Why is the Dominican Republic so much richer than Haiti when they both share the same island?

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Obamas Shoes

Bejan needs to read a map...

Best thing to do is check out the book "Collapse" from the library which has a section about why this is. Haiti also has almost no trees left while the DR is lush and green. The Dominican economy was mostly sugar based until about 20 years ago and then they switched to tourism. They have also expanded their agriculture to other crops and are a major tobacco producer. Dominicans also have a much better ability to travel and work abroad with well over a million living in both NYC and Boston. They end up sending money home to their family.

Because Haiti is on the other side of a mountain range, they do not get nearly as much rain as the DR so they can't grow as much crops. Papa Doc made it illegal to import cooking fuels, because it was competing with his monopoly on car fuels, so the Haitians cut down all of the trees and turned them into charcoal. Now in many areas they mine tree roots to burn. Meanwhile in the DR, they made it illegal to down trees so they were actually importing charcoal from Haiti.

Haiti has a very hard time growing new trees because goats are the main source of protein and goats will kill trees by eating the bark. In the DR, pigs are far more common. The topsoil has washed away and now when there are heavy rains whole villages die from mudslides. At one point all of the pigs on the island were killed to prevent an outbreak of a serious pig disease and the ones given to Haiti ended up mostly dying.

Something like 65% of the Haitian population lives on less than a dollar a day. The only way to really save Haiti now is to abandon the country and have it rehabilitated for 40 years without humans or goats. The population is the same on half of the area.

The Duvaliers also stole most of what little wealth there was in Haiti and Baby Doc ended escaping to France with it before the government collapsed. The Dominican government has been stable for more than 40 years now except for a few economic crisises.

Over 70% of Peace Corp volunteers quit their tour in Haiti before their term is up. Haiti simply can't be saved and no one will let the Haitians into their country in big numbers.

Milamila

2 different countries, 2 different governments

Chandler

They have a different government and a different economy.

barcovago

The Haitians KILLED OFF THE FRENCH and BURNED THE ISLAND to get the survivors.. then they installed 3 Kings or Governors that drove the people into poverty. The SPANISH colonized the D.R. and the locals didn't think it necessary to BURN OFF THE TOPSOIL and put theirselves into a GRINDING POVERTY.

This is a very deep subject.. Get a copy of THE DRUM AND THE HOE and it will tell you more than you could ever want to know about Haiti

Andy

Because the Dominican Republic decided to rely on tourism as its economic base (like most other islands in the Caribbean). Haiti, on the other hand chose (or the government chose it for them) to rely on their own industry rather than tourism. Unfortunately, there is insufficient arable land or raw materials to create a sustainable economy. And now, because of decades of poverty and corrupt government, Haiti is a wasteland. When flying to the Dominican Republic you can SEE where one country begins and the other ends. The DR side is green and lush, while the H side is brown and dry. The DR put their resources into establishing a tourist trade, and are beginning to succeed. Should Haiti decide to do the same thing, it will take decades to restore the ravaged environment.

Bajan Princess =]

The Dominican republic and Haiti do NOT share the same island but they are both in the Caribbean, Dominican rely on tourism like many other Caribbean islands.

=]

Smelly

When you don't know why some are getting more money than others... blame it on the government!

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