The article below appeared in Vol. 12, No. 3 (January/February 1998) of the magazine Washington International.

Haiti - Yesterday and Today Haiti - Today and Tomorrow Interview with President Préval

Haiti - Yesterday and Today

by Monica Duncan

At the end of the 18th century, St. Domingue, (as Haiti was then called) was France's most valuable overseas possession. French colonial domination was particularly brutal, triggering a slave-led revolutionary war of independence led by military strategist Toussaint Louverture. (Louverture had fought alongside George Washington in the Battle of Savannah in America's own War of Independence).

France's determination not to lose Haiti-its most important source of revenue, combined with the slaves' equal determination to be free led to a long and bitter war.

In 1804, Haiti's African slaves defeated Napoleon's armies, and French colonial rule was over-thrown. Haiti became the first and only republic established via a slave-led revolutionary war and the first black republic of the Western hemisphere.

France, severely strapped for cash as a result of its 10-year war with Haiti's slaves, sold what is now the vast central region of the United States to Thomas Jefferson. Referred to as the Louisiana Purchase, this purchase enabled the United States to double the size of its territory overnight.

Determined to repel any attempts by France to retake Haiti, Henri Christophe, former slave and now monarch of the new nation, built the Citadelle, a massive mountain fortress, which to this day remains an architectural wonder of the world, and distributed land to the freed slaves.

Alarmed by the implications for their own slave-based colonies, European powers quickly joined forces to isolate the new black republic. The U.S. denied recognition to Haiti for some 60 years and kept harsh economic sanctions on the new nation for more than half a century. Before Haiti was finally allowed to trade with France, Haiti had to agree to compensate France for the latter's losses, which plunged the young nation deeply and cripplingly into debt. It was only after slavery had died within the U.S. that the U.S. decided to recognize the government of Haiti.

A Difficult Early History

During World War I, U.S./German tensions caused the former to be profoundly concerned about the latter securing a base alongside the Windward Passage, the sea lane dividing Haiti and Cuba. And so, in 1915, a 19-year U.S. occupation of Haiti began. The official reason was to quell political unrest. U.S. troops departed in 1934, and some 20 years later Francois Duvalier was elected, marking the beginning of 30 years of a brutal dictatorship which, upon the father's death, was continued by his son, Jean-Claude.

In 1986, a massive, grass-roots, pro-democracy movement forced the Duvalier family into exile.

During the 1980's, Haiti's mobilization toward democracy reached unprecedented levels, and in 1990, Jean-Bertrand Aristide won 67% of the vote from a field of 11 candidates in free and fair, internationally observed elections.

Aristide, the first democratically elected president in this nation of 7 million, championed the cause of the poor and fought against corruption, contraband, and drug-trafficking. His new government pushed to collect long overdue taxes and utility payments. It insisted, in the face of great opposition, that Haiti's minimum wage be increased to $2.00 per day. Haiti's traditional elite did not support Aristide, and in September 1991, seven months into his term, he was ousted by a military coup.

The military government reversed constitutional rule. Between 1991 and 1994, approximately 5,000 civilians were killed by the military and its supporters. Over 350,000 Haitians fled into the interior to hide. Over 100,000 took to the open seas.

International outrage at Haiti's military steadily mounted and culminated in demands for the return of Haiti's democratically elected government. In October 1994, a UN-sanctioned military intervention restored President Aristide and his government to Haiti, ending the reign of terror. The overwhelming joy of the Haitian people was telecast around the world, and a three-year UN peace-keeping mission began.

Aristide dismantled the Haitian army and established Haiti's first civilian police force. Impartial human rights observers reported that with his return came freedom of speech, a free press, and the end of government repression. The world noted that there were no more Haitian boat people. And Haiti joined the global debate over privatization.

Exactly ten years to the day after President-for-life Jean-Claude Duvalier and his family were forced into exile, (February 7, 1996), President Rene Préval was inaugurated as Haiti's second democratically elected president. An agronomist who had served as Aristide's Prime Minister in 1991, Préval had been forced into exile during the coup years. On that day, the world saw the first transfer of power from one democratically-elected Haitian president to another.

On November 30, 1997, the United Nations ended its three-year peace keeping mission, and Haiti's new police force, (the maximum experience of any one officer being two years), stepped forward to single-handedly provide security for the nation. As 1997 drew to a close, Haiti's Prime Minister designate, Hervé Denis, has been approved by the Parliamentary Commission and awaits ratification by the full Parliament.

Today President Préval and his administration are striving to identify and implement those programs with the greatest potential to bring economic and political stability to the youngest democracy of the hemisphere. The challenges are vast, the resources scarce, international patience often thin.

The strong faith and indomitable spirit which enabled Haitian slaves to defeat Napoleon's armies two hundred years ago remains alive and well in Haiti today. Sculpting, painting, carving, weaving, the activities of relatively small segments of many societies, are an ever-present phenomenon in Haiti - seen everywhere from remote villages to the bustling city. This surging society of born artists have had their work recognized around the world. Haitian works of art ranging from the totally dramatic to the subtly poignant, both representational and abstract, are proudly displayed in leading galleries.

The vibrancy of the Haitian spirit manifested itself in many ways during their struggle to end dictatorship throughout the 1980's; in their faith that the government, exiled in 1991, would indeed be restored; and in their belief that Haitian democracy would prevail.