Carrefour Travel Guide, Haiti

Carrefour, Haiti - Overview

In Haitian Creole, Carrefour is known as Kafou. Carrefour is one of the economically backward and impoverished districts in Port-au-Prince, Haiti is situated in the Ouest department. It has a meager population of 408000 and is undergoing reconstruction and revamp.

There is nothing much to talk about this poor neighborhood hampered by ill maintenance and slums. The place acquired notoriety when 11 young men from a slum named FEUILLES of Carrefour were illegally executed in 1999.

In recent times, however renovation works on the streets and small scale constructions are being carried out to give a facelift to the decrepit ramshackle district. It is situated outside downtown Port-au-Prince.

Carrefour’s association with poverty and decadence is a recent phenomenon witnessed after the departure of Jean-Claude Duvalier. It used be a haven and a top destination for tourists and visitors before political unrest and turmoil engulfed the country and sounded the death knell for the tourism industry which earned the bread and butter for the tiny little island.

The last nail in the coffin was struck by the American embargo imposing and enforcing a return of Jean Bertrand Aristide - the deposed acting president of that time.

A few sights of attraction in and near Carrefour include PEDRO DE MACORIS, SANTO DOMINGO, SAN CHRITOBAL, LA VEGA, SANTIAGO, CAP HAITIEN, DELMAS and PORT-AU-PRINCE.

One of the greatest natural harbors in the world - MIRAGOANE, is situated near Carrefour. Before the western side of Hispaniola was conquered and colonized by the French, Spanish explorers chose MIRAGOANE as their meeting point. This harbor is sheltered by ILE GONAVE on the north.

Miragoane is nestled and caressed by mountains on all sides. In its former days of glory and splendor, when hordes of greedy explorers and buccaneers swooped down on Haiti to mine gold and make off with it, Miragoane used to be the gateway of depletion/exploitation and was referred to as the gold port.

Currently, the third largest harbor on the southeastern coast of the bay is Miragoane. After the Jean Claude era, economic development of the district has hit a rock bottom. Employment opportunities are also really low.

 But the natives have realized that unless they take matters into their own hands, there is no hope for progress or advancement and therefore, various kinds of developmental work have been undertaken by the local people in the fields of sanitation, health and education.