Humanitarian Aid In Haiti

While reading about Amy Wilentz’s experience with volunteerism in Haiti it was clear how volunteers are treated, what is expected of them as well as the history of Haiti and previous events that led to the impoverished country we know today. The novel explained a lot of the earth quake that struck and some of the efforts of those to repair Haiti and improve the lives of the Haitian citizens. Some of the themes I found in the novel that could be drawn back to course material would be the topic of humanitarian aid, poverty and globalization.

Humanitarian Aid
First off, the topic of humanitarian aid. Exploring this topic, it became clear the most efficient definition to describe it is “The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives,

Wilentz speaks of why Haiti is in poverty and it goes back to troubled relationship with the US, colonialism, Slave issues as well as not being accepted due to their African traditions.
Some may not know the exact definition of poverty and what qualifies a group or location to claim to be impoverished. The true definition of poverty is “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions” (Webster, 2018). Throughout the novel it is made clear that Haitians are viewed unequally from other places. With further research on the topic it is made known that “Eighty percent of the country’s population lives in poverty” (Jackson, N/A). While exploring some of the reasons why Haiti is in such poverty it became clear that there is a connection between “papa doc” and “baby doc” and the Duvalier’s and how they contributed to Haiti’s poverty.
“The Duvalier’s left Haiti economically decimated. A large number of educated professionals left the country during the Duvalier regimes, and the period that followed was so unstable, it was hard to lay down roots and build infrastructure. International investment was limited because it was an unreliable business environment” (Smith,

Something she stated that truly expresses the downhill trend Haiti was taking after the fall of the Duvalier’s was when she exclaims “The thugs, soldiers, and gangsters who continued to wield power in the months and years after Duvalier fled” (Wilentz, 2013). This observation Amy noted while she was responsible for reporting the event demonstrates how once Papa Doc fled Haiti really did not have a powerful government to follow so the wrong people became in charge leading to the downward spiral of poverty Haitian citizens face today. Another reason of why Haiti faces poverty today can relate back to their cultural beliefs. News week, reports “Haitians are very proud of their heritage as they should be. But when you've got a country that's constantly derided and accused of making a pact with the devil, it's hard to get the aid and investment the country needs” (Smith, 2015). Due to the religious culture Hattian’s practice, it is not uncommon for the rest of the world to view them as outcasts or sinful even. As described in the books name being “Voodoo” this ties together what Haiti is known for and their strong beliefs if black magic leave them disrespected by other countries in the world. Wilentz speaks of voodoo ceremonies in the novel. In chapter five called “Zombies of the world” we are exposed to the Haitian beliefs and how they can potentially be