Sweet Home Alabama | Haitian Money Pit (VICE on HBO: Season 3, Episode 7) 

This is exactly why I don’t give to foreign aid companies or organizations! The people never get the help, instead, there is a select few who spend that money for themselves or who ever they choose.

When the French demanded to be compensated for the loss of wages, due to the end of slavery in Haiti, the USA served as an enforcer and forced the Haitians to compensate the French, for the loss of wages. I guess birds of a feather flock together!

Politicians made alot of money off the hati earthquake crisis

I always talk about how the hardest working guy I ever met was a migrant. My country sent him home (Canada, he was Mexican) despite his desperate attempts at a permanent residency. It was super sad to see this guy who desperately loved Canada get sent home. Not many people would have contributed to our society more than he would have.

I've spent some time in Haiti in and out of Port Au Prince. My biggest take away from the NGO's is selfish-help. I was there on my own volunteering at a maternity clinic doing some construction for a summer. When I was in the local town I saw other white people, so you know they are with a NGO group. I went up to say hi and just talk but they snubbed me and barely acknowledged I was there. Everyone wants to be the hero.A few weeks later a friend of the people I was working for finally was able to buy a 1/10th of an acre, which allowed her to get donated materials, like cinder blocks, cement and tin for a roof, for a single room house from a NGO. She did get them and joked later that she was going to get more from another NGO so her and her daughter could have 2 rooms. I asked her how this was possible and her response was basically, the charities don't communicate with each other and there is more then enough materials so why not get what I can why they have it.After spending a summer there I couldn't agree with her more. I enjoyed my time there but Haiti has so many layers of problems throughout their history. Once I spent the time talking with locals and another group of people I know that run a charity in Haiti, to get the whole picture. I wasn't surprised why the place looks like shit. But all in all the people are amazing. I would have never thought a summer spent doing construction in the blazing summer, eating BBQ pig ears off the side of the road and drinking Prestige beer on the beach could have been as fond of a memory as it is.

annnnd that's why I dont trust charities… better to just find a way to give money directly to individual hatians.

"When no one can; A Mexi-CAN!"

It’s 2020 and I’m grateful for this content.

This Haiti situation pisses me of to no end...

Don't leave the Clinton Bush Fund out of this . Those two families were right smack in the middle of the Haitian mess. The one very true line in your report was this, "They don't want things to change"

No one wants to work when they don't make enough money to live on.

From 7:30 to 9:20 had me crackin up. (Real Talk)

I'm loling at the fact, they subtitled the police chief

"if you have laws, you ought to enforce them" translation "we have contractors ready to profit from the enforcement of these laws"

We donate and it goes nowhere. I'm pissed off.....

21:23 Why is it odd that the people without government help did better?

Damn! 70 million in townhouses to hook up there own staff...WOW...How Sick minded is that???

I've helped build a house in the Dominican just east of there, and my Lord! some of those Haitians can work harder than anyone I've ever seen. They're better off without "aid" which ends up going through corrupt governments. They need education before anything (water treatment first)

12:18 i love how he said "are you tired Thomas?" and he didnt understand

I worked on a vegetable farm for 3 months in Australia to secure my second year working holiday visa and the first week nearly killed me. We got paid very well though! After a few weeks my body was used to it, but I think the non-challenging job is really what I hated most and not having to use my brain. It was litterally just cutting broccoli and throwing it into the bins or planting. I lost some weight though which was awesome! This documentary took me back! ❤️

VICE did a good job on this video. Especially, the Haiti part.

"now i know sum white people are going to be mad but white people in Alabama don't want too work" 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 bout time they stop saying black people 👍👍👍👍 the guy wuz the only one that lasted 30 days 😂😂😂😂😂😂💯💯

Florida just said, Alabama , hold my beer!

Ive been to Port Au Prince and Haiti, it is still a mess to this day. So sad.

These Vice videos are so fricken amazing. World class journalism. I'm so grateful. I can't thank you guys enough. I'm a different person because of the education I have been able to have because of you. PS: Great talent from top to bottom. So cool.

If you appreciate their work ethic, treat them like human beings! Treat The People Right!

Man I wish I could work with vice. You guys have some of the best stories I've seen

One good thing I noticed happening in those after the earthquake suburbs.. Reforestation on a small scale.. everyone planting a fruit tree in their new yards. That place looks like it was deforested before the earthquake ever happened.

"For a mexican not too heavy" Hahahaha

Lol way to send out the guy who hasn't worked a day in his life.

Wow, this was eye opening. Great work.👍👍

Thomas is so weak! He can’t even catch a damn watermelon!

what is with the south always trying to solve there problem with slaves.... just pay people decent wages you will get quality labor. that or get yourself less racist and figure it out.

Money is truly the root of all evil.

I thought this was about Haitians living in Alabama🙃

Ask the CLINTONS´ about the Haití´smoney

Bruh, ain't no one want them illegal immigrants' jobs anyway. Let them be, they're struggling like us.

Farmers get what they pay for. You can't pay Americans the same wage as a illegal and expect production. That's a no brainer.

No way the Haitians should be living like that where is all the money !!!!!!

Prisoners we’ll work if you make it worth it to them.

This is one of the most informative documentaries and it should be MANDATORY for students

That what you get Alabama. Good job!

Thank you for bring Mr. Decote back to us Thank You.

The guy hit the nail on the head. It's not that American's wont do the jobs, we just wont do them for the same small amount of money. You have to pay Americans more. Would food prices increase? Yes, but unemployment will go down. As the middle and upper class pay more for food and poor Americans earn more for picking it, the wealth gap will decrease. What we are doing by importing cheap foreign labor is disrupting the natural law of supply and demand in this country and that is one of the major reasons we have higher unemployment and income inequality.

so 5 years later haiti still looks like it got hit by the earthquake

Alabama hold this L. Glad they suffered after they passed that horrible bill

Wowwwwww.. So who's getting the 14 bucks an hour for the 20 prisoners they have in the fields.. For profit prison.. Next video 🤷🏽‍♂️

Well I hope 🔥HELL🔥 is going to be packed. There doing the same thing about the homeless all over this nation .

Lol, I used to work in Wisconsin earning $8/hr and I was able to buy everything I need (food, clothing). After reading the comment section it made me feel like I have low standards. The apartment that they let me live in may be shitty for American standard but for me is 5x better than what we can rent back to my home country, something I consider wide enough for the two of us with TV, refrigerator, aircon/heater and microwave (water, rent and electricity bills already deducted to my salary). Work a little overtime and within just 1 month, I bought myself a high-end phone. My job, I just stand in a gift shop waiting for customers to buy items (and no we don't get tips). I thought it wasn't that bad though :D Even made a side trip to Chicago. I don't know if I set my standards low or Americans are just spoiled.

i grew up in alabama and it's unreal how stereotypical this shit is. i realize alabama is fucked up in a shit ton of ways, but where the fuck isn't?

The background music is TOO MUCH! LOL

That is disgusting!! I, long ago, stopped giving money to organized charities because I suspected that very little trickled down to the people who actually needed it. This doc brings it to light. There's a reason why so many poorer countries are so poor, the bullies of the planet make sure they remain that way... Where do we go from here? How can we change this?

U.S. Aid should have bee used to build: modern sewer systems & treatment plants, wells & water purification plants for clean water distribution. It should have been spent on 1,000s of modest hurricane resistant homes, schools, hospitals, & roads.

Love this episode!!.. when ever I hear someone say some BS about “immigrants” taking our jobs, I’m going to Force them to watch the first half! & if someone said that the government doesn’t lie to us/is not corrupt, the second will be played.

All that happened in Haiti was the split up the donations between themselvesit's really sad and pathetic and those guys deserve to go to hell for what they're doing to their own people....

Alabamians will work, provided that they are paid a livable wage.

"Dey took our jaabbbss!!!"

you're paying the inmates 20 cents per hr. What do you expect?

That state representative Ball looked (and sounded) like the warden in Cool Hand Luke....

lol lady how much effort do you expect the chain gang to put in?!

18 million on a socer field 🤦🏻‍♂️

Furthermore I see the fact that the family unit in America was much different 100 years ago and even as recently as 40 years ago. That is one thing Mexicans have in spades compared to Americans. The breakdown of the family unit in America has destabilized our entire culture, because when someone doesn't have an identity they are lost.

Man I don’t remember Delmas 33 looking like this 😥😥

you need to do more documentaries like this exposing your crooked govt

I hate these programs that try to make it out as if there were no illegal immigrants these jobs would not be getting done... That is complete bull. All jobs will be worked by someone in the country that is such absolute crap. they just will not be getting done as cheap that's all... Give me a f****** break.

Why do people disliked the vid, vice is just documenting it

“Took a page out of history,” you mean modern day slavery.

my right ear really enjoyed hearing this

The sound is poorly mixed - music in one ear, voices in the other.

You can pay 5 dollars for a watermelon if it's farmed by illegal immigrants, or 25 dollars if it's farmed by American citizens. Of course this isn't taking into account future technology or demographic changes.

Turth 7:30 Lol 😂😂😂

Anyone else wonder if their headphones/earbuds were broken after hearing the voice over audio from the right ear only?

huh....it's almost as if capitalism needs an underclass to exploit in order to give CEO's their million dollar christmas bonus'

Ive worked side by side with the Mexican immigrants . honestly they do a good job but I have seen how they cut corners in the name of production and I prefer a balance of both quality and production especially when it involves eliminating the American worker that does a better quality job because that are payed a competive wage.

Karma will get all of we grocery store farmers when there are very little fruits and vegetables to farm.

Born and raised in Alabama but spent several years traveling for work and have never seen this story.. I have my own views but it was definitely weird looking back

Hahaha , that's because white people want to be the boss all the damn time instead of working. It's amazing how so many white people say that black people are lazy when it's actually vice versa. I'm not talking about all white people, so please don't take that as me saying that all white people are lazy. But what I am saying, and this is me being a welder, most of the white people that I work with always want to be in charge or be the supervisor or the boss never want to get their hands dirty and just want to tell me what to do. This shit is so funny

Thomas is that type of white boy who can blend anywhere. I predict that he will be sent to North Korea to report on Kim’s Private Residence

Vice really knows how to get me pissed off😤 😡

Oh my word. That’s so horrid to be treating people that way.

A legal guest worker program could solve the whole illegal issue, but that would be just too simple. It's also harder to abuse and/or control legal people. The Haiti fiasco looks like big business as usual.

I feel like that dude is trying to make handling watermelons seem harder than what it is. Lol

If the state would not give money to those that don’t work. Let anyone get hungry and they’ll work

I've never thought about mixing the words haitian and Alabama lmao

Alabama's food is going to skyrocket. Either by scarcity & having to import, or by all the other non latino workers demanding higher pay. It will probably choke out local farmers to a extent as well so there goes a chunk of your organic crop. Automation has killed much more jobs than any illegal immigrant has. It was one of the reasons why local farmers had to use them so much in the fields. They can't keep up with all the super store GMO brands out there.

The use of prison chain gangs should be mandatory. What are prisoners doing other than being taxpayers' problems? Hard farm work would break them out of boredom+ back that last attitudes most prisoners have about work+ break most of the amoral personalities most prisoners have; you just have to be tenacious+ stick to it no matter what hard time the prisoners give you. Prison chain gangs doing hard& farm labor should be mandatory because idle hands are the devil's workshop& this axiom is especially true when it comes to males& men‼

The South has great small town people (Atlanta sucks), but the laws are repressive. I met a very friendly white cop while driving in late night in Georgia. I pulled myself over on interstate to take a nap. I didn’t turn on the emergency light nor did I turn on any light, so this cop came over and checked what happened. I told him I was tired and I did not want to be a threat to others so I took a nap on the side of the road. He said I should turn on the emergency light to make it safer (the road was dark). I apologized and asked if he needed to check my license. He said no and we conversed a bit, and I was properly sobered, so we shook hands and I took off. I bought a trailer in Georgia. My new trailer’s wheel cover hit a pillar in a gas station in a small town in Georgia (with crappy roads as if they were shelled by artillery - on par with those in Louisiana). I went to asked a black man who seemed to be a handyman if he knew any bodyshop nearby. He went to my trailer and without me asking him, used his bare hand to adjust the bent wheel cover roughly to its original position. I was shocked, and I took out $5 or $10 from my wallet to tip him. And he said, “Oh, I get paid, too?” He was not expecting that. Later, I went to a nearby restaurant and tried to order pork chop. They were out of pork chop. So the owner, a senior white male, sold his own lunch pork chop to me. I was devouring that pork chop due to the starvation after the little accident. The owner teased me by imitating my devouring. It was a warm encounter. I stopped at a crappy-looking gas station in a small city in Georgia at late night to gas up. The owner was a skinny white lady who looked about 60+ years old. She came out and pumped my gas for me. And we conversed. She said she believed in that everything was arranged by God, even a child born out of rape. So no abortion, she promised. When we departed, I shook her hand and she wholeheartedly, very convincingly said, “Stay safe.” There was this white female professor from Alabama who taught me only one lecture, and graded one paper of mine in China. And she has been helping me in every way she could ever since. In New Orleans, Riverwalk Premium Outlet Mall, I was trying to find a place that can poke more holes for the fat belt that I just bought. No place, it turned out. So I went to a shoe shop to try my luck. And at the cashier, an old black male took out a belt puncher, studied and tried for like 15-20 mins (the belt turned out to be complicated), and punched some perfect holes for me. So I asked how much did I owe him. He looked at me and firmly waved his hand (which means no charge). I was a little scared by his firmness so I thanked him and departed. (Later I think I should probably still insist on tipping him). I discovered that many old black people have some great morality, very different from many young blacks that grew up in welfare. But from what I saw on the legal signs in Georgia, what I experienced in Louisiana (although Louisiana is a Civil Law state so is even more repressive than other southern states), and the stories I heard, the South truly has a repressive legal system.

The hard farm work & living conditions is way better than where they came from . If it wasn’t they would return back home

Guess you gotta teach your kids how to farm because you gotta eat... The system doesn't work... This is not sustainable. But replays of Sex, and the City will be on tonight showing us what a wonderful cosmopolitan life we could all be living in a city that can't sustain itself, and how liberated we are... Its a trippy game...

The market and the population will adjust. Mass migration is a very bad idea longterm.

I'm from Russellville Alabama first time I've ever seen this

This guy is like the reporter that acted like a sissy after shooting an AR-15. Teach your kids how to work, accountability, responsibility and that they aren't entitled!

Pray for Haiti..."Yeshua/Jesus is the way"

Went from cheap labor to slave labor. Next they'll say "there are some poor people in Africa who aren't doing anything, think they like boats?".

Leave those people alone... America needs them as much as they need America.

Excellent story about Alabama overshooting the target. Here's the deal: 1. Immigrants do the toughest, most miserable jobs one can imagine. Would YOU like to eviscerate chickens in a frozen room all day? 2. That said... Hospitals and schools. (Not mentioned here....why?). Overwhelmed and not able to handle poor migrants. Farmers sure as h... can't afford to cover those costs. So....as with the corruption in aid to Haiti.... What are some workable solutions, VICE? Looking forward to docs about answers.... The good and the bad...and the "maybe?". Cheers! JerBear Charlotte USA

So called black people are built YAH TUFF. FATHER YAH WILL NOT LET US BE STOPPED EVEN WHEN WE THINK OTHERWISE. ALL THE GLORY AND PRAISE TO THE MOST HIGH YAH 👑👣👑👣👑👣👑🕊

I live in Canada so I don't know how it really is but so big companies and people will hire illegal immigrants? They almost seem like part of the problem and hypocritical if they will hire them but not want them to become citizens.

Hey Alexa. Show them how to grow and harvest their crops. Wind Power on the wayward side of the island: Computerized, electronic farming. Now!

Just another topic to touch upon during the morning and evening news. Politicians use it to undermine there future directives and yet still fall short of reaching the goal. Kicking the ideas around and not have a definitive and clear goal only makes companies who participate in the clean up at fault. If it’s not a definitive territory of the United States then it will only be used as a avenue to convince other to focus on the words and actions as putting there right foot forward when solving this major problem clearly depicted in this video.