The independence of the Haitian people began with Toussaint Louverture in 1791 and culminated with Jean Jacques Dessalines on January 1, 1804, paving the way for the independence of the countries that make up America today for all the descendants of the African diaspora in the Americas and the Caribbean.
Haiti’s constitution of 1805, the most advanced of the time, declared in Article I, “The people who inhabit this island, called Santo Domingo, have formed a free, sovereign and independent State, under the name of Haiti.” This article re-established the name of Haiti or Ayti, which is the name given to the island by the original Arawaks. The word “Ayti” translates as “mountainous lands.”
The new nation’s independence leaders were of African origin and were paying tribute to the Indigenous people of these lands. Article I of the Haitian constitution was an unprecedented act of decolonization in the libertarian struggles of the planet—decolonization begins by dismantling the names imposed by a colonizer.
Article 2 stated that slavery was abolished, making Haiti the first country to end enslavement. Article 3 said that Haitian citizens are brothers at home, equal in the eyes of the law. Article 12 established that “no white man of any nation shall put his foot on this territory with the title of master or proprietor, neither shall he in future acquire any property.”
Unlike the constitutions of Latin America, which imposed the Catholic, apostolic, and Roman religion, the Haitian constitution was far ahead of its time, affirming in its Articles 50 and 51 that the law does not recognize any dominant religion and acknowledges the freedom of worship.
The arrival of Papa bon ké (Father with a good heart)
In 1806, Dessalines was assassinated due to internal political conflicts, and General Alexandre Pétion arrived. Known as “Papa bon ké” (Father with a good heart), Pétion governed the island from 1806 to 1818. The South American liberator Simón Bolívar turned to Papa bon ké for help to fulfill his dream of liberating Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
In a letter to President Pétion in 1816, Bolivar wrote: “I beg your excellency to accept with the indulgence you have always treated me, the candid expression of unlimited admiration for your virtues, respect for your talent and gratitude for your favors.” Without Papa bon ké, Bolivar would not have achieved his utopia.
Haiti’s sun shone throughout the Americas. It was the first country on Earth to create an African diaspora army that, with its courage and ethics, liberated other peoples. That act was something that the world’s Western powers would not forgive Haiti for.
From Duvalier to today’s criminal gangs
France, the United States, and the Roman Concordat began the dismantling of Haitian hope. Invasions and blockades followed, and the Haitian dream became a nightmare. Haiti was left alone, totally isolated.
Then came the dictatorship of François “Papa Doc” Duvalier and his paramilitary gangs, called the Tonton Macoutes. They are the origin of the current bloodthirsty gangs that have destroyed the Haitian people through military interventions; economic pressure from France, Germany, the United States, and puppet governments. Inclement hurricanes; earthquakes like the one in 2010 that killed more than 200,000 people, then the earthquake of 2021 with more than 2,000 deaths; governmental instability and the introduction of drug trafficking, as well as arms trafficking, the creation of paramilitary gangs; and the failure of United Nations troops from 2014 through 2017.
Currently, two gangs are in control of Haiti. One is the G-9, led by Jimmy Chérizier, nicknamed “Barbecue,” who controls Port-au-Prince, and the other is the G-PEP, which controls Cité Soleil. Most of the weapons that both groups possess come from the United States, specifically from Florida, Texas, and Georgia.
The Venezuelan committee, in solidarity with Haiti, formed by the Venezuelan parliamentary group with Haiti (Deputy Guarnieri, Casimira Monasterio, and Roraima Gutierrez, the Federation of Haiti in Venezuela, and the Afro Venezuelan movements) are urgently calling for the creation of a sanitary and food corridor for the Haitian people. The community of Latin American and Caribbean states call for peace to be implemented through a political solution and the denouncing of United States’ arms dealers supplying criminal gangs in Haiti. Setting clear rules for a Haitian committee of ethical leaders who can call for elections with international observation should take place as soon as possible.
Haiti’s history is so sad particularly given its natural beauty. A relative of mine was apparently nearly murdered on more than one occasion by the Tonton Macoutes in the 1970s during what appeared to be a botched coup by the CIA in Port au Prince intended to topple Duvalier Junior.
If you are as intrigued as I am by Haiti and have fond memories of the Hôtel Oloffson in Port au Prince, Cap Haitien and even the slums in Cité Soleil, you should enjoy reading the fact based spy novel Beyond Enkription in TheBurlingtonFiles series.
However, if you think spy novels can only be written by John le Carré you may not appreciate this sui generis work. Nevertheless, it has been heralded by one US critic as “being up there with My Silent War by Kim Philby and No Other Choice by George Blake”.
No matter what, being fact based, Beyond Enkription is so realistic that it is hardly surprising it is allegedly mandatory reading on some countries’ intelligence induction programs.