Haiti’s Crisis, Because They Dared to Be Free

By Norman Franklin

Norman Franklin

Haiti is in a crisis again. There is political crisis, street gang violence, humanitarian crisis, and the perennial problems of squalor and poverty crisis.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. The median annual income for a Haitian family is $450. Nearly 60 percent of the nation lives in poverty. But there is a backstory, a cause and effect. The spirit of revolution is contagious. The American colonies won independence from Britain in 1783. The Haitian Revolution began in 1791. The thirteen-year war for independence ended in 1804 with the expulsion of the French colonial slave masters.

America and Haiti were the first two nations to throw off the yoke of colonial rule in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti was the first free nation self-governed by former African slaves. This development put the colonies in a predicament, a conundrum: recognize Haiti as a legitimate free nation and destroy the economic vibrancy of chattel slavery. America held to the fundamental belief that Blacks were incapable of self-determination and that their ineptitude suited them for the perpetual status as slaves; that belief undergirded the economic system of this nascent world power.

The slave owners wielded significant sway in the decisions and policies of America. The United States didn’t recognize the Black Republic until 1862. The war to abolish slavery in America was underway.

The creed of the southern slaveowners became the character trait of the South and influenced the policies of America. The tenacles of Black Codes and codified Jim Crow segregation reached well into the twentieth century. Southern Democrats held hostage New Deal legislation and passage of the GI Bill unless there were restrictions to African American access to the benefits.

Haiti was a pariah nation from the start of its independence; an aberration in an era where White-led nations were prospering from racist exploitation of Africans. The loss of Haiti, the most profitable colony in the French empire, sent seismic shock waves throughout global markets. Slave labor produced sugar, coffee and other cash crops for France. Items in great demand by the “civilized” world.

The Haitian Revolution and the loss of revenue from its most lucrative colony, coupled with Napoleon’s European conquest depleted the treasury of France. America can thank Haiti for the Louisiana Purchase. It forced the land sale to fund Napoleon’s war and doubled the size of the U.S.

In 1825, France strong armed the struggling new nation into a debt agreement that would take more than a century to repay. With fourteen warships, and 500 cannons sitting offshore, Haitian leaders agreed to pay France 150 million gold francs. It’s an amount 10 times the amount the U.S. paid for the new territory.

Haiti was forced to borrow 30 million francs from French banks to meet payments. They defaulted. In 1838, with another show of power by their former master, 12 warships were sent to Haiti. In a demonstration of compassion, France reduced the balance due to 60 million francs. Haiti was ordered to borrow; the debt annihilated domestic growth and relegated the nation to perpetual impoverishment.

The debt payments were 10 times Haiti’s annual budget. The 90 million francs was five times France’s annual budget. Slavery by another name.

Haitian leadership levied heavy taxes on the people to generate revenue for loan payments. Projects to develop a national school system were delayed. The debt burden drained the national treasury and underfunded education, impaired the development of the health care system and the public infrastructure. It took 122 years to pay off the debt. Final payment was made in 1947. Haiti paid France, in current dollars, $30 billion in principal and interest.

Haiti paid twice for its independence; first with their blood, and second with their hope for independence, the resources to build sustainability.

The unrest in Haiti is the language of the voiceless. America has been complicit in the metastasized squalor of Haiti.

The Washington administration aided France with supplies and men. The United States worked to isolate Haiti in the 1800s, and invaded and occupied the Republic for nearly 20 years in the early 20th century. They removed a half million dollars from Haitian control, deposited it in New York banks, and seized control of Haiti’s banks to protect American assets.

The independent Black Republic 1800 miles to the south has served as America’s unsung tool of convenience; it catches the dirt. It is used only when it serves our purpose. The maltreatment of this Black Republic has not gone unnoticed. Fredric Douglas, who served as U.S. Minister to Haiti from 1889-91, resigned in protest over U.S policy toward Haiti.

More recently, Ambassador Daniel Foote, appointed special envoy to Haiti, resigned in protest over the Biden administration’s policy toward Haitian refugees. Foote wrote, “ I will not be associated with the United States’ inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees.”

Hidden behind the massive number of Hispanics at the Southern border, are thousands of Haitian refugees. Most left Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and settled in Chile, unwelcomed, discriminated against, and fearful of the future. The administration is sending thousands back to the disaster zone. Many of those deported are children who have never lived in Haiti.

Haitians, it seems, are cursed because they dared to be free at a time when Black independence was unthinkable.