The history of this land is one above all dominated by violence: initially (almost all its original Indian inhabitants having died of European diseases) pirates; then repeated invasions and colonial attempts by Spain, England, and finally France; then two centuries of colonial slavery of the most brutal variety. African diseases killed most of the Europeans (the one-year survival rate was 25%), and European diseases and slave abuses killed the African slaves faster than they could multiply… so there was a constant tide of newly-enslaved Africans pouring into the country. Slaves outnumbered their European masters by about 10 to 1, resulting in a brutal tyranny to keep them in check. A number of relatively small slave uprisings preceded the uprising which ultimately terminated slavery (by whites) in Haiti, and created the only successful slave-revolt with consequent “freedom” of a country in modern history. its violence was matched only by that which preceded it, and ultimately led to the extermination of all remaining Europeans in Haiti.
Tragically, “freedom” brought only tyranny under new names. The 19th century was one long succession of “revolutions” as one tyranny replaced another. There were a few periods of relative enlightenment, but they quickly gave way to the dominating chaos. This chaos only intensified in the early years of the 20th century, and ultimately led to yet one more enslavement: invasion by the United States (to protect “American interests” and pre-empt a possible invasion by some European power, especially Germany). American power was for the most part vested in white southerners, who “knew how to handle blacks” — with entirely too predictable results.
With other fish to fry, the United States
finally tired of its big brother rôle and withdrew, leaving the
government of Haiti in the hands of a “freely-elected” (and acceptable)
body of politicians. They didn’t last long. Turmoil upon turmoil
ultimately led to the Duvalier dynasty… not much chaos, but a
systematic extermination of opponents and perhaps the most thoroughly
tyrannical government the Western Hemisphere has known, apart from the
colonial establishments. Then more chaos, and yet another invasion by
the United States (under the aegis of the Organization of American
States).
When I first came to Haiti, the American “presence” was
still powerful, though largely contained within its barracks beside the
International Airport. United Nations forces were everywhere, though
at least ostensibly not in a military capacity. The country still had
the look and feel of an occupied territory, though it was nominally
governed by an elected president, etc. I say nominally… for the prime
minister had resigned and was never replaced, and the legislature had
disbanded itself and refused to govern. Chaos again… more or less,
nothing was happening.
Within the past year, a current of change has been felt. Garbage trucks (though thoroughly inadequate to the task) began to appear. Widespread repair of the most badly damaged roads was evident, even if incredibly slow and chaotic (even today, I came across workers trundling wheelbarrows of rock, dust and refuse to dump in occasional potholes, later to be somewhat smoothed out with shovels). An energetic (and thoroughly overworked) police force tries valiantly to get to and untangle the worst traffic jams.
Although I once said I would avoid it, I arrived for this mission trip just in time to be in Haiti for a government transition. My work took me out of Port-au-Prince for the day itself (with considerable gratitude!), but I seem to have been present to witness a miracle. For what I think is only the fourth time in the history of the country (too much backtracking research to be absolutely certain of the figure), an elected president has left office peacefully and alive, to be replaced by a newly-elected president. The city and the country are calm, and life goes on. Of course… this is only day six!
My impression is
that, although many criticisms can be leveled at Aristide, he has the
overwhelming backing of his countrymen, and a vision of a Haiti very
different from the horrors of the past. All those with concern for
this country and its people (and all should have) should be praying
ardently that he will not betray this trust, and that the Lord will
guide him and those who govern with him to accomplish the miracle Haiti
so desperately needs. Above all, stability! Then, the will to tackle
the seemingly insurmountable problems of “infrastructure”. They will
need the Lord’s help, an inpouring of foreign aid (carefully supervised
to prevent its corruption for private gain), and an army of good-willed
helpers from abroad with skills and energy. There are many here, and
many more are needed. There is a spirit of cautious optimism here.
May it prove to be well-founded!