Haiti in relation to North and South America. The map on the right details where Haiti is in relation to other islands in the Caribbean
'Now, only a month after the bicentenary of Haiti's independence, violence has broken out again and the country's second city, Cap Haitien (the capital is Port-au-Prince) has been attacked.'

In the light of the constantly changing political and civil unrest in Haiti, a paper from Christian Aid explains the background to the current situation, highlights some of Christian Aid's major concerns, defines its position on the emerging issues and makes recommendations for the country's short- and long-term future.
• Click here to download the paper

Now that former Haitian president Aristide has left the capital Port-au-Prince, Christian Aid's country representative Helen Spraos argues that the voice of the poor needs to be heard if Haiti is to find peace and prosperity.
• Click here to read the article

surefish's original article

200 years after it declared independence,
Haiti is in the news again but, sadly, for all the wrong reasons. Andy Chapman finds out why.

Haiti is a country of some 7.5 million inhabitants in the Caribbean, east of Cuba and sharing the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic.

Haiti was originally inhabited by the Arawak, an Amerindian race who lived in areas from Florida in the north to Brazil in the south.

They were almost entirely wiped out by the arrival of Columbus in 1492.

Haiti was ceded by the Spanish to the French in 1697, and became a slave colony.

The slaves revolted in 1804 and the country became the world's first black republic, although France only acknowledged its independence in 1838.

The country was occupied by the US army from 1915 until the
1930s.

After various attempts to secure a democratic government, the country was taken over by Francois 'Papa Doc' Duvalier's military dictatorship in 1958.

Under his regime thousands of opponents were brutally killed. His son, Jean Claude ('Baby Doc'), succeeded him but fled in 1986.

After several coups and a series of both democratic and military leaders, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a Roman Catholic priest, was elected in 1990.

Much of Aristide's presidency was spent in exile due to further military insurrection, but he was re-elected in 2000, albeit amid controversy over the fairness of the elections.

Now, only a month after the bicentenary of Haiti's independence, violence has broken out again and the country's second city, Cap Haitien (the capital is Port-au-Prince) was attacked earlier this week.

Armed gangs are now threatening the capital.

Red Cross aid workers have already reached the rebel-controlled area.

Oxfam has temporarily suspended activity in the area and is considering the best response.

The United Nations is about to appoint a special adviser to Haiti.

Christian Aid is working closely with its local partners to assess how it can best respond to the humanitarian situation as and when political conditions allow.

You can read more about Christian Aid's work in Haiti here.