27 February, 2009

Haiti can teach you a lot about the harsh reality of social affairs.

From the grips of the most barbaric form of plantation economy sprung probably the greatest example of liberation in the history of humanity. The 1791-1804 Haitian Revolution was simultaneously a struggle against slavery, colonialism and white supremacy. Defeating the French, British and Spanish empires, it led to freedom for all people regardless of color, decades before this idea found traction in Europe or North America.

Unfortunately, Haiti’s history also demonstrates how fluidly Europe (and North America) moved from formal colonialism to neo-imperialism. Technically “independent” for more than two centuries, outsiders have long shaped the country’s affairs. Through isolation, economic asphyxiation, debt dependence, gunboat diplomacy, occupation, foreign supported dictatorships, structural adjustment programs and “democracy promotion” Haiti is no stranger to the various forms of foreign political manipulation. Most recently, the elected government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide was destabilized and then overthrown on February 29 2004 by the US, France and Canada, which ushered in a terrible wave of political repression and an ongoing UN occupation.
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