In 1970 my parents, sister and I went on a cruise which had a stop in Haiti; we rented a cab to drive through the town (I think Port-au-Prince) and I can admit I have never seen such poverty, as a child it was beyond shocking. There were also AK-47 toting men everywhere. My parents had no idea what they had gotten us into (no way to know much ahead of time back then). We eventually got outside town, and found a culture of mahogany carving and really amazing people. Sad to think that despite how depressing the town was (garbage dumped in streets for people to pick over, cardboard box houses) it's only gotten worse, and most of the trees are gone. The countryside was very beautiful but the poverty and terrible leadership and disasters eventually destroyed it all. As a child it made a powerful impression on me as to what people are capable of doing (or not doing) to each other.