Haiti is 600 miles south of Miami; an hour and a half by plane. The target community for HCDF's activities in Haiti is Fond-des-Blancs (in red on the map), a rural community on the southern peninsula, seventy miles south west from the capital city of Port-au-Prince (a three hours drive), ten miles north of the Caribbean Sea coast and ten miles south of the national road that _link_s the southern communities to Port-au-Prince. Fond-des-Blancs is the business hub for five communities and hundreds of habitations. The estimated population of the area is 70,000.

Républiqe d’Haiti
(Except for some minor modifications the following information is from Microsoft Bookshel 95)

People: Population: 6,491,000. Age distrib. (%): (1992).

Economy: Industries: Sugar refining, textiles. Chief crops: Coffee, sugar, bananas, cocoa, tobacco, rice. Minerals: Bauxite. Other resources: Timber. Arable land: 20%. Livestock (1991): Cattle: 1.4 mln.; Goats: 1.2 mln. Fish catch (1990): 7,500 metric tons. Electricity prod. (1992): 480 mln. kWh. Labor force: 66% agric.; 9% ind. & comm.; 25% services.

Finance: Monetary unit: Gourde (Dec. 1992: 5.00 = $1 US). Gross domestic product (1991): $2.2 bln. Per capita GDP: $340. Imports (1991): $347 mln.; partners: U.S. 64%. Exports (1991): $103 mln.; partners: U.S. 84%. Tourism (1991): receipts $66 mln. National budget (1990): $416 mln. Consumer prices (change in 1991): 15.4%.

Transport: Motor vehicles: In use: 33,000 passenger cars, 22,000 comm. vehicles. Chief ports: Port-au-Prince, Cap Haitien, Gonaives, Miragoane.

Communications: Television sets: 1 per 271 persons. Radios: 1 per 2.3 persons. Telephones: 1 per 126 persons. Daily newspaper circ.: 7 per 1,000 pop.

Health: Life expectancy at birth (1994): 43 male; 47 female. Births (per 1,000 pop.): 40. Deaths (per 1,000 pop.): 19. Natural increase: 2.1%. Hospital beds: 1 per 1,258 persons. Physicians: 1 per 6,083 persons. Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births 1994): 109.

Education (1991): Literacy: 53%.??

Major International Organizations: UN and some of its specialized agencies, OAS.

Embassy: 2311 Massachusetts Ave. NW 20008; 332-4090.

History:

Haiti, visited by Columbus, 1492, and a French colony from 1677, attained its independence, 1804, following the rebellion led by former slave Toussaint L’Ouverture. Following a period of political violence, the U.S. occupied the country 1915-34.

Francois Duvalier was voted president in 1957; in 1964 he was named president for life. Upon his death in 1971, he was succeeded by his son, Jean-Claude. Drought in 1975-77 brought famine, and Hurricane Allen in 1980 destroyed most of the rice, bean, and coffee crops. Following several weeks of unrest, President Jean Claude Duvalier fled Haiti aboard a U.S. Air Force jet Feb. 7, 1986, ending the 28-year dictatorship by the Duvalier family.

A military-civilian council headed by Gen. Henri Namphy assumed control. In 1987, voters approved a new constitution, but the Jan. 1988 elections were marred by violence and boycotted by the opposition.

Gen. Namphy seized control, June 20, but was ousted by a military coup in Sept. By mid-1990, there had been 5 governments since Duvalier fled.

Father Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president Dec. 1990. A coup led by leaders of the Tonton Macoutes, the private militia of the Duvalier family, was crushed by loyalist army forces, Jan. 1991. The attempted coup sparked riots that left some 70 dead. In Sept. 1991, Aristide was arrested by the military and expelled from the country.

Some 35,000 Haitian refugees were intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard as they tried to enter the U.S., 1991-92. Most were returned to Haiti. There was a new upsurge of refugees starting in late 1993.

The UN imposed a worldwide oil, arms, and financial embargo on Haiti June 23, 1993. The embargo was suspended when the military agreed to Aristide’s return to power on Oct. 30, but the military effectively blocked his return. After renewed sanctions, the UN Security Council authorized, July 31, 1994, an invasion of Haiti by a multinational force. With U.S. invasion forces already en route, an invasion was averted, Sept. 18, by a new agreement for military leaders to step down and Aristide to resume office. As part of the agreement, thousands of U.S. troops began arriving in Haiti, Sept. 19. Aristide returned to Haiti and was restored in office Oct. 15.