Imagine a typical day doing the usual chores of gathering supplies like water, cloth or food. The market is busy with bartering for things taken for granted in northern continents. Children were running and playing among refuse materials on dirty streets. Conditions were poor. Then suddenly, the entire ground and every standing structure began to shake and fall. At that moment, it seemed as if the whole world was crumbling around the people of a nation that was already hurting. A devastating 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in January of 2010. Four years later, a helicopter tour would reveal that rebuilding has not been 100% completed. The earth’s epileptic seizure had a huge impact on the conditions in Haiti today. Although AIDS was already rampant before the earthquake, disease was worsened by the resurgence of cholera (Kashmira et. al., 2011). This paper suggests that there are at least three historical factors that have negatively impacted the terrible conditions that existed before the earthquake and the viscous restoration process afterwards. These factors include the 1825 settlement between Haiti and France, the relationship between the US and Haiti as well as the Duvalier dictatorships of 1957-1986.
The high-priced cost imposed on Haiti for having its freedom and independence recognized was 150 million gold francs (Rogozinski, 1992). France demanded this sum of money in 1825 which was more than twice the net value of Haiti’s worth at that time. Even though the amount was reduced by 60 million gold francs in 1838, it would still take nearly 100 years to pay this high-interest debt. Even if the fact that Haiti was independent could be celebrated, the individual citizens had to work extremely hard while losing much of their earnings to help pay for this debt. The people of Haiti were collectively subject to this debt under threat of recolonization. In order to make the first payment, a structural adjustment led to the closing of all public schools. None of the sugar and other product exports was helpful with paying these funds to the French as that would have hurt the profits of Haiti’s elite. Since schools were not available for a vast period while this money was paid to France, generations of Haitian people were not educated. Any monetary benefits from the sale of natural resources and crops as well as future development would not be controlled not by the victims of the 1825 settlement. Instead, they would be controlled by the vultures that saw the opportunity to kick Haiti while it was down.
The American occupation of Haiti from 1915 to 1934 took place under the orders of President Woodrow Wilson. It was not a loving hug from good old Uncle Sam. However, some historical documents might paint a rosy picture of this occupation and make it smell great as well. The U.S. Marines were deployed to Haiti at the time of civil unrest. The documented intent was to improve Haitian society, economics and political order. In fact, looking through rose-colored glass revealed some positive aspects of the U.S involvement. For instance, the intellectual and militaristic resistance brought about some unity among the Haitians. There were great improvements made in the infrastructure and there was military stabilization. At a time when there was such disorder in Haiti, improvements were important. Yet the old saying about the ease of conquering divided people rings true in this 19 year period of American poking and prodding. The truth is that these so-called positive attributes collectively precipitated negative effects on the Haitian people. First, the attitudes that allowed for segregation and racist ideology in the American southern states were imposed on Haitians as well. In addition, they were treated like ignorant savages. Racism served to hurt the self-esteem of the people. The light-skinned, socially elevated people of Haiti experienced the negative, American presence. They naturally expected better treatment because they believed themselves to be superior to their lower class, darker Haitian counterparts. In an act of resistance, these socially elite people further distanced themselves from their brethren and the Americans successfully kept this country divided while forcing them under one umbrella as peasants. Finally, the American presence was too much like the return of slavery for the poor. Under the Corvee law, they were pressed into forced labor to build railways and roads (Trouillot, 1990). In what seemed as an act of contradiction, the U.S. ended the occupation while leaving control in the hands of the elite, fair-complexion political puppets like Philippe Sudre Dartiguenavve, Louis Borno and Stenio Vincent (Renda, 2001). These men didn’t help their people. If nothing else, they served as proof that the U.S. hateful intrusion upon Haiti during this period successfully widened the gap between the elite and poor people. There was no strong middle class. This problem gripped the future of Haiti to such a detrimental extreme that it contributed to the weakness of the country today.
Criminals were unleashed during the earthquake by fallen buildings. (Pape et. al., 2010). A wave of crime on a grand scale also came earlier when the Duvalier regime came to power. Francois Duvalier declared himself to be president for life in 1964 after he initially took this place in 1957. He was formerly known as the Daddy Doctor (nicknamed Papa Doc) because he was a success physician. Francois and his son, Jean-Claude Duvalier contributed to the destruction of Haiti by tormenting the people, changing the composition of the legislature and misappropriating funds. Francois recruited and established a militia called the Tonton Macoute that served his greed for absolute power. Under his rule and that of his son, over 100,000 Haitians were murdered thus proving him to be no less evil than other historical dictators such as Idi Amin and Robert Mugabe. Anyone who spoke against his laws or presence in power was subject to terror and death at Fort Dimanche. The Duvalier dictatorship haunted Haiti with voodoo and 9 to 15 thousand gun-bearing bogeymen. Francois filled all governmental cabinet seats with his own followers, maintained a gang of bodyguards as his advisers and expelled foreigners including Catholic bishops. Finally, Francois’ son (also known as Baby Doc) made financial conditions worse for Haiti. Extravagant spending habits included a $3 million dollar wedding. Jean Claude didn’t use any of the help from the U.S. to help his struggling country before fleeing in 1986. The total consequences of the Duvalier period can be summarized in three sentences. The poor living conditions conjured diseases such as AIDS and African swine fever, tourism suffered, and the economy was ravaged. The small segment of Haitians who were educated fled for a chance to have a better life. Meanwhile, illiteracy and starvation prevailed. (Ferguson, 1987)
In conclusion, the three events discussed here each contributed their own poison to the condition of Haiti before and after the 2010 earthquake. Sending massive sums of money to France set them up for poverty and subsequent civil unrest. This created an existence of neediness in time for the phony, self-serving North American vultures. The U.S. left Haiti psychologically, socially and economically dehydrated. The corrupt Duvalier regime brought on a tsunami of genocide and disease. In closing, imagine a one-legged homeless man stripped of a productive mindset. His cup of coins had a giant hole in the bottom though he tried to work for more coins. His other leg was removed with a butter knife and no anesthetic. Bandages, medicine and money for recovery were sitting right beside him but he could not access them for cleaning and healing his wounds. This scenario is synonymous with Haiti in 2010. Had it not been for the events with France in 1825, U.S. from 1915 to 1934 and the Duvalier dictatorship, Haiti might have had a stronger middle class and sense of unity that prevailed over social class. Instead of even distribution of funds for reconstruction, the president lives lavishly while the people protest in disgust. If incessant strife, crime and disease glued the past to the present, the earthquake came along and encapsulated the turmoil in aged wounds that had not healed.
Bibliography
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