extent that vehicles cannot negotiate the potholes without suffering damage to tires and suspension, and the embargo has ensured that repair parts are out of reach. While there are no apparent cases of starvation, there is malnutrition, and deaths among the very young can be traced to sanitation, diet, and a lack of available medical care and pharmaceutical products.
In a larger sense it has been observed that "everything has fallen apart." "What we really need," said one resident in Port-au-Prince, " is help putting Haitians back to work building the national infrastructure: hospitals, roads, bridges, wells, electricity, schools, and port facilities, along with the institutional know-how to make things work."
POVERTY BRINGS MISERY
Prior to the September 1991 coup, Haiti had an unemployment rate of 60 percent. It has been estimated that 90 percent of the population lives on less than $100 a year. The wealth is concentrated in only 4.5 percent of the population. As economic conditions have continued to deteriorate in this small country, many of the poor peasants have cut down trees to build huts or to make charcoal to sell. But straddling the hurricane belt, Haiti is subject to severe storms and the resultant deforestation has caused extensive erosion. This has hurt the agriculture and fishing industries. Following heavy rains, the waters around the island become muddied, killing the fish.
Socially, 95 percent of the population is black, while the remaining 5 percent are mainly mulattos or white. This 5 percent controls approximately 95 percent of the wealth of the country. With most living in abject poverty, Haitian life expectancy is just over 50 years. Many people who have not been able to earn a living in the countryside have fled to the capital city of Port-au-Prince, crowding into and expanding the slum areas, thus increasing their vulnerability to a myriad of diseases.
POLITICS AND RELIGION
Elections have not been held routinely, and political parties are not well-organized. The parties provide a focal point for galvanizing support around a charismatic personage. Real power has often centered on the country's leader and a small elite group who have used a system of counterbalances to prevent a coup. A continuing source of political influence in Haiti has been religion. With a long history of dictatorship and poverty, the masses have depended on religion for help. Although approximately 95 percent of the population is Roman Catholic, a vast majority of Haitians also practice Voodoo as an extension of their African heritage and culture. Political leaders have often taken advantage of the Roman Catholic pulpit, or the black magic of voodoo, to help influence the masses.
Religion, with its juxtaposition of traditional Catholicism and voodoo, has played a key role in the maintenance of power in Haiti. The Roman Catholic Church, enjoying a large percentage of popular participation, has often encouraged peace and acceptance. It is argued that the church has supported the elite in some cases, preaching politics from the pulpit.
Through the Duvalier era, the Catholic Church accommodated the dictatorship. After Francois Duvalier attempted to work with the Church, he finally expelled the Jesuit Order and recruited loyal Tonton Makout priests. "The ascendance of makout priests to positions of authority means that injustices were committed against those who were not aligned with Duvalier politically." Leadership posts went to Duvalier supporters. Also within the country, there has been a strong influence of "liberation" theology which has encouraged radical change in the political system of the country.