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http://www1.american.edu/TED/haiti.htmEFFECTS OF THE EMBARGO ON TRADE Since the embargoes beginning, 60% of Haiti's private sector jobs have been lost; because there are approximately six dependents per job holder, the losses directly affected nearly 1 million people.(12). The impact of the embargo on the business environment will have negative long term repercussions, e.g., Haiti's export assembly industry has been effectively shut down, with many of its plants closing permanently.(13) Although the sanctions were aimed at usurping Cedras and his junta's power, the Cedras regime found ways to circumvent sanctions. In circumscribing sanctions, Cedras's regime was able to profit from the crippled Haitian economy. With a tight control on the supply and distribution of goods smuggled into the country, the regime was able to arbitrarily determine their levels of profit. In addition to benefitting Cedras's regime, sanctions benefitted other dubious characters, such as drugtraffikers and corrupt Dominican Republic military officials who used the sanctions porosity to make a handsome profit. EFFECTS OF THE EMBARGO ON THE ENVIRONMENT The embargo produced worsening health conditions and accelerated environmental degradation throughout Haiti.
The blocked shipments of fuel led to increased deforestation and soil erosion, as many people were forced to burn scarce wood and charcoal for cooking. With deforestation and soil erosion, Haiti's bio-diversity has been effected adversely. Plants that rely upon Haiti's soil, replete in nutrients, are put at risk of depletion; animals that rely upon the plants for food are put at risk of extinction. Ergo, the deforestation and soil erosion, caused by the clear cutting of forests in Haiti, could cause a vicious cycle of environmental destruction. The fuel shortage also undermined the capacity of Haitians to feed themselves. Without fuel, agricultural equipment could not operate and crops neither could be planted nor harvested. Water needed for irrigating fields was diverted to provide Port-au-Prince with hydroelectric power. With water diverted to Port-au-Prince, Haiti's bio-diversity (in the future) is likely to be effected--the effects of which can not, as of yet, be determined. In addition to not being properly irrigated and managed, the agricultural sector has been harmed by the scarcity of pesticides and fertilizers the sanctions caused in Haiti. EFFECTS OF THE EMBARGO ON HUMAN RIGHTS The sanctions have led to a dramatic drop in Haitians living standards.
As a result, many Haitian's have had to adopt harsh survival tactics, such as foraging for plants and eating seeds of crop plants, led to a surge of illnesses in the poorest areas of Haiti. For example, the sanctions contributed to extensive malnutrition, disease, and famine in the northwest. Unfortunately, in rural areas scarcity of transportation and lack of electricity has led to deaths: deaths which could have been otherwise prevented. The deaths occurred, because with a lack of electricity or transportation, vaccines could not be adequately refrigerated or shipped.(14) Those most effected by sanctions were children. Aid workers say children's death rates, because of the sanctions, were 20 times the usual rate. The children died from treatable maladies, such as measles and other commonly treatable viruses. This was because sanctions forced Haitian public-health programs to grind to a halt.(15)