Story highlights Peniel Joseph: The international community, led by the United States, has deployed military and humanitarian aid to Haiti but much more needs to be done

The outpouring of compassion for the plight of Haitians did not produce enduring results, says Joseph

Peniel Joseph is the Barbara Jordan Chair in Political Values and Ethics and the founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is also a professor of history. He is the author of several books, most recently "Stokely: A Life." The views expressed here are his own.

(CNN) Haiti, which is still in the midst of a slow and painful rebuilding process in the aftermath of 2010's historic earthquake, has experienced more heartbreak this week with the arrival of Hurricane Matthew. But sadly, for the Haitian people, the initial damage wreaked by environmental disaster has traditionally become a prelude to the disappointment of promises of international aid and relief, especially those sponsored by the U.S.

Peniel Joseph

The Category 4 hurricane touched down on Haiti's southern shore on Tuesday, leaving hundreds dead in its wake and decimating the country's already fragile communications infrastructure. The damage to Haiti's southern peninsula is the latest setback in a series of environmental disasters that have gripped the country recently.

The collapse of bridges and roads have limited first responders' access to the remnants of town and villages in desperate need of humanitarian aid in areas such as the coastal village of Petit-Goave. To add insult to injury, the region that Matthew hit hardest is the heart of Haiti's food production and will result in shortages and increased security risks that will impact the entire population.

Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti A man stands in the remnants of a house destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in the southern town of Les Cayes on Monday, October 10. Matthew wreaked havoc in Haiti, killing hundreds, destroying homes and knocking out electricity in the impoverished Caribbean nation. More than 1.4 million people are in need of urgent assistance, a UN official says. Hide Caption 1 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Two young men who lost their homes awake from a tent in the courtyard of a school where they took shelter in Port Salut on October 10. Hide Caption 2 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti A woman sits in debris where her house once stood in Les Cayes on October 10. Hide Caption 3 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti A group works to clear debris from the streets in Les Anglais on October 10. Hide Caption 4 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti A man uses salvaged material to build a makeshift roof for his damaged house in Port-a-Piment on October 10. Hide Caption 5 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti People sick with cholera receive medical assistance at a hospital in Jeremie on October 10. The destruction from Matthew has accelerated the cholera epidemic in Haiti and undermined strides made in fighting the waterborne disease, the country's leader says. Hide Caption 6 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti People cross one of the many southern coastal rivers where bridges were knocked out or damaged near Port-a-Piment on October 10. Hide Caption 7 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti People pass damaged buildings in a seaside fishing neighborhood of Port Salut on Sunday, October 9. Hide Caption 8 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti People bathe and wash clothes in a river that runs through Roche-à-Bateaux on October 9. Concerns are rising in the storm's aftermath about cholera, caused by the ingestion of contaminated water or food. Hide Caption 9 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti US soldiers unload bags of food from a helicopter in the hard-hit coastal city of Jeremie on October 9. Hide Caption 10 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Worshippers pray at a Jeremie church destroyed by Matthew on October 9. Hide Caption 11 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti A cholera patient receives treatment at a state hospital in Jeremie on October 9. Hide Caption 12 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Family members react during the funeral of Roberto Laguerre, 32, on Saturday, October 8, in Jeremie. Laguerre was killed when the hurricane struck. Hide Caption 13 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Andrenne Joseph dries her clothes near the remains of her house in Jeremie on October 8. Hide Caption 14 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Residents of Jeremie wait on the shore October 8 as a boat with water and food from the "Mission of Hope" charity arrives. Jeremie appears to be the epicenter of Haiti's growing humanitarian crisis in the wake of the storm. Hide Caption 15 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Corn salvaged from destroyed crops dries in the sun Saturday after Hurricane Matthew swept through Jeremie. Hide Caption 16 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti People unload food and water from a "Mission of Hope" charity boat Saturday after Hurricane Matthew swept through Jeremie. Hide Caption 17 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti An aerial view of damage to the small village of Casanette near Baumond, Haiti on Saturday. The full scale of the devastation in rural Haiti is becoming clear in the days after Hurricane Matthew leveled huge swaths of the country's south. Hide Caption 18 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Haitians gather along a flooded street in Haiti on Friday, October 7. Hide Caption 19 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Palm trees lie flattened on the ground after high winds knocked them over. Hide Caption 20 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Rubble lies in the street in the aftermath of the storm. Hide Caption 21 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Residents carry a coffin containing the remains of a pregnant woman, a victim of Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie on Friday, October 7. People across southwest Haiti were digging through the wreckage of their homes Friday, salvaging what they could of their meager possessions. Hide Caption 22 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti An aerial view shows destruction caused by Hurricane Matthew in Jeremie, Haiti, on Friday, October 7. The damage from Hurricane Matthew was especially brutal in southern Haiti, where sustained winds of 130 mph punished the country. Hide Caption 23 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Damaged homes are shown on Friday, October 7, in Haiti, where the death toll is in the hundreds. Hide Caption 24 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti A young man stands near the cathedral damaged by Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie, Haiti, on October 7. Hide Caption 25 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti A man dries toys recovered from the debris left by Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, on Thursday, October 6. Hide Caption 26 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti A girl washes mud from her feet after Hurricane Matthew passed through Les Cayes, Haiti, on October 6. Hide Caption 27 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Fallen trees litter the ground outside a damaged church in Les Cayes on October 6. Hundreds of people have been killed in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, officials said, with the death toll expected to rise. Hide Caption 28 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Girls wade through a flooded street in Les Cayes on October 6. Hide Caption 29 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Two days after the storm, authorities and aid workers in Haiti still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years. Hide Caption 30 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Saint Anne Church in Les Cayes is reduced to ruins. In the wake of the storm, the Electoral Commission postponed the country's presidential election, which had been scheduled for Sunday. Hide Caption 31 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Residents repair their homes in Les Cayes. Hide Caption 32 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Children sit inside a damaged church in Saint-Louis on Wednesday, October 5. Hide Caption 33 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Men push a motorbike through a flooded street in Leogane on October 5. More than 300,000 people are in shelters across the country, the United Nations said.

Hide Caption 34 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti A man carries a woman across a river at Petit Goave on October 5. A bridge collapsed because of the storm. Hide Caption 35 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti A woman cleans her flooded home following the overflowing of La Rouyonne River on October 5 in Leogane. Residents could face risks from standing water. Haiti is still recovering from a cholera outbreak after the devastating 2010 earthquake. Hide Caption 36 of 37 Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti Nice Simon, the mayor of Tabarre, holds a baby on October 3, as she helps evacuate the area along a river. Hide Caption 37 of 37

The international community, led by the United States, has deployed military and humanitarian aid to Haiti but much more needs to be done. Americans have an unusually intimate, if largely misunderstood, relationship with Haiti. The first independent black republic in the Western Hemisphere via the 1804 revolution , Haiti transformed itself from a French-ruled colony of slaves to a black republic of free citizens.

Haitians purchased their freedom at a heavy cost however. Diplomatically shunned by the young American nation and its president, Thomas Jefferson, Haiti accrued onerous and largely immoral debts from France that left the young nation struggling to find its economic footing well into the 20th century.