Gender in Haiti: More on Gender in Haiti

This is a longer version of the blog “short note on gender in Haiti.” I’ve expanded it in part because I don’t think the other blog was fair to Beverly Bell. It appeared that I was singling her out and she is by no means the first or only writer-scholar to project a Western partriarchicalRead More

Explaining Gender in Haiti: Review of the Literature

This is a much expanded version of two shorter blogs, ‘A Short Note about Gender in Haiti‘ and ‘More on Gender in Haiti.’ It sums up the radical misunderstanding that seemingly all NGOs and journalists as well as many scholars have presented of gender in Haiti before and after the earthquake.

Big Lies about Little People: The War Between UNICEF and the Orphanages, Battleground Haiti

Following the January 2010 Haiti earthquake there were a lot of exaggerations, truth-twisting and outright lies. But perhaps none exceeded those that came from the mouths of child protection workers and orphanage owners. With UNICEF and Save the Children leading the way, orphanages fanning the flames, and the press publishing almost anything anyone said–no matterRead More

Dominican Republic: An Open Critique of Jared Diamond’s Collapse (Haiti and DR)

This was originally published on Open Salon back in 2010 Jared Diamond, of all people, has let us down with Collapse and the suggestion that “societies choose” to fail or survive (he is reifying society). This is most evident in his short, shallow, and one-sided analysis of the differences between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. ToRead More

Haitian-Dominican Border Misunderstandings

The Haitian-Dominican border is a widely misunderstood place. Here I want to share some insights in hopes that they will contribute to a better understanding of the area. But before I get started, I want qualify myself as not just another anthropologist whining about Dominican-Haitian relations. Over the past 25 years I’ve spent 9 yearsRead More

Travesties in Haiti