How colonial exploitation of Haiti set the stage for its ongoing political crisis

"Haiti is now facing the prospect of living without any traces of a recognizable state for the first time in a long time," says MIT's Malick Ghachem.
Members of the G-9 federation gang patrol streets in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Feb. 22.
Giles Clarke/Getty Images

As crisis consumes Haiti, migrants face economic difficulties in America

Dec 12, 2022
Migrants fleeing Haiti for greener economic pastures in the U.S. often face difficulties finding employment and adequate housing.
A Haitian migrant is seen next to a painting of an American flag outside a shelter in Mexico. Migration from Haiti to the U.S. has accelerated in the past year as instability rocks the Caribbean island nation.
Pedro Pardo / AFP via Getty Images

The hidden junk economy on the Miami River

May 10, 2019
Despite its lack of order, it works.
Wilson Simon sorts through used mattresses for resale in Port-de-Paix, Haiti. A mattress is one of the most sought after commodities in the underground, break-bulk shipping industry between Miami and Haiti and is considered to be “gold” among vendors.
Rowan Moore Gerety

Canada's immigration system has created a labor shortage

May 1, 2018
Haitians, whose temporary protected status is ending in the U.S., are helping to solve the problem.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent walks onto a frozen lake that is split between Canadian territory to the right and the United States in 2006 near Norton, Vermont.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Haitians with TPS help fuel Haiti's economy, one wire transfer at a time

Apr 17, 2018
Their protected status ends in 2019. If they have to leave the U.S., how might that affect Haiti’s economy?
Reynald Justance earns a living working in the kitchens at Disney World. He sends money to family and friends in Haiti at least once a week.
Renata Sago/Marketplace

British regulators scrutinize Oxfam after Haiti misconduct

Feb 13, 2018
An inquiry is being conducted after allegations that the aid group Oxfam covered up a sex scandal involving some of its senior staff. There’s money on the line to be lost, but also the worrying matter for any charitable organization of lost public trust. Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

Tens of thousands of Haitians and others face losing their temporary legal status

Nov 21, 2017
The Trump administration is ending Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, Nicaraguans and maybe other groups.

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For many Haitians, street dispensaries are the only source of medicine

What’s a street dispensary? It’s “a sort of chemical Babel Tower,” according to Arnaud Robert, who reported on these Haitian pharmacies for the June 2017 issue of National Geographic. But the street vendors are not pharmacists, and their wares are not regulated. This illegal, ubiquitous medical practice can have serious consequences for the health of many […]

Haiti’s complicated history with foreign aid

Oct 10, 2016
After Hurricane Matthew, how might aid be administered in Haiti?
UN blue helmets load aid which arrived in US helicopters onto a truck for people affected by Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie, southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on October 10, 2016. Haiti's death toll from monster Hurricane Matthew has risen to 372, civil defense officials said Monday, as the impoverished country continues to dig out of massive destruction in the south. More than 175,500 people were staying in temporary shelters, days after the Caribbean's worst storm in nearly a decade slammed into Haiti last Tuesday. 
RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP/Getty Images

The growing cost of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti

Oct 10, 2016
Haitians and foreign aid groups may have to pay for the hurricane's damage for years to come.
People walk past a street damaged by Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie, in western Haiti, on October 7, 2016
HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images