Haiti… From Independence To Foreign Interference

Stop saying Haiti is “the poorest country in…” use a different tagline!

IN THE NEWS:

After the July 7, 2021, assassination of Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moïse, the news from this Caribbean country has been coming to us at a fast clip. We won’t entertain you with dramatic headlines from Haiti — that is the job of our news agencies, who mention Haiti (or other countries for that matter) only in moments of crisis.

Shortly after the assassination, Haiti’s government asked for our help in the form of military troops. This request was rejected by the Biden Administration. Interestingly, it was also rejected by many Haitians.

The theme that caught our attention about Haiti is the extent to which America has played a role in its history. But the history of foreign interference in Haiti runs deeper than that. And learning about Haiti from an outsider’s perspective, leave our country alone seems to be a refrain on the lips of most Haitians, in Haiti as well as in the diaspora.

It is also the one-liner that was shared with us by Professor Robert Fatton, Jr., who hates to give one-liners. In a fascinating podcast conversation, Professor Fatton shares the incredibly complex history of Haiti — a history of glorious…