Haiti and Jamaica: Islands

Vanessa Craan - Innocence (2016)

The earthquake that struck on the 12th January 2010, finished the systematic demolition work by the Western powers, United States in primis, of the first free and independent black republic of the modern world. That Haiti is one of the world’s poorest countries is old news, but it is also “a terrible joke”, as Paul Clammer, the author of the only contemporary tourist guide to Haiti, says: “Who would ever want to go to place that everyone speaks badly of?” In actual fact Haiti is the manna of UN missions and of the many NGOs that operate across the world. It is estimated that in 2010 alone more than 200 million dollars have been collected for the reconstruction of the country.

Nancy Burke (Inansi) - Diva (2016)

The money mainly benefited the same managers of the international community or was used for debatable works of dubious usefulness, such as the urban facelift of the Jalousie shantytown for the opening of the Occidental Royal Oasis Hotel in Pétionville, a new five-star hotel whose rooms overlook the shantytown. Perched high above Port-au-Prince, Jalousie is a city of officially about 50,000 people (but there are those that say that the real figure is ten times higher), even if it was designed to house 20,000 people, and dominates the landscape like one of the “cities in the sky” portrayed in the paintings of Préfète Duffaut, one of the most celebrated Haitian artist, who died in 2012. Repainting the sides of the houses at a cost of about 6 million dollars was definitely not a priority, seeing as Jalousie has no running water nor electricity. At least the residents could choose the colours. At the end of 2014, the former US president, Bill Clinton, and the former Haitian prime minister, Jean Max Bellerive, co-president of the CIRH (Commission Intérimaire pour la Reconstruction d’Haïti), was asked to make public the reports on the management of the reconstruction funds. So far no report has been made available and the Haitian people, for whom the funds were obtained, are still hopelessly asking for explanations.

Cecil Cooper - Untitled (2016)

But it’s not merely a case of corruption, rampant speculation and private interest in public affairs. In Haiti even greater horrors take place. Most foreign visitors like the country as it is: dirty, poor and dangerous. The apocalyptic scenario of Port-au-Prince is a niche attraction that fulfils the borderline desires of rich Westerners on the hunt for adrenaline-charged experiences. It was at the very same Oasis Hotel that a French journalist confessed to us that if Haiti had become a civilised country he wouldn’t want to visit it.

Charl Baker - Flight of fancy (2016)

According to Evel Fanfan, lawyer and executive director of AUMOHD (Association des Universitaires Motivés pour une Haïti de Droits), the cholera epidemic that followed the earthquake and that has not yet been eradicated, was the result of the negligent and suspect management of the emergency and aid. Fanfan, interviewed by Fabrizio Lorusso and Romina Vinci for the book La fame di Haiti (Lit: Haiti’s hunger), claims that the cholera was introduced to Haiti by the UN MINUSTAH mission (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti), through the battalion from Nepal, where cholera is endemic, and whose excrements contaminated the waters of the Artibonite, Haiti’s longest river.

Michele Manuel - Water carriers (2016)

The École Nationale des Arts (ENARTS), the lakou of the Atis Rezistans and the Atelier de Délivrance in Port-au-Prince, the foyer Fosaj in Jacmel, the Saint-Soleil school in Soisson-la-Montagne or the artist’s village Noailles in Croix-des-Bouquets are not only art schools and a refuge for artists, but they also carry out a fundamental public, economic and communicative role for the Haitian society. Art, music and performances are used to educate people on important aspects of social life, such as literacy, the relationship with the territory and its protection and waste recycling – just to mention a few – that otherwise would not be considered in a country where 80% of the population speaks almost exclusively Creole, whilst in schools the basic subjects are rigorously taught in French. In fact Haitian artists are often charged with teaching their own followers.