In the wake of last week's earthquake in Haiti, there have been misconceptions or plain misinformation floating around in the media as to the country itself. Here are a few details about Haiti's long history.
After sailing the Atlantic Ocean for weeks in 1492, Columbus finally landed on an island he called Hispaniola, today divided into Haiti and the Dominican Republic. A few years after his arrival, the native population was virtually killed off so that African slaves had to be imported to work on sugar plantations. At the end of the 17th century, the Spanish conceded the western third of the island to French colonialists. Over the years, it developed into the 'Pearl of the Antilles,' that generated a huge portion of France's wealth as a colonial power.
In the late 18th century, news of the French Revolution spread to Hispaniola and sparked uprisings led by the charismatic slave Toussaint L'Ouverture. The slaves were able to throw out the French plantation owners and defend themselves against two military expeditions by Napoleon I. In 1804, the first free republic of former black slaves was proclaimed and named 'Haiti.'
Many of the French colonialists had fled to New Orleans which was in French territory at that time. The territory, however, had to be sold by the French to the newly independent U.S. in the Louisiana Purchase because France needed the money of that lucrative land deal to make up for the loss of Haiti. More compensation was extorted from the Haitian people over many decades in the 19th century which crippled Haiti's economy right from the beginning and started its descent into misery.
Also, the existence of black slaves who fought successfully for their freedom was not well received in the U. S. Their self-liberation was considered unforgivable and a threat to the U.S., like the Sandinistas in Nicaragua and Castro in Cuba in the 20th century.
Years later, the U. S. actively intervened and occupied Haiti from 1915 to 1934. In the 1960s Francois Duvalier, aka 'Papa Doc', established a brutal tyranny that his son 'Baby Doc' continued with the help of the Gestapo-like Tantan Macoutes, until he was swept out of office by a popular movement in 1986. The international community, foremost the U.S. and France, has been determined to keep Haiti as the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere. The U.S.-backed candidate, Marc Bazin, was destined to win the 1992 election, but the liberation theology-influenced priest Aristide received almost two-thirds of the votes, only to be ousted by a U.S.-financed coup eight months into his term. Aristide ran for election again in 2000 and won by an even wider margin, only to be overthrown again in 2004 because he, unfortunately, became too greedy and autocratic. He was abducted at gunpoint by U.S. troops and spirited away to the Central African Republic, but now lives in South Africa. The few good things he wanted to implement were to raise the minimum wage, abolish the military, and present France with an outstanding bill of reimbursement of the indemnity Haiti had to pay in the 19th century, totaling $21 billion in today's money.
Haiti has never really been given a chance to develop on its own and has deteriorated over the years. These days, the most danger to its fragility comes from earthquakes (other major earthquakes in Haiti happened in 1751, 1770, 1842, and 1946) due to active fault lines of tectonic plates running on the Caribbean Sea's floor throughout the Caribbean and Central America, and the annual hurricanes, some of which only two years ago destroyed the few economic gains that occurred since the UN received a mandate to help Haiti in 2004. Because of deforestation and erosion, the rains swept from the hills through the Haitian city of Gonaives and caused a high number of casualties.
What is needed now is to get a concerted effort on the way to help the people of Haiti, and not idiotic and callous responses a la [Pat] Robertson and [Rush] Limbaugh. The Caribbean Students Association is sponsoring and holding fundraisers in the next few days - keep your eyes open for them.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
