Many outside observers assume Haiti’s extreme level of poverty and instability is a random misfortune, but a basic understanding of Haiti’s history tells a different story.
In a powerful article in the Mennonite Weekly Review, Theo Sitther from MCC’s Washington Office examines Haiti in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. With an eye toward the historical process leading to the current situation, he looks for a better path forward:
The story of Haiti is one of survival in spite of tremendous odds. Mennonite Central Committee partners there often put their analysis of Haiti’s current situation in a historical context.
The story begins in 1804, the year of Haiti’s independence from French colonization and slavery, and the establishment of the first black republic. But the United States, France and Spain, fearing slave rebellions in their own countries and colonies, punished Haiti with trade embargoes. Over the years, hardship continued, with multiple U.S. military interventions, the accumulation of debt by dictators and unjust trade and economic policies throughout the 1990s.
Even the impact of the 2010 earthquake, a natural event, was made far more disastrous by human factors. Many farmers had migrated to cities like Port-au-Prince because they could no longer make a living — due in part to the cheap imported rice from the United States.
However, response to the 2010 crisis presented an opportunity for change.