Article on Haiti

Why We Shouldn't Stigmatize Haiti<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-antebi/why-we-shouldnt-stigmatiz_b_266529.html>
By Jeff Antebi<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-antebi>

In April, as part of a series of photo essays I'm doing, I made my way to Haiti for the recent Haitian Senatorial elections.

www.jeffantebi.com<http://www.jeffantebi.com/>

When I mentioned Haiti to friends, colleagues and travel agents, the universal response was "what?!?!?!" But I completely understood this reaction. I was worried myself. Haiti is thought to be a place where kidnappings are de rigueur. It's widely believed if your ride from the airport didn't show up on time, you might just be 'disappeared'. Given all of the talk of danger, I started to have nightmares of having my throat slit by the flight attendant as I deplaned.

So I made out a will. I took out all sorts of exotic insurance policies that I cannot discuss without risking them being voided. I signed up for a medical evacuation service and got prescriptions for Malarone and Azithromycin.

First, let me get this out of the way. Haiti is sad, yes. Desperate, yes. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and it shows. If you are Haitian and under five years old, you are more likely to die than if you were born anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere. If you are a woman, you are more likely to die giving birth here than anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere. If you are Haitian, there's a 50/50 chance you can't read or write. If you are Haitian and you die, there's a 50/50 chance what killed you was a water-borne illness. One of the leading causes of death in Haiti is diarrhea. The nation's children have it the worst: 98 percent of Haiti's children don't finish secondary school; thousands of Haitian children become victims of human trafficking every year; and 19,000 children in Haiti currently live with HIV/AIDS.

But that is only one part of the story. The other is that the country is stunning and Haitians are incredible people. It's nowhere near as apocalyptic as people make it out to be. In fact, for experienced travelers who understand the risks, caveats and cautions - it's a great place to see.

Haiti's proximity to the U.S. (only an hour-and-a-half from Miami) provides a compelling case for engaging programs and policies that can make life-saving differences to the men, women and children I met. They are, literally, our neighbors. There are nations everywhere that need help, but compared to a nation across the ocean, the cost of supporting our close neighbors is minimal. Haitians who are lucky enough to have a job earn the equivalent of $600 a year. As you can imagine, it doesn't take much to make a significant impact on the wider community.

Not that there aren't obstacles. Government corruption can prevent real, beneficial change from happening (things such as education, electricity and basic health care). The wrong kinds of "charity" render people apathetic and don't galvanize the population to help themselves. And a lack of long-term stability means a lack of foreign investors.

That's why it's important to at least start neutralizing the stigma and fear. While it's not going to be the most attractive choice for Caribbean tourism, Haiti is also not the abyss. Far from it.

My photos from the Haitian elections can be seen at www.jeffantebi.com<http://www.jeffantebi.com/> but I want to point out that they are not good 'tourism' images. They are dramatic.

I'm currently in Afghanistan photographing the elections here.

Read more at: Jeff Antebi: Why We Shouldn't Stigmatize Haiti

thanks!

Collingwood said:

Mountainannie, did you happen to visit the DR and then perhaps cross over to Haiti. Maybe that will alleviate the constipation (oops) I mean consternation of Nals the moderator who by the way is doing an awesome job in keeping things on track. Thank god someone is there to keep the wild child Mountainannie under control. Where would we be without such wonderful guidance....

Click to expand...

Ah YES Collingwood... I have indeed NEVER visited Haiti in the last four years EXCEPT from the DR. I have ALWAYS spent money in the DR first, stayed at hotels in Dajabon, and Pedernales and Matas de Farfan... which indeed are my favorite places in the DR...

Twice I traveled from the DR to PauP.., once by bus, once by plane..

And of course, most of the times that I cross, I have to pay the whopping exit fee from the DR to Haiti and back again which is lots of money......

so yes, indeed. this was a trip report FROM the DR

Indeed, Haiti is actually the only destination FROM the DR that one can take by bus or car...

So any sort of tourism into Haiti can generate money for the DR..

*did not in any way mean to suggest that Haiti was part of the DR or visa versa... any idiot knows that is not true.

Just for the record

The exit fee from the DR into Haiti is $25

Then the reentry fee from Haiti.. also $25, I think.

From the PauPrince airport, you have to pay the exit fee in Dollars or Gourdes. You cannot pay in pesos. You cannot put it on a credit card. You must have the cash.

There were not facilities in the PauP airport for changing pesos into gourdes.

At the border crossings, there are always folks who will change pesos into Gourdes although at a lousy exchange rate.

Best to travel into and out of Haiti with dollars.