Haiti Researched via: Student Name: Ababacar Sonko Date: 05/27/10

Where is Haiti located? Haiti is situated on the western part of Hispaniola, the second largest island in the Greater Antilles. Haiti is the third largest country in the Caribbean behind Cuba and the Dominican Republic (the latter shares a 360-kilometre (224 mi) border with Haiti). Haiti at its closest point is only about 45 nautical miles (83 km; 52 mi) away from Cuba and has the second longest coastline (1,771 km/1,100 mi) in the Greater Antilles, Cuba having the longest. Haiti's terrain consists mainly of rugged mountains interspersed with small coastal plains and river valleys.

Flag, Motto, Anthem: Motto: "L'Union Fait La Force" (French) "Unity Creates Strength“ (English) Anthem: La Dessalinienne

Sports: Cockfighting Soccer Football Basketball

Government and Politics: The government of Haiti is a semi- presidential republic, a pluriform multiparty system wherein the President of Haiti is head of state elected directly by popular elections the Prime Minister acts as head of government and is appointed by the President, chosen from the majority party in the National Assembly. Executive power is exercised by the President and Prime Minister who together constitute the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the National Assembly of Haiti. The government is organized unitarily, thus the central government delegates powers to the departments without a constitutional need for consent. The current structure of Haiti's political system was set forth in the Constitution of Haiti on 29 March The current president is René Préval.

Famous people/role model: Neluset Wyclef Jean (born October 17, 1972) is a Haitian- American multi-platinum recording artist and record producer. Born in Haiti, the son of a Nazarene pastor, Wyclef briefly attended Eastern Nazarene College, where his younger brother Sam graduated with a degree in history.

What do you like the most about Haiti? One of Haiti's two official languages is French, which is the principal written, spoken in schools, and administratively authorized language. It is spoken by most educated Haitians and is used in the business sector. The second is the recently standardized Haitian Creole, which is spoken by virtually the entire population of Haiti. Haitian Creole is one of the French- based Creole languages, which also contains significant African influence, as well as influence from Spanish and Taíno. Haitian Creole is closely related to Louisiana Creole. Spanish is also spoken by a good portion of the population, though it is not an official language.