A boy’s sad story.   Help is still needed so small donations make all the difference.

Haiti became the world’s first black-led republic and the first independent Caribbean state when it threw off French colonial control and slavery in a series of wars in the early 19th century.

However, decades of poverty, environmental degradation, violence, instability and dictatorship have left it as the poorest nation in the Americas.

A mostly mountainous country with a tropical climate, Haiti’s location, history and culture – epitomized by voodoo – once made it a potential tourist hot spot, but instability and violence, especially since the 1980s, have severely dented that prospect.

Haiti achieved notoriety during the brutal dictatorships of the voodoo physician Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude, or “Baby Doc”. Tens of thousands of people were killed under their 29-year rule.

Hopes that the election in 1990 of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a former priest, would herald a brighter future were dashed when he was overthrown by the military a short time later.

AT A GLANCE Politics: Democratic rule was restored in 2006, two years after a violent revolt ousted former leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide; bitter political divisions persist Economy: The economy is in ruins and unemployment is chronic International: The UN has deployed peacekeepers; international aid is seen as key to recovery Timeline

Although economic sanctions and US-led military intervention forced a return to constitutional government in 1994, Haiti’s fortunes did not pick up, with allegations of electoral irregularities, ongoing extra-judicial killings, torture and brutality.

A bloody rebellion, and pressure from the US and France, forced Mr Aristide out of the country in 2004.

Since then, an elected leadership has taken over from an interim government and a UN stabilisation force has been deployed. But Haiti is still plagued by violent confrontations between rival gangs and political groups and the UN has described the human rights situation as “catastrophic”.

Meanwhile, Haiti’s most serious underlying social problem, the huge wealth gap between the impoverished Creole-speaking black majority and the French-speaking minority, 1% of whom own nearly half the country’s wealth, remains unaddressed.

Many Haitians seek work and a better life in the US or other Caribbean nations, including the neighbouring Dominican Republic, which is home to hundreds of thousands of Haitian migrants.

Furthermore, the infrastructure has all but collapsed and drug trafficking has corrupted the judicial system and the police.

Haiti is also ill-equipped to deal with the aftermath of the tropical storms that frequently sweep across the island, with severe deforestation having left it vulnerable to flooding.

Facts

Leaders

President: Rene Preval

Rene Preval, often described as a champion of the poor, won presidential elections in February 2006 with 51% of the vote.

Rene Preval was declared 2006 poll victor after days of protests

He was declared the victor after officials agreed to discount thousands of blank ballot papers. His supporters had taken to the streets, rejecting initial results which would have led to a second round.

Mr Preval, the front-runner, said “massive fraud” was being used to deny him a first-round victory.

Rene Preval is a former president and a one-time ally of Haiti’s exiled former leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

He says he wants to tackle social inequalities and to create jobs. In the run-up to his inauguration he visited potential donor countries in pursuit of aid.

Born in Port-au-Prince in 1943, Rene Preval studied in Belgium and lived in the US in the 1970s. He is often portrayed as being shy and softly-spoken. He was president from 1996-2001, between Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s first and second terms.

Mr Aristide was Haiti’s first democratically-elected president, taking office in 1990 amid great popular support.

Having weathered a bloody military coup and ongoing political and economic crises, he was forced out in February 2004 when opposition to his rule grew increasingly violent.

Now in exile in South Africa, Mr Aristide has promised to return to Haiti and accuses the US of forcing him into exile. Washington denies this.

Prime Minister: Jean-Max Bellerive

Jean-Max Bellerive was appointed premier by President Preval in October 2009 after the sacking of the government headed by Michelle Pierre-Louis, who had held the post for just over a year.

Jean-Max Bellerive previously served as planning minister

Haiti’s Senate had voted to dissolve Ms Pierre-Louis’ cabinet amid a power struggle that threatened to undermine efforts to attract foreign investment to the country.

The senators who pushed through a censure motion against Ms Pierre-Louis accused her of failing to make sufficient progress in setting Haiti on the path to economic recovery.

Mr Bellerive trained as an economist and has long experience in public administration. He has held a variety of government posts, and was an official in the administration of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

As minister of planning and external cooperation under Ms Pierre-Louis, he played an important role in courting foreign investors.

He faces the task of establishing his authority quickly, so as to avoid Haiti being plunged into a new phase of instability that could jeopardise what progress has been made in attracting investment.

Wow, this will make you cry.  Please help!  What the country needs right now is money, so please donate.  You can find a list of reputable agencies here.

International charities are appealing for donations to help Haiti.

In the UK the DEC – an umbrella group which launches and co-ordinates responses to major disasters overseas – has launched a Haiti Earthquake Appeal.

Disasters Emergency Committee

Direct links to other charities:

In the UK:

1. Unicef UK
2. Medecins Sans Frontieres
3. Plan International
4. Mercy Corps
5. International Rescue Committee
6. Action Against Hunger

In the US:

1. American Red Cross
2. Unicef USA
3. Operation Blessing International
4. The Global Orphan Project
5. International Rescue Committee
6. Partners In Health
7. Architecture for Humanity

These organizations also have ways to donate:

1. International Red Cross
2. International Medical Corps
3. World Food Programme
4. Concern Worldwide
5. International Relief and Development
6. International Organization for Migration

International efforts to help Haiti in the wake of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake are under way, as governments around the world and aid agencies mobilise search and rescue teams and aid supplies.

Although the full scale of the disaster has yet to emerge, it is clear that it will pose a huge challenge.

Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, is still struggling to recover from devastating hurricanes in 2008.

It needs all kinds of help, from emergency and medical aid, to food aid, to the longer-term rebuilding of infrastructure.

US President Barack Obama has pledged to give the people of Haiti the country’s “full support” and to mount a “swift, co-ordinated and aggressive” effort there, co-ordinated by the country’s international development agency - USAID .

He said that the country had already mobilised military over-flights to assess the extent of the damage and that civilian disaster assistance teams were already beginning to arrive in the country. Search and rescue teams were expected to arrive over the coming days, he added.

Pentagon officials said that the US military had ordered an aircraft carrier and three ships, including one which can carry up to 2,000 US Marines, to set sail for Haiti.

The US Coast Guard said it had “mobilized cutters and aircraft to positions in close proximity to Haiti to render humanitarian assistance as needed”.

Haitian communities across the US, including south Florida where an estimated 275,000 Haitians live, are also organizing donations and relief efforts.

I’m really excited about this new product from Apple.  I’ve been hearing anywhere from $500-$700 USD for this.  Now I am hearing $1,000 USD which would be too expensive for me to buy right away.  It isn’t expected to ship the until March am I wondering if people will be lining up to get one!?  What do you guys think?

Wow, this guy killed it.   He must have spent a lot of time memorizing all those dance moves.  Anyways, a little celebration of some of the hits that came out of Kpop this year.

The United Nations is renewing its multi-million dollar appeal for Somalia, which it says is facing a peak in its 18 years of humanitarian crisis.  U.N. agencies pledge to continue assistance to millions of needy Somali people despite the attack in the Somali capital, Mogadishu on Thursday, which claimed 22 lives.

The United Nations says the latest bloody attack in Mogadishu underlines how urgent it is for the international community to provide humanitarian aid to Somalia.

The United Nations recently appealed for 690 million dollars for humanitarian operations in Somalia throughout 2010.  The U.N. says there was a decline in contributions in 2009, so agencies will have little or no money to carry-over for projects in the New Year.

The U.N. says it is absolutely crucial for nations to provide early funding so people can get the help they so desperately need.

U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman, Elizabeth Byrs, says the United Nations is committed to providing relief to the millions of people in the country, despite the increasing dangers. “Even though the humanitarian space has been reduced, we continue our aid and relief operation.  That is why it is so important to get a commitment from the international community and get the adequate funding to the appeal for 2010,” she said.