Haiti

Intro Video

• http://bit.ly/164gon4

Geography• In the Caribbean Sea• Shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic

Size

• 10,714 square miles

• Idaho is 83,557 square miles

Land Features

• Covered in mountains

• Most people live in the valleys in between the mountain ranges

Weather and Climate

• Climate is warm and a little bit humid• Average annual temperature:• Mountains 66F• Valleys 81F

• Spring and Autumn are rainy• Winter and summer are dry

• Hurricane season is from June to October

Hurricane/earthquake history

• September 10, 2004: Hurricane Ivan• September 18, 2004: Hurricane Jeanne• Killed 1,870• 2,620 injured• 846 disappeared

• July 7, 2005: Hurricane Dennis• Left 500 homeless

• August 26, 2008: Hurricane Gustav • 77 deaths and 8 disappearances • Destroyed 3,000 houses and damaged 11,458

Hurricane/earthquake history

• September 1, 2008: Hurricane Hanna• September 6, 2008: Hurricane Ike• January 12, 2010: 7.0 magnitude earthquake • Killed between 46,000 and 316,000 people

• November 5, 2010: Hurricane Tomas• Killed 10

A little bit of history…

• 1492: Columbus arrived• Spanish came to colonize and enslaved the Native Americans that

lived there• Many natives died from starvation and foreign diseases• 1517: Spanish began importing African slaves• 1791: the salves began to revolt against their owners• 1804: Haiti (slaves who took over) declared independence from

France• Political chaos and leadership challenges followed

A little bit of history…

• 1957: Francois Duvalier won election (killed his opponent)• Nicknamed Papa Doc (he was a doctor)• Papa Doc stole money from the country and was a cruel leader• His son “Baby Doc” took over when he died and continued his terrible

leadership• 1990: Jean-Bertrand Aristide was the 1st democratically elected

president and brought new hope to Haiti• 8 months later, he was driven out of Haiti by the military and they

took over

A little bit of history…

• 1994: Aristide was able to return and finish his term• Haiti still struggles with groups trying to overthrow the government

• They also continue to get hit with debilitating natural disasters and that doesn’t help with these challenges

Government

• President is the head of state• Current president is Michel Joseph Martelly• Prime Minister is the head of government• Current prime minister is Yvon Neptune

• Bicameral Parliament

How the government works

• The government is comprised of two main political belief systems

• Divided into 9 provinces but the central government has most control of political affairs.

• 27 seat senate• 83 seat chamber of deputies

Economy

• 2/3 of the workforce is in agriculture• 80% of Haitians live in poverty

• Economy is not experiencing any growth or improvement due to corruption in the government

• Currency is the gourde• 1 USD = 39.40 gourde

Education

• Students attend kindergarten• Then primary school for 6 years• Then secondary school for 7 years

Culture

Population

• 7 million

• Most of the population are descendants of Africans

• Idaho population is 1.6 million

Language

• Creole (daily language)• Mixture of French and African languages)

• French (government and business)

Learn some Creole(pronounced phonetically)

• Hello = Bonjou• Goodbye = Adye / Orevwa / Babay• How are you? = Koman ou ye?• I miss you = Mwen sonje w• Would you like to dance with me? = Eske ou vle danse?

Religion

• 80% Catholic• 16% Protestant

• Many also practice voodoo

Attitudes

• Warm• Friendly• Generous

• Life in Haiti is very challenging but they still celebrate life with joy

Appearance

• Haitians pay great attention to their public appearance

• Urban Haitians like to wear American style clothing

• Traditional clothing includes jewelry and brightly colored clothes

Customs

• Personal greetings are important and show respect

• Many enjoy impromptu gatherings

• Visitors are welcome during the day but not after 8pm

Food

• Rice and beans are eaten almost every day• Other staples include meat, a salad,

and a vegetable dish

• Spicy foods are most popular and pork is a favorite meat

• 3 meals a day• Families wait for mom to start eating before they eat• Sunday dinner is always a family meal

Recreation

• Soccer is the most popular sport• Other fun games are dominoes and card games

• Popular styles of music:• Disco• Reggae• Konpa• Meringue

Music Samples

• Disco• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIUErv98QcA• Stop at 0:35

• Konpa• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3lqWwOrnd• Stop at 0:30

• Meringue• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJLdngKn23s• Start at 0:20 • Stop at 1:00

Family

• Basic unit includes the extended family

• Urban families usually have 3-4 children• Rural families have 10 or more children

Holidays

• National Heroes Day is January 2nd

• Easter and Christmas are widely celebrated

• Carnaval before Lent

Color the Flag

Jacks

• Throw 10 rocks on the ground• With one hand toss one rock into the air and catch it with the same

hand• While it is in the air, grab one rock off the ground with the same hand.• If you succeed, do it again until you drop the rock or pick up all the

rocks• The game is over when all of the rocks have been picked up from the

center.• The winner is the person with the most rocks