Why is Haiti so miserable?
If, like me, you’ve realized in the past week that you could stand to brush up on your Haitian history, you might profit from reading Mark Danner’s op-ed in today’s New York Times.
And yet there is nothing mystical in Haiti’s pain, no inescapable curse that haunts the land. From independence and before, Haiti’s harms have been caused by men, not demons. Act of nature that it was, the earthquake last week was able to kill so many because of the corruption and weakness of the Haitian state, a state built for predation and plunder. Recovery can come only with vital, even heroic, outside help; but such help, no matter how inspiring the generosity it embodies, will do little to restore Haiti unless it addresses, as countless prior interventions built on transports of sympathy have not, the man-made causes that lie beneath the Haitian malady.
Danner gives a quick account of Haiti’s history, from slave colony to independent nation to corrupt state. It’s the first such account I’ve read that isn’t blindly condescending or entirely vague — the information is appreciated, and the prescription for the future seems valid. Does it square with what you know? Have you seen anything better on “the reality of Haiti”?
UPDATE: This “comment” from The Nation by Amy Willentz doesn’t take in Danner’s essay, but it does pick apart some of the other, lesser entries in the “explain Haiti” sweepstakes.
American paranoia regarding the Cuban Revolution (Cuba is 60 miles from Haiti) has played no small role in Haiti’s present condition. As a counterweight to Castro, or just to popular revolution in general, the US backed both Papa Doc Duvalier and his son Baby Doc, both of whom plundered the country and brutalized the people. El Salvador offers a close variation on this theme.
Additionally, Washington’s demands for economic “reform”, (i.e. free trade allowing US agricultural products to flood Haiti and wipe out peasant farming) caused the urban population to explode.
I don’t think Haiti would be some kind of tropical paradise if neither of these things happened but I do think that things would be better if true democratic sovereignty had been supported by Haiti’s powerful neighbors.
Unfortunately, that’s still not the case, even though Bill Clinton appears to sincerely think he can change it (that was always his thing, no?). What I mean is that Clinton’s dream is for Haiti and the rest of the 3rd world is to have resorts on the beaches for the wealthy and textile sweatshops in the interior.
I think Danner gives a good historical and political overview in the space limitations of an op-ed piece.
Randall Robinson (founder of TransAfrica) gives a more detailed account of Haiti’s sad history in “An Unbroken Agony,” though the book may not be to everyone’s taste. He’s very hard on the U.S. for its policies in Haiti and the Caribbean in general. He’s also overly supportive, IMO, of former Haitian president (and former priest) Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was deposed in 2004 with the help of the U.S.
For a book that captures a large dose of the spirit and the soul of the Haitian people, try Margaret Trost’s “On That Day, Everybody Ate,” an autobiographical account of Trost’s efforts, in partnership with a Haitian priest, to provide humanitarian relief.
Finally, on another note, many have likely already seen the news video about Kiki, the Haitian boy pulled from the rubble yesterday. His 1,000 watt smile may become an iconic image of the rescue efforts. If you haven’t seen the video, you owe yourself the heartwarming experience of checking it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAj2v9sz9ms
Footnote: During the Haitian revolution many Haitians , both black and white, settled in New Orleans. There’s a voodoo shop in walking distance of my house. I have a Haitian banner of Dam Ba La, the Haitian snake goddess. Great design.
“The past isn’t dead. It really isn’t even past.”
I am not sure what this says, but I notice that in general:
Most countries that were former British colonies have done reasonably well, that most countries that were formerly Spanish colonies have done less well but at least are not terrible, and that most countries that formerly were French colonies have fared the least well of all.
In any case, it is important that we dig deep and help those poor folks in Haiti who are suffering so much, and that we do so now. Our parish has been taking up special collections for Haiti; this is a very important and very urgent matter.