Haiti

The Caribbean nation of Haiti is located on the island of Hispaniola. Haiti shares a land border with the Dominican Republic, the only other nation on Hispaniola. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and much of the population lives in poverty.<ref>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html

Geographically speaking, Haiti occupies the western portion of Hispaniola, and lies 43 miles across the Windward Passage from the island nation of Cuba. The nation's land mass curves around the Golfe de la Gonave, a large gulf which has the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince along its shores.

The history of Haiti is dominated by violence. Hispaniola, like other islands in the Caribbean, was occupied by Amerindians prior to the arrival of the Europeans.https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html The French began settling the area in the 17th century and, helped by the importation of hundreds of thousands of African slaves, Haiti quickly became France's richest New World colony through the export of sugar, coffee, and indigo. In 1797, former slave Toussaint Louverture led a rebellion that helped secure Haiti's independence.https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html The United States occupied the island from 1915 to 1934.https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html

The 2010 elections in Haiti were surrounded by accusations of fraud and 2 people were killed in clashes between rival political factions.http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/29/un-urges-calm-following-election/ Front runner Mirlande Manigat, as well as all but one of the major presidential candidates, accused the INITE party of fraud and intimidation of voters at polls. Haiti's electoral council refused demands to throw out the results, although voting had been stopped early in two towns and many voters complained they were turned away at the polls. The electoral council validated ballots from 96 percent of polling stations.http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/29/un-urges-calm-following-election/ U.N. soldiers helped the Haiti police force maintain the peace. Results in the election are not expected until at least Dec. 7.http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/29/un-urges-calm-following-election/

Elections have been difficult since an earthquake killed 250,000 people in January 2010 and an outbreak of cholera has killed more since October. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/29/un-urges-calm-following-election/ 1.3 million of Haiti's population are still living in tent camps.http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/29/un-urges-calm-following-election/

On January 12, 2010, Haiti was rocked by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake. The earthquake caused major damage throughout Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas. Hundreds of thousands of people were missing or dead in the quake's immediate aftermath, which collapsed hundreds of buildings, including parts of the Presidential Palace.

Large aftershocks followed the first quake, including a 6.1 trembler on January 20, 2010. Other countries and a variety of relief agencies, including the Red Cross immediately came to Haiti's aid, though getting the aid into the country was impeded by the condition of the Port-au-Prince airport. Relief efforts continue to be ongoing.

As casualties mounted, Haiti was quickly ran of resources to bury their dead individually; rather, tens of thousands of the dead have been buried together in mass graves. The search for survivors officially ended on January 22.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake