Haitian Fight Song
Haiti suffers from a culture of ambivalence in the West, and it’s unfortunate.
Ask anyone on the street to name something notable about Haiti and most of the answers will include poverty, corruption and voodoo. That’s because the country is often on the list of the poorest nations in the world, economically speaking. Haiti is also known as the source of manufacture for baseballs [and softballs] used in the United States.
Inspired by the French Revolution, Haiti and the United States have a lot in common: both were former colonies that declared independence. Haiti, the former French Colony, became independent in 1804 after many years in revolution. The United States declared independence from Britain in 1776. Unfortunately, Haiti was overpowered by the US and used as a port for the movement of slaves. It was also exploited for its trees, which ruined the soil and natural landscape. By the 1970s, American companies set up factories in Haiti for the manufacture of baseballs because they could exploit the labour force; the majority of whom were low paid women.
Geopolitically speaking, the country is located between the proverbial rock and a hard place. To the East, Dominican Republic, a rich country full of tourists and the U.S. Army. To the West, Cuba: public enemy number one to the United States. Haitians have been squeezed out and worn out over the last 100 years.
Politically speaking, Haitian history is loaded with massacres [1937], corrupt leadership [Duvallier et al] and violence in the streets of Port-au-Prince. In 1991 when Aristide was elected, he was undermined by the Americans who sought to “enhance democracy”. Things have not been the same since. To be honest, it's a mess. The literacy rate is just above 50%. The AIDS epidemic is rampant and the weather has played a major role in ruining the land. Hurricanes often wash everything away except the poverty and the national debt.
What’s remarkable about the people of Haiti is their persistent desire for an egalitarian state. Their national motto is Union Makes Strength. [L'Union Fait La Force]
Perhaps we should let them get on with the job.
That’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.
posted by LeonT at 11:30 a.m.
1 Comments:
As one of the relatively few who has had the chance to visit Haiti, I concur with your analysis. I'll add only a couple of things based on my observations. First, it is indisputable that exploitation and negligence by foreign powers is at least part of the root of the country's woes. However, it is equally true that some Haitians are millionaires who have fought anything that would more evenly distribute the spoils, e.g. a properly functioning income tax system, so that they can literally look down from their priveleged perches the misery in Cite Soleil below. The second thing is that describing Haiti only as wretched perhaps paints a portrait of all-misery, all the time that is not quite accurate. I was astounded and impressed by the smiles I saw upon the faces of people who, apparently, had little or nothing to be happy about. I particularly recall little girls in pressed gingham dresses gaily jumping over the pools of fetid raw sewage in the road.
Keep up the good work.
5:01 p.m.
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