Four mountain ranges divided by deep valleys characterize the landscape of the "Country high up" as it wahs called by the first inhabitants. Haiti lies in the western part of the Caribbean island Hispaniola. It borders on the Dominican Republic in the east and is - after the USA - the second oldest independent state in America.

The population of Haiti has had a history full of suffering. Today's Haiti was the dreaded destination of slave shipments from Western Africa during French colonial times. More than 400,000 black slaves worked for the plantation owners at the end of the 18th century. Unrest spread among the slaves and already in 1804 the first "slave republic" was declared.

Nowadays, 95 per cent of Haiti's population are descendents from African slaves. Music and art have been strongly influenced by African traditions. Even though the majority of the population is of Roman-Catholic faith, the Voodoo cult plays an important role in Haiti. French is the official language according to the constitution of 1987 but a specific form of Creole is spoken.

During the 20th century, long years of dictatorship rendered Haiti as one of the poorest countries in the world. In the 90ies, a process of democratisation has begun promising hope for more social justice. The most crucial problems in Haiti are the high rate of illiteracy (45 per cent) and unemployment.