The Haitian revolution and subsequent independence were the fulfilment of what was then a new ideology — liberalism. Slavery was abolished and black men and women were viewed as the equals of white men and women. This is an original sin for which Haiti has never been forgiven and shows up liberalism for what it is — all talk.
Immediately after independence, Haiti was put under blockade by the US and its great enlightened leader, the slave holder and rapist Thomas Jefferson. The French imposed gunboat diplomacy on Haiti, extorting them of billions of dollars to recognise their independence or threaten military invasion.
Following their independence Haiti fought valiantly to bring down slavery throughout the region. They are believed to have been involved in or influenced slave uprisings in the US south, Jamaica, Cuba, and French island territories. What can be proved beyond a shadow of a doubt is that Haiti played a critical role in the independence of the Bolivarian nations as it was Haiti that hosted, trained and outfitted Bolivar and his men as they made the final push to liberate South America from Spanish imperialism.
Haiti was Cuba before Cuba. It was proof that another way is possible, that the white man did not have to be in the dominant position and the black man did not have to be in a position of subservience that needed to be crushed immediately. Nothing is worse to an exploiter than the example of an alternative way, and just as Cuba had to be crushed over 60 years, following its revolution, so Haiti must continue to pay for its nerve to stand up for over 200 years after it took the bold steps.
Haiti is a mineral-rich country with resourceful and intelligent people who are proud of their history. Haiti is not poor and crime-ravaged because it is ordained by God, no, it faces these current calamities because of external pressures which demand that Haiti be poor and downtrodden.
It was external actors, for example, who invaded Haiti in 1915 and looted their treasury. It was foreign powers who propped up Papa Doc during his murderous dictatorship as he was seen as better than the alternative. It was foreign agents who backed his son Baby Doc during his regime which was equally as murderous, and it was the same foreign powers that overthrew the most popular leader in democratic Haiti, Jean Bertrand Aristide, not once but twice. The same foreign actors rigged the post-earthquake election so that the candidate Michel Martelly, who received under 20 per cent of the vote, was placed in the runoff and eventually elected Haitian president.
Haiti is in the current situation because it has been meddled with by foreign countries, namely the United States, France, and Canada. It has been viewed through historic lenses as the nation which had the nerve to stand up and fight back and it has never been forgiven. This is seen in how Haiti is spoken of in derogatory terms, how its leaders are insulted in front of their faces, and how its people are treated as third class citizens when they go abroad.
The crime epidemic currently haunting Haiti is an example of foreign interference: comprador agents acting to destabilise a country and a pliant international community willing to go along with the destabilisation efforts lest they be directed at them. The guns currently entering Haiti have been credibly linked as entering through ports and airports owned by a very rich man in Haiti, and it is known that the gangs in Haiti currently terrorising the people have been receiving their guns and ammunition from the elites as they seek to terrorise the populace into accepting things such as mass privatisations and the re-writing of the Haitian constitution.
This very rich man in Haiti has been sanctioned for dealing with gangs and crimes against humanity yet he remains untouched by the US who view him as a useful asset in dealing with Haitian internal affairs. It is people like him and his ilk who are the ones seeking to damage Haiti and keep it on its knees so they can continue to make unfettered profits on the backs of the Haitian workers.
Countries like Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, small nations which are already experiencing high levels of crime linked to their upper classes, are reluctant to take a bold stand on Haiti lest they see an upsurge in violence in their countries. Their reluctance to stand up to the foreign interference will harm us if they continue, as stability cannot be brought to Haiti through external actors.
The danger of a good example remains the reason why Haiti is forced into impoverishment. The danger is that if they do well on their own, managing their own resources then maybe Jamaica, Ghana, and Indonesia may get ideas of doing things differently. The racist aspect of the need to keep Haiti down may have diminished — and even then only a little — but the need to snuff out a good example remains.
What Haiti needs is to be left alone by the major powers and allowed to develop along its own desired path. What is also needed is for the US, Canada, and France, starting with France, to repay Haiti the national treasure which they have looted from their coffers. Countries in CARICOM and the broader region must provide the defence against external intervention and venues where dialogue can take place so the Haitian people can be the masters of their destiny and decisions on how to go forward are made by Haitian people.
We should not be providing troops, we should be calling out the Haitian oligarchs and their international backers who have unleashed this bloodshed. We should not be acting as proxies of the powers who have so destroyed and undermined Haiti, we should be standing with the people who have demanded no intervention and the reining in of their oligarchs who fund the gangs. We should not be assisting the corrupt political class which has acted as compradors, we should be uplifting the people and empowering them.
We who are beneficiaries of the actions Haiti took over 200 years ago owe it to Haiti to stand up for their sovereignty and insist that those who have held Haiti back, both internally and externally, be held to account. We must move against attempts to make Haiti the test subject of the Americas and global south where rights are stripped away from people and oligarchs rule the roost unimpeded. The Haitian people have made their voices heard even in the face of great violence and it is now on us — those in solidarity with the people — to pressure our governments to abandon military intervention and seek to empower the Haitian people.
