[heartwood]

From what some Haitian friends told me, one from a poor rural family, and one from a wealthy one in Port-au-Prince, voodoo, jealousy, and corruption make it very very difficult to get ahead in Haiti. The only way to do it is to attach yourself to a gang or rising regime.

If you try to start a business, all your merchandise is stolen overnight. If you get ahead in school, you might be poisoned by a rival student. If you plant trees for an orchard or to stop erosion, they will be taken for firewood when they are saplings.

This is the island of Hispaniola from the air.

Haiti is on the left side of the red border, the Dominican Republic on the right.

[SisterK]

the voodoo factor
huge handicap