History shows why, after more than 200 years of independence, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. An article in the New York Times recalls how the former colonial power, France, and the current colonial power, the U.S., punished the former slaves for their temerity in throwing off both slavery and French colonial rule. For abolishing slavery, Washington refused to recognize its neighbouring republic for 60 years. By then, the French had virtually bankrupted Haiti through its demands for exorbitant reparations. Haiti was left in the grip of a chronic political instability that was exacerbated by foreign interests keen to exploit both its weakness and its resources.

In 1915 the U.S. occupied the country and ran it like a colony for nearly 20 years. The long-running dictatorship of Papa Doc Duvalier was supported by the U.S., as was the succession of his son, Baby Doc, until the latter's departure in 1986. The U.S. attempted to fix the first elections, a policy that led directly to the election-day violence in November 1987. When Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the hugely popular former priest, was finally elected president in 1991, he was ousted in a coup before the end of the year. President Clinton negotiated his return in 1994, on condition that he accept a U.S. blueprint for Haiti's economic development. When Aristide won a second election in 2001, he was again deposed in 2004 and forcibly flown by the Bush administration to exile in Africa, where he remains. His political party is still barred from participating in electoral politics. The current government is accused by human rights organizations of the arbitrary arrest, torture and imprisonment of its political opponents. Now America is back, leading a desperately needed humanitarian mission. Poor Haiti, so far from God, so near the U.S.A.!

Larry MacKillop

Nanton, AB.