Why the US Owes Haiti Billions

Men yon atik pou alimante deba yo.
Mwen poste l san komante.
Kounyea, nou kapab komante pwen pa pwen e bay reyaksyion nou.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------





Published on Sunday, January 17, 2010 by CommonDreams.org

Why the US Owes Haiti Billions – The Briefest History
by Bill Quigley

Why does the US owe Haiti Billions? Colin Powell, former US Secretary of State, stated his foreign policy view as the "Pottery Barn rule." That is - "if you break it, you own it."

The US has worked to break Haiti for over 200 years. We owe Haiti. Not charity. We owe Haiti as a matter of justice. Reparations. And not the $100 million promised by President Obama either - that is Powerball money. The US owes Haiti Billions - with a big B.

The US has worked for centuries to break Haiti. The US has used Haiti like a plantation. The US helped bleed the country economically since it freed itself, repeatedly invaded the country militarily, supported dictators who abused the people, used the country as a dumping ground for our own economic advantage, ruined their roads and agriculture, and toppled popularly elected officials. The US has even used Haiti like the old plantation owner and slipped over there repeatedly for sexual recreation.

Here is the briefest history of some of the major US efforts to break Haiti.

In 1804, when Haiti achieved its freedom from France in the world's first successful slave revolution, the United States refused to recognize the country. The US continued to refuse recognition to Haiti for 60 more years. Why? Because the US continued to enslave millions of its own citizens and feared recognizing Haiti would encourage slave revolution in the US.

After the 1804 revolution, Haiti was the subject of a crippling economic embargo by France and the US. US sanctions lasted until 1863. France ultimately used its military power to force Haiti to pay reparations for the slaves who were freed. The reparations were 150 million francs. (France sold the entire Louisiana territory to the US for 80 million francs!)

Haiti was forced to borrow money from banks in France and the US to pay reparations to France. A major loan from the US to pay off the French was finally paid off in 1947. The current value of the money Haiti was forced to pay to French and US banks? Over $20 Billion - with a big B.

The US occupied and ruled Haiti by force from 1915 to 1934. President Woodrow Wilson sent troops to invade in 1915. Revolts by Haitians were put down by US military - killing over 2000 in one skirmish alone. For the next nineteen years, the US controlled customs in Haiti, collected taxes, and ran many governmental institutions. How many billions were siphoned off by the US during these 19 years?

From 1957 to 1986 Haiti was forced to live under US backed dictators "Papa Doc" and "Baby Doc" Duvlaier. The US supported these dictators economically and militarily because they did what the US wanted and were politically "anti-communist" - now translatable as against human rights for their people. Duvalier stole millions from Haiti and ran up hundreds of millions in debt that Haiti still owes. Ten thousand Haitians lost their lives. Estimates say that Haiti owes $1.3 billion in external debt and that 40% of that debt was run up by the US-backed Duvaliers.

Thirty years ago Haiti imported no rice. Today Haiti imports nearly all its rice. Though Haiti was the sugar growing capital of the Caribbean, it now imports sugar as well. Why? The US and the US dominated world financial institutions - the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank - forced Haiti to open its markets to the world. Then the US dumped millions of tons of US subsidized rice and sugar into Haiti - undercutting their farmers and ruining Haitian agriculture. By ruining Haitian agriculture, the US has forced Haiti into becoming the third largest world market for US rice. Good for US farmers, bad for Haiti.

In 2002, the US stopped hundreds of millions of dollars in loans to Haiti which were to be used for, among other public projects like education, roads. These are the same roads which relief teams are having so much trouble navigating now!

In 2004, the US again destroyed democracy in Haiti when they supported the coup against Haiti's elected President Aristide.

Haiti is even used for sexual recreation just like the old time plantations. Check the news carefully and you will find numerous stories of abuse of minors by missionaries, soldiers and charity workers. Plus there are the frequent sexual vacations taken to Haiti by people from the US and elsewhere. What is owed for that? What value would you put on it if it was your sisters and brothers?

US based corporations have for years been teaming up with Haitian elite to run sweatshops teeming with tens of thousands of Haitians who earn less than $2 a day.

The Haitian people have resisted the economic and military power of the US and others ever since their independence. Like all of us, Haitians made their own mistakes as well. But US power has forced Haitians to pay great prices - deaths, debt and abuse.

It is time for the people of the US to join with Haitians and reverse the course of US-Haitian relations.

This brief history shows why the US owes Haiti Billions - with a big B. This is not charity. This is justice. This is reparations. The current crisis is an opportunity for people in the US to own up to our country's history of dominating Haiti and to make a truly just response.

(For more on the history of exploitation of Haiti by the US see: Paul Farmer, The Uses of Haiti [1]; Peter Hallward, Damming the Flood [2]; and Randall Robinson, An Unbroken Agony [3])

Bill is Legal Director at the Center for Constitutional Rights and a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans. He is a Katrina survivor and has been active in human rights in Haiti for years with the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. Quigley77@gmail.com [4]




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Article printed from www.CommonDreams.org

URL to article: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/01/17-6

(En vrac)

Malerezman ke gen yon jenerasyon Ayisyen ak sa ki de movèz fwa se Clinton y'ap koute ki ap di Ayisyen pou yo gade devan. Si Ayisyen ki di yo se save te konen vrè istwa peyi a, yo pata chita ap repete sa marchand de rêves ap promè yo.

Si nou pa konen ki sa ki te pase anvan kouman pou nou ka al pi devan, kouman pou nou pran prop desizyon nou. Mwen pa alèz pou diskite ak Keen ou byen ak Kami paske yo on ti jan mixed-up sou kestyon Ayiti a. Menm devan levidans gen Ayisyen tou ou gen moun ki rete tras Ayiti lan yo ki pè èdi avantaj, privilèj, benefis ou byen charite yo. Ou ta di yon bann ONG. Poutan, nou panse senpleman ke tout moun gen dwa jwen yon moso trankilite sou tè sa a.

Sa pa fè lontan mwen t'ap li ke majorite moun peyi a se rakay. San nou pa bezwen antre lan yon bann detay, gen yon tandans lakay anpil neg ak fanm, se meprize prop tèt yo.

M'ap di Sasaye mèsi tout bon pou atikl sa a e pou lyen ak yo. Nou gen yon travay konsyantizasyon ki enpótan. Nou pa gen repitasyon vandal, teroris men mwen fatige ak house slaves ki refize rekonèt ke ''Bon Dye'' yo a pou anpil lan tribulasyon pèp Ayisyen. Li fasil jodi a pou n'ap tande tou patou ke nou se yon pèp rezilyan kom si zot te espere ke sa fè lontan nou ta dwe ap mache de bra lage. Antouka sa fè lontan pozisyon pa'm klè: nou kapabl.

Pa okipe w, se menm jan yo konn ap di ke se Ayisyen ki detrui anvironman e ki finn debwaze prop peyi yo. Apre 4 syèk yo te finn detrui flore peyi a pou plante kann ak kafe, digo elatrey, koupe tou bon bwa ki te ekziste pou fè mèbl. Yon kite vye abitid yo bay yon pèp dezeuvre lè yo te deja finn piye tè a.

Yo panse ke trajedi Ayiti a se jis fot Ayisyen, se fou nou ye, se fanatik nou ye, jis paske nou pa lan kache la verite. E pi, si mwen pa lan zanmitaj ak white liberals, sa pa vle di ke se manti ke yo ap bay. Lè mwen te konn ap seye diskite ak fanmi mwen, prop zanmi mwen, gen ki te konn pran mwen pou yon fou, yon Don Quichotte.

Li lè pou nou sispann repete betiz ke Ayiti se te la Perle des Antilles. Ayiti depi 1804 se yon peyi ki ap goumen. Ayiti anvan 1492, se te paradi terès. Ayiti Hispagnola ki te fè plas bay Ayiti Saint Domingue te la Perle des Antilles pou rezon ke yo te souse e moun e flore, e faune e sous-sol li. Ayiti ke nou erite a pat janm la Perle des Antilles. Moun k'ap ki pou Ayiti retounen la Perle des Antilles bezwen ekzorsize yo de move rèv sila. Si se pou jan yo kontinye ap eksplwate'l ap maspinen'l, pou jan yon frenk kare konvwate tout resous li yo, ke se richès natirèl, ke se resous imèn, si e etranje e Ayisyen frenk kare meprize, eksplwate majorite popilasyon'l eh byen nou toujou rete la Perle des Antilles... Hummm.

Atik sa a chaje ak fay, li montre kareman ke se pa Ayiti ke y ap defann vre men yon lòt bagay ke otè a pa di. Kòman fè ke otè a pa mansyone anbago total kapital ki mete Ayiti a jenou an 1991-1994 lan? Kòman li fè pa mansyone okipasyon 1994 lan nonplis? Eske se enpòtan ke sa pa enpòtan? ...oubyen eske genyen yon bagay ke l ap kache oubyen defann?

Mwen li ke "militan se pa mwen se yo" yo toujou rete nan menm estad yo. Si se vre ke se lòt moun ki anpeche Ayisyen fè pou peyi yo, ebyen moun ki panse konsa yo rasist. Wi yo rasist paske endirèkteman yo di kareman ke Ayisyen se yon pèp ki sòt, ki manke yon kwomozòm, ki pa ka pote solisyon ak oken pwoblèm ki parèt devan yo, rasist sa yo asime kareman ke Ameriken pi entèlijan pase Ayisyen. Kòman Kiba fè reziste? ...se pa sèl pò pa nou ki louvri pou le mond antye, se menm sitiyasyon an ki genyen nan tout karayib lan, men kòman fè se nou ki pi mal? ...Eske se yo ki te fè ke nouvèl òd mondyal lan te bare peyizan nou yo ak wou ak sèpèt nan men yo jiska prezan pandan ke se gwo machinri k ap fè bagay konsa tout lòt kote.

Tèz pa m se pa defann Ameriken, men plito se mande kòman fè ke Ayisyen pa ka defann tèt pa yo, peyi yo? Anplis mwen twouve ke politik "se pa mwen se yo" a se yon politik pou moun parese, pou fenyan. Mwen panse ke youn nan vrè problèm peyi an se politik sa a menm.