Yearbook 2019
Haiti. From February, the country's most violent protests
against President Jovenel Moïse raged since he took office
in 2017. Internationally, the events raised a great deal of
concern for a lack of respect for human rights in the
country, especially from the authorities. In September and
October, thousands of people across the country demonstrated
and at least 42 people were killed and 82 injured. According
to the United Nations Human Rights Agency (OHCHR), at least
half of the deaths were caused by police violence. The
escalated spiral of violence coincided with the UN-backed
legal aid commission in Haiti, MINUJUSTH, ending its mandate
in September and leaving the country. The crime rate also
increased: the homicide rate increased by 17% during the
year compared to the previous year and the number of police
killed by 100%.
According to
CountryAAH, the dissatisfaction with Moïse was based on alleged
embezzlement of the equivalent of $ 2 billion from the
Caribbean oil partnership Petrocaribe started by Venezuela,
economy mismanagement and gasoline shortages. But above all,
the dissatisfaction was about Fritz William Michel, whom
Moïse appointed in July as new Prime Minister after the
resignation of Jean Michel Lapin, and who was accused of
bribery. Michel was Moïse's fourth prime minister in two and
a half years. In an effort to alleviate the discontent,
Moïse reformed the government, but to no avail.
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti; 942,200 residents (2012). The town is
located at the bottom of the large Gonave Bay with a good natural harbor; it has
a dominant position in the country, politically, economically and culturally.
The major social and political problems in Haiti are evident in the city,
which contains some of the most comfortless slums in America, but also exclusive
residential areas beautifully situated high above the city on the slopes down to
the bay. The population is growing rapidly as it moves from rural areas.
The city's central square, Place du Champs-de-Mars, contains, among other
things. the National Museum with the anchor of Columbus' ship Santa Maria. Old
architecture, churches and many street names are reminiscent of the city's
French colonial past, while the spread of the voodoo cult points to the West
African population's majority.
Tourism in addition to passengers from an increasing number of cruise ships
plays no significant role in the city, but Hotel Oloffson is legendary as the
home of writers, filmmakers and journalists during their stay in the city.
History
Port-au-Prince was founded by the French in 1749. The city was hit by
earthquakes in 1751 and 1770. In 1770 it replaced Cap-Français (now Cap-Haïtien)
as the capital of the French colony of Saint-Domingue.
At the onset of the Haitian Revolution, two-thirds of the city was ravaged
and burned down in 1790 as the French National Assembly repealed a few-month-old
decree on equality between white and free-colored residents. During the
Revolution, the name of the city changed to a port of Republic.
During Alexandre Pétion's presidency of 1807, the city was the capital of
southern Haiti and after the reunification of the two countries again for the
entire country.
On January 12, 2010, Haiti was hit by a powerful earthquake with an epicenter
near Port-au-Prince, which destroyed large parts of the city. According to the
Haitian government, the earthquake has killed more than 220,000 people and
injured and made many more homeless.
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