Haiti

The earthquake that struck Haiti on past January the 12^th is a catastrophe of unprecedented extent. In a  “sneak attack by nature” the capital of the country, Port au Prince, was  turned in a few moments into ruins. The disaster on the countryside and in smaller cities and villages gets less attention from international observers but must also be of an inconceivable magnitude. The Presidential palace and the Parliament, but also hospitals and uncountable houses of common (most poor) people are destroyed completely. The infrastructure, already weak, is ruined. But the most dramatic: the lives of thousands and thousands is lost and many are now in sorrow left behind without their beloved ones: their children, parents, brothers and sisters, husbands, partners and friends. The total number of people who died  is now estimated between 100 000 and 200 000. Undoubtedly many more are wounded. According to the United nations this is the worst catastrophe encountered in the 65 years of existence of this international organization.

Haiti, a Caribbean country with about 10 million inhabitants, is the poorest country in the Americas and one of the poorest countries in the world, with a per capita income (GDP per capita in 2008 according to the world bank) of 1.000 US dollars ( for comparison: USA: 47.000 US dollars; Jamaica, another Caribbean state: 8000 US dollars). But Haiti has a remarkable and unique history. It is  forerunner in the liberation of suppressed people and the world wide emancipation of people of African descent. The country was a French colony but won its independence in 1804 from France in the world’s first (and only) successful slave revolt, led by the legendary ( ex-) slave named Toussaint  l’Ouverture.

François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (1743 – 1803)

The slaves of Haiti defeated the French army, as well as the British army’s; invaded Santo Domingo to free the slaves there and so became the first independent country in the Caribbean, South and Central America. Their freedom struggle and their declaration of independence was a source of inspiration to suppressed and enslaved people of other colonies in the region and also to some western nations to abolish slavery at an earlier time. Hopefully a new spirit of determination and ability will emerge from the ruins of the 2010 earthquake and give the people of Haiti the power to rebuilt their destroyed land. But It shall take a long time to recover, help is needed and must continue for many years to come.

Henk Menke and Wiete Westerhof

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