A concerned Dominican's advice for Haiti

While I am not Dominican by choice and have often been found fighting not to be recognized with any nationality, these days acknowledging myself as Dominican revolves around denouncing the lack of voluntarism in nations. However, in this instance I will gladly take on the label my forced citizenship grants me, so that I can speak to other people who are also forced to a reality they may not appreciate. I will be speaking to Haitians today.

This is not an article to put down Haiti!

I am not speaking about Haitians much though, so if you came here to see whether or not it's true that we don't get along, I'd suggest you quit this article now and invest your time in more rewarding things. In the future I plan to speak more about the relationship between the two nations and the two cultures, but that's not what's most urgent for Haitians or Dominicans today in my opinion, that is why I rather take on another subject.

The problem with Haiti.

A Haitian once told me that Haiti's problem is that everyone wants to be the Chief, I have to take his word for it because I actually never have been to Haiti, even if it's only about 4 hours away from where I grew up. The closest I've ever been to Haiti is as close as I have been to the people running from Haiti, and if there is one thing they all agree on is that they left Haiti because they didn't have the resources to live out there. But when I say live I actually mean exist, because we are not even talking about thriving, we are talking about surviving, we are talking about food and water, we are talking about refuge. We are not talking about GOOD jobs, we are not talking about education, and we are not talking about having choice between 50 different ice cream flavors.

I understand Haiti was the richest colony in the Americas at some point, the rumor is that once slavery was over Haitians were so disgusted with their experience that they destroyed everything that reminded them of slavery which in turn left them without the means to keep producing. Then later they would go on to cut down the trees for energy in the form of charcoal which disabled them even further. But the last nail on the coffin was institutions, not to name anyone in particular, giving them free food which ended up in them forgetting their agricultural practices.

Now they find themselves in one of the warmest places in the world without much in the way of trees for shadow, they find themselves in a vulnerable place for hurricanes and they don't have trees to stop the winds or their roots to keep the hills from coming off in a landslide when it rains. I could go on and on about the consequences of deforestation but it's not really necessary as many have done it before me. The point is Haiti is in bad shape, but that's no mystery for anyone, what most people don't know it's how bad it really is.

Less problems, more solutions.

But this is not a post about how bad Haiti is, this is a post about how there is no point in fighting immigration when the drive to survive doesn't recognize human laws.

There is no point in Dominicans trying to keep Haitians on one side of the island, the resources that would be spent trying to do that would be too much in comparison to the benefits. There is a big incentive though, if keeping Haitians on their side is the goal, in helping to improve the situation in Haiti for its inhabitants. For one we are both in the same Island, a tourist in Haiti is a potential tourist for DR. But if there is enough to survive and maybe even thrive in Haiti, there is no reason for Haitians to make the effort to travel and find means of survival in a place where they can't even relate to the culture.

The challenge.

The problem is that Haiti is not a problem Dominicans can take on. I am not talking about people not liking people enough to help them, I am talking about the day to day reality people experience, to where they are constantly working trying to put something in their stomach and don't have much time for anything else. Haiti is in pretty bad shape, but it's not like DR is much better, and that is perhaps one of the biggest reasons why people can react so violently to the idea of union between the two nations. Putting aside whatever history both nations have, whatever cultural differences, when it comes to structure, when it comes to resources, when it comes to the current political situation of the DR, the Dominican Republic has a lot of issues and adding the complexity of the Haitian problem on top of seems like a recipe for disaster, it sounds like suicide and nothing else.

Ignoring Haiti, however, would be committing suicide for DR. There is no running for Dominicans as to the Haitian reality because Haitians running from that reality transport themselves to the Dominican reality and change it.

What could then be the answer?

First, before we even start thinking about governance for Haiti, they need to do something about the land. I think a very good solution would be growing hemp, which I understand is very resilient, can revitalize the ground, and has many profitable uses.

I'm not talking about legalizing hemp which I don't even know if it's illegal there, I am talking about Haitians just planting this stuff in every stretch of land they can get into, without permission. Better say sorry than ask for permission. In the case of Haiti, this is not much different than how things go normally, because in a country where people don't even get birth certificates there is not much that can be expected in regards to accountability.

It doesn't have to be hemp, or marijuana as I would personally wish they would do, it could be any plant that has the potential to bring the ground back to life and can be turned into profit. Because even if you manage to build the most modern city in Haiti, you still don't have a hospitable enviroment for the city to run on.

It has to be a plant that doesn't have much in the way of wood at least at first, like a bush, because the way things are out there no tree, however small, will survive the charcoal hunters.

Nobody has to be Chief.

If slavery left a bitter taste in Haiti I would think the flexibility of blockchain technology would be pleasant for them. Haitians need means of trading in an organized fashion. If they could get together and cultivate, they still don't have the structure to make it work without them getting totally ripped off. Having them trade within blockchains could also serve as a mechanism for others from around the world to take interest in helping. One of the biggest issues in Haiti is how poorly of a distribution system they have, no system at all, which is why millions in aid never have any actual impact in their living situation. Do not donate to Haiti, buy from Haiti.

Donate unity

If you still feel like donating something to Haiti, because you've seen how bad things are out there and you have some to spare, why not donate the idea of unity? You could donate earthbags so they can rebuild together for the long run and learn a few things about cooperation. I found this video on Youtube and wish to share it because I think this building technique would be fantastic giving what these structures need to withstand. Domes don't have as much of an issue with earthquakes, they can be made to collect water too, and if built with dirt they are resistant to fire, and very good with climate control.

Earthbags could even take quite a few bullets, which would most definitely come by the hand of other interests if Haiti renounces the trap others too have helped them get into.

Never forget that there is profit in misery too.