Actually I have thought the opposite; wondering how such hardworking industrious people can have such a failure of a country. We have a number of Haitian kids in the school and they are no different than Dominican kids, some are very intelligent and quick to learn, others normal, and some slow ( just like kids everywhere). Many of them are baptists, evangelicals, and even catholic. I have a Haitian physiotherapist, and she speaks pasable English.
I guess if there were easy answers on how Haiti can become a normal country with a government that functions properly it would been done by now. I don't pretend to know the answers, but I do know individual Haitians are normal people.
you see, bob, you have a different exposure to Haitians, and you know that they are just like any other human being at their socioeconomic station in life. there are upscale neighborhoods in New York such as Shrub Oak, and Yorktown Heights, which have huge Haitian American enclaves. and those are not rental properties, either. go to Las Americas Autodrome on race day, and see the race car teams the Haitians show up with. there is more to the Haitian population than guys who cut grass.