United Nations Special Envoy Bill Clinton (background) leads a delegation at a hospital in Port-o-Prince. (UN Photo/Logan Abassi.)
Haiti’s troubled history means the country has often been blamed for its own fate. But Haitians themselves, with a strong sense of historical memory, often talk about the revolution that freed their ancestors from slavery as though it happened last year. They are a proud nation with a rich culture and strong sense of community.
Edwidge Danticat. (Photo by David Shankbone.)
As international media descend on the desperation in Haiti in the aftermath of devastating earthquakes, writer Edwidge Danticat fears that Haiti’s complicated history may be forgotten. Haiti was a poor country for a reason. But this poverty kept Haitians united in ways many do not comprehend. Danticat says media images may focus on a few looters and desperate people doing desperate things. But the real story, Haitians helping Haitains, is largely being overlooked. And that, she says, is the real soul of Haiti.
Listen to Edwidge Danticat’s extended conversation with Maria Hinojosa.
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WATCH A SLIDESHOW AS YOUR HEAR THE EXTENDED CONVERSATION.
The border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic has a complicated history. (Flickr photo by inside disaster)
In 1804, Haiti declared its independence after a series of battles between French troops and slave armies. By 1809, some 10,000 former Saint-Domingue residents – many of them freed Blacks – had resettled en masse in New Orleans as a consequence. The success of the Haitian Revolution impressed Simon Bolivar, the great Latin American liberator, who received arms and finances from Haiti during some of his campaigns. Haiti’s only condition for that support was for Bolivar to free any slaves he encountered as he liberated former Spanish colonies.
In 1825, France sent a massive armada and threatened to retake its former colony. In exchange for recognizing Haiti’s independence, France imposed a massive foreign debt on the nation. The debt was so punitive that Haiti was still paying it well into the 1940s. At one point, in order to service that debt, Haiti occupied its Spanish-speaking neighbor on the island of Hispaniola. To this day, the Dominican Republic celebrates two days of independence: One for its independence from Spain, and the other for its independence from Haiti.
Michele Wucker
In 1999 writer Michele Wucker authored a book titled Why the Cocks Fight: Dominicans, Haitians and the Fight for Hispaniola. Wucker, executive director of the World Policy Institute, says the relationship between these two former European colonies is as complicated as Haiti’s relationship with the rest of Latin America.
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Haitian-American Musician DBR
Daniel Bernard Roumain, aka DBR, is a self-proclaimed Haitian-American musician with a growing reputation as a composer, performer and bandleader. (Photo by Julieta Cervantes)
The American experience shares one thing musically with the Haitian experience in that it is a fusion of many cultural influences. Daniel Bernard Roumain, aka DBR, embraces that musical diversity. A classically trained violinist, DBR is not afraid to use his instrument in non-classical ways.
Born in Chicago and raised near Miami’s Little Haiti, DBR is the son of Haitian immigrants. Now residing near Harlem, DBR’s musical career has helped him to carve a reputation as an innovative composer, performer and bandleader. His latest CD is titled etudes4violin&electronix, which features both original material and arrangements along with duets from internationally acclaimed composers and performers.
As part of the humanitarian response to the Haitian Earthquake, DBR is turning his concert tour dates this year into Haitian Relief.
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Edwidge Danticat is a Haitian-American writer and 2009 recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant.
Michele Wucker is executive director of the World Policy Institute and author of the book Why the Cocks Fight: Dominicans, Haitians and the Struggle for Hispaniola.
DBR stands for Daniel Bernard Roumain who is a classically trained violinist and a visiting professor of composition at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music.
