Completed Thesis to Grad Studies[Final3].pdf

CHILDREN‘S PERCEPTIONS OF POVERTY: A QUALITATIVE AND
PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDY OF HAITIAN CHILDREN
Leisa Faulkner
B.A., California State University, Sacramento, 2005
THESIS
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in
SOCIOLOGY
at
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO
SPRING
2011

© 2011
Leisa Faulkner
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ii

Approved by:
CHILDREN‘S PERCEPTIONS OF POVERTY: A QUALITATIVE AND
PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDY OF HAITIAN CHILDREN
A Thesis
by
Leisa Faulkner
__________________________________, Committee Chair
Jennifer Murphy, Ph.D.
__________________________________, Second Reader
Manuel Barajas, Ph.D.
____________________________
Date
iii

Student: Leisa Faulkner
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University
format manual, and that this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to
be awarded for the thesis.
__________________________, Graduate Coordinator ___________________
Amy Liu, Ph.D. Date
Department of Sociology
iv

Abstract
of
CHILDREN‘S PERCEPTIONS OF POVERTY: A QUALITATIVE AND
PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDY OF HAITIAN CHILDREN
by
Leisa Faulkner
This thesis uses qualitative and photographic methods to examine how children who live
in a Haitian slum, Cité Soleil, view their own impoverished conditions. They demonstrate
a high level of fearlessness, compassion and altruism as well as a strong sense of
connection to their community. They express a sense of obligation to their families,
friends, community and country. The two things they talked about most were first their
denunciation of dangerous conditions in their community and second their concern about
getting an opportunity to attend school. Their constructions of poverty reflect food
insecurity, lack of money to buy water, concerns for their parents and for others they
consider even less fortunate. The depth of their need is demonstrated by what they told
me of their dreams and wishes. Their voices and images reveal the vivid face of those
most vulnerable to global actions and choices which is discussed primarily within a world
systems perspective.
____________________________, Committee Chair
Jennifer Murphy, Ph.D.
____________________________
Date
v

PREFACE
Illustration 1 Children of Milot, 2004
Milot, Haiti August 2005
I was so encircled by children, it was hard to see the soccer game that brought men from
the village men and U.N. troops together on the steaming hot field that evening in Milo,
Haiti. Both sides had given themselves to the game with such abandon it was contagious.
I clapped and cheered with the crowd, even when I couldn‘t see the action. I was
determined to let the tension of the long week give way to the sway of the crowd. Just for
once, I was content being drenched in sweat by the heat and the momentum of the game.
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I had come to Haiti the year before, just after the U.S. backed coup had removed the
―first-ever-elected‖ President Aristide and forced thousands of elected officials and
Aristide sympathizers into hiding. I was enlisted by Haitian solidarity leaders as a human
shield along with another woman, Sasha Kramer, in an effort to keep those remaining
elected officials alive through the violent aftermath.
We had just finished a long week of negotiations aimed at ensuring some measure of
safety for folks about to celebrate the successful August 14, 1791 slave uprising in Haiti,
and that game was my little reward.
At dusk, still basking in the game after-glow, we wandered down the dusty village road
followed by a trail of happily chanting half naked children. We had no way of knowing
the fate of our counterparts to the south, where a similar game had just ended quite
differently, in a machete massacre witnessed by over five thousand spectators.
Not until my plane landed in California did I hear about the concurrent game in Port au
Prince. At that game, fans known to be Lavalas (flood of the poor) political party
members were called out of the stands and summarily shot on the spot; those trying to
escape were macheted as they scrambled over fences.
I have been haunted by those reported sights and sounds since I first heard them from
first hand observers. My own memories of that evening, full of cheering children‘s faces
and the sounds of their happy chants get garbled up even now with envisioned faces of
terrified children and their companioned cries.
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Those blood soaked soccer fields invoke images of atrocities crossing centuries resulting
from race, power and profit driven actions and policies inflicted on the global south, but
specifically on the proud and persistent people who have come to call Haiti home. Daniel
O‘Connell once said that Ireland can trace its history, like a wounded man through a
crowd, by the blood (Douglass 1867). Haiti‘s history can similarly be traced in blood as
global and local political, economic and social policy perpetuates the extreme poverty
that was inflicted on Haiti over five hundred years ago continues to extract a human toll.
The children‘s voices tell this story best; their eyes bare best witness to their strength and
determination; all they ask of us is to give them back their future. When I asked them to
tell me their wishes, they did not ask for much; they did not ask for fancy houses and the
latest toys, overwhelmingly, they asked to have the chance to be safe and be able to go to
school. They want a chance to make a difference in their own lives, in their own
communities, and finally, in the future of their country. 1
1 For a fuller understanding of the global players and actions involved with Haiti‘s impoverishment, see the
timeline in Appendix A.
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DEDICATION
I fondly dedicate this project to my family and loved ones, including my adopted family
of children in Cité Soleil. My state-side family includes my five sons, Wade, Jordan,
Grant, Caleb and Luke who never complained that I was ―off to Haiti‖ again, and my
soon to be adopted sons, D‘Alessandro and Tevez. I am happily also supported by my
darling daughters by marriage, Dawn, Christene and Brittany, my grand-daughter,
Tanner, and my parents, Billie and Bob Morenz. By the time this is published, I hope to
see our newest little girl grand-baby due sometime in June, 2011.
Mostly, I want to dedicate this work to my muse and mentor partner, Dr. Paul Burke. He
is an inspiring liberation sociologist and scholar. He sees the connection between
academia and activism; he lives the work, walks the talk and keeps the dream alive.
Finally, I would like to dedicate this work to Father Gerard Jean Juste, who was an
inspiration for this project but left us before it was completed. His love for the children of
Haiti superseded his personal concerns that no doubt contributed to his early departure
from this life. If you are watching us Father Gerry, we are still with the children, still
caring and still listening to them.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Nowadays we hear a bit more about Haiti in the news, following the earthquake of 2010,
but the following folks supported this project even before Haiti became headline news.
First, my great admiration and appreciation goes to Dr. Percy Hintzen of U.C. Berkeley,
whose guidance was indispensible to my understanding of the under-development of the
Caribbean. Thanks also to Pierre Labossierre, who got me to go to Haiti in the first place
back in 2004, and to Shada Medical clinic and its director, Madame Bwa.
My dear friend, Professor Bill Quigley, Esq., of Loyola School of Law, has offered
steady support and inspiration by embodying the heart of liberation theology. Thanks also
to Brian Concannon of ―The Institute of Justice and Democracy in Haiti‖ for always
taking time for me, and to Tom Griffen, Esq., a real life hero and co-founder of ―The
Lamp Clinic of Haiti,‖ who sat perched on a roof-top one night during a thunder storm
and humbly shared his fearless story that first led me to ―The Lamp.‖
I could not have managed this project without the unconditional support from the clinic
staff, especially the clinic manager, (Mimi) Myrlene Dominque, and Doctors Joey
Prosper and Jim Morgan. Thanks also to Regine Theodat, Redgi Alvarez and Peggy
Rivera for their friendship and help translating and transcribing.
Not least, I have to give credit to my readers, Michael Stavros and Manuel Barajas and to
my committee chair, Jennifer Murphy. Lastly I would like to acknowledge the Pacific
Sociological Association who encouraged this effort by allowing me to present the
prospectus at the Annual PSA meeting in Oakland, California on April 9, 2010.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface......................................................................................................................... vi
Dedication ................................................................................................................... ix
Acknowledgments......................................................................................................... x
List of Figures ........................................................................................................... xiv
Illustrations ................................................................................................................. xv
Chapter
1. PROJECT OVERVIEW .........................................................................................1
Background ........................................................................................................2
Project Design ....................................................................................................6
Significance........................................................................................................7
Purpose of This Study ........................................................................................9
Summary ..........................................................................................................12
2. LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................14
Sociohistoric Overview of Haiti ......................................................................14
Theoretical Frameworks ..................................................................................20
Prior Research on Impoverished Children .......................................................28
3. METHODS AND DATA ......................................................................................45
xi
Page

Methods............................................................................................................45
Participants .......................................................................................................47
Interviews .........................................................................................................50
Conclusion .......................................................................................................56
4. RESULTS ..............................................................................................................58
Major Themes and Patterns .............................................................................58
Major Theme or Pattern: Community ..............................................................59
Major Theme or Pattern: Conditions ...............................................................69
Major Theme or Pattern: Feelings ...................................................................79
Major Theme or Pattern: Poverty ....................................................................86
Major Theme or Pattern: Trauma ....................................................................91
Major Theme or Pattern: Wishes .....................................................................93
Summary ........................................................................................................100
5. DISCUSSION .......................................................................................................101
Comparison to Previous Studies ....................................................................101
Gendered Differences ....................................................................................101
Children‘s Perceptions of Adults, Other Children, Their Community
and Living Conditions............................................................................102
Children‘s Self Esteem and Future Expectations...........................................105
Children‘s Causal Scripts for Poverty............................................................106
xii

Commodification of Children ........................................................................107
Theoretical Context ........................................................................................108
6. CONCLUSION .....................................................................................................111
Limitations and Advantages ..........................................................................112
Suggestions for Future Research ...................................................................115
Social and Policy Implications.......................................................................136
Final Thoughts ...............................................................................................137
Appendix A. Haitian Historical Time Line................................................................140
Appendix B. Interview Plan .......................................................................................144
Appendix C. Guardian‘s Informed Consent ..............................................................147
Appendix D. Participant‘s Informed Consent ............................................................149
Appendix E .French Translations of Consent Forms .................................................150
References ..................................................................................................................154
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LIST OF FIGURES
xiv
Page
1. Figure 1 Multi-national Comparison of Life Expectancies .................................. 2
2. Figure 2 World Systems Context in Five Steps ...................................................25
3. Figure 3 21 st Century Example of World Systems Context in
Five Steps .....................................................................................................26
4. Figure 4 Global Birth Rate 2003-2010 ................................................................28

ILLUSTRATIONS
Page
1. Children of Milot, 2004 …………………..……………………… vi
2. U.N. "Tanks" Still Part of Daily Life ……………………………….3
3. Cement ―Human Pipeline‖ in Cap-Haïtien, 2005…………………. 4
4. Little Girl in Pink, 2007 …………………………………………... 8
5. Car Wash in Cap-Haïtien, 2007…………………………………… 11
6. Shada‘s Children, 2007…………………………………………...…13
7. Children of Sopudep, 2004 …………..……..………………….… 18
8. U.N. ―Tanks‖ Advance Toward Youth, 2008 ………………...…… 19
9. Shada Baby, 2008………………………………………..……..… 23
10. Madame Bwa and I Discuss Starting a School, 2008 …………… 32
11. Three Days After the Quake, The Lamp Clinic, 2010 …………… 33
12. Girls at The Lamp Clinic, January 2010 …...……………… …… 37
13. Desperate Father, July 2010………………………………………. 43
14. Child Peeking in on Interviews, July 2010…………..…………… 50
15. Hand-Made Toy Truck in Cité Soleil, January 2010 …………… 54
16. Kites Over the Tent City, 2011…………………………………..… 55
17. Home Made of Tin in Cité Soleil…..……..……………………… 72
18. Spunky in Shada ……….………………………………………….. 82
19. Attitude at the Lamp, 2009………………...……………….……….85
20. Full of Hope, Shada 2008…………………………………………..109
xv

21. Girls From Mabe Orphanage with my son Luke, 2010 ………...….122
22. Proud Mom at The Lamp Clinic, January 2010….…………………124
23. Shada Girls…….……….………………………………………….. 126
24. Waiting for Water in Cité Soleil, 2008..…...……………….………135
xvi

Chapter 1
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Haiti was the most impoverished country in the western hemisphere before the January
12, 2010 earthquake that took the lives of more than 250,000 people, left about one
million people homeless (Chomsky 2010; The Telegraph, April 2010), and created four
to ten thousand new amputees. In daily life, Haitian impoverishment means no clean
water, reliable electricity, clean toilets, and minimal public education. 2 Smoke from
burning garbage and from food prepared over open charcoal chokes a population with
one of the lowest life expectancies anywhere in the world (Figure 1). While most of the
population lives in poverty, as much as 54% of the population struggle to live in abject
poverty, about US $1.25 a day (UNICEF 2007). Even before the 2010 earthquake and
subsequent cholera epidemic, life expectancy in Haiti was extremely low (see table
below).
This thesis aims to tell the story of Haitian children who have managed to survive
in these conditions, from their own perspective, in their own words and with a voice not
easily forgotten. I also offer a bit of insight into how Haiti‘s impoverishment happened in
the first place, for two reasons. First it is impossible to understand any social condition in
isolation. In other words, if we want to understand what these children‘s lives look like,
2 This description of conditions in 2011 inside the tent cities set up after the 2010 earthquake match my
personal experience: ―The true misery cannot be captured in the frame of a camera lens. It is in the heat, the
flies, the stench and the lack of privacy. Heat increases as it becomes trapped under the tarps and between
walls of sheets. With only four, five or six foot ceilings, the hottest spot is always at your neck and head.
Inside a tent, it is a waste of time and energy to wipe the sweat away, as it pours down your back, chest and
legs. The lack of walls, windows, and fences strips people of their privacy at every turn, so that no intimate
act – from dressing or going to the toilet to bathing or merely engaging in conversation with another
becomes intrusively public. The flies make for a constant hum everywhere. Within a tarp shelter, without
walls or screens, bunches of flies freely light on the food, on an unwashed dish, a bucket someone had used
as a toilet and then on a child‘s face. ..at night the mosquitoes take over (Griffen 2010:8).‖
1

we need to look at those lives in context of their socio-historical setting. Second, if ever
social, political or economic remedies are seriously attempted, they cannot hope to
succeed if not developed in full understanding of the driving forces that caused the
impoverishment, and continue to have impact in Haiti. This first chapter consists of four
parts: a brief background of Haiti, a project overview, and the significance and purpose of
this research project.
Figure 1 Multi-National Comparison of Life Expectancies, From the World Health Organization,
2009
Female
Healthy Life
Expectancy
Male
Healthy Life
Expectancy
BACKGROUND
0 20 40 60 80
France
International intervention dragged Haiti into poverty over five hundred years ago. Today,
international players continue to play a part in maintaining that poverty, though much has
been said recently by those same players about their intentions to improve Haiti‘s
U.S.
Haiti
Uganda
2

condition (Chomsky 2010). Haiti‘s impoverishment was brought to international attention
in the aftermath of the 2010 quake, what is less well known is that Haiti didn‘t start out
impoverished, just the opposite.
Illustration 2 U.N. "Tanks" Still Part of Daily Life
Five centuries ago Haiti was the wealthiest colony in the world (Farmer 2003;
Chomsky 2010), and for over a thousand years her indigenous peoples lived in massive
natural abundance (Robinson 2007). Once dragged down into slavery, Haitian‘s managed
the first successful slave revolution in world history. However, dominant global power
interests continued to vie for that human and material wealth, position on the island as a
military refueling station, for its location in a prime trading zone, or proximate location to
the U.S. and Cuba. These contests played a major role in Haiti‘s under-development to
3

the extent that cheap human labor is Haiti‘s remaining most abundant natural resource
(Hallward 2007).
Illustration 3 Cement “Human Pipeline” in Cap-Haïtien, 2005
4

Haiti‘s struggle has not gone completely unnoticed. As recently as four months
before the 2010 devastating earthquake in Haiti, the United States agreed to forgive 100%
of Haiti‘s debt. This action was part of an even larger cancellation of Haiti‘s entire debt
to Paris Club members, which is estimated at $214 million (SFCN 2009). In June 2009,
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund granted Haiti $1.2 billion of debt relief
to Haiti. In January 2010, former U.S. President Bill Clinton said, "I think we are really
on the verge of being able to make some significant changes (in Haiti)." Bill Clinton is
the newly named special U.S Envoy to Haiti in August (Sutton 2009). Then the most
devastating natural disaster in human history hit Haiti so hard, it seemed to be felt around
the world (NY Times February 10, 2010).
This is a difficult and contradictory time in Haitian history. In the period of time
between the coup of 2004 and 2009, thousands of men, women and children were killed
(Chomsky 2010), 3 and as mentioned, nearly 300,000 people just died from an earthquake.
Yet, according to the U.S. government, this is the safest time in the last six years to go to
Haiti. 4 When I first started going to Haiti in 2004, it was as a human shield and human
rights worker. During 2005, while I returned to work in Port au Prince, over 35,000
political rapes were documented in that city alone (Chomsky 2010). But, early 2010,
Haiti was already on the cusp of many positive changes. The summer of 2010 turned out
3 Chomsky sites the Lancet study of human rights abuses from February 2004 until December 2005. ―The
researchers found that some eight thousand were murdered during the period, and sexual assault was
common, especially against children, with the data suggesting thirty-five thousand women and girls were
raped in the Port-au Prince area alone.‖ (This is the same area that is the target of this research, since Cite
Soleil is a community within the Port au Prince (PAP) area. This author first went to PAP in 2004 to
document these human rights abuses.)
4 U.S. lifted travel warnings on going to Haiti in 2009
5

to be a window of opportunity for researchers; following the quake, and before the
November 2010 presidential election, there was a period of relative peace.
PROJECT DESIGN
This grounded research project utilized a purposive sample study of 22 children in the
most infamous 5 of Haitian slums, Cité Soleil, which is part of the larger area known as
Port au Prince, Haiti. The project design focused on collecting data through in-depth
interviews exploring what impoverished children think about their living conditions. It
also adds to an emerging global data base that investigates those most often and severely
affected by acute poverty, namely children. Poverty scholar, Pamela Zahorik said that
children ―differ from adults anatomically, emotionally, intellectually, socially, and
spiritually. If we hope to advance knowledge of children - in both states of health and
illness - and better understand the adults they will become, children must be considered
as research subjects‖ (Zahorik 1996: abstract).
The protocol built on a limited but an emerging area of international sociological
research that use children‘s own perceptions of their acute poverty as significant
sociological data. These other findings are reviewed in chapter two and compared and
contrasted with my findings in chapter four.
Since the project was designed to complement this existing body of international
research, I used a correlated line of questioning and adopted a similarly strict set of safety
standards. A child-friendly technique was used that began by simply having the children
5 Pilkington and Phillips 2010
6

make faces into a camera. The exact questions asked the children (see Interview Plan,
Appendix B) were chosen based on the following areas of interest:
SIGNIFICANCE
o What are the children‘s perceptions of poverty?
o What do they have to tell us about their living conditions?
o How do they feel about their living conditions?
o What makes them happy or sad?
o What are their expectations for the future?
o How have things changed since the 2010 quake?
This study provides insight into the lives of the impoverished children of Cité Soleil.
These children have managed to survive almost every type of threat to life known to man.
Each survived the violence of the 2004 coup¹ as well as multiple hurricanes, and the
deadly 2010 earthquake. As they struggle daily to get their basic health needs met in the
most notorious slum in Haiti (Pilkington and Phillips 2010) inside the poorest country in
the Western Hemisphere, 6 they have a new threat. As this report is being compiled,
cholera seeps through Haiti‘s dirty waters. This massive cholera epidemic broke out in
October 2010, just three months after our interviews were finished. So far, nearly 5,000
people have died, however, at last check, all the participants in this study have managed
to survive.
This study gave children an opportunity to tell details of their lives that would not
have been available from census data or some type of quantitative study. Too often when
data has been collected about children they have been left out of the process even though
in impoverished countries children under 18 often represent a majority of the population.
6 The CIA Factbook cites Haiti as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with 80% of the
population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty. Also (Chomsky 2010:7).
7

Scholars point out that often accurate data relating to judgements, attitudes, preferences,
priorities, and/or perceptions are difficult to collect using quantitative research methods
(Tekola 2008; Carvalho and White 1997). This open-ended qualitative process gave a
rare insight into exactly what life looks like for the children who were given no choice
but to be born into extreme the poverty that is the consequence of global policy choices.
Illustration 4 Little Girl in Pink, 2007
Acute poverty has the most deadly impact on children (Aleshina and Redmond
2005; Baschieri and Falkingham 2007 in Menchini & Redmond 2009; Hintzen 2008;
Legge 2008). For example, almost half (47%) of all Haitians are malnourished according
8

to the UN World Food Programme, the largest and most effective food aid organization
in Haiti (Jackson 2008) and almost one fifth of all malnourished children never see their
5 th birthday (Hintzen 2008; Unicef 2005). A poor child is 50 times more likely to die
before age five than a child that is not impoverished (Thompson 2005). Add to these
health concerns the fact that it is youth who are the main victims of poverty related
violence (Legge 2008). Simply, this study focused on children‘s perceptions of their own
poverty because within poverty research, it is children who are most severely affected.
To date, their perspective has not been incorporated in the many poverty analyses that
have been conducted in Haiti, and as far as I know, I am the only sociologist with unique
access to these communities who is currently doing this type of research.
PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY
This study adds findings to a small but growing pool of international research which
consider children credible experts on their own impoverishment. It is my hope that by
contributing to the knowledge base on children‘s poverty it will encourage other
researchers to do the same, and accordingly may have some impact on policy planning.
Taken together these findings paint a picture as significant as it is heart wrenching.
Obviously, more research needs to be collected to provide enough usable data that
can be synthesized for global policy shapers. However, if social policy makers seriously
come seeking input from social scientists it is our responsibility to have done our
homework. Remediation of poverty in a sociologically informed way requires social
scientists having at hand current, reliable sociological information. Global policy has
9

affect on the micro level, and no picture of that micro level is as telling as the story of
these children.
The earthquake relief effort in Haiti has been random and uncoordinated
according to former President Bill Clinton. He announced in June 2010 that a committee
would be formed to address this problem. 7 Since then, U.S. funds earmarked for Haitian
earthquake relief have been held up. Previously, various project funds have been spent
with little or no sociologically based protocol, and have been a common problem in Haiti.
For example, in 2007, I saw a new building project in the north of Haiti built by USAID.
I saw this project while bouncing along a deeply rutted dusty road (hard to call it a road),
just beyond the car wash pictured below (see photo).
7 Associated Press. June 17, 2010. Port au Prince, Haiti. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton inaugurated the
commission overseeing Haiti's post-earthquake reconstruction. Rebuilding has been hampered by
organizational problems, government dysfunction and the scale of the disaster itself. Only a fraction (

Illustration 5 Car Wash in Cap-Haïtien, 2007
The new village reeked of inadequate research. Small cement homes were
packed closely together, isolated by a flood prone river from any work or market access.
No accommodation had been made for a clean well, family garden plots, toilets,
electricity or schools. In essence it was a formula for instant slum. Sociological research
could have informed these project designers that for thousands of years, poor families
depend on a family garden, a major omission. Not too much foresight would have been
needed to note that the reason no homes previously existed across this river was that it
regularly floods and has no bridge. The desperate people who moved in don‘t own cars,
much less 4-wheel drive trucks. The target demographic for occupancy was not
considered as a whole.
11

This project built homes for poor families with children. If even the most basic
social research had been performed, it would have shown that the only folks living across
the river where those with means to drive sturdy vehicles like the subsidized home for
boys down the road. Access to this new housing project is completely dependent on
transport to handle a road that routinely floods. A cursory look at census data would have
shown that 80% of the population lives under the poverty line (CIA Factbook 2010), and
could not afford such transportation. A brief sociological assessment of the children
targeted for this new housing development would have shown them to be in desperate
need of clean water, (no wells were included in the project design), sanitation (no dry
toilets were included in the development plan), a means to acquire an education (no
school building was included) and safety (in crossing the swollen river without a bridge).
The same forgotten bridge could have allowed the transport of wage earners and food
stuffs necessary for the family‘s maintenance. By looking at the needs of the child first,
since they are the most vulnerable members of a community, the families‘ projected
needs could have been discernable. Children‘s needs best advise a community‘s needs. In
this case, children needed parents who could cross a river to find work, and go to market.
This is not what I saw. What I did see was a two-ish looking naked little girl sitting butt
down in the dust, not three feet from the ―road,‖ with little hope for survival, much less a
better life.
SUMMARY
In the field of poverty research a clear case can be made for using children‘s needs and
children‘s stories as an important tool. This small study is just a start. This project is
12

designed to allow children in Haiti to tell us their story. It is my hope that the design of
this project and similarity of protocol with projects in Ethiopia (Tekola, Griffin and
Camfield 2009) and Uganda (Witter and Bukokhe 2004) may help us correlate with other
international children‘s poverty researchers.
Illustration 6 Shada's Children, 2007
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Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
To provide context for this study, this chapter includes three sections: (i) a sociohistoric
overview of Haiti, (ii) a discussion of related theoretical frameworks, primarily world
systems theory and how Haiti fits into a global system of underdevelopment (Gunder
Frank 1994; Wallerstein 2004), and (iii) a review of current relevant research in the area
of children‘s perceptions of poverty.
SOCIOHISTORIC OVERVIEW OF HAITI
John C. Buckner, of Children‘s Hospital, Boston, points out that it is ―wise to be mindful
of the broader context of poverty‖ in understanding the issues of impoverished children
(Buckner 2008:734). This investigation begins with a sociohistoric overview because it is
impossible to understand society without historical and global context, and to see how
they have significant influence and correlations to social relationships of individuals. 8
First, how did Haiti go from being a lush, naturally abundant land with a rich culture
trained in self-sustaining farming and fishing for thousands of years (Haught 1992) to the
most impoverished country in hemisphere (Farmer 2003)? Respected sociologist James
Mahoney (2000:520) explains it this way: ―the European capitalist system required
territorial expansion in order to ensure its survival, and this territorial expansion
reinforced the world capitalist system during the period from 1450 to 1640.‖ Haiti was
―discovered‖ in 1492. The European capitalist system ―discovered‖ Haiti as part of its
8 (Andre Gunder Frank 1994; Wallerstein 2004; Hintzen 2008; House and Mortimer 1990:77-79; Turner
and Marino 1994:194)
14

need for territorial expansion. An ethno-racial construct of ―heathen‖ was simultaneously
developed to help justify the ensuing genocide and devastation.
Prior to 1492, the Tiano people thrived for over a thousand years in balance with
nature on the island of Hispaniola (now home to Haiti and the Dominican Republic).
Once ―discovered,‖ things changed quickly for the Tiano Amerindians. Columbus
promises riches for the crown; and to do this, he enslaved the inhabitants of the region
with superior weaponry and cruelty. They ―thought nothing of knifing Indians by tens
and twenties and of cutting slices off them to test the sharpness of their blades (Zinn
2003:4-6).‖
Haiti was not just a desirable colonial possession, it quickly became the most
lucrative colony in the world (Farmer 2003), eventually boasting the first European
university and cathedral outside Europe (Dubois 2004). ―Discovery‖ also brought an
almost instant annihilation of the indigenous inhabitants of the island and surrounding
greater area. ―Within two years half of the natives were dead‖ (Zinn 2003:4-6). In a span
of less than 100 years following Columbus‘ ―discovery‖ the 8 million indigenous
inhabitants in the area suffered near complete genocide (de Las Casas 1552; CIA 2011).
The Spanish began importing African slaves to replace the Arawak Amerindians (larger
category to which the Tiano belonged) to meet the new demand for free labor, placing
Haiti at the center of the world‘s slave trade (Farmer 2003). Haiti‘s subsequent ability to
produce unprecedented wealth for its colonial slave masters (first Spanish, then French)
combined with its strategically unsurpassed military position (centered between Florida
15

and Venezuela, and between Cuba and Puerto Rico) put Haiti in the unenviable position
of being most desirable landmass on earth (Debien 1962; Farmer 2003; Hallward 2007).
―In the nature of the country itself there is much to inspire its people with
manliness, courage, and self-respect. In its typography it is wonderfully beautiful,
grand and impressive. Clothed in its blue and balmy atmosphere, it rises from the
surrounding sea in surpassing splendor…It is a land strikingly beautiful,
diversified by mountains, valleys, lakes, rivers and plains, and contains in itself all
the elements of great and enduring wealth. Its limestone formation and foundation
are a guarantee of perpetual fertility. Its tropical heat and insular moisture keep its
vegetation fresh, green and vigorous all the year round. At an altitude of eight
thousand feet, its mountains are still covered with woods of great variety and of
great value. Its climate, varying with altitude like that of California, is adapted to
all constitutions and productions‖ (Frederick Douglass 1893).
Tropical splendor was a paradoxical backdrop for the incomparable depravity that
allowed for slaves to be burned alive thirteen at a time mocking the life of Jesus and the
12 Apostles. For sport, fetuses were cut out of their living mother‘s wombs and dashed
against the rocks. Yet another tactic was to sever the hands of children, women and men
so that they were left hanging until all the blood drained slaves of life in punishment for
not returning enough gold to their masters. These colonial masters had collectively
defined their Amer-Indian, then African slaves as ―non-humans,‖ ―heathens,‖ ―natives,‖
or simply ―other‖ than themselves. This de-humanizing granted absolution for their
torture under the constructs of converting, teaching obedience, establishing order,
bringing civilized culture, training and salvation (de Las Casas 1542).
Life was perilous in Haiti, and by 1791 the surviving slaves initiated a historic
first, a successful slave uprising. The ensuing slave revolution, inspired by the U.S. and
French revolutions, shook the global bonds of slavery and the very foundation of
capitalism that supported the same hegemonic powers that jostled to control Haiti
16

(Geggus 2001; Logan 1969). When Haiti defeated Napoleon‘s army in 1804, it threatened
commerce around the world. Meanwhile, the defeat of the French army forced Napoleon
to abandon his plans to use Haiti as a jumping off point to invade the U.S. through
Florida. At that time France held ownership of about one third of North America, along
with Spain and the United States. So it was that the Haitian defeat of Napoleon‘s army
not only protected the U.S. from imminent invasion, it also helped to double the size of
the United States by the associated acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase. This history is
well known to Haitian children, though hardly taught in American schools (see Appendix
A for a full timeline).
Following the Haitian revolution, it is fair to say the world economy shook.
Haiti‘s ―discovery‖ set off a persistent series of multi-faceted economic assaults and
multi-national invasions lasting over 500 years. Noam Chomsky and others conclude that
these outside interventions are most responsible for Haiti‘s current impoverishment and
instability (Chomsky 2010; Hallward 2007; Logan 1969).
17

Illustration 7 Children of Sopudep, 2004
The boys and girls in Haiti know their heritage. Haitian children are raised in a
rich oral tradition (Munroe 2007). The stories and legends of their forefathers flow down
like rain on Haitian children. Images of slaves turned revolutionaries are boasted on
murals, statues in public places, and on every piece of currency. ―Post-revolution Haitian
history transmits to each generation not absence and emptiness, but a legacy of
unrepeatable victories, incomparable heroism, in short almost an excess of history
(Munroe 2007:108).‖ Haitian children are aware of their proud beginnings, just as they
are aware of the violence and deprivation that is part of Haiti today.
18

Illustration 8 U.N. "Tanks" Advance Toward Youth, 2008
The children of Cité Soleil live entirely different lives than those of children who
lived on their island before its western ―discovery.‖ As consequence of that discovery,
rather than living in natural abundance on their lush Caribbean island, each of the
children in this study live lives steeped in conditions of acute poverty, having little access
to clean water, food, shelter or education. Each survived the violence of the 2004 political
coup, and did so in Cité Soleil, which was notorious at the time for being an epicenter of
brutal repression and related gang violence. To compound these traumas, their
community is located in the Port au Prince, which was hardest hit in January 2010 with
an earthquake decidedly the ―worst natural human disaster in modern history‖ (NY Times
19

Feb 7, 2010), but which disaster need not have been so deadly, had it not been for
generations of interventions. Chomsky summarizes Haiti‘s deconstruction:
―Consider the poorest country in the Western hemisphere: Haiti, which may not
be habitable in a few generations; it was probably the richest colony in the world,
the source of much of France‘s wealth…The plantation slave economy set in
motion the processes of destroying arable land and forests that have been carried
forward since… Haitians were made to pay a bitter price for the crime of
liberation… France imposed a huge indemnity on Haiti as punishment for
liberating itself from vicious French rule, a burden it has never been able to
overcome… Perhaps the most extreme of the many disasters visited upon Haiti
since its liberation was the invasion by Woodrow Wilson in 1915… killing
thousands and opening up the country to takeover by U.S. corporations... As the
World Bank explained in a 1985 report, in this export-oriented development
strategy domestic consumption should be ―markedly restrained in order to shift
the required share of output increases into exports (Haiti should stop growing its
own food). Subsequent disasters, including the earthquake of January 2010, are
substantially man-made, the consequences of these policy decisions and others
like them since the U.S. invasion of 1915 exacerbating the disasters set in motion
by France as it enriched itself by robbing and destroying its richest colony
(Chomsky 2010:7-9).‖
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS
I subscribe to the PEWS (Political Economy of the World-System) section of the
American Sociological Association whose core interests are to explain the production and
reproduction of asymmetric power relations, and macro and micro-level inequalities in
their world historical context. Though I use a selection of perspectives, I primarily use
world systems to give context to my study, since Haitian children are living today in
conditions that are the consequence of a global power-play that caught Haiti in the
crossfire at what may well turn out to be the most pivotal moment (1492) in human
history to date (Chomsky 2010). I also reference a racial hegemony that is still playing
out in Haiti. And, since over-population is a convenient scapegoat in many discussions
20

about the global South, I will discuss the neo-Malthusian perspective, though that
perspective is rightly losing ground today. Lastly, I want to disclose that I am not
impartial; I have a bias as I would contend all historical reporters do. I am a liberation
sociologist. Liberation sociology is not a theory, but a perspective that gives preferential
option to the poor and less powerful. This means I have searched to find voices that speak
for the oppressed when I could find them.
World Systems Theory
World systems theory presupposes the significance of world history, like Leopold von
Ranke said, ―There is no history but world history.‖ Immanuel Wallerstein and the late
Andre Gunder Frank (1994) are two of sociology‘s distinguished theorists that have
written extensively about the significance of understanding how the global interplay of
nations (intermeshed with large corporate interest) has consequence throughout the
world. Andre Gunder Frank‘s ―Dependency Theory‖ (1978a, 1978b, 1994) and
Immanuel Wallerstein‘s ―World-System‖ (1974) perspective from the late 1970‘s melded
neatly into what is now broadly known as world systems theory.
To identify the world players more easily, world systems theory categorizes them
into three groups, naming the most powerful states as ―core,‖ the least powerful as
―periphery‖ and those of intermediate power are called ―semi-periphery.‖ For example,
the U.S., U.K., Japan, France and Germany would be considered in the ―core;‖ in the
semi-periphery are countries such as Brazil, Mexico and South Korea; periphery
countries would include countries such as Haiti, Libya, Iraq, Vietnam, Bolivia,
Afghanistan, and El Salvador.
21

Two main principles of world systems theory are that those in power make
policies and take actions that maintain their power or advantage which then tends to
reduce the power and worth of the periphery, and when power is wielded by the core it
has a major impact in periphery countries (McMichael 2008; Wallerstein 1976). World
systems says that core nations do things that keep the existing power structure intact
(Chomsky 2010), and since Haiti is one of the most impoverished (and least powerful)
countries in the world, the actions of the ―core‖ will most likely perpetuate Haiti‘s
impoverishment. The ramification for Haitian children is that barring direct and
purposeful intervention, the prevailing larger world system can be expected to contribute
to rather than ameliorate their acutely impoverished condition.
22

Illustration 9 Shada Baby, 2008
World Systems Theory: Putting Children’s Poverty, and other International Research
into Global Context
Sociologists in various disciplines seem to be increasingly taking larger, even global
frames of reference. House and Mortimer laid the groundwork in 1990 when they said
that, ―the discipline of sociology recently has experienced a resurgence of interest in the
relationship between macrosocial and microsocial/individual phenomena (House and
Mortimer 1990:72).‖ Sandra Legge‘s research asserts a similar tenet by saying that,
―country-specific factors, institutional setting, and the social structure represent important
determinants of how people are affected…macrolevel global forces and microlevel
23

individual responses (and each have) great impact on the individual‘s life course (Legge
2008:20).‖ And, Melvin Kohn references Wallerstein‘s world systems theory to explain
why transnational research is important in his own social psychology‘s ―social structure
and personality‖ work (Kohn 1987).
Also within social psychology, Karen Cook proposed a ―cross-cultural
challenge‖, saying that, ―recent work has challenged anew the ‗universality‘ of theories
we have developed in social psychology… (and that) the only way we will meet this
challenge is to expand the breadth and depth of our research enterprises to incorporate
teams of investigators in multiple locations around the world who can collaborate on a
broader scale than has been envisioned in the past,‖ offering even more support to say
that the best way to fully understand micro experience is to look at it in global context
(Cook 2000:690).
International researchers are increasingly integrating global context into their
research, and I suspect that will soon set the standard for such work. Naked data without
such context limits the opportunity for ―enhancing analyses of macrolevel processes
related to intergroup conflict and cooperation, (that is) increasingly important in a global
society (Cook 2000:686).‖
World systems theory provides that greater context. Through a world systems‘
lens we can look more clearly at individual action and reaction, as well as to conditions at
the micro level. I compare the need for including a micro/macro perspective to middle
age vision problems. All my life, I have seen well enough to do most everything, except
to safely drive my car. Now at 56 years of age, my friends are increasingly using reading
24

glasses to read menus. I imagine the time is not far off that I will need two lenses, macro
and micro, in order to be able to both drive safely and be able to read a menu. Two types
of lenses can sharpen our perspective and understanding of just how global actions really
do have an effect on an individual level.
The following two examples were developed following my sociohistoric review
of Haiti by utilizing a world systems theoretical paradigm for context:
Figure 2. World Systems Context in Five Steps
1. Columbus sets off to trade for treasures of the orient for Spain in 1492: Core to
Semi-Periphery in World Systems Theory (Farmer 2003).
2. 1492- Columbus ―discovers‖ ancient Taino people living in abundance and
balance with nature on island he names Hispaniola (Haiti/Dominican Republic) on
his way to find riches of the orient for Spain (Core to Periphery) (Haught 1992;
Farmer 2003; Dubois 2004; Zinn 2003)
3. Profit motive in combination with annihilation of indigenous people prompts start
of global slave trade (Periphery to Core) (de las Casas 1552; Farmer 2003; Zinn
2003).
4. African slavers produce slaves for exportation to Haiti en route to Europe and
North America. (Periphery to Semi-periphery, Semi-periphery to Core) (Takaki
1993; Benitez-Rojo 1992).
5. Slaves jump ship in mass suicides to avoid bondage from psychological stress in
response to radical social change. In Haiti, slave mothers kill their own newborn
babies to save them from a life of bondage in extreme distress over radical social
change (Social Psychology Social Stress Response). (Kohn 1999; Farmer 2003;
Watts in Haught 1992)
25

Figure 3. 21 st Century Example of World Systems Context in Five Steps
1. U.S. Federal government gives rice growers huge subsidies (Hegemonic core
decision) (Ormachea 2007).
2. Subsidized rice sold cheaply as ―Food Aid‖ to Haiti (Core to Periphery)
(McMichaels 2008).
3. Haitian rice farmer cannot compete, goes out of business (Periphery to Core)
(Ormachea 2007).
4. Impoverished farmer‘s family moves into urban slum (Change in Social Structure)
(Hintzen 2008).
5. Father, lacking employment and self-directedness devalues self-directedness in his
children (re-enforces established Social Psychology‘s finding on a transnational
level).
Critical Race Theory
Racial hegemony has been a defining factor in the world since earliest history, a fact that
was openly accepted until relatively recently, when it has been masked in the construct of
color blindness. We find traces of racial explanations for inequity as far back as the story
of the son of Adam and Eve. Cain and his descendents received the ―mark of Cain‖
(Moses 5:40) for his transgression. The dark progeny of Ham‘s (son of Noah)
descendents were designated with the stain of dark skin for his having married Egyptus
―or that which was forbidden‖ (Abraham 1:23). White supremacist mythologies inherited
and internalized have become tools used to maintain or claim power, economic
advantage, affirm social/cultural or religious inclinations. These value systems are so
well infused in various belief systems and social structures that even those perpetrating
them onto younger generations may deny their existence (Hintzen 1994).
For example, just 14 years before Columbus ―discovered‖ the Americas the
infamous ―Inquisition‖ was established in Spain. Thousands of Muslims and Jews lost
26

their lives while even greater numbers escaped Spain until all the Jews were expelled.
Spain won the war against the Muslims the same year that Columbus left in search of
wealth for the crown. Racial/ethnic superiority as justification for slavery was not a hard
sell to Europe in the 15 th century.
In more recent U.S. history, President Theodore Roosevelt, ―certainly the
architect of 20 th century U.S. policy‖ was quite clear in his rejection of the application of
‗rules of international morality‘ to non-European populations whom he considered to be
‗savages‘ and ‗beasts.‘ He thought it of ‗incalculable importance‘ that lands ‗should pass
out of the hands of their red, black, and yellow aboriginal owners, and become the
heritage of the dominant (white) world races‖ (Roosevelt 1926:57-58 in Hintzen
1994:39). His racist sentiments were not far from the prevailing sentiments throughout
―development‖ practices, and were particularly salient during the U.S. occupation of
Haiti (1915-1934).
Neo-Malthusian Perspective
The story of the global South‘s underdevelopment and subsequent impoverishment is
often told from the construct of overpopulation, leaving the poor at fault for their own
immiseration. 9 The reasoning runs that if the poor would stop having babies, they
wouldn‘t find it so hard to feed the ones they have; or, if there were not so many people
being born to poor women there might be enough food for all of us, or less pollution, or
9 In reference to ―Immiseration Theory‖ ascribed to Marx from Capital vol.1, he did not actually use that
term in the volume. It is extracted fairly enough from the following passage: ―they mutilate the worker into
a fragment of a man, degrade him to the level of an appendage of a machine, destroy every remnant of
charm in his work and turn it into a hated toil; they estrange from him the intellectual potentialities of the
labour-process… they transform his life-time into working-time, and drag his wife and child beneath the
wheels of the Juggernaut of capital (Marx [1867] 1967, chapter 25).‖
27

more resources. The problem with this archaic line of reasoning is that it is based on two
very wrong assumptions. First, the birth rate is slowing in the world, not increasing;
second there are more than enough resources in the world; the problem is that they are
just not distributed equitably (Lappé, Collins, Rossett and Esparza 1998). Recent political
economy analysis sees past the older neo-Malthusian story, especially since Lappé and
Collins (1977) and later Sen (1981) have shown that unequal distribution of resources
cause poverty and that such inequalities are structurally imposed (rather than population
based). The structural factors that cause poverty are largely ignored in the previous neo-
Malthusian perspective (Haught 1992: viii).
Figure 4. Global Birth Rate 2003-2010, from CIA Fact Book 2011
20.5
20.4
20.3
20.2
20.1
20
19.9
19.8
19.7
19.6
19.5
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
PRIOR RESEARCH ON IMPOVERISHED CHILDREN
Qualitative research on children‘s poverty is relatively limited; even less common is
research that actually engages the children themselves in that research. Out of the nearly
40 qualitative articles on children‘s poverty that I surveyed, only a handful attempted to
interview children as participants in their poverty research. Milkie, Simon and Powell
28

noted that ―although scholars have called for greater inclusion of children and their
understandings in sociological research, almost all studies of family roles and
relationships still are adult-centered (Milkie et al. 1997; Menchini and Redmond
2009:233).‖ This is not to say that children have not been counted, assessed, tallied and
tested. One recent study of poor children in Berkeley, California even tested the brain
function of impoverished children in Berkeley by attaching a cap fitted with electrodes to
measure electrical activity in their brain (Boitnott 2008), to see if poor children‘s brains
functioned normally. Regardless of extremes, most scholars of childhood poverty agree
that asking children to tell us about themselves is too seldom done (Milke 1997; Gecas
1982).
Meanwhile, evidence shows that the world‘s children have an increasing chance
of living in poverty, including children in the United States (Legge 2008; Mather 2008).
In the U.S., ―the percentage of children living in low-income families (both poor and near
poor) has been on the rise – increasing from 37 percent in 2000 to 42 percent in 2009
(Chau, Thampi, and Wight 2010:1).‖ The chance of a child living in extreme poverty is
also on the rise. Overall ―a child born in the twenty-first century has a four in ten risk of
living in extreme poverty‖ according to Sandra Legge (2008). Studies also show that
poverty causes a very high level of child malnutrition and mortality even in urban centers
where food may exist, it is just not available to the very poor (McGadney-Douglass
2008).
In life threatening situations, it is understandable that most service organizations
providing triaged relief have directed resources toward immediate life support. These
29

include providing emergency medical care and food assistance. This triaged, expedited
approach has often necessitated collecting data on children by surveying adults.
Accordingly, a majority of prior research involving poor children around the world has
focused on the statistical consequences of their poverty, less often addressing the broader
socio-historic contextualized question about the causes and consequences of extreme
poverty as experienced by children (Tekola 2009). Understandably, lifesaving mediations
are usually put in place before researchers have access to these impoverished
communities. My study had the advantage of partnering with a progressive group of
doctors and lawyers (particularly Jim Morgan and Tom Griffen) that made it their priority
to provide life saving medical care inside the most violent slum in the poorest country in
this hemisphere at ―The Lamp‖ clinic in Cité Soleil, so that I could partner with them and
do research knowing that this courageous team of providers was simultaneously donating
free medical intervention and social support.
In all the studies I surveyed where impoverished children were able to have an
opportunity to tell us about their lives, similar threads ran throughout the results,
worldwide, except for one finding. All the studies but one only focused completely on the
negative aspects of children in poverty. There is one finding out of a Detroit study that I
found intriguing which focused on some positive personality attributes connected with
childhood poverty such as extraversion, easy temperament, agreeableness and helpfulness
(Israel and Jozefowicz-Simbeni 2009). Otherwise, the remaining responses fell into the
following six general categories: (1) gendered differences, (2) children‘s perceptions of
adults, of other children and of their community/circumstance, (3) children‘s self-esteem,
30

(4) children‘s future expectations, (5) children‘s causal scripts for poverty, and finally,
(6) commodification of children.
Gendered differences
I found gendered differences in all of the research I surveyed; in fact, one researcher
noted that she found gendered differences in every category of her analysis (Poluha
2004). In one urban Ethiopian study it was reported that impoverished girls have
difficulty expressing themselves more than boys do (Tekola et al. 2009). A different U.S.
study found that impoverished girls registered higher levels of depression and lower
values of self-worth than boys (McLeod et al. 2004). An interesting exception is that
black girls compare themselves more favorably with black boys in the U.S. than white
girls do with white boys (McLeod and Owens 2004).
The Ethiopian study also showed that girls were more likely than boys to have
extra household work to do which negatively impacts their chances of going to school
(Tekola 2008). Overall, poor children have a tough time making it into school. But while
thirteen percent of the world‘s children (7-18years) have never gone to school, those
numbers are much higher in impoverished countries, as girls have a harder time than boys
in getting to school. When impoverished children do make it to school, they do so
sporadically and with a gender difference. For example, all children who must walk long
distances to fetch water have less time to attend school – a problem that particularly
affects girls (UNICEF 2011). In fact, in most of Asia, all of Africa, Oceania, Latin
America and the Caribbean, girls fall well behind boys in elementary school attendance
(UNICEF 2002-2006). While all children suffer academically when impoverished, poor
31

oys seem to do better in school than poor girls, even in the U.S. (McLeod and Owens
2004). This gendered difference seems to hold true cross-culturally.
Illustration 10 Madame Bwa and I Discuss Starting a School, 2008
For girls in sub-Saharan Africa 32 per cent have never gone to school whereas 27
per cent of boys have never attended (UNICEF 2011). ―Yet an education is perhaps a
child‘s strongest barrier against poverty, especially for girls. Educated girls are likely to
marry later and have healthier children. They are more productive at home and better
paid in the workplace, better able to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS and more able
to participate in decision-making at all levels (UNICEF 2011).‖
Gendered differences also exist within groups of children who have suffered Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which is commonly linked to acute impoverishment.
A study of children in Kabul showed a higher than normal level of family violence with a
32

gendered difference (boys more than girls being beaten) following family traumatic stress
events. Twice as many boys living in economic stress are likely to be slapped, shouted at,
hit, punched or kicked, or told they were no good. Girls however had more members of
their family burned (Catani, Schauer, Elbert, Missmahl, Better and Neuner 2009).
Illustration 11 Three Days After the Quake, The Lamp Clinic, 2010
33

Whitbeck et al. shows in a U.S. study that economic pressure increases depression
in adults, and that stress and increased irritability results in harsher punishment of their
children, even to an intergenerational level (1997). However, in contrast to the Afghani
study, this US study shows no gendered differences in which children get punished. In
other words, these two studies show conflicting results which puts into question the
universality of research done in dominant countries. In the Afghani study boys are more
likely to be more harshly punished than girls, but in this U.S. study, boys and girls were
equally as likely to be harshly punished. However, both studies show that increased
economic strain increased the harshness with which parents punish children.
Eva Poluha‘s research in Ethiopia also found gendered differences even in
children‘s views on sexual and moral choices. For example, she found that gender made a
difference when it came to attitudes of abortion (Poluha 2004).
Children’s Perceptions of Adults, Children and their Community/Circumstance
Again, Eva Poluha‘s (2004) research in Ethiopia and others had extensive findings that
apply to impoverished children‘s perceptions of adults and their perceptions of other
children and their community/circumstance. I will discuss each of these areas separately.
1. Perceptions of Adults. Impoverished children outside the U.S. frequently turn to
parents, teachers, role models and other members of their social community for
help, and they expect those people to help and protect them (Poluha 2004).
However, adults in governing positions didn‘t share that positive expectation.
Witter and Bukokhe‘s (2004) findings (supported by Dass-Brailsfor, 2005) show
that poor children don‘t feel like officials have an interest in them, listen to them,
34

or that they have them as a priority. Also, most of these children believe that
corruption exists in officials. A different view of community resources is found in
children from the U.S. as impoverished American children do not expect fair
treatment from community service delivery sources and they often feel cut off
from community support based on their low economic status (Fortier 2006).
2. Perceptions Relating to Other Children. Fortier found that poor children felt the
stigma of wearing out-of-date/style clothing or dirty clothes. She also found in her
U.S. study that impoverished children have ―tremendous compassion for children
they perceive as less fortunate than themselves (Fortier 2006:114).‖ Weinger
shows that most children prefer to make friends within their own economic
bracket (Weinger 2000). Corsaro reminds us of the importance of children‘s peer
cultures: ―other children become as important as adults in the socialization
process (Corsaro 1992:162).‖
The importance of children just being with other children is coming more
recognized. Peer therapy has been shown to be a helpful tool even in a classroom
setting for children with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). With acutely
impoverished children, often some measure of PTSD can be expected due to their
routine exposure to life threatening and thus stressful conditions. PTSD is shown
to result in greater problems with ―attention span, abstract reasoning, and greater
impulsivity, though no difference was measured in language, memory and
learning, visuo-spatial abilities and psychomotor skills‖. In the case of a child
35

who also experienced the death of a family member, ―memory performance is
also affected‖ Scrimin, Moscardino, Capello and Axia 2009:404).
3. Perceptions of Their Community/Circumstance. Poor children in one study in the
United Kingdom described their lives as filled with hunger, ―sometimes resulting
in children stealing food or eating expired food. They spoke of sleeping in
uncomfortable beds, wearing shoes that ‗crushed their feet‘ and using soap and
fingers to brush their teeth (Willow 2001). Specifically, with regard to stealing
and abortion the children‘s reflections ―remind us of the importance of the
collective for them‖ (Poluha 2004). She made a point of saying that it was very
important for poor children in Ethiopia to have a sense of continuity in their
community, which finding is supported by a study in Tanzania (Berinstein &
Magalhaes 2009). In the UK study children frequently spoke about the value of
social activity (Willow 2001). In contrast, Fortier found that American children
felt left out of their communities, unless they were self-advocating. American
poor children made note of a discrepancy in the medical care provided to
themselves as compared to more financially well-off children, and that their level
of community involvement was restricted by their poverty (Fortier 2006). A
related finding out of India showed that youth had varying causal attributions for
poverty based on the economic status, religion and nation of origin, which will be
interesting to compare with any related responses from the participants in Haiti
(Nasser, Singhal and Abouchedid 2005).
36

Illustration 12 Girls at The Lamp Clinic, January 2010
Children’s Self-Esteem and Future Expectations
Children and their personalities are affected by their economic living conditions (Hart
2008). Some U.S. studies show that children perceive poverty as a hurtful and detrimental
factor in their lives, but that some living in poverty may not view their current financial
situation as limiting to their future prospects (Fortier 2006). Fortier‘s study also
maintained that poor American poor children have lower self-esteem and that they may
find it difficult to assess the level of their own poverty (Fortier 2006). Pallas et al. found
differing results in the U.S. showing that levels of self-esteem appeared equivalent for
37

children of different social class backgrounds (Pallas, Entwisle, Alexander and Weinstein
1990).
They also maintain that in the U.S. black children reported more positive self-
concepts in each of five domains. Black children also rated their body image above the
ratings made by white children (Pallas et al. 1990), while Weinger noted that poor
children generally esteem poor children as having higher coping skills and greater
compassion than children of greater means (Weinger 2000).
While no prior study has been done specifically on poor Haitian children‘s self-
esteem, White and Burke‘s findings in the U.S. show that the effect of ―black pride‖ on
ethnic identity has important implications. They found that a ―minority group member‘s
interaction with other minority group members creates a social context that fosters a
positive self-identity. ‗Black pride‘ in this context thus negates the (negative) influences
of (the) dominant group…The more committed blacks are to a ‗black ethnic identity‘, the
higher is their self-esteem‖ according to White and Burke (1987:326).‖
Self esteem may also be found to be affected by the extreme likelihood of
contracting life-threatening illness in Haiti. Illness related social stigma may easily come
into play in Haiti, since the three biggest causes of death before the 2010 quake were
HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Mitchell and Ramakrishna warn that more study
driven social policy needs to be developed to help prevent abuse based on illness related
social stigma (Mitchell and Ramakrishna 2006).
On a slightly different issue, but still related to self-esteem, a study out of the
Netherlands by Van der Hoek (2005) noted that poor children have most often been
38

presented as passive victims. However, Poluha‘s (Ethiopian) findings showed that not to
be the case. Witter and Bukokhe‘s work supported Poluha‘s, showing that children have a
different perspective on poverty from adults (2004).
Surprisingly, one related finding coming out of Ethiopia showed that children
who lost one or both parents early on, showed greater resiliency than their two parented
peers (Camfield, Crivello and Woodhead 2009), while a study in Rwanda found that
orphans there suffer great social stigma, which the researchers acknowledge may have
been increased due to local resentment of orphans rising out of benefits given the orphans
during their study (Thurman, Renee, Snider, Boris, Kalisa, Nyirazinyoye and Brown
2008).
Children’s Causal Scripts for Poverty
An interesting finding about children‘s perception of the causes of poverty is that they are
very country/global position related. In other words, why people think poverty exists is
primarily a function of their particular social location. Nasser et al. (2005) found that if
you are from the United States, you tend to think in terms of individualistic reasons. If
you are from European countries then bad luck, injustice in society and some measure of
individual failure are seen as causal. Australians use fewer structural explanations than
those from Malawi. In Turkey, Lebanon, Philippines, China and India poverty is seen as
having causes that are socio-economically structured. The general conclusion that Nasser
et al. (India) give in their assessment is that rich people tend to think it was their hard
work that gave them wealth, and poor people are more likely to see structural causes for
poverty.
39

When children are asked about the cause of poverty, the older the child, the more
reasons they come up with for why people are poor. All children who are poor tend to
think that being poor is easy, getting rich is hard (Karniol 1985). It is interesting that in
this study coming out of Israel, when children were asked about the causes of poverty a
mixed set of reasons included choice (quitting school, quitting job) and no choice (illness,
living in a poor country, old age, unemployment), and no positive stereotypes were given
for being wealthy (Karniol 1985).
Commodification of Children
Children the world over find themselves forced into labor for profit, this is especially true
in impoverished countries (Rafferty 207) and impoverished countries at war (Catani et al.
2009). Worldwide, there are more slaves today than were seized from Africa in the 400
years of the trans-Atlantic slave trade (Cockburn 2003). The modern commerce in
humans rivals illegal drug trafficking in its global reach—and in the destruction of lives.
Eva Poluha‘s research in Ethiopia had extensive findings in this regard. In her
study, she found that at the Ethiopian school she studied most children who worked for
cash did so out of their home (Poluha 2004). Even though she pointed out that all the
children in her study were ―very poor‖, they were in fact in school. Often, in acutely
impoverished communities, children find it difficult to go to school. Many children are
forced to leave their homes completely to benefit the family, or are removed completely
from their homes and families against their choice. In Afghanistan, half the boys and a
third of the girls are forced to work (mostly as carpet weavers) outside the home with an
average of seven hours each day and a range that goes up to 13 hours each day (Cantani
40

et al. 2009). Another challenge for girls who are forced to work to help support their
families is that they are more likely to be mistreated at home (Catani et al. 2009).
Child commodification is not an experience known only in underdeveloped
countries. For example, in the U.S. approximately 12,000 women and girls are trafficked
into the country each year for forced labor and sex trafficking (U.S. House of
Representatives Report 2006). Globally, that same committee reported that
approximately 560,000 women and children are trafficked each year.
In Haiti, the practice of sending one‘s child out as a restavèk (slave) is
commonplace. Restavèks from Haiti do get transported to the United States, though they
are only a fraction of the estimated 50,000 slaves held in the United States (Skinner
2008). Amy Bracken (2006) deals specifically with the issue of restavèk children in Haiti.
She quotes past Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide as having labeled his country a
restavèk state, in reference to a wide-spread system in Haiti in which desperately poor
parents sell or send their children away to work unpaid in other families in exchange for
food and shelter.
One such desperate father shadowed us at the end of a long day of interviewing
children for this project last summer. At first I didn‘t notice him as we lugged bundles of
supplies and a dripping cooler back to our broken down truck. I turned to my friend Mimi
and asked her if she thought he wanted to talk to us. Mimi, typically anxious to point out
the obvious, said, ―Of course.‖ Worn out but not wanting to offend, I had her ask him if
he had a question for us. She calmly spoke with him a moment, then turned with
composure and said, ―He wants to know if you will take his daughter.‖ I felt like I was
41

trying to stand up during an earthquake, as described by one of my participants, ―the
scary kind,‖ where you struggle to keep your feet on the ground and a clear head about
you.
Completely caught off guard, but knowing that this plea could not be brushed off
casually, I tried to find a respectful way to answer. To stall, I had Mimi ask him how old
his daughter was. The deep sadness in his eyes spoke more than he could. ―Senk (five).‖
My heart ached for him, and for his daughter I had never met. Silently I wondered what
desperation drove him to ask a stranger such a thing? I asked Mimi what to say, and my
normally talkative friend only shrugged. ―Please tell him that it cannot be done like that.
It takes a lot of legal papers. I just am not allowed to take a Haitian child with me like
that. Please tell him I am sorry I cannot help him.‖ He did not walk away, and so we left
him standing in the dust, with the same empty expression.
When we got back to the car, I asked Mimi what she thought of it. She said it
happens to her all the time, and that she takes them in when she can, but that she only has
so much room.
The next day he and his daughter were waiting for us at the clinic. I saw that this
desperate father shared the same expression as his little daughter: guarded, cautious,
accustomed to pain. Again, I was at a loss for words. I asked Mimi why he came to find
us. She said ―he came back because you asked how old his daughter was.‖ She said that
question had given him hope. Again, I went blank. There were so many things that could
be said, and probably should be said, but it was all just a bit hard to sort out. I wanted
advice.
42

Illustration 13 Desperate Father, July 2010
I asked Mimi what he wanted, and he said ―Nothing, I just can‘t take care of her.‖
I turned my focus to his daughter. She shared her father‘s intensity. I am not sure she
knew her father was trying to give her away, though it seemed that she did. She neither
clung to him nor reached for me, just simply ready to see what her young fate had in store
for her. They were both victims. At least he wasn‘t trying to sell her.
Unfortunately, the sale of children sometimes takes on an even more debilitating
factor. Commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) is ―the most physically and emotionally
damaging for the victim because of the persistent physical, sexual and psychological
abuse that accompanies it on a daily basis‖ (Rafferty 2007:410). A South African study
showed that poverty and stigma were strongly connected, ―with 70% of stigmatized
children reporting being bullied (Cluver and Orkin 2009:1189).‖
43

Child labor exists all over the world; as many as 158 million children are at work
in the world today (UNICEF 2010). 10 In Afghanistan a very high percentage of children
work (about 38 percent); boys work about 48 percent of the time, and 29 percent of girls
are forced to work about 6.7 hours each (Catani et al. 2009). Similarly, Boas and Hatloy
(2009: abstract) write about the child labor issues in West Africa. Their article analyzes
different survival strategies by children who work in diamond mines, or struggling to live
on the streets. Adding to their deprivation are the extreme consequences of poverty,
―steep school fees and the family need for the income that the children can earn.‖ They
note that ―only the boldest and bravest will endure…and that…the children in their study
are not just passive victims of structures and actions they do not comprehend, but (they)
try to adapt to a situation.‖ They point out that social programs generally fall short of
understanding that these children have ―lived realities of work and migration.‖
10 UNICEF (2010). Children living in the poorest households and in rural areas are most likely to be
engaged in child labour. Those burdened with household chores are overwhelmingly girls. Millions of girls
who work as domestic servants are especially vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Labour often interferes
with children‘s education. Ensuring that all children go to school and that their education is of good quality
are keys to preventing child labour.
44

Chapter 3
METHODS AND DATA
One of the goals for this project was ―to allow us to hear the children‘s own voices‖ as
Poluha suggested, 11 since children are commonly the largest single age demographic of
poor nations. 12 Haiti, the most impoverished country in the western hemisphere
(Chomsky 2010:7), represents this reality with roughly half of its population being under
18 years of age (UNICEF 2010). Yet, directly studying impoverished children themselves
has been a ―terrain few sociologists traverse.‖ 13 Increasingly, though, children are being
shown to be experts in their own condition. 14 For this study, I chose an empirical,
qualitative and photographic approach to collect data directly from the children.
I had seven assistants who were all adults, most of whom were Haitian born
including a nurse, two lawyers, two translators (one male and one female), a few different
transcribers and Danny, who gave us access each day to a locked courtyard that was
private for conducting interviews. I only paid one assistant formally, and that was my
Haitian intern, Redgi who did much of the translating. Danny got a cold beer each day for
his trouble, while to the bigger part of my team of friends I meagerly offered lunch and
cold drinks as often as I could.
METHODS
This project employed a stand-point based approach within a qualitative paradigm for
several reasons. Of most importance, this process was designed from a culturally
11 (Poluha 2004; McDonald 2009:2; Milke, Simon and Powell 1997:218; Fortier 2006:113).
12 (with an extreme of 62% of population in Uganda).
13 (Witter and Bukokhe 2004:646; Corsaro 1992:160; Gegas 1982: 13; Milke, Simon and Powell 1997:231,
234; Menchini and Redmond 2009:233; Poluha 2004).
14 (McDonald 2009:2-3, 5, 7- 8,13; Fortier 2006:114, 126; Zahorik 1996).
45

sensitive stand-point perspective. This means that I tried to take into account any cultural
nuances particular to Haiti that I was aware of. I also tried to offer some balance for my
own relatively empowered position as coming from the United States, which is the
current hegemonic leader. To address the former, knowing that Haitian Creole is largely a
non-written language, and that the original written forms were not written by Creole
speakers, but rather by English speakers then translated into French, the protocol had to
be adjusted. Very few residents of Cité Soleil read or speak French and they have an oral
tradition, so I used a Haitian born U.S. trained translator to read and explain the consent
forms. Community meetings were held prior to the collection of data where a free
exchange of ideas was welcomed. Information was not posted, but announced. The
participants didn‘t have any written surveys to respond to, or drawings to make. Also, by
having an ―oral culture‖ the children were ―not accustomed to communicating by
pictures‖ (Tekola 2008:85), so they were not asked to respond to stick images or
drawings, nor were they asked to perform more than make a mark indicating their
consent. Even this process seemed embarrassing to some guardians and children, as it
drew attention to their illiteracy.
To address in some part my own advantaged position and knowing that north
Americans (including myself) tend to be less thoughtful and attentive to social manners
than Haitians, I specifically tried to not to rush through my meeting with the guardians. I
demonstrated respect by thanking them, referring to the children as ―the future leaders of
Haiti‖, and by expressing solidarity, specifically using that word.
Another condition that needed to be addressed was the fact that all participants
46

most likely had some measure of post traumatic stress. I did the following things to help
the participants be comfortable: kept each interview to less than one hour; watched for
signs of stress; frequently changed activities; reminded them they could stop whenever
they liked; personally handed each child an icy coke (hard to come by in Haiti); handed
each child something to hold during the interviews that they could keep (a small ball);
made sure that only female assistants were attendant during all adolescent female
interviews; allowed each child to lead the questions via prompt response; expected some
memory loss which are lessons learned in Russia (Scrimm et al. 2009) and Afghanistan
(Catani et al. 2009); and finally, removed any object between myself and the participant.
The Qualitative Process
I chose a qualitative format with open-ended questions combined with in-depth
interviews based on a careful review of prior research. 15 I structured the themes of my
specific questions to blend with those themes that have been pursued recently in other
international studies, so that I later when I analyzed my results I was able to make some
striking comparisons.
PARTICIPANTS
The 22 participants of this study were 11 female and 11 male children (ages 10-14 years)
who currently live in Cité Soleil, Port au Prince, Haiti. All participants live within
walking distance of ―The Lamp‖ medical center of Cité Soleil, Port au Prince, Haiti. The
rationale for choosing this age range is based on three things. First, though the United
Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child (Hammarberg 1996) classifies as
15 (Van der Hoek 2005; Cluver 2007:319; Cluver and Gardner 2007:319; Witter and Bukokeh 2004;
Tekola et al., and Griffin and Camfield‘s work in Ethiopia 2008).
47

―children‖ all people under eighteen, children older than fourteen are often thought of as
adults in impoverished communities (Tekola 2008), and subsequently tend to take on the
role of adult, which we began to notice in the 14 year olds we interviewed. Second,
children younger than 10 years old have been found to have self-concept measures that
are not reliable based on analyses of National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth data (Mott
et al. 1998 in McLeod and Owens 2004). Finally, this age range was chosen to
correspond with the earlier mentioned studies in Africa.
Participants were recruited as a purposive sample with assistance from the
resident medical clinic manager, Mimi Dominique, who announced the limited
opportunity to participate in the study verbally (since local Creole is primarily a non-
written language in impoverished communities in Haiti). Other similar research in
impoverished areas has shown overwhelming enthusiasm for such studies, so she selected
only participants for whom she could identify a willing guardian, on a first come, first
accepted basis.
For continuity, I did all the interviewing. I made sure to have a native Haitian
Creole speaker present at all times. Additionally the child was asked to give written and
verbal assent to being interviewed, and they each appeared to understand the questions
and terms that a typical Haitian 10 year-old would understand. The medical clinic
manager repeated this assessment. I can comfortably say that participation was entirely
voluntary, and no financial inducements were used.
Criteria for acceptance as respondents in this study included the economic
indicators suggested by Menchini and Redmond (2009) as indicators of acute poverty,
48

namely: no running water, use of unclean fuels, no refrigeration, and no regular phone
service. Residence in the Cité Soleil community assures all of these criteria for poverty
are universally met, so no further proof of poverty was required.
How Was Consent Obtained?
When interested participants contacted the medical team manager, Mimi Dominique, she
explained (in Creole) that we needed written consent form signed by each participant and
a guardian. She verified with the guardian that the child is between 10 and 14 years old.
At a group meeting before my arrival in Haiti, she answered any questions about the
study, the researcher, or their participation in the study. After a child and their guardian
understood our project, they waited to be called in for interviews. Ms. Dominique gave
them a general time frame. Prior to each interview I confirmed consent. Each guardian
was given a copy of the consent form. Ms. Dominique remains available to participants
and guardians for questions and in some extreme cases continued counseling and support.
How Was Right To Privacy and Safety Protected?
All the interviews were held inside a medical clinic or in the adjacent enclosed courtyard.
Pseudonyms were used throughout the research. I used the same protections and
standards established by previous studies in Uganda and Ethiopia (Poluha 2004; Witter
and Bukokhe 2004; McDonald 2009; Hammarberg 1996), and in compliance with the
practice standards established by Save the Children (SCF-UK 2009) and the U.N.
Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCF 2005) and each person in my team read
and agreed to those standards.
49

INTERVIEWS
Illustration 14 Child Peeking in on Interviews, July 2010
Mid July 2010, I started interviews in a very small crowded room, with barred windows
inside the clinic. We were much too interesting an oddity for the passing school children
and adults to resist watching and loudly commenting to others about. I quickly adjusted
our protocol, time and location. The remaining interviews were held after clinic hours,
inside an enclosed outdoor courtyard of the clinic under some palm trees on a cement
bench that surrounds the tiny plaza. I borrowed a plastic chair from the clinic so that I
could directly face each child. All other observers sat across from me as well, so that I
50

was the only person facing each child, then this study started with a fun, child-friendly
interview plan as suggested by Berinstein and Magalhaes (2009). 16
This format was designed to be a fun experience for the participants. However,
they sometimes demonstrated a level of stress, and when that happened, we dropped
protocol and used a psychological support plan.
Researcher’s Role and Qualifications
Whenever a single researcher does all the field work for a study, there comes with that
situation cautions and benefits. As Dubois pointed out in The Philadelphia Negro, a
single researcher has the advantage of not having to factor in differing perspectives (Du
Bois 1899). It is, none the less, important as sociologists to not only study biases but also
to recognize and disclose them as being part of our own world view. Toward full
disclosure, I consider myself a liberation sociologist (exercising a preferential option for
the poor) within my own framework. I do not make apology for this, but I do recognize it,
guard for it and encourage all researchers to likewise and to disclose their personal
perspectives.
By way of qualifications, I am a graduate student in Sociology at Sacramento
State University. I have been familiar with Haitian culture since 2004. I first went there to
serve as a human shield during the violence resulting from the coup of 2004. I returned to
Haiti 17 times in the next 8 years hand-carrying donated medical and school supplies, and
founded a non-profit called ―Children‘s Hope,‖ to facilitate in those deliveries. I have
16 The complete protocol is listed in Appendix B.
51

never received any salary for my work in Haiti. No volunteers for Children‘s Hope have
ever received any salaries for their service, and they pay their own travel expenses.
I have had training in early childhood education. 17 These experiences and
opportunities have prepared me to take the care of children very seriously and with the
years of training necessary to understanding what that means.
Children’s Attitudes
I was impressed with how sincerely and seriously our participants took the interview
process. It became clear that the main reason our participants seemed to open up so much
was a direct result of the effort of the clinic manager, Mimi Dominique who held pre-
research meetings with both the children and their guardians explaining the importance of
the project.
The confidences and insights the children shared were intense. During my pre-
research planning, I did not anticipate how emotionally intense this process would be for
everyone involved, for my team and for the children. We soon found that two or three
interviews each day was the most we could do and stay composed and professional, yet
engaged and responsive while torrents of sweat ran down our face and backs. Also, since
we worked inside Cité Soleil slum we had no electricity, water or sanitation and had to
hand-carry our supplies in each day. Iced drinks for our participants became a top priority
in the sweltering July afternoons. We could only carry enough supplies for the few hours
17 I had five years experience teaching ―Mother Education‖, and have been trained as a foster parent by the
state of California. I served as parent representative on the HEART team of El Dorado County as we
worked to meet the special needs of disabled children in that county. I also have multiple years experience
providing a home for foreign exchange students, and more training housing under-aged and un-wed
mothers. I was an instructor of the ―Love and Learning‖ approach to parents of developmentally delayed
infants. I am the natural mother of five sons, and soon to be mother of two more adopted sons. All of my
training and experience has been voluntary, and without compensation, but not without benefit.
52

it took for us to accomplish these two or three interviews. At the end of each session our
team assessed the day and made adjustments as necessary.
During these sessions, the one thing I heard most often was how honored myteam
members felt when these children trusted us enough to share their intensely emotional
stories. This intensity was in itself a bit exhausting. For example, one young girl told us
“I know there are bad guys around here. There are chimères who like killing people.
There are thieves who break into people’s homes. Once they broke in and took my bed (in
itself a vivid descriptor of poverty) …one month later that same person broke into my
neighbor’s house. Then, this neighbor shot and killed him.” While we were yet absorbing
this confidence, she told us of her eleven year old girl friend who was raped.
When lighter moments came, they were like a fresh breeze, needed and welcomed. As
with all poverty work, one learns to find joy in the same things the people in our studied
community do. One of those joys is watching children play.
Even extremely poor children play; even malnourished children play – maybe
more than their American counterparts do. Haitian children play outdoors every day, and
with lots of playmates. Few if any purchased toys exist. They tend to make their own and
to share. Creativity is the norm. Private possessions are less common.
Necessity has made Haitian children very creative. Few pieces of trash stay trash
for very long if they can be reshaped into something to play with. Toy cars and trucks are
a favorite that can be created from remnants of trash. Here is just one of the many toys
that are common on the street.
53

Illustration 15 Hand-Made Toy Truck in Cité Soleil, January 2010
Hand-made kites flown on pieces of thread with grocery-bag bodies can almost
always be spotted, even on the saddest of days. The kite (shown) was made and flown the
day I was there investigating the deaths of two children killed the day before in the tent
city at the foot of St. Pierre‘s Church. 18
18 My investigating team interviewed the camp community leaders, camp merchants, camp residents, as
well as speaking to U.N. troops (who were not allowed to go on record). All reports confirmed that two
children and an elderly woman died after an hours-long assault from Nepalese U.N. troops who sent tear
gas bombs into the tent encampment in reprisal of street protesters who had taken refuge in the camp.
54

Illustration 16 Kites Over the Tent City, 2011
55

CONCLUSION
This study aims at broadening an awareness of children‘s poverty issues by taking a look
at conditions for children in Haiti. This study also adds a bit to the knowledge base in
children‘s poverty research. The following story illustrated the need for greater cross
cultural understanding of children living in abject poverty.
I was staying in a boys‘ home in Port au Prince, Haiti two years after the coup of
2004. A young white adopting father was visiting with his two new little children in
preparation for their leaving the country. While I speak limited Creole, I can usually
communicate well enough with very young children, and asked the three year old girl,
―komon ou ye?‖ I tickled her a bit under the chin, as I asked her how she was doing.
Normally, this is returned with giggles and at least a ―papi-mal‖ (not bad). No answer. No
smile. I noticed the father seemed not to understand what the children and I were doing,
so I asked if he has learned much Creole, yet. He said that he didn‘t intend to, and that his
―jungle bunnies‖ as he described them, were never going to hear it again, once he got
them back in the states. The children had already learned not to speak their native
language, Creole, around their new daddy. Later that day, I visited them in their
orphanage alone. They answered my same question easily, and happily. It was striking to
see the comparison. It was also striking to realize that this new father had not learned
something of the value attached to the culture his new children shared.
Being accepted as a sociologist coming into a new culture is a privilege. Since I
first went to Haiti seven years ago I have had the privilege to develop social support that
allows me access to acutely impoverished communities including Cité Soleil. When I
56

first went into Haiti, U.S. citizens were advised not to go to into that country, which
discouraged some other aid providers. After the 2010 earthquake, many groups came for
a while and offered support. Now, the new cholera epidemic has discouraged some
travelers, and aid has fallen off again. I have been fortunate to have solid Haitian support
since 2004 allowing me to access places some folks would have found difficult.
57

Chapter 4
RESULTS
After translating and transcribing the interviews, I did open coding then focused coding,
in a grounded theory approach. The analytical process revealed several major themes and
patterns, which I will discuss in this chapter. In the following chapter I will compare
these results to findings in previous studies.
MAJOR THEMES AND PATTERNS
Certain major themes or patterns became apparent during and after the initial coding and
analysis process. These were then compared to and integrated with our general areas of
research. From that process, the following topics reflect the most significant major
themes or patterns that emerged after analysis:
o Community. What did the children say about their social community?
What do they think of school, family, friends, neighbors, and church?
o Conditions. What did they have to say about their living conditions?
What conditions in their communities were observed and reported
most often by the children in Cité Soleil?
o Feelings. What do they feel about their living conditions? What do
they feel most strongly about? What did they have to say about their
feelings of protectiveness, patriotism, happiness, sadness, loneliness
and fear?
o Poverty. What did the children have to say about poverty, what are
their perceptions of poverty? What do they think poverty means? Who
do they describe as poor; what do they think is the worst thing about
being poor and who do they think is helping the poor; who do they
think should?
o Trauma. How have things changed for these children after the
earthquake? What did the quake mean to them? What about PTSD?
o Wishes. What wishes do the children have; what expectations do they
have for the future? What ideas do they have to improve their
community?
58

MAJOR THEME OR PATTERN: COMMUNITY
o Community. What did the children say about their social community?
What do they think of school, friends, family, neighbors, church, and
their government?
Contrary to my expectation, a dominant theme ran through all the children‘s interviews
more significantly than that of ―poverty.‖ That theme was ―community.‖ After the
research demonstrated what a strong impact ―community‖ has on these children, I
wondered how I did not expect that to be the case. Perhaps my own western bias had
something to do with it, since, as mentioned in chapter two, studies of impoverished
children in the United States show that children there feel alienated from their
communities because of their poverty. My experience in Haiti has shown me that
community (solidarity) is important, but I expected ―poverty‖ to trump ―community‖ for
the children of Cité Soleil. I was wrong. In Haiti, based on the frequency and significance
of the children‘s responses, their community social life has high importance to
impoverished children in Haiti. The ―Community‖ major theme or pattern was second
only in response-count to the related theme, ―Condition,‖ which includes the dangers
attendant to the physical conditions in Cité Soleil.
Within the ―Community‖ theme, children talked about school, friends, family,
neighbors, church, and their government. They were most concerned about being able to
go to school and school was (without fail) always talked about positively; being a good
friend was many times more referenced than whether or not they had friends (it seems
that is assumed); when they talked about their families, it was most often to reference that
they did not want to cause trouble for their families; neighbors were mostly referred to in
59

positive ways, as in ways the neighbors help them and others; church attendance seemed
to be a luxury afforded only to children who could buy shoes and appropriate clothes, and
church attendance was always mentioned positively, though never mentioned as being of
service to the community, possibly since the churches in Cité Soleil are so poor
themselves. The children also talked about their government, but almost always
negatively. The children did not support the idea that their government would or could do
anything to help them, but they did express confidence that their immediate social
community would. (This stands in contrast to research of impoverished children done by
Sandra Fortier of children who live in the U.S.).
The communities in Cité Soleil are quite dense, and it is unclear if overall that
density has a positive impact, although it has been shown that population density can
serve to strengthen support for individuals in impoverished communities (as in the
Chicago, 1995 heat wave). 19 This study seems to support that finding, according to the
children. Sometimes, though, the density of this urban community can feel over-
whelming, even to the children who seem to like the abundance of other children to play
with.
“I don’t have time to be alone” one little ten-year old boy told us. Our
experience during the interview process supports his contention; we had some difficulty
not attracting a crowd. Both one‘s sense of time management and social engagement
must be adjusted to community life in Haiti for those trained in western culture. In Haiti,
one is seldom left alone for any period of time. One advantage of having such
19 Klinenberg 2002
60

spontaneous long periods of not getting accomplished what one hoped to during any
given day (due to rain, flat or burning tires, your daily general car breakdown, lack of
electricity, internet connection, phone service, translators or drivers) is that there seems to
be much more time left over during each day to spend in ways not expected. Time seems
to have its own sphere of influence in Haiti (if you have an appointment in the morning
and it is accomplished before you retire for the evening, it is a good day). There is more
time for community, and especially in a culture that is deeply vested in oral tradition,
there is always good conversation at hand. These typically include rich parables, poignant
analogies and stories involving themes of historical heroes, liberty and justice. Happily,
they usually manage to mix a good amount of humor into the telling. Talking for hours
and hours seems the national pastime. It is said that Haiti has the fastest news line – word
of mouth.
Accordingly, the children talked about their community they did not need to be
prompted to give us rich detail specifically in regard to their community, specifically,
friends, family, neighbors, government, church, and school. The word ―community‖ was
not used by the children in reply to my questions which included the word, ―community.‖
They instead used the term, ―the people‖ when we discussed their social community
members and associations. ―The people‖ help each other; ―the people‖ will give us a
place to sleep; ―the people‖ know the government won‘t help. Finally, when they were
asked what they thought about living in their acutely impoverished community, despite
the violence and food/housing insecurity, more than half of the children said they want to
stay where they live. ―I love this place very much and I don‘t want to move to another
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one.‖ Those that did say they plan on moving out of their community at some point
normally added that it would only be to make money and then they would return to help.
School
Though I did not initiate questions about school, it was tied with ―Friends‖ for being the
second most referenced experience that the children wanted to talk about, with concerns
regarding ―Safety‖ being first. Amazingly, not one child mentioned school in a negative
way, except when they expressed regret that they could not be in school more. Even to
the question ―What do you do for fun?‖ these are some of the answers we were given:
o “(It is fun) when I get good grades in school, I like doing homework.”
o “I go to school. I get up at 5. My mom does my hair. My favorite thing
to do is my homework.”
o “I like school better than vacation.”
o I do my homework. I’m in vacation, but I like school better.Other kids
use bad words because they don’t have an education.”
For children not able to go to school, getting back to school is clearly a top concern:
o ―When all the kids go to school and I don’t, I can only sit and think about going to
school.”
o “During the weekends when I’m not in school I think about school. I like school.”
The children placed the highest importance on their chances of attending school.
Out of more than 30 categories of responses, they made more mention of school than any
other topic, except, ―Safety.‖ Each child referenced school on average twice (and only in
positive terms) during each interview without having been prompted. There was not one
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eference to disliking school, teachers or homework. Concern for their chance of going to
school was mentioned more than food or housing security. For some though, especially
this one young girl, it seemed literally a matter of survival, “I can’t write my exams
because I have no shoes. I just want to kill myself.”
This particularly high level of un-prompted response may be associated with a
combination of things, namely how they associate their chance of future success to their
chance to go to school; it can also be related to status, since school is not free, and to go
to school is seen as a privilege; and it may have a larger, even historic connection.
Though school attendance is the number one social concern for the children, even
those not attending school have a basic understanding of their history and place in the
world. Theirs is an oral tradition, and has been since before slaves were brought to the
island. These children may be aware that the newly freed slave nation was forced to close
all its schools in the early part of the 19 th century because France threatened to re-enslave
Haiti. Schools were traded for freedom. France got the money and Haiti got over a
hundred years of debt. Debt generated generation after generation of wide spread
illiteracy.
Friends
Within all areas, friends and school were tied for being the most frequently referenced.
Whenever they talked about having friends, I was constantly assured (without my asking)
that they had lots of friends and that they were good to their friends. Most frequently
when they talked about doing things with their friends they would say something similar
to, “I am happy when I am joking with my friends.”
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The most common things they reported liking to do with their friends after
‗joking‘ were playing marbles, soccer, tag, jumping rope, dancing or riding a borrowed
bike. I had to wonder who actually owned the bikes, since all the children I interviewed
said they only rode ―borrowed bikes.‖
Their friend‘s troubles do not go unnoticed or uncared for. “I have a friend who is
poor and sometimes he is very hungry and I go back to my house and give him food. We
are best friends so we share everything.”
The children expected the same respect and care in turn from their friends,
“sometimes when I am out and get afraid, my friends come inside with me and I feel safe.
Sometimes when they are shooting outside that is when my friends come inside with me.”
Family
The number of references to family members came in fifth overall out of the 35 areas of
interest we tallied. When I asked who they thought of when they were feeling safe, the
most frequent answer was a family member. The next most frequent mention of family
came in remarks about not wanting to cause trouble for their families. “I like
playing...playing soccer, playing marbles, but I cannot play marbles anymore. I don’t
want to cause my parents trouble. I win too much and the winner hits the other player’s
knuckles with a pitched marble. Then, the loser gets hurt and it causes my parents
trouble, so I can’t play marbles anymore.”
Children also frequently mentioned their hope that they could care for their
parents, “(When I am grown up) I will stay and help my mom when she has nothing. I will
work hard to help her.”
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Neighbors
In general the children seem to trust that their neighbors would help each other and help
them. “People help each other but they (neighbors) don’t have enough.” They also
expressed a strong sense of being able to turn to neighbors for help in any situation.
“People in the neighborhood help each other like cleaning each other’s house and
washing clothes and kitchen stuff.”
Another little boy said that his neighbors “clean the streets and share food.”
Even when one little girl seemed frantically concerned that she was about to be homeless,
she knew she could trust her neighbors, “they will help us with a place on the ground to
sleep.”
Church
It is unclear whether the high frequency with which the children mentioned church was
increased related to their having all recently survived the massive earthquake or not.
Some children did volunteer that church was more important to them since the quake, and
not one child mentioned church in anything other than with a positive response.
However, since Haiti does report having a high level of religious affiliation, I suspect that
the earthquake may only have managed to slightly add to the incentive for children to
want to go to church. Being able to go to church may even have some status attached to
it, since having shoes or appropriate clothes are necessary to be able to go to church
which was a fairly constant concern for the children. In Haiti, one does not go to school
or church without the appropriate clothes. “I think about when my father and mother go
to church and I don’t have any church shoes, I am lonely.”
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The children spoke mainly about two churches, Catholic or Protestant. The
Voodoo church is also well attended, and does provide literacy training for women, but
attendance at that church is often in conjunction with Catholic or Protestant attendance.
―Witches‖ are usually spoken of as outside the Voodoo church, and as black magic. The
children quickly identified which of the two first churches they associated with. Even
children who do not have the clothes to go to church knew which type of church they
associated with. This often came up when they started talking about music. ―I‘m not
protestant, I listen to reggae music.‖ In all, the children seemed to reflect the high
national level of interest in church that is evidenced throughout Haiti.
Three children made references to having a concern about witches. None of these
children made a connection between witches and the Voodoo Church. While the current
Voodoo Church is actively involved in Haiti support on a national level, including the
national literacy program for women, the children we interviewed did not associate these
witch concerns with anything Voodoo. Broadly, while some Haitians do associate some
trickery with Voodoo, many also maintain that it is an ancient religion that teaches
selflessness, love for others and love of nature. 20
Government
Overwhelmingly, most children felt that the government should be doing more to help
them, particularly with rebuilding homes, and providing food and jobs. There was always
a shaking of the head when I asked about the government.
20 This is based in part on my interview of the Priestess that heads the National Voodoo church, in Port au
Prince, Haiti.
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“The government doesn’t know what to do.” While all but one child said that they
thought the government was not doing anything to help, one little boy seemed to get to
the heart of the problem. The children not only felt that the government was not helping
the people; they also said that the current government did not know how to help (or that
corruption got in the way). “I want to get a good education then, when I’m grown up,
God willing, I can help the people of Cité Soleil….because the government really doesn’t
do anything.”
When I asked if they remembered President Aristide (previously a priest for the
poor) most said they did, and of those that remembered him, all but one thought that he
did help the poor people. “Titid made peace with the chimieres. That was better.” One
eleven year old boy said, “No! Aba Preval! (meaning that he did not like President
Preval, then president of Haiti). “Prices were cheaper (when President Aristide was
here). I don’t like fighting. I would like the country to be like before, after Aristide was
elected.”
On the subject of the ―Blue Helmets‖ (U.N. troops) the children seemed mixed
and sometimes confused about what to think. Many children reported that they thought
the ―Blue Helmets‖ should stay because they ―put thieves and kidnappers in prison.‖
However, when references to shooting were made, they often talked about being afraid of
the ―Blue Helmets‖ during the shooting and that reported that the U.N. troops
occasionally shot innocent people.
One girl who had told us earlier that she was not afraid of anything laughed when
we asked her about the ―Blue Helmets.‖ “I am scared of them.”
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Summary of “Community”
Within this first major theme, ―Community,‖ the children give us vivid insight into what
it is in their life that has value to them, and that is their social relations with friends,
family, neighbors, school and church. Their feedback in each of these areas largely
affirmed their positive social experience. The only theme to attract more of their attention
was, ―Condition.‖ In regard to their communities, they talked mostly about being able to
go to school, which was their highest priority. They brag about being a good friend and
about the joys of having so many children to play with. They find comfort in family
members, and voice care ―not to cause trouble‖ for them. Neighbors are generally viewed
positively, and as a source of support. Church attendance is reverenced, and seems to be a
source of solace, a significant social connection, and may well be a status symbol, and in
at least one case, a symbol and affirmation of full fledged value within the family unit.
These children have not given up on their government‘s chances of someday helping the
poor, but none of them see that happening today.
World Systems Context for “Community.” How children today experience
community life in Haiti can be put into broader perspective by comparing them with an
account made of community life in Haiti during the 15 th century of ―discovery‖ by
Bartolomé de las Casas. 21 Tianos, the indigenous inhabitants of Haiti, reportedly enjoyed
a community of people ―neither haughty nor ambitious, (who embraced) civility and
good manners, were pacifist, hospitable and kind.‖ Randall Robinson says of the Tianos
that they had lived in peace for more than a thousand years (2007). They fished abundant
21 Recently translated and available online: http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/bdorsey1/41docs/02-
las.html
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waters and worked communal gardens, having an exceptional amount of time for leisure
and art. They did not function on an exchange basis, having no use for the concept of
personal property. Another way to look at the ancient community was that it was bonded,
close knit and communal in nature. It thrived in abundance and lived in peace. If we
compare those early reports to what the children report today, there seems to be two main
differences that stand out. Though community ties are still strong, there is no abundance
or peace; violence and dearth were imported.
MAJOR THEME OR PATTERN: CONDITIONS
o Conditions. What did they have to say about their living conditions?
What conditions in their communities were observed and reported
most often by the children in Cité Soleil?
The ―Conditions‖ theme or pattern is connected to ―Community‖ in that here the children
speak directly about the physical conditions of their community. When the children
started talking about the conditions in their neighborhood they overwhelmingly spoke
about issues involving safety. In the interviews, an undeniable pattern began to emerge
that became the reason ―condition‖ was given a separate listing from ―poverty.‖ While I
expected the children would want to talk most directly about poverty, they demonstrated
that the existence of poverty was not their main concern, or even their second. The
condition of their surroundings, specifically how dangerous, was by far their number one
concern, and as we have just seen, their bond to their community was second. The way
this pattern emerged is worth discussing, since two things about it surprised me. First of
all, they all volunteered to tell me about the violence they experience. I intentionally did
not ask any direct questions about the violence in Cité Soleil, since I already knew it was
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extreme, and I had concerns that if I probed too much in this area, I might cause them
undue emotional harm. Without any prompting from me, their denunciation of violence
was by far their most frequent reference.
Second I expected that if they were to talk about the violence, it would be framed
in their experience of fear. This also proved completely wrong. This established a pattern
that was repeated in almost every single interview. They would start to tell about some
experience they had with shootings, beatings, rape or death, and I would expect to hear
them talk about how that frightened them, and I was surprised to hear them speak more
from a position of empowerment than fear. Violence was spoken about framed in a sort
of declaration of disapproval. Very specific to this pattern of unsolicited telling, was the
disavowal of fear, which I will discuss more fully in the next chapter.
Clearly, of all the conditions in their community, the children wanted to talk about
personal safety more than any other topic in the study. References to lack of safety were
three times more frequent than the frequency with which they spoke about hunger. Also
within the ―Condition‖ theme, after referencing safety and food issues, the children spoke
most often about the conditions of homelessness, obtaining water and electricity. I will
address the children‘s descriptions of their living conditions in order of frequency with
which they mentioned them.
Safety
This category was the main topic of conversation for every child within all major themes
and patterns and most frequent of the more than 30 areas of response. Each child spoke
repeatedly of either rapes, beatings, shootings, deaths, thieves or kidnappers and usually
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some combination of these. On average, each child made at least four references to a
severe safety issue within every interview, though I never asked a direct question about
violence or crime. In response to these prompts from the children I would follow-up with
some opening intended to allow them to discuss how this situation made them feel. One
of the most interesting findings in this study came out of the children‘s resistance to
acknowledging fear. For example, we heard this from one 14 year old girl, “I know
people who were shot. I have seen people shot and raped. One was a 20 year old
girl…when I hear a noise like shooting I run and hide, but I am not afraid.” The theme
of not ―being afraid‖ is prevalent throughout the children‘s responses. Fearlessness may
be related to a heritage of courage that permeates Haitian tradition, closely partnered with
the very struggle for survival. In Aristide‘s book, he notes that suicide is practically
unheard of in Haiti. He credits the richness of Haitian ―cultural factors: wealth of humor,
warmth of character, ease of laughter, dignity and solidarity‖ (2000). It could be a
combination of those cultural factors, a long tradition of valuing the fearless heroes of the
slave revolution, a learned response stemming from a self-preservation motive pertaining
to exhibiting strength by not showing fear, and maybe even a little something more
personal to young people. One young woman told me that girls like to look and act strong
―for the boys.‖ When I asked her if it was based in flirting or from an interest in avoiding
abuse, she said, ―both.‖ It really warrants more study.
Exhibition of fearless aside, the reality is, there is violence in the community. I
personally have never felt uncomfortable in Cité Soleil, but I have seen enough evidence
to know it exists. It seems to have been much worse immediately following the 2004
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coup. At that time I had a hard time finding people who would take me into Cité Soleil.
That is never the case today. Also, I have been told that once the people get to know you,
and trust you, they watch out for you. And it does seem that when folks talk about
violence it is not generally between neighbors, it comes from outside the community. The
U.N. troops themselves were a major source of retaliation that was not discriminating
particularly after the coup. At that time I interviewed a young boy and his father who
survived shots as they slept fired from a U.N helicopter that went right through their
skimpy tin roof.
Illustration 17 Home Made of Tin in Cité Soleil
Here is how one 13 year old girl described crime in her community, “If you are a
bad guy here you can do any crime.”
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Another girl added, “there is too much disaster, people killing each other. I have
seen fighting. My friend was hurt…I know how to fight, but I try not to. I don’t like it, but
I will if I have to. I don’t like gun fire.”
A 13 year old boy told us what he thought of the violence in his community, “I
don’t like it when people fight. I don’t like gunshots, throwing rocks and bottles. I have
seen gunshots fired. I didn’t see anyone get shot. I don’t like it when they beat people.”
Hunger
The results in this category reflected many of the facts about food insecurity, mainly that
hunger is pervasive and a constant concern. It was already known that most children in
Cité Soleil are malnourished and often go to sleep hungry. Though I did not initiate any
questions about hunger or food, it was mentioned in every single interview, often more
than once.
Hunger is constant, a given in this community. Generations of persistent hunger
have affected the ways families and whole communities interact. For example, people
generally do not eat in public, except in restaurants. It is not commonplace to see
someone walking down the street eating; nor have I ever seen an adult finish a plate of
food. Typically, about a third is always leftover then the plate is handed off to anyone
nearby (a friend or a child). If a child is poor and given food, say as part of a church or
school program, you will quite often see them wrap the bit of food up and tuck it in a
pocket to carry it home to give their mothers. We learned to plan for this.
For example, I would open the cold drink and hand the child the bottle – or they
may have tried to save it. I always gave them a small bit of candy and a nutrition bar to
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take home at the end, knowing that they would want to carry something home to share.
Eating is done quickly in almost an embarrassed fashion. It is not celebrated.
Celebrations generally do not include dinners, instead may include light refreshments.
Music and dancing, talking and visiting make a celebration; any little food is graciously
shared. In a culture where food is scarce, social structure has little if anything to do with
eating. This is not to say that there are not many nice (expensive) restaurants in Haiti. Just
like there are very wealthy most anywhere, there are wealthy in Haiti, and they do have
fine restaurant opportunities. Our work is done in Cité Soleil, where very few wealthy or
even middle class folks have been.
One young boy who had a lot of experience with hunger reminded my team that
children are still kids. He showed clinical signs of acute malnourishment, thin face and
arms, reddish tint to his hair, rounded belly. His interview was infused with references to
hunger. He told us about his older brother who died taking too much of a homemade
remedy thought to ward off hunger. He seemed very sad and confused by his big
brother‘s death. When he mentioned his brother‘s death, I broke my routine and reached
into my bag and handed him a snack bar I usually save to do at the end of the interviews.
In my rush I grabbed a granola type bar with raw oatmeal and dried fruit. I unwrapped it
and handed it to him. He took one bite then politely said, ―Sometimes my mom makes me
food I don’t like.‖ I realized that he didn‘t want to hurt my feelings, but that this snack
tasted really bad to him. Hungry kids are still kids. Hungry kids still don‘t like food they
are not used to, and hungry kids can still care more about the feelings of others than for
themselves. He got a better tasting bar (‗Sweet and Salty‘ is a big hit).
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The results of my interview with the manager of the medical clinic in Cité Soleil
were consistent with census data that shows that most children in Haiti are malnourished.
Mimi Dominique reported that most children eat just once a day. One13 year old boy told
me that, ―When I’m hungry (I have a weak face). I am sometimes hungry for many days.
Sometimes - when my parents don’t have enough.” (How often do you eat?) “I eat once
a day usually.”
Another boy told me, “I think I look weak when I am hungry.” Of course there are
many harmful health consequences to being severely malnourished. The worst case
scenario is of course leads to death. Worldwide at least 22,000 children a day die from
hunger and hunger related illness (Lappé 1998). A community like Cité Soleil is
especially vulnerable. The eleven year old boy who told me that his brother died said that
he had ingested eating salt and charcoal because he was hungry.
When I asked one girl what her family did to buy food. She said simply, ―We
don‘t have money to buy food.‖
An older, 14 year old girl summed up the hunger issue well, ―The worst thing
about being poor is when you have no food.‖
Homelessness
Homelessness was mentioned once on average per interview, though, the threat of
homelessness seems to carry greater weight for those who are anticipating homelessness,
than for those who are already homeless. An 11 year old boy stated very matter-of-factly,
“We don’t get what we want…We sleep in a tent. Mom sleeps on the ground with me.”
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Through years of experience working in Haiti in two different slums, I still have
to constantly recognize and fight my own global North bias which made it difficult for
me to anticipate the next little girl‘s concerns. Since I do work in a very poor community,
in a very poor country, somehow it did not occur to me that this was a place anyone
longed to have as home. This clearly shows my privileged bias. It simply caught me by
surprise when a very concerned young girl spoke passionately about her deep concern
over the possibility of being evicted (from the slum). Her uncle had been killed, who was
the one who provided her household with rent money, now she was nearly distraught
over the idea that she could lose her place to live. It was a reawakening. Of course, as a
sociologist I try to always remember that no matter how grim or difficult a neighborhood
may be, there is always social relativity, that social location is everything. Also,
particular perhaps to Haiti, though it may be similar in other impoverished communities,
there is a very high level of community bonding, which in fact probably accounts in large
part for the ability of folks in Cité Soleil to survive against all odds. So much is provided
outside a cash-based exchange here, and knowing ones neighbors and being able to rely
on them brings humanity to inhumane conditions. “I am thinking about my uncle that
died. He used to bring us food. Sometimes he would bring us money. He paid the rent on
our house for us. We are still in our house, but I don’t know when it will expire…my
mother has no money to feed us. (My neighbors) will help us with a place on the ground
to sleep.” She was only 10 years old.
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Adding to the difficulty of the earthquake that killed over 200 thousand people in
the Port au Prince area, it also took many folks that provided (though meager) support
for many children in Cité Soleil, which is part of Port au Prince.
Finding and Affording Other Essentials (Water and Electricity
The struggle for essentials is constant in Cité Soleil. Water and electricity are two areas
of concern the children spoke about. Water was the bigger concern. One boy expressed
his concern for his community‘s poverty in terms of water, “Poor means you can’t buy
anything. You can’t find water. You can’t buy water even for one gourde (2 ½ cents
U.S.).”
Unsafe drinking water brings with it many health and sanitation concerns. The
water table in Cité Soleil is so high because it sits right at sea level. Leaking sewage from
out-houses goes directly into the ground water without treatment. Critically related to
water safety is how to get rid of cholera treatment waste. I interviewed Dr. Jim Morgan
from the Lamp Clinic as he was expressing concern about his instructions to bury cholera
waste in the ground subsequent to treating cholera patients. While that may be the
solution of choice in other communities, for Cité Soleil, it is a death sentence. Cholera is
mainly spread through contaminated water. In Cité Soleil when folks have no money to
buy water, they may be forced to use ground water. When there is no money to buy
chorine tablets, that contaminated water is the fastest way to increase the death toll from
the cholera epidemic that was introduced to Haiti just two months after this research
project was finished. To date, April 26, 2011, over 5,000 people have died from this
contagion introduced by U.N. troops from Nepal in October 2010. This represents a sharp
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increase, up one thousand in the last month. Epidemiological models estimate that just a 1
percent reduction in the number of people forced to drink contaminated water would
avert more than 100,000 cases of cholera this year (Stephens 2011).
Another concern for children is not having electricity. They often mentioned not
having light at night to study, since most of the children in Cité Soleil do not have
electricity. Electricity is also a safety issue. Lack of electricity contributes to the crime
level at night and increases girl‘s concerns related to rape. Even where electricity is
brought into Cité Soleil, it has not always been done safely. Downed wires took the lives
of three little children in Cité Soleil, prior to this report and I heard repeatedly about the
event during the course of the interviews.
One little 13 year old boy who complained that he had to ―wait inside from 6 in
the morning till 5 at night” put the issue on a level all thirteen year olds around the world
can relate to, “I don’t have anything inside like TV…we have no electricity.”
Summary of “Conditions”Theme
Under the ―Condition‖ pattern or theme, the category of safety carried the most weight
and the most concern for the children. In fact, safety concerns were mentioned most often
out of all the more than thirty areas we evaluated. This was primarily noted by their
denunciation of the level and types of violence. It seemed they used bravery as a sort of
shield among other potential reasons for their consistently high level of self-assuredness.
Next in priority of concern for conditions of their community the children talked about
food insecurity, homelessness, lack of water and electricity.
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World Systems Context for “Conditions.” Global action and intervention has had
the most to do with current ―conditions‖ in Haiti according to an overwhelming majority
of Haitian scholars. Following its ―discovery‖ the abundant island became the wealthiest
colony that has over the course of 500 years become a place only those with fierce hope
can survive. Miraculously, in Cité Soleil, that fierce hope is very much alive.
MAJOR THEME OR PATTERN: FEELINGS
o Feelings. What do they feel about their living conditions? What do
they feel most strongly about? What did they have to say about their
feelings of protectiveness, patriotism, happiness, sadness, loneliness
and fear?
Like most Haitians, the children of Cité Soleil feel strongly about many things. Though
Haitian children are taught, and seem to accept, a wide spectrum of rules focused on
cleanliness, good manners and showing respect, theirs is not a quiet, constricted culture.
They demonstrate loud boisterous play outside of school and church, where they are
expected to sit quietly. This abundance of emotion I refer to as a theme or pattern of
―Feelings.‖ The children passionately and cheerfully (for the most part) discussed their
feelings about friends (being especially fond of telling me how much they teased and
joked and gossiped with their friends) and family, especially in connection to feeling safe
around most family members but also in reference to a feeling of protectiveness toward
family members; they spoke about feeling patriotic, and just what makes them happy or
sad, lonely or afraid. The most commonly talked about feelings are listed first, and
continue in descending order based on levels of frequency with which they were
addressed by the children.
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Friends and Family
As shown, references to ―friends‖ and ―school‖ were tied for the second most frequent
responses. If added together, they would just surpass ―safety‖ for their number one
interest. Their clearly strong feelings about being with peers can be discussed in two
ways. First of all, these children do not have computers, video games and television to
distract them from their enjoyment of peer groups. They also have more traumatic issues
to deal with, and recent study has shown that the best way for children to deal with
extreme stress is in the presence of their peers. They reported feeling safe with friends,
and wanting to share, play and ―joke‖ with friends.
The children initiated references to their families about a third as often as they did
―safety‖ and little more than half as often as they talked about their friends. Only once
were any parents criticized, and usually were associated with feeling safe and secure. The
only negative reference to fathers came from one child who volunteered that her father
did not live with them anymore. Mom was the only parent mentioned for disciplining, but
she is also most associated with feeling safe. Older sisters were only mentioned when the
children complained that their sisters ―beat‖ them; and older brothers rarely mentioned
and then without opinion. They seemed only to feel protective of younger siblings.
Patriotism
National pride is almost a national pastime. Patriotism is generally strong in Haitian
children, and they are taught to reverence the revolutionary spirit of the slaves who
fought to free themselves, even if they cannot write their own name. This seems due in
large part to the oral tradition in Haiti. Since most resources (including human) were
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extracted from the island early after ‗discovery,‘ then public schools were closed down
almost two hundred years ago to pay a ‗freedom tax‘ to its previous slave masters,
Haitians rerouted communication that actually has served to strengthen community, they
teach about heritage with humor, with sayings, with parables and analogies. Chatting in
Haiti is an inspiring experience. These conversations usually rise above the mundane, and
to things of national and international nature, though I have seen of young motorcycle
entrepreneurs shout for hours about how to divide up a group fare. They never asked
more money from us, interestingly, they each just wanted to make sure it was divided
fairly among them. Justice outweighed price, as is often the case in Haiti.
This passion for all things, but especially for country was reflected in many of the
responses we got from the children. One young man voiced a commonly heard emotion,
―God made me born here, so I am Haitian. Not Dominican, not American. I love that I’m
Haitian.”
Then, a very young girl put her feelings this way, ―I feel great about being
Haitian.” Throughout Haiti, stone walls and the sides of buildings attest to the political
and patriotic nature of Haitians in general that was reflected in the children‘s interviews.
What I mean by that is that there is plenty of graffiti in Haiti, but nothing about gangs or
who someone loves or hates, unless that person is a political figure. All graffiti space is
saved for public demonstrations of patriotic preferences, as are all public marches and
most celebrations. The children‘s responses seemed to reflect the highly charged political
environment that seems to have started at the beginning of the slave revolution, and is
just as vibrant today.
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Happy or Sad
Illustration 18 Spunky in Shada
“I have never seen anyone sad,” reported one 12 year old girl. While I don‘t necessarily
think this response is universal, I do think it is telling. For one, it is extreme. ―Never‖ is a
fairly extreme word. It is interesting to note that her statement is consistent with findings
presented in Verkuyten‘s work (1994) that suggests that poor children are more likely
than more advantaged children to make extreme statements.
Also, it seems to indicate the impressive sense of strength about Haitian children I
have already mentioned. I cannot call it stoic for they are much too upbeat for that
descriptor. Viktor Gegas (1982) reports that some of his findings indicate that one
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possible defense mechanism used by children under stress is a positive portrayal of high
self-image. He and others suggest that hardships actually do produce resiliency (Weinger
2000). What is certain is that the children‘s responses tended to leave the impression that
they were pro-active agents in their condition, not victims. This 12 year old girl went on
to say, ―if you see someone with a sad looking face it is because they are sick, have
menstrual pain or a headache.‖ This is the same little girl who told me a moment later
that she had seen her father shot by a would-be thief. She remained in control and
positive while relating the experience, ―His arm was hurt, but he‘s ok.‖
Afraid
Reinforcing the finding that these children tend to see themselves as pro-active agents,
nearly every time I asked the children what they thought about when I asked them to
make an ―afraid‖ face for the camera, they changed my question around and away from
the word, ―afraid.‖ This did not become clear to me until after the analysis was complete.
They were generally not comfortable with saying they were afraid. At first this seemed
inconsistent with the finding that they spoke overwhelmingly most common in regard to
things that were not safe or that could hurt them (shootings, kidnappings, beatings, rape).
Still, with over one hundred references to dangerous conditions, only three times did a
child use the word ―afraid,‖ and even those could have been a reflection of my word
choice. They seemed to have adapted a much more empowered position. Instead of
saying that they were afraid of something, they would change it around and instead say,
―I don’t like it when…‖ This leaves me to wonder if this tendency is common among
other children who live in other violent slums. I repeatedly heard, ―Nothing makes me
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afraid.‖ The first time I heard this expression it was from a ten year old girl. Also, this
trait does not seem gender specific, or at least it does not have a male bias. In fact, though
the numbers are too small in this study to draw generalizations, I did have more girls say
that nothing makes them afraid than from boys. Since the scope of this study is too small
to confirm generalization for a gendered difference in this area, it would make an
interesting future gender study.
Summary of “Feelings”
To summarize the theme related to the children‘s feelings, it is safe to say they do not
hesitate to let people know how they are feeling. This is consistent with other studies of
impoverished communities. They felt strongly about family and friends, expressing both
as sources of comfort and people they wanted to protect. They exhibit a high level of
patriotism consistent with the tradition of their culture. They express happiness, shun or
deny feelings of sadness; they seem rarely to be alone, but don‘t particularly like it when
they are; most telling is their rejection of fear. They reflect a moderate level of optimism
that seems to an outsider inordinately high in context of their impoverished community.
These are passionate children and generally cheerful, spunky, yet respectful of adults and
a pleasure to have a conversation with.
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Illustration 19 Attitude at The Lamp, 2009
World Systems Context for “Feelings.” Associating the children‘s feelings within
a larger macro frame can perhaps be done simply by being aware that these children,
though largely illiterate and malnourished, know much more about their country, France,
Canada and the United States and the relationship between them all than any of the
elementary school classrooms I have visited teaching about Haiti. The social network,
primarily taking place in market places and on the street, is alive and well in Haiti. Not
only do most families have access to a borrowed cell phone (at least). There are Cyber
café‘s even in Cité Soleil. Everyone knows someone who knows someone who had
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access to a computer and is up on the world news, and even the children seem to care.
Perhaps that is one consequence of hundreds of years of international intervention, or
maybe just in comparison to citizens of my own country, the rest of the world seems to
know and feel more about that world than is our tradition.
MAJOR THEME OR PATTERN: POVERTY
o Poverty. What did the children have to say about poverty, what are
their perceptions of poverty? What do they think poverty means? Who
do they describe as poor; what do they think is the worst thing about
being poor and who do they think is helping the poor; who do they
think should?
―Poverty,‖ is the overarching theme for this thesis, and every other major theme or
pattern (community, condition, feelings, trauma and wishes) is dramatically connected
with that of ―Poverty.‖ For example, ―Community,‖ described what the children told us
about the bonds they feel with their friends, family, neighbors, school, and church, and a
case can be made that all these associations are impacted by the acute poverty that afflicts
the community. To illustrate this point I have included some representative examples of
what the children had to say about each of those relationships.
Community and Poverty. Our second ten year old girl connected poverty with
health, school and family, ―I am lonely when I stay home. My dad got sick and I can‘t
afford school anymore, so I have to stay home. I went to school until the 2 nd grade.‖
Condition and Poverty. One child described what poverty meant to her in relation
to the unemployment and homelessness around her, ―I see people on the street asking for
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money. If you don‘t have a job or any way to get money you are poor. The worst thing
about being poor is being homeless.‖
Feelings and Poverty. The children sometimes expressed confusion about what
the future would mean to them, especially those facing imminent homelessness and
extreme food insecurity, ―I don‘t know what will happen when I am older.‖
Trauma and Poverty. All of the children experienced the earthquake and
aftershocks, most all reported major changes in their lives and circumstance that would
not necessarily be as difficult to recover from if they lived in a ―core‖ or wealthy state,
with home and medical insurance, job security, life insurance, free public schools, etc.
―Most of the houses are broken. A lot of people died.‖ The streets in most of Port au
Prince were more a series of potholes connected by bits of asphalt even before the quake,
so that emergency vehicles had little chance of getting to those in need. Trying to get
even the most basic medical supplies distributed three days after the quake was nearly
impossible for the team I brought in. Teams of responders, when they were working to
remove rubble from victims centered on the wealthiest hotels where Americans stayed,
leaving virtually no one but distraught family members to pick through rubble with their
bare hands trying to reach loved ones still trapped. Most children report they had trouble
sleeping for months afterward, some still struggle.
Wishes and Poverty. The youngest 10 year old girl expressed this as her greatest
wish, ―If I found a buried treasure, I would give my mom the money. She would buy
clothes and dishes.‖ This is a typical greatest wish. All the children wished for other
people, and generally they were wishes for the most modest of conveniences for their
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mothers…dishes, spoons, a bed, shoes were all typical and all very telling about the depth
of poverty in these children‘s lives. It is hard to imagine even the most modest living
condition that would lack spoons, for example.
Who is Poor?
This question was posed to the children, and in typical tradition of children in poverty,
they did not generally identify themselves as poor (Fortier 2006). This is not to say that
impoverished children are not aware of their circumstance simply because when they are
asked about who is poor their common response is to refer to someone worse off than
they. It should be remembered that studies have shown impoverished children have a
greater capacity for empathy for other poor children than their better funded counterparts
(Fortier 2006). When asked about who is poor, these children‘s first thoughts turn to
someone worse off than they are tends to support the empathy finding instead of an
inherent incapacity to grasp reality, or for their steepedness in their own relative poverty
to have blinded them to the outside world to such an extent. Few communities of
impoverished children exist that are so isolated that one can claim that condition. Even in
Cité Soleil, where the children often have no access to clean water, electricity, ample
food, bedding, shelter, schooling, medical care or adequate clothing, they are savvy in
Western culture. Their karate heroes, knowledge of world soccer teams, cell phones and
laptops are proof of that. In a close knit urban slum community, everyone knows
someone with a laptop and these children seem to be generally more aware of most world
events than children in the North America.
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What is the Worst Thing About Being Poor?
Perhaps the most powerful responses came when I asked the children to tell about
poverty in response to my question, ―What is the worst part about being poor?‖ A young
girl told us about her fear that her mother would soon give her away, ―My mother doesn‘t
have enough money to take care of me.‖
One broadly empathetic response came from a ten year old boy, ―It means when
you love your kids and you can‘t feed them, then other people get mad at your because
you don‘t have money to send your kids to school.‖ Most of the responses fell into these
three categories: having no food, having no money and having no job. Being poor means
“not having food” was by far the most common answer, then “having no money,” or
“having no job,” then “begging” and “having no possibilities.”
Another 10 year old boy summed it up like this, “Poor is when you don’t have
money to feed your family, if you don’t have nothing, if you don’t have money to buy a
bed. When you are poor you don’t have money to buy food or water. If you don’t have
food or water you will be dead.”
Who is Helping?
The participants were very clear about who they thought was helping in their community
and who was not. They said that basically they felt ―the people‖ were on their own,
excepting for ―some white people‖ who came right after the quake to bring food, but
mostly now have all gone back home. They felt like lots of ―famous people and actors‖
gave money too, but that those funds have been taken by the existing government and
that government never did anything but hand out a little bit of rice.
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Summary of “Poverty
―Poverty‖ clearly impacts every part of life in Haiti, and every other major theme or
pattern including: community, condition, feelings, trauma and wishes are dramatically
connected with that of ―Poverty.‖ The children recognize poverty more in context with
how their lives are impacted rather than in terms of money. When referencing scarcity
they talk about food insecurity, not having uniforms for school, and the risk of
homelessness far more than they talk about money itself. They were much more likely to
talk about the unfortunate other poor person in sympathetic expression than to talk about
their own poverty.
World Systems Context for “Poverty.” There are many ways that the extreme
poverty in Haiti can be given a world systems context. Tariq Ali makes the point that
France ―bled Haiti dry for decades (2006),‖ and then extorted $21 billion from Haiti as
compensation for losing the colony after the revolution (Robinson 2007). Reeling from
debt and half of her population dead, Haiti was prey for many vultures. The last decades
of the 19 th century were marked with the U.S., Britain, France and Germany vying for
Haiti‘s wealth, but the U.S. occupation of 1915 was perhaps the most deadly. Her
constitution was redrafted to allow foreign interests to take up land and take over the
banks and all revenue from tariffs went into the U.S. treasury (Farmer 2003). Since then
the World Bank and IMF have contributed to the perpetual attempt to keep Haiti from
true sovereignty. If the bigger truth about how Haiti became impoverished, it would have
to come down to too much global intervention.
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MAJOR THEME OR PATTERN: TRAUMA
o Trauma. How have things changed for these children after the
earthquake? What did the quake mean to them? What about PTSD?
In chapter two I identified the string of trauma inducing experiences these children have
managed to survive, which lays the groundwork for ―Trauma‖ being the next theme. As
mentioned, a few months before this study was scheduled to start, a massive earthquake
hit the community where Cité Soleil is located. No child escaped personal loss. Hundreds
of thousands were killed, and almost every child reported seeing dead people, including
family members and friends. These children already live in the epicenter of violence that
rocked the nation following the 2004 coup. Already steeped in poverty, then violence, the
earthquake (and now cholera epidemic) was a hard blow to this community and to these
children. Accordingly, I expected some measure of post traumatic stress in the
participants similar to those in a 2009 study discussed later of Afghani children during
war (Catani et al. 2009). Most reported having experienced a typical symptom of post
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including (in order of frequency) not being able to
sleep, needing to sleep outside, needing to sleep with a family member, having a new
determination to ―be a better person,‖ or to help others less fortunate out of a version of
survivors guilt, often saying that they felt they needed to help others since this must be
the reason that God let them live. Also a few reported an inability to concentrate, and
continued concern that there will be another quake. For the most part, these children
claimed to have gone back to normal, except for the determination to be a better person.
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Very few reported still having sleep issues. “I don’t have a problem sleeping anymore,”
was a common response.
One note on children with PTSD: They have greater problems with ―attention
span, abstract reasoning, and greater impulsivity, though no difference was measured in
language, memory and learning, visuo-spatial abilities and psychomotor skills;‖ in the
case of a child who also experienced the death of a family member, ―memory
performance is also affected‖ (Scrimin et al. 2009:404). According to current guidelines,
100% of children who see a parent die or who has witnessed/experienced sexual abuse
has posttraumatic stress disorder or PTSD (U.S. Dept. of Veteran‘s Affairs 2011). Also,
as soon as we started to interview ―Juliet,‖ it was clear that we were dealing with a young
woman who is suffering emotionally and needed help. This situation, though difficult,
was important on many levels.
First and most importantly, we were able to find and begin outreach to ―Juliet‖
who badly needed help. Mimi from the medical clinic was in attendance and immediately
interrupted the interview when ―Juliet‖ started talking to us of suicide. Mimi began
Psychological First Aid (PFA), which really takes on the look of a concerned older sister.
―Juliet‖ at first seemed barely to take note of the things we were saying, but by the end of
our session, she seemed to make a connection with Mimi. We made an exception to our
standard of not offering anything of value to the participants in this research. Mimi took
the initiative and told ―Juliet‖ that she would make sure her tuition was paid and that
Mimi would buy her clothes so she could go to school.
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World Systems Context for Trauma Findings. A larger world view in this case can
actually shed some light on the problems these children are experiencing with traumatic
stress. I pulled this particular tool out of my emotional tool box when I was interviewing
one boy who thought there was something seriously wrong with him. I told him the
things he was telling me were happening to him after the quake were normal and that
other children I had studied around the world who had very bad things happen to them
said they couldn‘t concentrate in school as well either. He looked at me with disbelief at
first. I was very grateful that I had been prepared with some background on PTSD. “But I
feel like someone who is going to go crazy. Right now I feel better but not the same. My
house is cracked and when it is windy, my house shakes and it makes me worried.” I told
him about kids in Afghanistan and the Ukraine. It seemed to comfort him to know that.
MAJOR THEME OR PATTERN: WISHES
o Wishes. What wishes do the children have; what expectations do they
have for the future? What ideas do they have to improve their
community?
This theme emerged actually out in the field on my second day of research, and came out
of a related suggested question proposed by Paul Burke, who assisted with transcribing
that day. He suggested we ask what the children would buy if they won the lottery. We
had to quickly change the question to, ―What would you buy if you found a buried
treasure?‖ after an astonished child told us that gambling is considered a sin for children.
My new question quickly became my favorite question and it served three purposes,
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which is why I specifically reference it here for other researchers to consider using when
interviewing impoverished children.
Some of our other questions brought responses that were difficult for the children
to share; sometimes there were tears. This is when I knew we needed a change of pace.
The ―buried treasure question‖ met this need as it never failed to bring a smile. It also
gave what I believe is the most telling insight into the thinking of these children. They
pondered; they imagined; they dreamt about brighter times; they were eager to share.
Lastly, this ―buried treasure question‖ gave us perspective into the depth of deprivation
they were enduring and an idea of the level of altruism or level of solidarity with the
community they felt as compared to responses that would be more self-serving.
This last major theme or pattern is called ―Wishes,‖ but it is really made up of
three wish-related areas: ―Children‘s Wishes,‖ ―Children‘s Plans for Their Future,‖ and
―Children‘s Suggestions for the Future of Haiti.‖ Within this major theme the children‘s
wishes are presented first, then the plans these children have for the future, and last some
amazingly perceptive ideas from the children about what should be done in Haiti.
Children’s Wishes
The most telling part about hearing the children‘s wishes was how much it told of relative
poverty. However, the most surprising thing about their wishes was how little they
wished for themselves. The following are a sampling of wishes from the question, ―What
would you buy if you found a buried treasure?‖
“I would buy spoons for my mother’s kitchen.”
“I would give my mom the money; she would buy clothes and dishes.
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“I would build a big house, give my father the money remaining and give money
to people on the street.”
“I would start a family store. If you are poor you will be able to buy on credit. If
you have money then you pay cash.”
“I would give it to my mom and my dad. Every time I was hungry, they would give
me something to eat. We would feed all the children.”
“I would help my mom.” When I pushed her by asking what she might buy to
make herself happy, she added, ―I would like to have a clothing shop, maybe a
cell phone.”
“I would buy land and farm animals. My favorite animal is a cow.”
“I would pay for nursing school and divide the rest among the people.”
“I would buy some stuff for my mom…a bed, dishes, TV, a big house and rice.
Then I would open a store for my mom.”
“I would give it to my dad to buy shoes.”
“I would buy a pot for my mother.”
“I would pay for school and buy clothes to wear; a uniform to wear to school,
and clothes to wear to church.”
“I would buy food.”
Thinking about others and in terms of the greater good is certainly a repeated
theme throughout their wishes as in each of these categories. Supporting their families
and their community also seems to be a driving force behind the wishes of impoverished
Haitian children. Though they did not demonstrate much faith in the current government,
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the children were very connected to their communities and to relieving the suffering of
the poor. I think it needs to be pointed out that the children we interviewed were all from
the community of Cité Soleil, a slum of intense poverty, and so each child interviewed
can easily be classified as acutely poor, yet their wishes were generally not for
themselves. They were generally designed to help someone else or to relieve someone‘s
burden who was esteemed to be I great need.
When I pressed some children to tell me something that would make them happy,
still the answers were very simple: “I would like to have shoes. I don’t love sandals.
Shoes would make me happy.”
Children’s Plans for Their Future
Of the children who mentioned knowing what they wanted to do when they grew up,
being a doctor or being a nurse were tied for being the most desirable occupations. Next
most desirable were sewing, teaching, woodworker, auto-mechanic and musician.
“I want to be a doctor. I am in the 6 th grade. I go to school. I study hard. I don’t
study at night because I don’t have electricity. I study after school.”
“I want to be a teacher, my school fell down. I was in the third grade.”
“I want to be a doctor. Since I was 5 years old I told the people in kindergarten I
want to be a doctor. I want to practice general medicine.”
“I want to make beds, wooden antique beds.”
“I like to sew by hand. I would like a sewing machine.”
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Children’s Suggestions for the Future of Haiti
As in most acutely impoverished countries, children make up about half of the population
of Haiti. They have strong voices, and intriguing ideas. They carry with them the strength
of generations of survivors. Here are some of their suggestions:
―There are no developmental programs for the children. We are supposed to have
clubs to discuss subjects of the country. This is what we should have.”
“Have the children go to school who can’t go otherwise.”
“A youth committee should be aged 5 to 14 years old. I would go to that. Also
there should be one for just girls. This could be at the local clinic.”
Author‘s note: A recent study of impoverished children in Uganda indicates that
children‘s youth committees in Kampala, Uganda have focused on ―identifying,
responding to, and resolving cases of child abuse and neglect, and also preventing
abuse by carrying out awareness-raising activities in the community and through
the media (Witter and Bukokhe 2004).
“I don’t like it because nobody came to Cité Soleil to rebuild. The government
should do that.‖
“When they put trash in the street it makes my mom sick. Everyone who puts trash
in the street should be forced to clean up the whole country.”
“They need to put in trash cans or bury (trash) in a dump. There are not enough
dumpsters here (Cité Soleil). I have seen them on Delmas.”
“There are not enough places to play football and basketball.”
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“There should be a big project to fix all the poor people’s houses that were
damaged during the earthquake.”
“The principals should pay teachers and give scholarships.”
“The government should help people with food if it is necessary.”
The children were very direct about the things they thought should happen in
Haiti. They thought that all hungry people should have food, which was their number one
material concern; they felt that children should have an opportunity to organize, have
committees to discuss the conditions in the country and clubs with age limits and special
opportunities for girls to meet separately; they overwhelmingly thought that schools
should be available to every child and that teachers get a fair wage; they thought that
folks who are poor should get their homes rebuilt; they wanted a plan in place to clean up
Haiti, more trash bins (even in the poor parts of town, a system to pick up trash, a good
place to take it, and once those things were in place, some consequence that directly
involved extra cleaning up by those who threw trash down; and lastly, they thought it
would be a good idea to have more places for kids to play football (soccer) and
basketball.
Summary of “Wishes”
Consistent with the empowered and community centered perspectives these children
demonstrated, it was no surprise that their wishes were more focused on benefit for their
community almost exclusively. Thinking about the greater good, relieving the suffering
of the poor, was a repeated theme even when it came down to their choices of
occupations. They want to relieve hunger and housing needs, and they want to participate
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in the organization of that relief. They do not say, someone should give us food, they
more accurately say, someone should listen to our ideas about how we can work to make
it so that Haiti can feed and house itself. We want to have a chance to become doctors
and nurses, and to do city planning. It is amazing and affirming of earlier research that
these children are nearly not children any more. Their experience has given them
perspective, and their youth gives them optimism and energy.
Other Findings
One surprising finding was a confirmation that having possessions is a socially
constructed experience. In other words, children learn to own things and learn to be
possessive usually before they learn that other people have possessions and that they may
be expected to ―respect‖ other people‘s possessions. This finding is supported in
reviewing the wishes each child expressed. If a child never has a personal item and is
never around anyone who has ―stuff‖ of their own (and had little in the way of direct
advertising aimed at them) what they exhibit is an intense curiosity about anything new
they come in contact with. It is not socially inappropriate then for a child raised in a
setting where everything is shared to pick up and investigate – maybe even take apart –
every new thing they see (cameras, recorders, cell phones, laptops included). This can be
very entertaining, when managed well. I recently watched a child from an orphanage see
money for the first time. Tevez picked up the funny dirty stuff off the table, turned it over
once in his hand, frowned slightly then promptly deposited it into the trash. He saw no
good reason why anyone would want that dirty stuff on the table. Money had not gained
value to him. What had value was cleanliness.
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Another side observation may connect to something I remember from reading
early ―discovery of the New World‖ accounts. It seems the Spanish were concerned that
the indigenous people washed too often (since the Europeans had yet to discover support
for hygienic rituals like regular bathing) so, the Spanish actually outlawed regular bathing
in Haiti and the New World. It seems the indigenous people have something in common
with Haitians today, and may have passed on their penchant for cleanliness through a
dozen generations to present day Haitian mothers. I learned it is not uncommon for
children to be ―showered‖ (generally meaning scrubbed from a bucket) up to three times
a day (before school, after school and before bed). One 10 year old boy I interviewed
confirmed this practice, “My friends sometimes they play so long they have to take a
shower then they go play some more.”
SUMMARY
In this chapter the major themes or patterns findings of this report were discussed. The
children gave vivid testimony of their close bonds within their community; they reported
honestly the difficult conditions of their daily lives; they shared their feelings even when
those were not easy to share; they disclosed the depths of poverty in Cité Soleil; the
children shared intimate insight into their own measures of trauma, particularly following
the 2010 earthquake; and most telling, they shared their wishes.
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Chapter 5
DISCUSSION
The focus of this chapter is to have a discussion comparing this study‘s results with
results from prior studies, and to apply a theoretical application to these findings. This
work builds on previous studies whose results have already been discussed in chapter
two. This chapter aims to show how the findings reviewed in chapter four contrast with
the prior findings in the area of children‘s poverty that were discussed in chapter two.
This project was originally designed in its study protocol so that the results might
conveniently be compared to those from other countries doing similar work.
COMPARISON TO PREVIOUS STUDIES
This comparison will be made by fixing this study‘s results into the five general
categories of previous global work, which are:
(i) Gendered Differences
(ii) Children‘s Perceptions of Adults, Other Children, Their Community and
Living Conditions
(iii) Children‘s Self-Esteem and Future Expectations
(iv) Children‘s Causal Scripts for Poverty
(v) Commodification of Children
GENDERED DIFFERENCES
We had fewer references to differences in relation to gender than I expected, though the
prompts did not specifically address asking children their views about the opposite sex. In
other words, though an equal number of boys and girls were interviewed, their answers
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were more consistent with the group as a whole than they did illustrate that boys and girls
in Haiti felt differently on the main topics we asked about. We were trying to keep each
interview to one hour, and though more detailed questions would have been interesting to
ask, perhaps a follow up study could address a more gendered study. There was a clear
consensus reflected in this child‘s answer that, “boys work harder than girls; they have to
carry buckets of water. Girls stay in the house and do chores. Girls do more work, but
boys do harder work.” While limited, our findings are consistent with other studies in the
global south where gender and work were compared. On major points of interest such as
school, safety and community the children‘s answers were almost unanimous. The girls
were the only ones, though that reported themselves or their friends had been abused.
CHILDREN‘S PERCEPTIONS OF ADULTS, OTHER CHILDREN, THEIR
COMMUNITY AND LIVING CONDITIONS
This research demonstrated what a strong impact community has on these children. In
this area our findings were generally consistent with previous studies, except for some of
the findings in studies done in the United States, which seem to be directly opposite in
regard to community bonding. Generally speaking, my findings were more consistent
with those from the global South. I will review here my findings as they contrast to those
of children‘s perceptions of adults, then their perceptions of other children, and finally of
their community and circumstance. Each will be discussed each separately.
Perceptions of Adults
The findings in this study are consistent with those of other researchers in the global
South. Haitian children reported that they looked to parents, extended family members,
teachers and community adults for comfort and protection, to a greater extent than
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children in U.S. studies (Fortier 2006:115). Adults are admired and seen as role models.
The responses relative to teachers was completely positive. Also, consistent with other
studies from the global South, children do not view adults in governing positions to be
effectual (Witter and Bukokhe 2004; Poluha 2004; Dass-Brailsfor 2005). In Haiti, nearly
every child said basically the same thing about the government: “the government does
nothing; the people help each other with giving a place to sleep, with cooking and
cleaning, and sharing food if they have any.” Another boy said, ―After the earthquake,
actors and artists give money to the government, but they don’t give it to the people.”
Perceptions Relating to Other Children
These children placed an exceptionally high level of importance on having friends, which
is consistent with Corsaro‘s findings (1992). Overall, referencing friends came in second
out of more than 30 areas of concern, higher than food security or money concerns. The
only area of more interest to the children was that of safety. In this area my results very
nearly matched studies of impoverished children in all countries where they were
similarly studied, with nuanced differences more noticeable when compared to studies
from the global North.
For example, in the few studies where clothing was addressed, all impoverished
children of global North or South show stigma associated with their clothing. This does
seem elevated in Haiti, where clothing is often the determinant for school and church
attendance.
In her U.S. study, Fortier found that impoverished children have ―tremendous
compassion for children they perceive as less fortunate than themselves‖ (Fortier 2006).
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This is clearly supported by my study. No child in our study identified themselves as
being poor, they always pointed to someone else less fortunate, and then always with
empathy and some reference to helping that child.
Perceptions of Their Community/Circumstance
These children are very connected to their community, and place high value on those
community connections. These findings are consistent with those from other global South
countries 22 that remind us of the importance of the collective for these children.
Except for restavek children, they do not suffer from the feelings of exclusion
from their communities like those that are reported among poor children in more
economically privileged countries like the United States (Fortier 2006). This difference
could stem from a number of reasons.
1. Poor people are the majority in Haiti, by large measure. On the streets of Haiti, all
you see are poor children. All poor children see are other poor children. This is
not to say that within Haiti, and even within the slum there are not variations of
social standing. In Haiti there is an extremely wealthy class, however there is such
disparity in socio-economic status (SES) that the extremely wealthy children do
not mix with poor children. There is something to belonging to75% of a
population.
2. Racial/Ethnic Homogeneity. Children of all classes share a national sense of
history. Rich kids and poor kids all take pride in the same national heroes. They
all admire Toussaint L'Ouverture, a slave that came to lead the successful slave
22 A study in Ethiopia by Poluha (2004:65) and another in Tazania ((Berinstein and Magalhaes 2009:102)
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evolution. In the U.S. for example, rich kids and poor kids are not taught to share
the same heroes. If you go to a Martin Luther King march, it‘s mostly all black, if
you go to César Chávez day activities, folks are all brown. Haitians identify as
Haitians.
3. Media. Children lacking electricity are not excluded from exposure to advertising
directed at increasing younger children in the global North, however their
exposure is much more limited (McChesnney 1999).
4. Community events are not fee based (other than school expenses, and having
clothing for church). When a film is shown on the side of building, it is a
community event. When a new dry toilet is installed for example, loud speakers
are brought in, there are speeches and music and people stay and talk and visit for
hours.
5. Broad sense of family structure. All adults are esteemed very nearly as any child‘s
parents, particularly adult women. Mother‘s routinely provide care for all children
near them. Adults are allowed to teach, direct and discipline any child in their
presence. Children are taught to greet each adult that comes into their home or
school with deference and a kiss on the cheek.
CHILDREN‘S SELF-ESTEEM AND FUTURE EXPECTATIONS
The children‘s responses indicated a positive level of self esteem which seems likely to
connect with the community homogeneity just mentioned. Also, since I observed an
unexpectedly high level of self confidence among the girls and young women, this would
make an interesting area of study to pursue. This study shows that in the hundreds of
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esponses charted, not one child referenced self-blame, self-depreciation or personal
failure for their condition, and only had one child said they were sad, even though this is
one direct area questioned. On average each child had two positive statements each about
having friends and liking school.
Another rational for higher levels of self esteem may be connected with their
demonstrated sense of empowerment. Expressions of empowerment seem to be related to
high self-esteem. These children chose to convert less empowered language with more
empowered language. A clear example of this is when the children chose not to say they
were frightened or made afraid by the violence in their community replacing that
phrasing with ―I don’t like it when…‖ there is shooting, or there is shooting, but “I am
not afraid of anything.”
My observation of positive levels of self confidence in the impoverished children in Haiti
is not consistent with the studies of impoverished children of the United States according
to the assessment of several U.S. studies done by Sandra Fortier, however, she does
maintain that overall, there is insufficient data in this area (Fortier 2006:116).
My findings are consistent however with studies of black and minority children in
western countries (Verkuyten, Maykel 1994; White and Burke 1987; Pallas 1990).
CHILDREN‘S CAUSAL SCRIPTS FOR POVERTY
This research shows that children in Cité Soleil understand that poverty exists, they know
what it means and they understand that food insecurity, homelessness, not being able to
go to school and other typically impoverished conditions are associated with being poor.
Though, they generally do not point out their own poverty, it cannot be assumed they do
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not recognize it. They report as the primary causes for poverty: death or absence of
supporting family member, prices being too high, not enough jobs, inadequate wages for
work, and the potential wage earner not having an opportunity for schooling.
“Poor means you don’t have nothing to eat. People don’t make a big deal about it.”
COMMODIFICATION OF CHILDREN
My research found one boy out of the 22 interviewed that had been used as a restavek,
and one girl who seemed at risk. As mentioned, another father of a very young girl
tracked me during the weeks of interviews trying to get me to take his daughter, and I met
one other foreign national who had a newborn infant laid naked on the sidewalk in front
of her. (She chose to take charge of finding a home for the infant.) These experiences in
two weeks time are not statistically significant, but certainly do tell us so much about the
desperation faces these impoverished families.
Today, studies show that child trafficking ―dwarfs the trans-Atlantic slave trade at
its peak, by a magnitude of 10‖ (McMichael 2008:207). Human trafficking is the fastest
growing source of ―bonded labor‖ in the world, and most clearly, it is the leading human
rights violation. McMichael estimates that between 700,000 and 2 million women and
children are trafficked each year, netting about $6 billion. In Haiti, children whose
families can no longer care for them can too often be found living on the street.
Two little boys named after Argentinean soccer stars found themselves abandoned
to the street when they were just 2 and 4 years old. I met these boys through a friend of
mine, Marcorel Lisius, that runs the orphanage where they now find security. There were
frequent reports telling what happened to children found living on the street after the
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deadly street battles of the 2004 coup. These ―children of the coup‖ found living on the
street were not only summarily being shot by vigilante groups claiming to be cleaning up
the ―street rats,‖ but they were also vulnerable to child trafficking. Fortunately, Jean
Ristile, a courageous documentary photographer, scooped them up and safely delivered
to the orphanage. These two still have vivid memories of that time. They are the lucky
ones.
Child trafficking lands children into positions on farm labor camps, used for
restaurant labor, domestic servitude, fishing, mail-order brides, market stall labor, shop
work and the sex (and organ) trade. Many of these children simply don‘t make it. 23
THEORETICAL CONTEXT
World systems theory pairs very well with other disciplines doing international research,
when a larger context is desired, since it is simply a way of looking at global action (or
change) as a function of interrelated players.
The things the global big players do has a magnified and adverse affect in poor
countries, which burden is born inordinately by children since they are the most
vulnerable in conditions of abject poverty. ―Every day hunger, and its related preventable
diseases, kills as many as 34,000 children under the age of five. That‘s 12 million
children per year (Lappé et al. 1998:2).‖
23 McMichael 2008: 6-9 used extensively
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Illustration 20 Full of Hope, Shada 2008
Wallerstein suggests there are simple tactics available that would help us ―tilt the
balance of the collective choice‖ toward a more relative democratic and egalitarian state.
He suggests that the global system is so far from equilibrium, ―every little input has great
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effect, and the totality of our inputs, made every nanosecond in every nanospace – can
add up to enough to tilt the balance of the collective ―choice‖ in the bifurcation‖
(Wallerstein 2011:6).
Herbert Aptheker, a Marxist historian, memorialized his friend, the great
sociologist, W.E.B. Du Bois by quoting him on the role in society we (as sociologists)
should play, when Du Bois contended that we should ―make this world so damned
uncomfortable with its nasty burden of evil that it tries to get good and does better‖
(Aptheker 1964), which would seem to require two things. First that we should
understand what is happening then find ways to help the world do better.
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Chapter 6
CONCLUSION
Children of the global South constitute a substantial portion of the population in
impoverished countries. 24 Surviving is so difficult (and life expectancy so short) in Haiti
that children under 15 years of age are a full 38 percent of the population. That means
that all the children in this study will be considered adults in about the same length of
time (five years) as one term of a Haitian president. They are tough, resilient, savvy and
compassionate. They are uniquely qualified to speak on their own behalf. And, as a
recent study points out, children of the global South ―are both more able and more
entitled to be consulted‖ than those from wealthier countries because they assume at an
earlier age the responsibilities of providing for their families and themselves (Witter and
Bukokhe 2004).
Brief Review
These children are survivors, both physically and emotionally. They have learned to
negotiate the toughest living conditions with a consistently high level of self-esteem and
determination. They refuse to accept fear or sadness as a way of life and choose instead
to speak out against conditions that would make most adults in the global north shrink in
fear. They demonstrate a fierce hope. They understand the importance of solidarity within
their immediate communities and know how to use that vital network to get their needs
meet and to help others. They are exceptionally compassionate. They generally
demonstrate a high level of self esteem that helps them see their personal struggles as
24 In Haiti, 38% of the population is under the age of 15, which correlates with the cut off age of this study
(globalhealthfacts.org).
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oader social issues. They do not trust the governance (of 2010) to meet their needs or
the needs of ―the people,‖ though they express a desire to participate in youth groups and
advisory committees. Their primary concerns are not for material advantages, but to live
in communities less violent, that provide means for all children to have the same
opportunity for a quality education, adequate food and water, and with the hope that their
families can get a living wage for modest work. These are the things they asked for when
I asked them to tell me their wishes. Not one child asked for a doll or a bike.
LIMITATIONS AND ADVANTAGES
The following is a brief discussion of the limitations and advantages of this study. Many
limitations seemed to be paired with some side benefit. One clear advantage I had was
that the clinic manager, Mimi Dominique spent months preparing the clinic and the
community for this project. I am grateful for all the time she volunteered to insure the
families involved understood the value of their cooperation. She set the standard for
selfless cooperation. I was impressed that no family or child asked for anything for
themselves or for any compensation, though their needs are great. She provided an
atmosphere that seemed to help the children feel that their participation was an
opportunity for service to their community.
Limitations
During the interview process, the children were open in their responses revealing the
depth of acute poverty in Cité Soleil. I did not grow up in acute poverty, and so can never
fully understand how families manage to rise above these challenges, so their honesty
was greatly appreciated. Another clear limitation of this study is that I am not Haitian,
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nor fluent in Creole. I had to factor in that I am outsider, and was viewed as such, even
though I have been visiting this clinic for years. I had to have translators. This did
broaden the size of our team which ended up being having an advantage of its own since
these additional translators were exemplary female role models. This happened during the
early stages of the interview process after I noticed that some girls showed a little
restlessness when my male translator assisted. I was concerned his presence might limit
the candidness of some of the older girls. We were fortunate to be able to have the
assistance of a young female Haitian American lawyer and another Haitian American
professional woman donate their time during interviews. Both these young women added
expertise, support and positive role models for our participants.
Another weakness of this study lies in the fact that the over-whelming majority of
children‘s poverty researchers use qualitative methods, and there is currently a
quantitative bias that still questions the credibility of qualitative research.
As mentioned earlier, this was a small study which is itself a limitation, although,
even its small size does have an advantage. In The Philadelphia Negro research, Du Bois
(1899) did all of the extensive interviews by himself. Though his was a huge undertaking,
the result was a work with a continuity that multiple interviewers could never achieve.
This study, because it is small, does have the advantage of having only one interviewer,
and so it follows that this project should have a similar ―one interviewer‖ advantage.
This study is not conclusive, of course, and at this point the data collected cannot
make assumptions that can be generalized. Yet, this report may be considered as a piece
of the poverty puzzle that is of cumulative importance. Research outside the U.S. that
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involves gathering data directly from children who are impoverished has gained
momentum a bit lately following the suggestions coming from the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child. 25
One last weakness lies in the fact that this is an emerging area of study, and there
are very few previous similar studies from which to draw comparisons.
Advantages
Interestingly, one of the strengths of this study relates to the last weakness mentioned.
Using children as the best experts to provide data on their own impoverishment is such a
new methodology all of the comparative findings are very recent and easy to access,
which made my comparative work less complicated.
Another strength is that as a researcher I have had years of experience with
Haitian culture, though I have never lived in Haiti. As Camfield et al. found, qualitative
methods work best when used by trained and experienced researchers working in a
community, where some rapport has already been established (2009), particularly helpful
was my unlimited easy access to this community that is notorious for its violence and
instability. This ―safe passage‖ was granted me due to my experience supporting
community clinics.
This project also has the relative advantage of being far enough into the research
process before the epic earthquake of 2010 that research was able to start just six months
post quake, while recollections were still fresh.
25 President Barack Obama has described the failure to ratify the Convention as 'embarrassing' and has
promised to review this. The US has signed and ratified both the optional protocols to the Convention.
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Having a trained staff was essential during the interview process, and I am
grateful for the availability of follow-up support. The medical team of ―The Lamp‖ and
the local abuse hotline were invaluable and often used during the project. It was
indispensible to have team members that were familiar with the ―Practice Standards‖
developed by Save the Children (SCF-UK 2009). It also helped that we had an
association with the local support group and had printed their flyers for the children. This
gave the children access to a complete support system designed for those who may have
been subjected to slavery, physical or sexual abuse, or who needed medical care. We
were able to offer days, times and phones for them to use in private or that they could
offer to their friends.
Also, having interviews at a clinic site was a bigger advantage than I had
imagined. This helped the children associate free help with the place they could go to get
it. It allowed them to talk to us without friends and family knowing what was being said,
and it gave them a sense of empowerment that a team (of women – for the older girls)
was there to support them. This is consistent with Haitian culture, where women provide
most of the social networks.
SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
There are a few intriguing ideas for future research that came out of this work. First of all
I think it would be very telling to go back and interview the guardians of the children
who participated in this study. First of all, to get a fuller picture of what home life is like
and secondly to compare and contrast the stories I first heard with the guardians
perspectives.
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Next, a serious gender study would be an interesting study to participate in. I have
a few inclinations now from having these in-depth interviews, but the conversation
prompts were not directed at understanding how boys and girls thought (differently?)
about each other. Also, since I did not directly question in detail about the dynamics of
the household, I cannot be sure what is representative of a typical family in Cité Soleil.
Generally, I got the impression that children had more intact families than I expected, but
I could not confirm that from my research.
Lastly, I think it would make an intriguing study to return to Haiti and re-
interview the participants to see how their impressions may have changed one year or
even five years later. Of course, this would require a funding model that does not exist at
this time. It could be an interesting start to a longitudinal study, since this study started
almost immediately after the earthquake of 2010, yet before the cholera epidemic (at the
time of this writing 4,750 have died from cholera), after the political coup of 2004 and
before the major political change happening in 2011. These children have nearly lived a
life-time of experience in the last year. A longitudinal study that carried these participants
through to adulthood could have unique comparative value. Studies show that children
tend to report differently about their poverty and circumstance than adults and since, in
this field, children are just beginning to be interviewed directly, that could be one of the
first studies to ask the same questions to the same adults that first answered as children. It
could result in an interesting test of the hypothesis that adults view their own poverty
differently than children.
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Possible Foundation for Future Study of Potential Ideal Types in Impoverished Children
During the first process of open coding, followed by focused coding and analysis, some
interesting biographies began to emerge whose characteristics occasionally repeated
themselves in other similar biographies. These very early traces of potential ideal types
surfaced whose characteristics were so dominant, that those features seemed to affect or
flavor the rest of their responses. These are interesting to note, and I add them here with
some caution, since they reflect only a few of the children who were interviewed, but
their experiences are so telling, that to leave them out completely does not seem to fairly
tell the story of Cité Soleil.
These biographies, as yet too underdeveloped to call ―ideal types,‖ were
especially vibrant when looked at in context and in intersection with their socio-history.
They may at some point be a foundation for some future reflection or research. These
biographies/potential ideal types seemed linked into certain rhythms of data that could
not be presented in a ―tallied‖ manner alone. In other words, the conditions of some
children‘s lives seemed to reflect a broader reality for many children in their social
condition. This sample is too small to confirm that to be the case, however, by this close
story-telling we can get a peek at the more general condition of what life is like for many
children in Cité Soleil. As I stated earlier, I present these biography/potential types with
some caution. The area of directly interviewing children in abject poverty is a new one,
and it may be that these types end up having no more significance than anecdotally, and
if that is the case, I believe their stories are still worth telling. There is a small chance, of
course, that later researchers may find some of these identifiers as helpful to their own
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work. Mostly, I had to include them in this report, because it felt inadequate not to, and
that their answers, when taken out of context of their life story, seemed less telling than
when taken within the context of the condition of these children‘s lives. (Please do not be
mislead by the gendered implication created by the names I applied to these very early
traces of potential ideal types, I found them not to be gender specific. For example, I
found male and female ―Cinderellas.‖
Freddy (Restavèk, Slave Child) Potential Ideal Type
While the real Frederick Douglass did manage to escape slavery, (Douglass (1845) 2001:
vii) fortunately, so did this first potential ideal type whom I shall call Freddy. Albeit they
found different passports to freedom, they each managed freedom, which for children in
slavery, is rare. The venerable Frederick Douglass escaped slavery in 1838. Our little
Freddy only managed to escape in 2010.
There is a pecking order (or social hierarchy) in all societies, 26 and the community
of Cité Soleil is no different. Little Freddy seems to be near the bottom of that pecking
order. Being a restavèk child in Haiti means (normally) that your family has sold or given
you up to be a servant or slave in someone else‘s home, for some children the outcome is
much worse. A child who becomes a restavèk is at the whim of their new owner. They
may be given to another family, sold to work in another place, sold into the sex trade, or
26 Of particular interest is a study done in South Africa by Cluver and Orkin (2009) that indicates that
within that studied population, 70% of stigmatized children reported being bullied. Elsewhere multiple
studies have reported poverty related stress among children in Ethiopia, and depression and social isolation
among orphans in Rwanda and Mozambique. It is a reasonable assumption that stigmatized children can
expect some bullying.
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at worst - end up being sold for body parts. 27 Sometimes older children are sold to bring
in money to feed younger siblings. Sometimes they are simply given away to anyone who
seems like they will be able to feed the child, like the young father who tried to give me
his daughter.
Sprinkled into Freddy‘s interview were some of the favorites of many kids in Cité
Soleil; he likes to play soccer, karate movie stars, rap music and going to church. His
story started to stand out when he mentioned having been sent away from home to work.
Upon review, that single event seemed to shape his view of the rest of his world.
Freddy had been sent to live with his aunt‘s family, to work and care for her
children, away from his own family. Freddy said, ―I used to do bad stuff there.” He
refused to work and would deliberately mistreat her children until finally she sent him
home. For Freddy, at least, his strategy worked, for the time being, he is back home with
his parents. He still doesn‘t have enough food. ―I look weak when I’m hungry and can’t
play.‖ And people pick on him now that he has been known to be a ―restavèk‖. People
throw rocks at him for fun and to get him to fight with another boy for the crowd‘s
entertainment. “I had some fighting with a boy named Gro. I don’t want to fight with him,
but the people like to watch us fight. They throw rocks at us to get us to fight.”
His only wish was for a pair of shoes so that he could go to church with his
parents, which seemed to be a symbol that he could be accepted back as a member of his
family. But he reports that he feels safe at home with his mother. He doesn‘t complain.
27 During an interview with Mimi Dominique, The Lamp Medical Clinic manager in July, 2010, she
explained that it happens that children are easy targets for the organ buying business. In her community of
Cité Soleil, street children are particularly vulnerable.
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―What do you like about living in Haiti and being Haitian?‖
“I like being Haitian.”
―What do you like about living here?‖
“I like everything.”
―If you found a buried treasure, what would you buy?‖
“I would give it to my mom to buy shoes.”
Freddy Potential Ideal Type Characteristics:
Has experienced violence firsthand (even death)
Has been a slave or restavèk
Been picked on
Still likes own community
Desires school
Concerned for others ―less fortunate‖
Cinderella Early Potential Ideal Type (family scapegoat)
Our little Cinderella is twelve years old and has a fondness for karate movies, like most
kids in Cité Soleil. She likes ―Ton Ton Bicha‖ music. Going to school and church are
important to here, like they are to most all the other children we interviewed. Our
Cinderella seems to be a restavèk in her own home. She may even be treated worse than
some restavèk children. Restavèk children are often made to sleep under a table or in a
corner; however, Haitian law requires that they are supposed to be allowed to go to
school. Our Cinderella has no bed and is not allowed to go to school or church. She
reported that three of her siblings go to school, while she does not. She reports that her
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mother and sister swear at her and beat her (she had an open wound from leather lashing
on her chest). They have not given her clothes to wear to church or school.
“I am lonely when there is nobody by my side, or when I am alone in the house. I
have to stay home when the others go to school…I like to do housework (but) when I see
children walking past my house on their way to school, I am thinking that I will never get
to go back.”
Cinderella Potential Ideal Type Characteristics:
Has experienced violence first hand (Seen death, extreme violence or is routinely
beaten)
Has friends, considers self a good friend
Likes to be in school better than out (more than the average child who showed
preference for school)
Can‘t go to church or school
Religious faith seems more significant than average
Quietly lives in fear (been personally victimized, may be superstitious)
Seems to be the scapegoat in the family
Looks forward to leaving the neighborhood some day
Looking for a protector
Male Cinderella. After review, it became apparent that gender is not a criterion
for any particular potential ideal type. Based on the criteria below, we found a 10
year old boy that fit this model as well as some girls.
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Illustration 21 Girls From Mabe Orphanage with my son Luke, 2010
I include this photo, since one of the children at Mabe Orphanage was previously a
restavèk child. It should be noted that ―restavèk‖ children are not country specific.
Trafficking of children globally is on the increase, and is not limited to underdeveloped
countries.
Huckleberry Finn (fun-loving altruist) Potential Ideal Type
Our little 10 year old Huckleberry Finn clearly had been stuffed into borrowed clothes the
first day of our interviews. I made many mistakes our first day: our room was too small,
hot, crowded, with too many recorders, too many translators, and too much reading. We
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all were uncomfortable, but little Huck had it the worst of all. He had been belted,
buttoned and tied into clothes too big and shoes too small.
Though he was in obvious discomfort and clearly wanted to escape as soon as was
polite, in the end, he gave us the most sensitive answer of the day. ―If you found a buried
treasure, what would you buy?
“Spoons for my mother’s kitchen.” His misery taught us a valuable lesson. As
soon as his suffering and our interview were over, I turned to Mimi, the Lamp Clinic
director and asked her to please direct the remaining parents not to dress the children up
for their interviews. Her response: ―Good luck!‖ Then, I remembered a lesson I had
learned earlier – communities in Haiti are very close knit, and they really care about how
they are dressed. For example, one of my translators carried his shoes, instead of wearing
them, until we drove up to the airport, so they would not get dusty. Another time, I
watched an elderly grandmother carry a large five year old girl down the long hot main
street in Port au Prince, so that the little girl‘s white shoes would not get dirty.
In Haiti, if a little girl needs to go to the doctor, for example, the community will
come together and find the best dress to send her in. It called the community dress…a
local doctor reported to me that sometimes he sees the same dress over and over again in
the same week on different patients at the free clinic. It is apparent in the images I took at
this clinic that the parents are very proud of the way their little ones look.
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Illustration 22 Proud Mom at the Lamp Clinic, January 2010
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Huckleberry Finn (fun-loving altruist) Potential Ideal Type Characteristics:
Likes to play with friends
Not always a success (in school)
Uncomfortable with the interview process
A little overwhelmed with the density of the community
Wants to escape
In the end, very unselfish
Barbie (beauty-centered positivist) Potential Ideal Type
She seems to float above the violence all around her, though she reports having
witnessed more violence than most of the children. ―There are bad guys on the street, but
I never saw people kill each other. Since I was five years old, I have heard gun shots, but
the first time I saw people dying was in the earthquake…my cousin was kidnapped, but
now she is ok.” Though she reported seeing people die, and has lived with constant
shooting for the last eight years, she seems less personally concerned than most of the
other children. She reported that she knows, ―that some people seem to like to kill each
other on the street,‖ but reported no personal concern.
―What do you think of the Blue Helmets (UN Troops)?
“I don’t think anything about them.”(SMILE)
She seems to have every hope for the future. “When I am grown up I will live in
Petionville (relatively more expensive neighborhood in Port au Prince). I will help my
mother with sewing and cooking. I want my own boutique. I like fashion.”
―If you could have something to make you happy, what would it be?‖
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―I would like clothes, shoes and earrings.”
Illustration 23 Shada Girls
Barbie (beauty-centered positivist) Potential Ideal Type Characteristics:
Has been exposed to extreme violence, but expresses no fear, very cheerful
Mostly concerned with appearance
Less than average connection to the poor
Very positive about the future
Expresses feeling secure
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Robin Hood (benevolent thief) Potential Ideal Type
Our Robin Hood is likeable young man, just approaching adolescence. He likes school
and has done well despite moving several times. He enjoys the typical things that other
kids do in his neighborhood: soccer, dominoes, listening to sports on the radio, joking,
watching karate movies.
The dominant issue for him is trying to figure out right from wrong. He started
right off by telling us, ―I want to be good, not like a bad guy in the street.” This theme is
prevalent throughout the interview and each time he tried to assess authority figures he
seemed confused. Like many of our children, he has witnessed several people being shot
and killed. He is struggling to sort out who the good guys are, and wants to be one of
them. For example, he has conflicting opinions about the Minustah U.N. troops (blue
helmets), “I was afraid when the Minustah were fighting with the chimères here. I don’t
want to get shot. I know the Minustah is doing a good job but when innocent people get
killed (by the Minustah) it’s not good. I’ve seen people I know get shot and people I don’t
know.”
Have you ever been shot?
“God bless me, I don’t get hurt. (pause) There was more shooting in 2004-2006.
You could be just walking and go around the corner and Minustah would be shooting. My
cousin died. He was a chimères soldier. …After my cousin Dred Wilme died, there is
cousin of my mother who was chief of chimères soldiers. He was in prison until the
earthquake. He went to the country side, so I don’t mind that he is out.”
Do you think he is a bad guy or a good guy?
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“He is a bad guy.”
He seemed to be incapable of deciding if the U.N troops were good or bad, as
much as he struggled to decide if the chimères soldiers were good or not for the
community. The troops tried to keep peace, but shot and killed innocent people. The
chimères soldiers broke into rich people‘s homes, and also shot and killed people, but the
people liked it when the chimères soldiers shared food. Even when we asked him another
question on a different subject, (What is the worst part about being poor?) he brought the
conversation back to the chimères.
“The worst thing is not to feed your kids in the morning. Sometimes the parents
want to kill themselves. The chimères, when they get food, they invite everyone to come in
and eat. So sometimes people like chimères because they share.”
The interview was full of such conflicted feelings about people who have power
(the president, past presidents, government in general). His conflicted feelings have been
intensified since the earthquake. Like many children, he told us that since the earthquake,
he is trying to ―be good.‖
He seemed confused about the troops who shoot to maintain order, but then they
also shoot innocent people. Gangs rob big houses with guns, but then share food with
people. The mayor gave his family a house, then, took it back again. The president, who
is a major authority figure, has not given people help he felt a president should, “I like
Preval but he is the leader and he is supposed to change things.”
Robin Hood (benevolent thief) Potential Ideal Type Characteristics:
Has been exposed to extreme violence, even murder.
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Confusion about right and wrong, and who represents good and evil. Wants to be
good (when what is good is determined).
Has been exposed to extreme violence, but expresses little or no personal fear.
Completely sympathetic / bonded with the poor. (―The people help each other.”)
Selfless and appears more concerned with others than self.
Very connected with family, community and belonging to country.
Insecure about the future. (“I worry all the time.”)
Pollyanna (optimist) Potential Ideal Type
This role player type is very common. It is important to remember that a ―Pollyanna‖
does not have to be female. But to fit this role player type, they do have to have been
exposed to extreme violence, and still exhibit a positive attitude apart from their
experience. At each instance of mentioning some unpleasantness, a Pollyanna will most
often try to soften its impact.
For example, when we asked what they thought about when they made a ―weak‖
face for our camera, one Pollyanna said, “I have been startled like when something is
coming after you like people fighting and shooting, like when we were running and we
fell, but I don’t know any bad guys. I haven’t seen much.”When we told her about the
slave/sexual and physical abuse hotline, she said, “I think I will use it myself.” She
affirmingly added, “None of my friends were abused though.” When we asked where she
was during the earthquake, she answered, “I was in the street when the earthquake hit
Cité Soleil. I ran, and I saw houses collapsing, people dying, children dying. I did lose
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friends and my cousin, (pause – then as if to stop on a positive note, with a little nod, she
added)... ―but, my family is fine.”
When we asked what she thought about when she made a ―thinking‖ face, she
told us, “I was thinking about not going to school since the earthquake. My school was
crumbled. Then my school was rebuilt, but I have no money to go. My parents lost their
jobs (with the quake).‖ She assured us a moment later though, “I like Cité Soleil, I can’t
think of anything to fix.”
Pollyanna (optimist) Potential Ideal Type Characteristics:
Having friends is a main topic (twice as often as most participants)
Reports that friends give feeling of safety
Have experience with violence and poverty which is reported, but quickly turns
even the most extreme report (of death) into a positive statement (see above)
Smiled more than the average participant
Answers were shorter than average
Chose a profession in the service field
Christopher Robin (Little Major) Potential Ideal Type
This young man amazed us with his ability to see his own community from a larger
perspective. C. Wright Mills would have been impressed; we all were. The following is
his plan for improving his community:
“I don’t like when they put the trash in the street (and it makes my mom sick).
Everyone who puts trash in the street should be arrested and forced to clean up the
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country. They need to put in trash cans. (They) need to bury trash in a dump. There are
(also) not enough dumpsters.
“There are not enough places to play football and basketball. There should be a
big project to fix all the poor people’s houses that were damaged during the earthquake.
When we asked him if he could tell us what ―poor‖ meant, he presented an
amazing structural analysis, especially for a twelve year old. He said that poor, “means
that people don’t have enough possibilities to send their kids to school. You can’t take
care of your kids. You work hard, but you don’t get paid enough.
“Some people in the neighborhood help each other, but they don’t have enough.(
The government does nothing).
“The principals of the schools should pay teacher and give scholarships.”
―Who do you talk to about these things?‖
“No one, this is the first time I have talked to anyone about these things.”
―What would you buy if you found a buried treasure?‖
―If I found a buried treasure, I would start a family store. If you are poor you will
be able to buy on credit. If you have money then you pay cash.”
Christopher Robin (Little Mayor) Potential Ideal Type Characteristics:
Altruistic
Forward thinking
Populist
Innovative (has creative ideas)
Protective (of family members, those more impoverished)
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Empathetic
Uses a ―Sociological Imagination‖ (sees personal troubles as public issues)
Community oriented (wanted to start a youth group, cooperative store)
Juliet (Fatalist) Potential Ideal Type
Durkheimesque and so sad my crew could almost not bare it. This young, 13 year old girl
had extremely intense experiences with violence. She told us of seeing ―bad guys‖ beat,
shoot and kill people. She also reported having witnessed another girl (14 years old)
being raped.
“I have seen a lot of people die. My father died before the earthquake. I want a
car to hit me and I can die. If my father were still alive, I could go to school. I feel lonely.
I am alone in the house. But I feel safe right now (during the interview).”
Juliet expressed regret that she could not go to church and that she has a fondness
for religious music. She also regretted that she could not have shoes to go to school and
said that if she had been able to go to school, she might have been able to help her mother
and her community by becoming a nurse.
Juliet (Fatalist) Potential Ideal Type Characteristics:
Been traumatized to the point of discussing suicide
Witnessed extreme violence
Lonely
Isolated
Expresses regret
May speak about God or religion
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Interpretation of Potential Ideal Types
These potential ideal types emerged during analysis of the interviews; they are not to be
taken as generalizable, nor representative of established ideal types. They are simply part
of an observation that may at some future point help inform the discussion among
international researchers using qualitative methods who work in the area of children‘s
poverty. In other words, cannot and do not presuppose these potential ideal types will
prove to 1) be a significant foundation for use in developing ideal types of impoverished
children, or 2) become the basis for some future investigation (though it seems interesting
to me). Their stories simply could not be left out.
Similar to Weber‘s ―Ideal Types‖ these very early potentially ideal types seemed
to reflect general conditions for the children in Cité Soleil, which is mainly why I include
them. The children‘s responses seemed born out of extreme common experience (or a
combination of many extreme experiences) to the point that their entire interview
warranted separate analysis on its own. So it was that after I coded, collected and tallied
clumps of data by major themes and patterns, each of the 22 interviews was analyzed
individually. These stories emerged, and I selected them based on the criteria that they
represented commonly held and reported experiences in their community. Two specific
criteria for selecting these potential ideal types were first, that traces of the dominant role
described were found repeatedly within the transcriptions of the other respondents, and
second that the identifiers were consistent with both Haitian socio-historical references as
well as with prior research done internationally with impoverished children. Normally,
within sociology, we do not constrain our findings to those that are complementary to
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previous general findings, but since I am only just suggesting that there may be support
for continuing this investigation, I tried to do so with excessive caution. If error be found,
I ask for tolerance. Considering the embryonic stage of these very tentative ideal types, I
simply suggest that one day some further international study may find the idea of
identifying ideal types within the realm of children‘s poverty research helpful in looking
at children who: 1. have experienced multiple violent episodes, 2. live in abject poverty,
3. live in those conditions for multiple years, and 4. live in a community that has a legacy
of underdevelopment.
Recommendations For Participation and More Child-Responsive Policies
The impoverished children of the global South have very little voice. As a sociologist, I
assume with Margot Breton, ―that among the people we want to reach are the poor and
oppressed who have become involuntarily disenfranchised (1992:257).‖
There is no greater opportunity to enfranchise than to offer accommodation to the
most vulnerable half 28 of impoverished countries, that is their children. Earlier I
demonstrated the children‘s desire to be allowed to actively participate in their own
futures. In that vein, I do not offer my own suggestions, but theirs:
―There are no developmental programs for the children. We are supposed to
have clubs to discuss subjects of the country.”
“Have the children go to school who can’t go otherwise.”
“A youth committee should be aged 5 to 14 years old.”
“There should be one (a youth committee) for just girls.”
28 Meaning the half of the population that is under the age of 21
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“The government should rebuild.”
“Everyone who puts trash in the street should be forced to clean up.”
“They need to put in trash cans.”
“There are not enough dumpsters here (poor parts of town).”
“They should bury (trash) in a dump.”
“There are not enough places to play football and basketball.
“There should be a big project to fix all the poor people’s houses that were
damaged during the earthquake.‖
“The principals should pay teachers and give scholarships.”
The government should help people with food if it is necessary.”
Illustration 24 Waiting for Water in Cité Soleil, 2008
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SOCIAL AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Some 300 million children go to bed hungry every day (UNICEF 2011). Add to that,
some 22,000 children the world over dying each and every day from poverty and disease
related causes, and there is a grim picture for impoverished children. In Haiti, already
with its share of impoverished children, the earthquake alone added another
approximately 70,000 more children 29 killed just last year in addition to those already
dying from poverty and disease.
Social scientists are not just here to gather grim data like this, though these
numbers are very telling. It is incumbent that we analyze and make policy suggestions
based on that analysis. Based on a global perspective, structural analysis and the results
of this study, here are some policy recommendations:
(In Haiti) Continuing to forgo establishing a structured army. Since a relatively
small amount of the world‘s resources are needed to provide clean water,
sanitation, basic health and nutrition globally ($28 billion) for all the world‘s
children and their families. We could provide for all of these basic needs the
world over for what equates to only three percent of what the world spends each
year on military expenditures (Shah 2010). I have to make my first
recommendation be that military expenditures continue to be held at bay in Haiti.
If the world‘s nations would all agree to cut their military spending by only 3%
and dedicate those funds to meeting the needs in their own countries, then turning
the excess into subsidies that would buyout patents for medical treatment,
29 With a death toll from the quake set at 230,000 and children under 15 years of age making up 38% of the
population, a conservative estimate puts the children‘s death toll at 70,000.
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uilding sanitation plants and supporting under-developed countries re-gain
agricultural independence, the long term savings on future interventions would
produce substantial savings.
Haiti be allowed to apply to the world court for re-dress of the $22 Billion odious
debt still owed from France
Significant use of those funds to go first to the primary need identified in this
study, namely: teacher‘s salaries and quality free public schools.
Children‘s committees that are neighborhood based. I applaud the Aristide
Foundation for establishing on February 23, 2011 a youth committee called the
Youth League in Haiti. Based on this study, I would recommend that they also
add children‘s committees as well with an age limit of 14 years since culture and
tradition mandate that children after that age often assume adult responsibilities.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Half of the world‘s children live in poverty, meaning that every day, at least 22,000
children die from poverty and its related preventable diseases and illnesses (Shah 2010).
Impoverished conditions usually reflect a severe lack of resources on the local level.
They do not, though, represent a scarcity of resources globally (Lappé, et al 1998). The
fate of the world‘s poor children lies not in producing more food or charity, but in
producing better informed and egalitarian social policy. Sociologists have a serious
responsibility to provide that information. This thesis adds to that growing body of
research while it gives those most harmed by the dis-allocation of resources a chance to
speak for themselves.
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I chose to work in Haiti since it is currently the most impoverished country in the
Western hemisphere, and which incidentally Haiti shares with the current largest
economy in the world, the United States. I chose Cité Soleil since it is the most notorious
slum in Haiti, which at this stage has conditions comparable to a recovering war-zone
type community in consequence of the violent 2004 coup coupled with the experience of
surviving the devastation of the 2010 earthquake of unprecedented deadly proportions. It
is generally accepted among global scholars that both poverty and the enormity of human
casualties related to many natural disasters come from circumstances that are socially and
politically constructed. For Haiti, that could mean that had it not been stripped of its
resources, it would not be impoverished and could have faired far better in the aftermath
of the quake, and now cholera (as a disease dependent on the lack of clean water).
Aristide, a past president of Haiti, had the habit of opening up the national palace
which was the presidential residence so that children could come inside his compound
and use his pool to cool off. He was not your typical western head of state. The following
story relates to how creative folks will have to be to find remedies for the deadly
conditions of poverty that have been constructed in Haiti:
On the weekends we invite kids from the neighborhood to spend time with
us at home. One day, Florence, a beautiful little girl four years old, who has no
mother and no father, was visiting. As the kids were preparing to go to swim, I
asked Florence where she was going to swim. Florence, who had never seen a
pool before, pointed o the pool, and said, ―In that big bucket.‖ I asked her if the
pool was big or small. And she answered, ―It is beautiful.‖ Later as we served the
kids cola, I teased her, telling her not to taste it because it was rum. She said,
―No, it is cola.‖ I said, ―No Florence, be careful---it is rum.‖ She insisted, ―It is
cola.‖ I asked her which she preferred---cola or rum? She responded firmly, ―I
prefer juice.‖ You can imagine how we laughed.
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When I presented two options, big or small, she created a third one. When
I asked which she preferred, rum or cola, again Florence created a third choice.
Florence is a child responding in a spontaneous way. But we adults thinking
rationally---can‘t we do the same? When presented with only two options, we
can create a third way.
The poor have long experience in creating a third way. They face death
and death every day. They survive. In Haiti, we have survived for hundreds of
years this way. This may be a jarring notion to those that believe the poor are
Poor because they are stupid. If one believes this, one will always feel that the
solution to poverty will not come from those who are poor. But in fact, if we are
alive at all it is not because of aid or help from other countries, rather despite it.
We are alive because of our tremendous capacity for survival. The experience
of the poor, not only in Haiti, but around the world, is a kind of museum of
humanity.
The average Haitian survives on less than 250 U.S. dollars a year. This
requires imagination every day. There is no welfare. In Cité Soleil, Port-au-
Prince’s largest slum, 400,000 people live in 2.5 square miles, in perhaps the
worst living conditions in the Western Hemisphere. When you go there you have
the impression that the people never sleep; there is activity day and night. This is
because there is not enough physical space for everyone to lie down at the same
time. They sleep by turns. What sustains these people?
Consider this: Last year a one-month-old baby was found in a pile of
garbage by one of our teachers. Ants had eaten part of the child‘s hand. The
teacher, Rose, is a poor woman. She already has two children. Yet she
spontaneously adopted the baby, naming him Ti Moise (Little Moses). This
woman teaches that beyond market values there are human values. That no
Child can be thrown away.
Aristide 2000
It is my hope that the keen insights shared by these children will support more
research that engages impoverished children; that their voices will make those lessons
ring in our ears; that their images teach our eyes to see past the poverty and toward the
human dignity that thrives where nothing else could; that the fierce hope that is driving
them may move us to a reconsideration of how we distribute our world‘s resources.
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APPENDIX A
Haitian Historical Time Line
Prior to 1492 Taino Indians thrive in ease and abundance for thousands of years
(Haught 1992:16).
1492 Columbus ―discovers‖ and names Hispaniola Island. The island was
eventually divided into what is now known as Haiti and the Dominican
Republic. Annihilation of 8 million area indigenous Amer-Indians begins
(Farmer 2003:54).
1510 Fifty thousand indigenous people survive ―discovery‖ (Farmer 2003:54).
1517 Transatlantic traffic in humans began in earnest (Farmer 2003:54).
1540 By now - 30,000 Africans imported to island (Farmer 2003:54).
1552 Less than 300 Arawak indigenous peoples alive on all islands combined.
The 8 million indigenous area Arawaks are basically extinct (de las Casas,
Bartolomé 1552).
1607 English colonizers found Jamestown, Virginia (Takaki 1993:3).
1619 Dutch slave ship brings 20 black slaves to Jamestown (Takaki 1993:4).
1620 Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock (Takaki 1993:4).
1625 First French settlements in Haiti on Tortuga Island (Clark 2004:xi).
1675 By very large margin, most slaves and servants in Virginia were not
black, ―only 5% of Virginia is Black‖ (Takaki 1993:52), though ―75% of
the population came to Virginia as servants‖ (Takaki 1993:53).
1676 Bacon‘s Rebellion marked the ―terrible transformation‖ changing social
U.S. structure from class to race (video: PBS Africans in America).
Bacon, a land owner, was sentenced to death for arming a few black
slaves. In retaliation, Jamestown was burned to the ground. U.S. social
order was threatened (Takaki 1993:60). Bacon‘s Rebellion cements U.S.
demand for black slaves.
1697 Treaty of Rsywick grants France a portion of Hispaniola from Spain. French
re-named this portion Saint Dominique (future Haiti). The Spanish held half
of island known as Santo Domingo – the future Dominican Republic
(Logan 1969:2 and Clark 2004:xi)) Migration begins.
1700 Not a single native Arawak living (Farmer 2003:54).
(Some remnant mixed groups do exist)
1717 Sixty-three distilleries in New England alone process smuggled Haitian
molasses into rum (Logan 1969:6).
1748 Britain tries to claim Haiti (Logan 1969:5).
1750 Forty percent of population in Virginia is Black (Takaki 1993:61).
1764 Some American colonists wanted to conquer Haiti (Logan 1969:7).
1774 U.S. illegally trades more with Haiti than with any country other than
Britain (Logan 1969:7, 22, 29).
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141
1776-1777 France secretly supports American Revolution in exchange for
promises by Jefferson to support the French interests in Haiti
(Logan 1969:7, 14).
1778 Jefferson officially promises (but does not) support to the French interests
in Haiti in the Treaty of Alliance (Logan 1969:17).
1783 France fears U.S. take over in Haiti (Logan 1969:27).
1791 Over 500,000 slaves revolt against tyranny of French colonists. France,
Britain and Spain scramble to control Haiti (Geggus 2001:xi).
1791-1804 Haitian Slave uprising causes France to lose immensely wealthy
Haitian colony (Geggus 2001: preface ix).
1791-93 George Washington (slave owner) directs Thomas Jefferson, (slave owner)
to send $400,000 (never sent) to white colonists in Haiti to repress uprising
(Clark 2004:43). Haiti‘s example is feared to rise up rebellions in American
slaves. By 1793, the U.S. refuses to honor its pledge to support France, and
declares neutrality (Logan 1969:29) due in large part to the foreseeable
advantage in having a weakened Napoleon to bargain with for the Louisiana
Purchase (Geggus 2001:221).
1793-98 British troops claim part of Haiti (Logan 1969:32, 41).
1793 Since the 16 th century until 1793, 850,000 to one million slaves came to
Haiti – About 100,000 died in the middle passage alone (Dubois 2004:39).
1802 The French kidnap Haitian revolutionary leader Toussaint Louverture. He
dies in a prison in France a year later (Katel 2005).
1803 Louisiana Purchase more than doubles the size of the United States
(Dubois 2004:225).
1804 Jean-Jacques Dessalines renamed Saint-Domingue as the new nation of
Haiti and declared independence on January 1, after crushing the French
army sent to re-enslave Haiti. (Katel 2005) Over half the people in Haiti
were killed before the struggle had run its course (Clark 2004:xi).
1812 Haitian Americans serve to defend Louisiana from the British,
Comprising up to one third of the Orleans Battalion (Geggus 2001:221).
1822-44 Haiti ends slavery in Santo Domingo by invading the Spanish colony
(the other potion of the island of Hispanola – now known as the
Dominican Republic (Clark 2004:xi). Island united as one nation,
temporarily.
1825 Circling French warships demand Haiti pay the equivalent of $21.6 billion
dollars (in 2004 U.S. dollars) for loss of the slave colony. Finally, after
threatened with immediate invasion, Haiti agrees to pay ransom, gives massive
reductions in tariffs and customs in exchange for France not invading and reenslaving
Haiti and a conditional recognition that would allow Haiti to trade
again with France in the ―Ordinance of 1825.‖ Haiti closes public schools to
pay debt (Dunkel 2004:105; de Côrdoba 2004).
1838 Full recognition of Haiti by France (Dunkel 2004:105).
1843-1911 ―Sixteen persons held the highest government office in Haiti, an
average of four years each‖ (Clark 2004:6-7).

1860 Vatican finally recognizes Haiti (Robinson 2007:17).
1861 Spanish Navy threatens to bombard Port-au-Prince (Dunkel 2003: 55).
1861-65 U.S. Civil War. Haiti allows the Union army warships to repair and
refuel in her safe harbors (Clark 2004: 6).
1862 Lincoln pushed the U.S. to recognize Haiti (Clark 2004:6), theorized in
part to be a way to gain support for Lincoln from abolitionists.
1863 American economic sanctions on Haiti lifted.
1867-1900 U.S. Expansion tactics included Marine Corps landings in Formosa,
Japan, Uruguay, Mexico, Korea, Colombia, Hawaii, Egypt, Haiti, Samoa,
Argentina, Chile, Nicaragua, and China. The U.S. then annexed Alaska,
Midway, Hawaii, Guam, Tutuila, the Philippines, Wake, and about
fifty smaller islands in the Pacific (Schmidt 1995:4).
1879-1915 “Four Imperialist powers (Britain, France, Germany, and the U.S.)
battle for Haiti (Farmer 2003: 74).‖
1891 U.S. tries and fails to take by force the same harbor Haiti freely offered to
Union forces during the Civil War.
1898 U.S. takes possession of Puerto Rico and occupies Cuba (Schmidt 1995:5)
1902 Haitian Admiral Hamilton Killick wraps himself in the Haitian flag and
detonates himself onboard a ship loaded with German munitions in front
of the German crew he had just ordered safely to shore, not wanting to
injure those he thought simply taking orders (Dunkel 2003:55).
1903 U.S. President Roosevelt takes Panama (Schmidt: 1995:5).
1906-09 U.S. takes occupies Cuba again (Schmidt: 1995:8).
1909 U.S. occupies Nicaragua.
1915-1934 U.S. Marines occupy Haiti (Chomsky 2004:3). All customs revenues
are turned over to the U.S. (Robinson 2007:234). Haitian constitution
re- written to allow non-Haitians to own land and banks in Haiti
(Schmidt 1995:133).
1916 President Roosevelt orders troops to occupy Dominican Republic.
1916 President Roosevelt purchases the Virgin Islands.
1922 U.S. buys Haiti‘s debt from France, Haiti begins payments to U.S.,
ensuring U.S. right to maintain security forces in Haiti (Schmidt 1995:133).
1936 France ended her trade treaty with Haiti (Hubert 1947). The 1825 debt
France had extracted from Haiti in exchange for trading rights with France
would not be paid off until the next decade.
1947 Haiti finally paying off the 1825 French slavery debt (Concannon 2006).
1957 Francois Duvalier elected president of Haiti, ushering in ―terrifying
dictatorship‖ with help of the Tontons Macoutes responsible for a reported
30k deaths (Katel 2005).
1964 Papa Doc Duvalier declares himself ―President for Life‖ rules with blood;
thousands die trying to escape (Clark 2004:9-11).
1971 Francois Duvalier (Papa-Doc) dies and leaves his 19 yr. son (Baby Doc)
as ruler (Clark 2004:xii).
1981 Bodies of 33 Haitian boat people wash up in Florida (Katel 2005).
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1982-84 U.S. State Departments Agency for International Development and the
Organization of American States oversee the slaughter of Haiti‘s ―Creole
pigs‖ accused of being carriers of African Swine Fever. This is a major
blow to the peasant economy.
1986 Widespread opposition to ―Baby-Doc‖ Duvalier forces from rule. U.S. Air
Force provide him flight and exile in France.
1990 Liberation theologian and priest, President Aristide elected by 92% of the
vote (Clark 2004:12).
1991 U.S. assisted coup remove President Aristide, thousands killed
1992 The U.S. holds about 300 Haitian refugees in Guantanamo (Clark
2004:157).
1994 Aristide reinstalled by U.S. led military (Katel 2005).
1995 Aristide dissolves the Haitian armed forces (Katel 2005).
2000 Aristide is elected to a second term, the U.S. disputes the vote.
(Katel 2005) 20,000 angry Haitians march in New York against police
brutality (Clark 2004:159).
2001 U.S., the European Union, and international banks block $500 million in
Aid to Haiti, which was (at the time) twice as poor as any nation in the
Western Hemisphere (Farmer 2004:19).
2003 Haiti sends over 90 percent of all its foreign reserves to Washington to
pay arrears on loans made to Duvalier dictatorship (Farmer 2004: 19).
2004 ―U.S. backed coup removes President Aristide, bringing Haiti's ten year
experience with democracy to a brutal end (Labossiere, p 2).‖
2004-2006 Four thousand Haitian men, women, and children killed by the
American-armed thugs, the interim governments‘ national police force, as
well as by American, French, Canadian, and United Nations troops during
rule by Latortue, the American assigned interim president of Haiti
(Robinson 2007: 257).
2006 President Preval inaugurated president of Haiti (Robinson 2007:256).
2009 Former President Bill Clinton named U.N. Envoy to Haiti (Sutton 2009).
2010 January 12, Worst natural disaster in human history. Earthquake hits
Léogâne near Port au Prince, Haiti. 240 thousand dead, 4 to 10k new
amputees. In October a massive cholera epidemic strikes Haiti, killing
four thousand in the first four months.
2011 Baby Doc returns to Haiti.
2011 President Aristide returns to Haiti, against the wishes of Pres. Obama.
2011 President Martelly elected the same week past President Aristide returned.
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Before getting to Cité Soleil (June 2010):
APPENDIX B
Interview Plan
1. Have the Lamp Medical Clinic manager, Mimi Dominique announce the
study and send a list of interested participants that live near a ―Lamp‖ clinic
with whom she is familiar and can provide contact information for that includes
identifying a responsible adult for each child.
2. Have Mimi announcing the study to generate interest in volunteers.
3. Purposively select an even number of girls and boys from within the list of
children provided through the clinic. These should be only those within the
10-14 year range, there may be as few as three girls and three boys, but no
more than ten of each gender.
4. Print consent forms (60) so that everyone who signs one has a copy.
5. Make copies of the interview plan. (10 copies).
6. Send a copy in French and English of consent forms to Haiti with a copy of
the interview protocol.
Take to Site:
1. Additional consent forms (60)
2. Interview plan (10)
3. Tape recorders and batteries including digital recording pen (test start before
each interview)
4. Note books and extra pens
5. Cameras, tripods with extra storage and batteries
6. Water
7. Portfolio for ―The Lamp‖ to keep.
During Interview:
1. Start recording and test.
2. Translator gives the introduction, I direct questions.
3. Photograph the children making faces.
4. Take notes during the explaining of faces.
5. Listen for prompts, ask follow-up questions.
6. Watch for un-comfortable body gestures. Have hotline number available.
Remind them they may stop at any time.
7. Smile and look supportive, not hurried, offer soda and granola bar.
8. Thank them for their help in this study and for helping us understand Haiti.
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On Site: (Have only one child interviewed the first day as a test).
Translator: You have already had the study explained to you and both you and your
guardian have signed the consent form, correct?
Just to be sure you understand, I want to remind you that you are being asked to help
in a project done for an American university in Sacramento. The reason we are doing
this is to help us learn what children think and know about where they live, because
you are the future leaders of Haiti. We want to learn about your community. You do
not have to help us, you do not have to stay now and even if you start, then want to
change your mind, it is ok with us. We will not write your name down on the paper
with your answers, and we promise not to tell anyone which children gave which
answers. Do you have any questions? This should take us about an hour from now to
finish, are you ready?
First thing we want to do may seem silly, but please try to do it anyway. It‘s called
making faces.
I need to use my camera to show you what you look like, is that OK?
During the first 5 minutes, the researcher took photographs of the respondent
"making faces" at the camera that show:
1. A happy face ____________________________________________________
2. A sad face ______________________________________________________
3. A scary face _____________________________________________________
4. A weak face _____________________________________________________
5. A thinking face __________________________________________________
6. A lonely face ____________________________________________________
7. A friendly face ___________________________________________________
8. A safe face ______________________________________________________
During the next twenty minutes, the researcher showed each photo to the child and
asked them, ―What were you thinking to make this face?‖
145

The final twenty minutes were spent asking these questions:
1. Have you lived here all your life?
2. What do you like about living here?
3. What don‘t you like?
4. Have you ever heard someone use the word ―poor‖ to describe the
people here?
(What does that mean, ―poor‖? What is the worst part of being
poor?)
5. What are people doing to help your community? (Does it help;
what else should they do?)
6. When you‘re grown up, do you think you‘ll lie in Cité Soleil?
7. Where were you during the earthquake?
8. If you found a buried treasure, what would you buy?
9. How is your life different after the quake?
10. When I go back to my country, is there anything else you want
people to know?
146

Purpose of the Research
APPENDIX C
Guardian‘s Informed Consent
Your child/ward is being asked to participate in research conducted by Leisa Faulkner,
a graduate student in Sociology from Sacramento State University of California. The
purpose of the study is to record what children aged 10 to 14 years feel about their
community, about poverty, and to learn about their experiences in Haiti since the
earthquake. Ms. Faulkner will write a report for her school and for others to read and
to learn about Haiti from its future leaders, the children.
Research Procedures
Every child will be interviewed at ―The Lamp‖ clinic about conditions in Cité Soleil.
There will always be at least one adult present, who is a Haitian Creole speaker, along
with the interviewer. It is expected that each interview will last about one hour.
Photographs will be made of each participant "making faces", then they will be shown
the photos and asked, ―What might a child making that face be thinking?‖Answers will
be audio recorded, but with no names taken down. No child has to participate, and even
if they start, and then want to stop, that is ok. They may skip any question they like.
Also, the researcher may stop at any time. The results may be published.
Risks
Some of the questions may cause emotional distress as your child recalls memories
surrounding the earthquake and discusses life conditions in Haiti. If it does, we
will stop. The clinic manager will call a 24 hour hotline to come provide
psychological services.
Benefits
This research may help the Haitian government, teachers, doctors or nurses, or other
"helping" adults learn from the children (who are the future) some ideas about what
things are like here. This researcher may not benefit personally from this research.
Confidentiality
All results of this study will be confidential, which means it will not have your child‘s
name on it, only the results of all participants as a group. Any information you give on
the consent form will be kept separate from the data (answers and pictures) so that
everything will stay private.
Compensation
Neither you nor your child will receive compensation or money for helping with this
research.
147

Contact Information
If you have a question about this research, contact Mimi at the clinic, even if it is
days later, or email Leisa Faulkner at childrenshope@live.com, or you may contact
my advisor at the university who is Jennifer Murphy. You can reach her at:
murphyj@saclink.csus.edu.. Signing below indicates you understand this consent
form and agree to have your child participate in this study.
_____________________________ ____________________
Signature of Participant Date
________________________________ ____________________
Signature of Guardian Date
________________________________ ____________________
Signature of Witness Date
148

Purpose of the Research
APPENDIX D
Participant‘s Informed Consent
You are asked to help Ms. Leisa Faulkner find out what children think about Haiti after the
earthquake. She is a student from Sacramento State University of California. Ms. Leisa will
write a report for her school and for other people to read about Haiti.
Research Procedures
When you come to ―The Lamp‖ clinic there will be at least one Creole speaking adult to help
you talk to Ms. Leisa. It will take about one hour. This is what will happen: first she will take
pictures of you making ―faces‖. When you see your pictures you tell what you were thinking.
Then you can tell her anything else you like. We will record all this. You do not have to do
this. If you start, then want to stop, that is really ok. You may skip any question you don‘t
want to answer. Also, Ms. Leisa may stop at any time. The report may be made into a book.
Ms. Leisa may not benefit personally from this research.
Risks
You may feel upset when you are talking to us. If you do, tell us and we will stop. Mimi,
the clinic manager, can get someone to help you with your feelings.
Benefits
This report may help leaders, doctors or other "helpers" know what it‘s like here for children.
Confidentiality
This report will not have your name in it, so that you can say what you like. Even this paper
you sign will be kept separate from your answers and pictures so that everything will stay
private.
Compensation
Neither you nor your parents will get anything or any money for helping with this report.
Contact Information
If you have a question about this report you can talk to Mimi at ―The Lamp‖ clinic, even if it is
days or weeks later. She will be there every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You can also
email Ms. Leisa at childrenshope@live.com. My advisor at the university is Jennifer Murphy,
you can reach her at: murphyj@saclink.csus.edu. If you sign this, it means that you understand
what was just explained to you, and that you still want to help. It means that you agree to talk to
us, to let us record it and to have your picture taken, all for Ms. Leisa to use in her report about
Haiti.
Signature of Participant Date
Signature of Witness Date
149

APPENDIX E
French Translations of Consent Forms
Accord D'un Parent Ou D'un Tuteur Donne A Un(e) Mineur(e) Pour Participer A L'etude
But de l'Etude
On demande au responsable légal de votre enfant de participer à une étude dirigée par
Mme. Leisa Faulkner, une étudiante diplômée de Sacramento State University of
California. Le but de l'étude est de savoir ce que pensent les enfants âgés de 10 à 14 ans
de leur communauté, de la pauvreté ; c'est aussi de découvrir leurs propres expériences
en Haïti depuis le tremblement de terre. Mme. Faulkner établira un rapport destiné à son
Université et à d'autres personnes intéressées par Haïti et ses futurs leaders, les enfants.
Modalités de l'Etude
Chacun des enfants aura un entretien à la clinique « The Lamp », entretien qui portera
sur les conditions d'existence à Cité Soleil. Sera présent, à côté de l'interviewer, au moins
un adulte, qui parle le créole haïtien. Chaque entretien durera environ une heure comme
prévu. Des photos de chacun des participants seront prises de face ; ensuite on lui
montrera les photos en demandant : « Que peut être en train de penser l'enfant derrière ce
visage ? » Les réponses seront enregistrées, mais aucun nom ne sera consigné. Si cela ne
lui convient pas, aucun enfant ne participera, et même s'il arrivait qu'il commence à le
faire, il pourra arrêter s'il le désire. Ils peuvent éluder toute question à laquelle ils ne
souhaitent pas répondre. En outre, l'enquêteur peut arrêter quand il le souhaite. Les
résultats peuvent être publiés.
Risques
Certaines questions peuvent provoquer un désarroi émotionnel quand l'enfant se
rappellera ce qui s'est passé lors du tremblement de terre et exposera les conditions de vie
en Haïti. Dans ce cas là, nous arrêterons. Le directeur de la clinique lancera une alerte
de 24 heures, demandant une assistance psychologique
Bénéficiaires.
Cette étude peut être utile au gouvernement haïtien, aux enseignants, aux médecins et
infirmières, etc. Elle aidera les adultes à découvrir la représentation des choses que se
font les enfants ici (les enfants sont l'avenir).
150

Confidentialité
Tous les résultats de l'enquête resteront confidentiels, c'est-à-dire qu‘un nom d'enfant
n'apparaîtra, mais seulement les résultats des groupes de participants. Tout renseignement
fourni sur le formulaire d'accord sera tenu à l'écart de données (réponses et images) de
manière à ce qu'il reste privé.
Compensation
Ni vous, ni votre enfant ne percevra de l'argent ou ne recevra une compensation pour la
participation à l'enquête.
Qui contacter ?
Si vous désirez poser une question au sujet de l'enquête, veuillez contacter Mme. Mimi, à
la clinique, même dans les jours suivants; ou alors, envoyez un Email à Mme. Leisa
Faulkner à : childrenshope@live.com, ou encore, vous pouvez contacter ma conseillère à
l'Université, Mme. Jennifer Murphy. Voici son adresse numérique : murphyj@csus.edu.
Votre signature apposée ci-dessous signifie que vous avez saisi les termes énumérés dans
le formulaire et que vous donnez votre consentement pour que votre enfant participe à
l'étude.
Signature du Participant _______________________________ Date _______________
Signature du Gardien _________________________________ Date ________________
Signature du Témoin _________________________________ Date ________________
151

ANNEXE E
Consentement En Toute Connaissance De Cause Permettant A Un(e) Mineur(e) De
Participer A L‘Enquete
But de l'Enquête
Vous êtes prié d'aider Mme. Leisa Faulkner à découvrir ce que les enfants pensent d'Haïti
après le tremblement de terre. Elle est étudiante à Sacramento State University of
California. Mme. Faulkner rédigera un rapport destiné à son école et à d'autres personnes
qui s'intéressent à Haïti.
Modalités de recherche
Quand vous vous présenterez à la clinique « The Lamp », sera présent, au moins, un
adulte parlant le créole haïtien pour vous permettre de vous entretenir avec Mme.
Faulkner. Cela prendra une heure environ. Cela se déroulera de la façon suivante :
d'abord, elle vous prendra des photos de vous de face ; quand vous verrez les photos,
vous direz ce à quoi vous pensiez à ce moment-là. Ensuite, vous pourrez dire tout ce
vous souhaitez exprimer. Vos propos seront enregistrés ; vous n'aurez pas à vous en
occuper. Après avoir démarré, si vous souhaité arrêter, vous pourrez le faire. Vous pouvez
éluder toute question à laquelle vous ne souhaitez pas répondre. En outre, Mme. Faulkner
peut arrêter quand elle le souhaite. Le rapport sera publié sous forme d'un livre. Mme.
Faulkner peut ne tirer aucun bénéfice personnel de cette recherche.
Risques
Il se peut que vous soyez bouleversé au cours de l'entretien. Si tel est le cas, dites-le nous
et nous arrêterons. Mme. Mimi, la directrice de la clinique se chargera de trouver
quelqu'un susceptible de vous aider émotionnellement.
Bénéfices
Le rapport peut être utile à des dirigeants, des médecins ou d'autres catégories de
« soignants » qui savent ce qu'il en est ici avec les enfants.
152

Confidentialité
Le rapport ne mentionnera pas votre nom ; vous pourrez donc vous exprimez librement.
Même le formulaire que vous aurez signé sera tenu à l'écart de vos réponses et des images
de façon à ce que cela demeure strictement privé.
Compensation
Ni vous ni vos parents ne recevra de l'argent ou une compensation quelconque.
Qui contacter ?
Si vous souhaitez poser une question, vous pouvez vous adresser à Mme. Mimi à la
clinique « The Lamp », même plusieurs jours après l'entretien. Elle est disponible les
lundi, mercredi et vendredi. Vous pouvez aussi adresser un Email à Mme. Leisa Faulkner
à : childrenshope@live.com. Sa conseillère à l'Université est Mme Jennifer Murphy ;
voici son adresse numérique : murphyj@saclink.csus.edu.
Si vous signez ce formulaire, cela implique vous saisissez ce qui vous a été expliqué et
vous souhaitez encore participer. Cela signifie que vous souhaitez donc vous entretenir
avec nous, nous permettre d'enregistrer l'entretien, de vous prendre en photo et que Mme.
Faulkner pourra utiliser ces données dans son rapport sur Haïti.
Signature du Participant ___________________________________________________
Date _____________________________
Signature du Témoin ___________________________________________________
Date ________________________________
153

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