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29101: Rob (reply) RE: 29093: Stephen (reply) RE: 29077: kathleen (reply) 29070 (fwd)
From: Rob 6969 <liberalproject@hotmail.com>
Well said. It is a unique case in the History of reparation claims. And wile
certain on this list think that
Aristide did make that official claim to France for demagogic reasons, others
may see this act as historically very couragous.
I do disagree with the claim that Haiti had no choice in 1825. Boyer could have
said no to France and threatens to use his strong army (already victorious two
times before against the French and the English army). He did not even try to
intimidate the French. This would not have happend with Christophe or
Dessalines.
Having said that, there was no reason for Haiti to pay this money.
Preval needs to bring Haiti back on tracks and maybe in two years from now
should face the French
government again. The issue is unlikely to fade away. Aristide got a lot of
support for this demand inside and outside of Haiti. Because his governemnt
was to weak, he was unlikely to receive a penny from the French. A successor
could however ask more diplomatically that some gesture be made by the French
to compensate for what Haiti has endured economically. We live in an age when
reparations of all kinds are being asked for (the jews from german and swiss
banks, the american natives for agreements not respected and more). The Haitian
demand is a documented amount of money paid to a colonial power to compensate
for loss of property. This ranson plunged Haiti into decades of misery.
If fench are reluctant to pay cash then they should come with other types of
aid. One avenue to help Haiti could be through development of the country's
crippled infrastructure. We need not on eroute de l'Amitie but 10. There are
many other venues than the "Salon de la Francophonie or the
"Alliance Franciaise" in Jacmel. For that Preval will need the support of the
"francofous/intellos" who have been very scared if not terrorized to bring that
issue on the table. The French have a moral duty to help Haiti today.
From: Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>
To: "Bob Corbett's Haiti list" <haiti@lists.webster.edu>
Subject: 29093: Stephen (reply) RE: 29077: kathleen (reply) 29070 (fwd)
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2006 12:31:43 -0500 (CDT)
Stephen Jacob
jacob_86@hotmail.com
To compare Haiti's demand for repayment to Native Americans in the United
States is inaccurate. There were many independent Indian nations that
negotiated treaties with the US government, not one soveign country. More
importantly, the flow of funds usually went from the US government buying
land from Native Americans. Finally, there was never a check written to the
US government that created one debt of the magnitude of Haiti's. None of
these facts bear any semblance to what happened in Saint Domingue/Haiti.
First, in 1825 the French Government demanded that Haiti pay it 150 million
francs in compensation for the assets lost by landowners in their former
colony (some argue this number was reduced to 90 million). In exchange,
France would also recognize Haiti as a trading partner. At this time, Haiti
was essentially isolated and trade was necessary for the country to survive.
(To put this number in context, the US paid 60 million francs in 1803 for the
Louisana Purchase).
Second, the money Haiti paid to France was several times its annual revenues
at the time. Some estimates put the figure at 4 or 5 times Haiti's GDP,
while others are as high as 10 times. It doesn't matter how fast your
economy is growing, making a one-time payment of that size is going to stunt
the growth of domestic industries unless there is a corresponding foreign
investment.
Third, Haiti resisted making this payment to France. It's not as if the
government wrote a check for 150 MM francs and then said "whoops, let's get
that back". Haiti negotiated for 20 years before finally agreeing to pay
France. Even then, it took until 1947 for payments to be completed. Who on
this listserve was born before 1947? I'm sure there are quite a few of you.
We are not talking about some distant ancient history...this practically
happened yesterday.
What the debate around Haitian debt forgiveness illustrates is the truth
behind the famous quote "Justice delayed is justice denied." The further
away it moves back in time, the less real it seems. Whether in practice
having a sudden cash infusion to Haiti from France would be a "good" thing is
irrelevant. The point is whether it is the "fair" and "just" thing to be
done. Given the amount of rampant corruption, one can argue that $21 billiion
(150 MM francs in today's dollars) suddenly sent to Haiti could cause more
problems than it solves. However, we have to first agree, that in principle,
the Republic of Haiti is owed this money and if not, at least all of its
debts be immediately and unconditionally forgiven.
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