Today, descendants of those rats destroy about 40 percent of Haiti’s crops.ĭoes history repeat itself when it comes to the environment? The author recognizes that even today, “We are still making those mistakes.” She knows she has done the same thing and is committed on only growing native plants in her garden. When did Haiti’s environmental downward slide begin? According to Abbott,“ mindboggling damage had begun by the 16 th century” when rats were brought to the island on Spanish galleys. What was Haiti like in the ‘80’s? There was a functional viable agriculture though soil erosion was still a huge concern. She also wrote a play entitled, A Universal Tragedy in Four Acts Set in Haiti. Abbott remembers one occasion when she lay on the floor, filing her story by phone as bullets whizzed outside. What did she write while in Haiti? She was the senior editor for the Haitian Times and Reuter’s Haiti stringer. There was also a family connection with the region her great grandfather Stanley Abbott was from Antigua. Why Haiti became personal? At 40, Elizabeth Abbott married a Haitian and they brought up their two sons, from prior relationships, together. (I interviewed the author the day after her talk and what follows is a glimpse behind a highly insightful read by a superb writer and scholar.) the increased vulnerability of women after the quake.NGOs that fail to respect the island’s government. the long history of environmental devastation,.During her talk Abbot covered a wide range of topics including:
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