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How US “Foreign Aid” Has Helped Destabilize Haiti

jacobin.com · 256 words · saved by 1 readers

A surge of gang violence in Haiti has now led to the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Through its heavy-handed use of foreign aid to intervene in Haitian politics, the US government bears significant responsibility for Haiti’s ongoing instability.

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti meant a devastating loss of life, shelter, and livelihood. More than two hundred thousand people in the country died, 1.5 million became homeless, and upward of $7 billion worth of damage was incurred across the affected area. The massive scale of the earthquake’s destruction was met by an influx of foreign aid. In the United States, fundraising for the crisis reached unprecedented proportions, with some sources estimating that nearly half of all US families donated to the relief efforts. Much of this money, however, did not go to feeding, sheltering, and…

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