The perspective of the Haitian Diaspora.

Before I begin, I think it is necessary to define looting, because apparently the word has falsely been used. First of all, looting is only valid when order can be restored, when it is not, we say we are in a state of survival of the fittest. However, for looting to be valid, the people that are looting must not have done it because they are hungry, but only because it is a temporary state of chaos, and they are taking things that could be resold.

In Port – Au – Prince Haiti, there is no looting; the people are experiencing a state of catastrophe, at a time where there is no food, drinking water or shelter. It is an automatic response for parents to grab whatever they can find to feed their children. Placing a corporate executive in the same situation, he would have done the same exact thing.

We are not animals, we don’t fight just to fight, we fight for injustice and for our rights, and we fight to protect our territory.

It is true that there’s been corruption, unrest and political tribulation in Haiti. Likewise, there have been a lot of foreign companies taking interest in Haiti. They say wherever there is corporate interest there is chaos and corruption. And for Haiti, it has been nothing but chaos and corruption. The people want a fair deal and they’re not settling for an occupation.

If there is one thing that the Haitian people oppose the most, it is the idea of being occupied. Haiti being the first black republic, has suffered enormous injustice for that freedom. Our ancestors did not fight the revolution and paid France for reparation for us to be occupied 200 years from it. We have paid twice for that freedom and we’re still being attacked for it.

Haiti should remain a free nation; the Haitian revolution wasn’t just an encouragement for people of Haiti, but also an example that brought hope to black slaves all across the globe.

The Haitian liberation is an accomplishment which is understood and praised by many black scholars, because they believe that if it wasn’t for it, slavery could have lasted much longer. And besides, there is nothing that guarantees our freedom. The same people who have enslaved us before will be tempted to do it again if it becomes their means of economic survival. They say if you don’t know where you came from, you won’t know where you headed, and since we’re so divided, where we headed is unclear for now.

This is why any occupation of Haiti can be viewed as though the enslavement of the black race is possible again. It would set the same example that the slaves instilled when they freed themselves from slavery.

This time, it would be the example of the occupier which would provoke the occupation of many black nations. The idea of blacks becoming slaves again should not be taken lightly. It is an idea that begins with the "restaveck”, by altering its way into bellowing one particular group of people for economic advancement of another - or for the satisfaction of national superiority.

Its starts under a capitalist society, it starts with economic inequality, it starts with class divisions. It is supported by false education to be encouraged by discrimination, its starts just as it began in Africa, to end with history sadly repeating itself.

Yes, history tends to repeat itself; the black unemployment in the sixties was about 15% as it is now. We had the Vietnam War, racism and Black unemployment. And today, we have the Afghanistan war, systematic racism and black unemployment. In 1970 we had Hiram Revels, The first black Republican senator of Mississippi, and today we have Roland Burris the replacement for President Obama in Illinois.

It would seem that if there is a need for human trafficking, that the idea of slavery shouldn’t be that foreign to us. When money is hard to come by, people are hungry, what seems unfortunate to one may be an opportunity for another. We live under a capitalist economic model, under such a system life doesn’t get any easier, and it can only get worse.

If you compare today’s time, with the sixties, you’ll realize that the country is pretty much divided, not to the same extent of course, but divided none the less. Believe it or not, this has a lot more to do with the economy than it has to do with a black president. People would rather blame the president for their economic situation than to blame it on the capitalism model itself, a system by which dictates the president economic policies.

Enslavement and racism are partly due to capitalism, furthermore, it is only when people are faced with financial difficulties that they behave racist; this is why history proved racism to be worse during the sixties than it was during the mid seventies. Those two periods are very different, for those who lived through them. These people were very well aware of their economic situation during those times; it reminded them of happy days.

A capitalist society will promote nothing but perpetuate growth - therefore, in order for those who are at the top to gain more; they have to drain those who are at the bottom until there is nothing left. This means that if their money is losing value, then what is more valuable than money will replace it for the benefit of holding onto something else that is more substantial.

Inflation is a temporary repair for the capitalist economic model. When more money is printed, we say that there is inflation. This process usually causes interest rate or prices to rise, so that companies don’t endure any losses. This process often repeats itself, because the new monies that became available through the system will once again dissipate, causing job loss and economic downfall. It is from this perspective that we understand why the super rich will look into poorer nations to transform their currency into hard asserts.

It wasn’t too long ago that we began to see advertisement for goal investments. This tells us something about our currency, because if the rich are converting their money into hard asset, it means that they’re losing faith in the dollar. If capitalism is based on an economic model that endorses perpetual growth, then it is reasonable to think that history is likely to repeat itself once more. In this case the stronger nations are more likely to take advantage of the smaller ones for the benefit of sustainability.

Haiti has a population of nine million people with one of every sixth Haitians living outside the country. It is a known fact that the economy of Haiti depends mostly on those Haitians who live outside the country. However, the Haitian, in addition with other poor countries, showed that the developed countries received some $ 200 billion in aid each year from the poorer nations. You may wonder how that can be since the poorer nations are struggling to survive. I encourage you to click on the link below and see for yourself.

If the United State government wants to help Haiti develop its infrastructure, we should welcome them. But if we don’t know their intent or don’t have a full understanding as to why they’re willing to help, then we have left ourselves exposed to a potential threat.

It is true that the Haitian government has not been totally honest with its people. A lot of improvements within the government are needed, but it is up to its people to decide what has to be done.They are many Haitians scholars who are living abroad who can help redirect the country's path, but to begin there has to be some collaboration with the Haitian people, because the moment we start talking about government, we’re attracting corruption.

Those Haitians who lives in the United States and abroad may be more familiar with United States policies than the Haitian government. Yes a change is needed, but without the Haitian Diaspora progress will not be possible.

They say Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, Haiti’s filthy, Haiti has an Aids epidemic and we the Diasporas say we love it anyway. Haiti needs us and we shall be there, we are the educated ones, so we decide. If the eagle is truly our friend, he will rest on our palm tree instead of defecating on it.

A note to the black societies of this world - let me remind you that the freedom you cherished so much, the Hollywood life you enjoyed so much, the businesses that you are allowed to own are the result of the Haitian revolution, a freedom that the citizens of that Island are still paying for, we just not aware of it because those who inform us were also the ones who enslaved us.