Nothing has ever come easy for Haiti and the citizens in Haiti. The country is on the verge of another violent collapse as Haitians take their grief and complaints to the streets regarding the nature of the economy. Protests in Haiti have been on the rise since 2018 over whether President Jovenel Moise is working beyond his 5-year term limit. Groups of opposition said President Moise’s five-year term ended on February 7^th, 2021; but President Moise argues that his term lasts until next year. Most of the money spent on the earthquake in 2010 was embezzled and poorly managed as it was poured into hundreds of projects that did little to improve the lives of Haitians.The current administration of Jovenel Moïse has brought about levels of corruption not seen since the end of the Duvalier regime in 1986. In 2019 there was an embezzlement of 1.459 billion Euros from an oil agreement with Venezuela, that was intended for developmental and infrastructural projects. Haitian businesspeople, the political class, and the president himself are found to be involved. Eight-million-dollar disbursement for a post-earthquake industrial park that was never built. Road projects that were approved with no estimated costs of justification. Hundreds of millions of dollars wasted and embezzled with no trace. Moise promised to deliver the people clean water, a decent education, and healthcare and failed to deliver such. Joseph Mecene Jean-Louis, a former Supreme Court judge has been requested by the people to serve in place for President Moise but Moise retaliated by forcibly retiring three Supreme Court judges including Jean-Louis. Many people fear the country will slide back into its once dictatorship role. Moise rules without an administration. A number  of  demographic  factors  correlate  with  support  for  term limits:  People with higher levels of education, men, and young urban residents all tend to favor term limits at higher rates than people with less education, women, and older rural residents.[1]

Political instability ravishes Haiti partnered with natural disasters and other woes. Sixty percent of the population live on less than two dollars per day and fuel shortages are common. Kidnappings have surged about 200% between 2019 and 2020 prompting many schools to close. Murders are also on the rise more since 2015 resulting in three hundred thousand people leaving the country.[2] The United States has the largest Haitian migrant population of any country. Law enforcement in the country is corroded and criminal gangs take control; horrifying massacres are common in the country. In 2018, seventy-one people were killed in the massacre of La Saline, a destitute neighborhood of Port-au-Prince (the capital). Independent investigations have pointed out the connection of the government to the bloodbath, since then three similar atrocities have occurred. [3]Today in 2021 Haiti faces the issue of displacement, they remain susceptible to natural disasters and tropical storms which destroy shelter for the people of the country. Rights to health, water, and food since the country’s more vulnerable communities continue to face environmental risks such as widespread deforestation and limited access to safe water and sanitation. A corrupt criminal justice system, the prison system is extremely overcrowded and many of the inmates are living in inhumane conditions. The overcrowding is due to the high number of arbitrary arrests. Illiteracy is a major problem and approximately 50% of all Haitians ages 15 and older are illiterate. The quality of education is generally low and 85% of schools are run by private entities that charge school fees can become too expensive for low-income families. There has been no accountability for the past abuses and no reparations to the country. Gender-based violence is a widespread problem; Haiti does not have specific legislation against domestic violence, sexual harassment, or other forms of violence targeted at women and girls. Among the survivors of the events that occurred in La Saline massacre are 11 women and girls were gang raped and received no medical support or counselling. People who identify as LGBT suffer high levels of discrimination; the Haitian senate has passed two anti-LGBT bills since 2017.

[1] Data obtained from 2016 National Endowment for Democracy and Johns Hopkins University (Yarwood 2016)

[2] ‘Descent Into Hell’: Kidnapping Explosion Terrorizes Haiti | World News | US News

[3] La Saline Massacre: One Year Anniversary (ijdh.org)