The
earthquake in Haiti, by way of television, has given the world a glimpse of what
it is like to live and die in abject poverty. Granted much of world's peoples
have lived and died in poverty for centuries. But in 2010 such poverty should
be unthinkable.
The Haiti we see on our screens is unfortunately symbolic
of much of the history of that half of Hispaniola, at least since the Spanish
sea captain Christopher Columbus of Genoa sailed into their waters.
The
next four hundred years, Haitians as a people, seemed just born to die. Napoleon's
France made it a slave state. In 1804 both African and local Indians, rose up
and defeated the French, becoming independent Haiti.
As Haiti slaves celebrated
a new start, the North American leaders, administrations of Washington, Adams
and Jefferson were on trainer wheels, doing their best to make a go of it after
their hard-won freedom from the English.
You would think that men who
had just stood up against "taxes without representation, would be at the front
of the celebrating freedom parade with their newly free Caribbean neighbors.
No.
The U.S. government sided with the French against the slaves in their victory.
(Choosing the wrong partner at the dance has been one of our worst traits.)
We
even agreed with the French that the loss of all those slaves and produce cost
them money and demanded the Haitians pay France for that loss. That kept the Haitians
in debt for years. We went along with a blockade on Haiti.
Also the U.S.
government was a nation that allowed slavery. The Dred Scott Decision by the Supreme
Court of 1857, declared slaves were property, not persons. The plantation owners
and politicians in all the free and slave states feared such a revolt in their
prosperous cotton fields down south. U.S.
President Andrew Johnson (the same one who forced great sorrow for American Indians.
Remember the Trail of Tears.), in 1868, he suggested the annexation of the whole
island of Hispaniola -- present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic -- to secure
a US presence in the Caribbean. (No one was interested.)
From 1914 to
1935 American troops kept the "peace" in Haiti. Peace as in Cuba and other South
American countries allowed U.S. corporations to drain them dry and give them nothing.
(Sounds familiar?)
To make matters worst U.S. troops have twice (1991 and
2004) deposed and overthrown the democratly elected government of President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide. Vanessa Buschshluter, of BBC News, Washington wrote: "It would be nice
if Aristide were a saint. It's comfortable to take the side of a saint. But he
isn't one."
When Aristide (elected by popular vote) was president, many
died with only a few being brought to justice. Historians tell us Aristide did
not start out to be a brutal dictator, even though he was an improvement over
Francoius "Papa Doc" Duvalier and his son Jean-Claude ("Baby Doc") Duvalier. Such
is just a glimpse of the past.
Now, without latrines, electricity, water,
hospitals or government, comes the fear of cholera. The world-wide response to
the human suffering in funds and people for Haiti shows that most of the world
still cares for the less fortunate and the stricken. This help must continue for
at least a decade.
The hard-working, good people of Haiti deserves better
than their former leaders and from foreign interference. With the earthquake more
people around the world know how desperately Haiti needs and deserves a solid
new start. With helpers, even from our perceived enemies, of doctors, nurses and
specialists of all kinds a better world can emerge. Pray and pass the plate again.
NEW FEATURE: TRIVIA FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TRIVIA: Today, January 29th, is
the 222nd founding of today's Australia (know by some as Anniversary Day and by
others as "Invasion Day.")
Copyright
Britt Towery
Along the Way with Britt
1-29-10 Column
Britt Towery, humorist and columnist lives in San Angelo
Email:
bet@suddenlink.net
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