Talk:Haiti

Religious Section

"Haiti is a largely Christian country, with Roman Catholicism professed by 80% of Haitians. Protestants make up about 16% of the population. Haitian Vodou, a New World Afro-diasporic faith unique to the country, is practiced by up to two-thirds of the population.[1][122] Religious practice often spans Haiti and its diaspora as those who have migrated interact through religion with family in Haiti.[123]"

After reading the above paragraph, I saw a contradiction in it's logic. 80% Romain Catholic + 16% Protestants + 60% Practice Hatian Vodou (Prohibited Christian Doctrine) = 156% Total

Who is doing the math? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.70.3.165 (talk) 21:49, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Adding up to more than one hundred percent is only a problem if the categories are mutually exclusive, and in this case they're not. In Haiti one might both profess Roman Catholicism and practice Vodou. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.34.164.226 (talk) 00:02, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

Poverty

The article continuously mentions that Haiti is the "poorest in the Western Hemisphere." This issue has to be seriously addressed because the whole world (literally) is being misled as to what technically is also included in the Western hemisphere, which includes countries in Africa like Sierra Leone or Mauritania that are poorer than Haiti. It must be revised to "the poorest in the Americas" because that is factually accurate. This whole notion of Haiti being the poorest in the Western Hemisphere is simply not true! Let's get Wikipedia to be the first page on the internet that actually gets this fact right! Mbhskid520 (talk) 09:01, 12 February 2010 (UTC)

Agreed. That bit at the top (third paragraph) irritates me as well, since by several calculations (such as the GDP PPP per capita) there are several nation-states that could be considered poorer in the Western Hemisphere, such as Togo and possibly Western Sahara. It should say "poorest in America" or something like that. The introduction to an article should be only the best. Anyone else? --- W5WMW (talk) 01:50, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Yup, it's wrong. Maybe in the Americas but not the entire Western hemisphere. Elockid ^(Talk·_Contribs) 02:19, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Population of Haiti

The Haitian government reported 230 thousand people died. I think we should correct the

Population: 9 035 536

field to

Population: 8 805 536

--84.52.134.156 (talk) 19:16, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

Better if we wait for the source to update. Elockid ^(Talk·_Contribs) 20:05, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

I disagree, if we reference both the original source and the source of the death figure I think anyone can do the maths themselves. We can even refer to a source that describes the mechanics of subtraction if necessary 83.254.192.84 (talk) 07:32, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

NPOV about Aristide

I seriously believe the section about Jean-Bertrand Aristide in this article does not fulfill the NPOV criterion. Javirl (talk) 21:31, 26 January 2010 (UTC)

The main thing to remember about Aristide is that he was elected originally by a mass movement from the bottom 90% of Haiti's population. This threatened the Haitian wealthy, the top 1% of Haiti that control over 90% of its wealth. BEcause of this disparity, it should be noted that virtually all the media outlets in Haiti are owned by this elite, who are uniformly anti-Aristide. Their views to the the AP and Reuters, who go to the international press. Thus, there results in a wide anti-Aristide bias, including allegations of Haiti becoming a "narco state" under Aristide. But there is no outside evidence to back this up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.245.153.208 (talk) 14:50, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

Devil worship caused earthquake?

Please unlock the page so I can add a section on how demon worship caused the earthquake. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.130.71.153 (talk) 01:53, 5 February 2010 (UTC)

Where is the basis on this from? Looks to be original research/personal belief. Elockid ^(Talk·_Contribs) 22:31, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

At least he is forthright about his intent to vandalize--Evilbred (talk) 13:30, 23 March 2010 (UTC)

Something may be missing...

I have just read over the page and found that the role the U.S. had in Haiti is largely ignored. The U.S., as it would turn out, has had a very large role in the development of the country (or more accurately, in the impediment of its development). At the very least it should be noted how:

• The U.S., fearing a slave revolt, did not recognize the country until 1862

or

• how the U.S. controlled IMF, IDB and other banking institutions gave loans with certain conditions on how Haiti should be run, which would impair the country's ability to stand on its own two feet

or possibly,

• How some may view the Duvalier dynasty (which was backed by the U.S.) as being an impediment to Haiti.

This does not have to be presented as being opinionated; just write the facts and let them speak for themselves.

If we're going to write an article on Haiti, let's at least try to improve on it. 96.250.154.239 (talk) 00:42, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Also, I have found that the article states the Mr. "Papa Doc" Duvalier "advanced the interests of Haitian blacks." I have made further investigation into the claim, and I can say confidently that it is DEAD WRONG. Many of the articles I read ("Encyclopedia Brittanica" for one) condemn "Papa Doc". Though, according to one article, he did create a "black elite" (through corrupt tactics) and promised to help Haitian blacks (or Haitian Africans) during his campaign, there was no document that stated that he actually helped the majority of Haitian blacks (which the statement implies). In short, the statement is horribly flawed and I DEMAND that the statement be revised immediately to prevent inevitable confusion. 96.250.157.247 (talk) 16:28, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

You're probably correct, but shouting and making demands isn't the best way to get things done. You can help by contributing reliable sources for the claims, and remaining civil. Greenman (talk) 17:08, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

You do have a point, and in retrospect, I could have worded my request a little more tactfully; Having read such an outrageous lie irritated me to a point where it shouldn't have.

However, I'm confident the facts I stated above (regardless of how I expressed them) are true and that I think my suggestions should be given consideration. 96.250.152.58 (talk) 03:21, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

You find a lot of evidence here: Amnesty International - Haiti all reports since 1991... Nysos

Thank you, Nysos. I look forward to reading from it in future. 96.246.244.138 (talk) 22:43, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

It has been over two months since I made my request for this change, and the editors apparently have not even discussed it.

Basically, my patience with the editors of the article is wearing thin.

I would make the change myself, but the article is locked. Thus, I ask that perhaps I could be given the chance to discuss the change with the editors. I would be more than happy to. 96.250.147.74 (talk) 22:59, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Rainfall

Agriculture, tourism, and public health are all linked to rainfall; in the case of Haiti it seems particularly inappropriate to omit data on, or even mention of, precipitation. (The "Environment of Haiti" article has the same flaw.) The sole reference to rainfall amounts are indirect and contradictory: Haiti is described as "lush" in 1925, but now suffers from "desertification." My impression is that probably some parts have appreciable annual rainfall totals, some may actually have enough to become "lush", and most of the country, being largely on the leeward side of Hispaniola, is semi-arid or arid. Is Haiti wettish or dryish? Can anyone find data on precipitation? C. Cerf (talk) 19:34, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

French as official language

There is at least one other country that designates French as an official language: The United States. In Louisiana, French is co-official with English. The US as a whole has no official language, instead each state and territory designates its own. 118.42.219.226 (talk) 23:02, 20 February 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.42.219.226 (talk) 22:58, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

HIV/AIDS

The article states that approximately 5% of Haiti's adult population is infected with HIV according to a laughable and erroneous article from BBC (Haiti's Aids and voodoo challenge by Nick Caistor, BBC News, 20 November, 2003. Retrieved 2010-02-16.)The UN indicates that 2.2% of the adult population is infected. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Phijona (talk • contribs) 07:43, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Climate of Haiti

How about an article on Climate of Haiti. Quite important dont you think? Rehman⁽⁺⁾ 02:03, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

The earthquake of January 12, 2010

In my opinion, the ""Talk: Haiti"", page should mention that different cities were affected as well as Port-au-Prince, such as Jacmel, Leogane, Grand Goave, Petit Goave, Miragoane, just to name a few. People living elsewhere in Haiti, need help just as the ones in Port-au-Prince. Please check out: the article is from January 12, 2010,

article date: January 13, 2010.

NouvelleFemme10 (talk) 22:05, 21 March 2010 (UTC)NouvelleFemme10, 03/21/2010. it is so sad what happend in haiti i can't imagine the horror when the earthquake started —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.32.76.175 (talk) 23:54, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Peace of Basel

For a few years France gained the control of the whole island, as part of the peace of basel. I think that should be included in the article, or not?