and Jamaica shook - little did we know what happened to our neighbors - until later

Still punished for rising up against their white masters.

Overthrowing them

As the first slave colony to overthrow their governors and declare independence, they jave been shunned by western powers, which keeps them in poverty.

There are ngos trying to help, but little official aid, even to this day.

Outsiders and expats contribute to chaos by funding gangs to riot, shutting everything including schools down.

And while the population speaks haitian creole, french is the official language, which isnt taught in most schools. So anything involving official documents becomes a barrier to most.

Sad to see.

The red cross claimed to have build dwellings for thousands - turns out they built six permanent structures. Western powers have never forgiven Haiti for kicking them out. And more than a few Caribbean neighbors haven't been kind either. Sad is an understatement

The country has been essentially closed to outsiders for months. It's just too risky with all the unrest.

But they said there was no real observance of the earthquake locally. They asked, and were told Haitians don't like to to dwell on things that make them sad.

Like you said, beyond sad.

and then there are the vultures foreign and local - beyond sad is right.

Decades ago (70s), I worked in Miami with a small group of delightful, caring and funny Haitian men. One day, I made the mistake of calling them "African American" only to be told - in no uncertain terms - that they were NOT African Americans, but (proudly) Haitian. Jean Michel (in that beautiful lilting accent of his) told me that white people tend to lump all Black people in America as African American. He rebuked me only mildly, and I apologized profusely, but I have NEVER used the term since.

You can't tell where someone comes from by looking at them, something that I have always known, but trying to be correct, I couldn't have been more incorrect. I dropped the term from my vocabulary immediately. I never wanted to offend another friend.

after the successful revolt for France’s loss of plantation and human property. Haiti finally finished paying in 1947. 1947! It’s pretty clear where a lot of Haiti’s current problems came from.

What a planet

Yeah...............I know.................

Sigh...

Everyone helps everyone else.

Everyone else helps everyone.

We all help each other. Life forms that cannot help, are helped by those that can.

It's the way forward.

This idea seems to be quite unpopular right now.

You'd think survival would be a bit more popular. I certainly would think so.

Perhaps things need to be much worse before support becomes popular?

Who can say?

I want to survive and I want other life to survive.

What the fuck else do we have other than life?

We do our best to help everyone or we end up helping no one.

Sorry for my ramblings.