Haiti, a nation about the size of Maryland located in the Caribbean, has both one of the most interesting and at the same time, ugliest histories of any other nation in the western hemisphere. Today, as you read on, another chapter of that history is being written with the blood of many. And the U.S. reaction has been extremely cautious.
We don’t have a clear policy towards the current crisis, just as we didn’t have a clear policy towards Charles Taylor in Liberia, ironically a nation founded by freed slaves, when that crisis erupted last summer. We don’t have any particular interests in common with their population. They do not have any natural resources for us to exploit. Therefore, policy makers only act when the sabers rattle too loudly. The news out of Haiti is getting too loud and our position is not clear. It’s time for an American reaction.
The United States has been a major role player in the history of Haiti though few here realize that. Haiti unfortunately is one of the most ignored nations in the western hemisphere.
Haiti is absolutely fascinating. Its culture is very rich and its past is romantic. On a tiny island we see a microcosm of all the good and bad that can result from political struggles. For centuries Haiti had been different and in many ways still is. When native populations were killed off by invading conquerors, the island was re-populated with slaves from Africa to keep production at sufficient levels for demanding Europeans. The infusion of African culture mixed with the many centuries of interaction with French and Spanish colonizers resulted in the creation of one of the richest cultures conceivable. The small nation became the first independent black republic in 1804 when it declared its independence from France. It was to become the idol of black populations everywhere who aspired for freedom from colonization. Haiti was the first to abolish slavery. Here in the United States the dark history of slavery would continue to be written for 60 more years and the effects of that system linger on till today.
Today, more than any other place in the western hemisphere, Haiti needs help. The president of the nation has relinquished power, for the second time now. Rebels are asserting that his election in 2000 was tampered with, and this is becoming more evident with every new report out of Haiti. Many of these rebels have blood stained hands. Some of the leaders of these groups were responsible for coups that overthrew the government several times after the end of the Duvalier rule in 1986.
The west has not been fair to Haiti and this must change. If there is one word to describe Haiti’s history with western powers, it would be exploitation. From being the richest colony in the world Haiti has become one of the poorest nations on earth. President Jean-Bertrand Aristede disbanded the military and was only being kept in power by a police force in Port-au-Prince. Everyone but the Haitian people has profited from Haiti. For the past century, the nation has experienced American military occupation and one of the most brutal dictatorial regimes in the western hemisphere. Not to mention harsh economic circumstances that were both due to internal corruption and external influences. Historians estimate that up to 60,000 Haitians lost their lives to the Duvalier regimes and countless others have been injured.
Perhaps the pinnacle of hypocrisy in American foreign policy is the standards used to determine political asylum. Every years Cubans who make it to American shores receive political asylum because they are coming from communist Cuba. As politically repressive as Castro’s regime might be, no one will be able to convince me that Cubans deserve political asylum more than Haitians. Anyone who has studied recent Haitian history will see that the Duvalier regimes, which went about enforcing policy by using machete-wielding secret police, will realize that quality of life in Haiti is much worse than in Cuba. Sure, political freedoms in Cuba are repressed but Haiti has experienced governments that make Castro look like a benevolent saint.
Sure, Cuba is communist, and here we don’t like communists, but Haitians have it much worse since almost 80 percent live in abject poverty.
So what’s the reality?
The reality is we have a problem accepting immigrants in this country and we pick and choose who we want. The reality is Haitians deserve to be welcomed. The reality is over 90 percent of Haitians are black, and this has played a major role in its history.
The reality is racism and racist policies are still evident here in the United States, and it continues to be the plague that Haiti has overcome and we, in the “developed” world, have yet to cure.
Yousef Munayyer is a Collegian columnist.
