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by donkeyd 2762 days ago
This sounds a lot like Haiti. I was there on vacation for a couple of weeks. In general, Haiti dirty and poor, but there were some truly beautiful places. Unfortunately, only a few of them are actually available if you aren't there on either a cruise, or are friends/connected with the local 'bourgeoisie'.

One of the places that stuck with me the most is Kay Winnie in Seguin. It's a house, built by a man who moved there from the city in order to protect one of the last forests in Haiti. He grows and plants saplings to grow the forest. Unfortunately, you need to hike quite far or drive through incredibly rough terrain to get there.
1 comments
starbeast 2762 days ago
Recently read 'The Comedians' by Graham Greene, which is set in Haiti during the rise of Duvalier. Those people have been through some terrible shit for a long time now.

edit - is worth reading - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/133399.The_Comedians

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donkeyd 2762 days ago
> Those people have been through some terrible shit for a long time now.

Yup. And having been there and having spoken to locals and people from the UN, MSF, etc. I don't feel like it's going to change soon. A lot of the economy is driven by NGO's and that money all ends up in the pockets of the rich home, hotel and restaurant owners. Meanwhile the poor sell each other mangos and meat in the streets. It's like there are two completely separate economies. And whenever a politician wants to make a change, tribalism seems to end up ruining it because (often realistic) fear of preferential treatment of some groups.

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starbeast 2762 days ago
>A lot of the economy is driven by NGO's and that money all ends up in the pockets of the rich home, hotel and restaurant owners. Meanwhile the poor sell each other mangos and meat in the streets.

Sounds eerily similar to the situation things rapidly deteriorate from at the start of the book, which was set 60 years ago now.

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