Televangelist Pat Robertson’s comments on Jan. 13 that modern Haitians were being punished by the earthquake because their ancestors supposedly made a pact with the devil to throw out the French were shocking and appalling. I trust that the vast majority of the public will recognize these comments as a blatant attempt to garner publicity, or the product of simple senility, and appropriately ignore them.
On reflection, though, Mr. Robertson has inadvertently captured a tiny grain of truth with his mean spirited statement. The problems of modern Haiti are indeed rooted in the nation’s past and its origins, albeit not because of some imaginary satanic design.
When Haitian slaves fought the French and established their independence in 1804, Haiti became the first and only county to ever experience a successful slave revolt. At the time, this was a terrifying precedent for other nations, such as the United States, that still relied on slavery within their borders or in their colonies. Consequently, Haiti was essentially quarantined and cut off from the rest of the world for nearly a century. Indeed, Haitian Creole, the language spoken by most Haitians, bears more similarity to 18th century French than it does to the modern Gallic language.
In its isolation, this largely rural and agrarian nation also continued to rely on the old French system of land inheritance. Unlike the British system of the time, in which the land typically passed to the oldest heir, under the French system Haitian farms were generally subdivided among all the children, over and over again.
As a result, in modern Haiti, the average farm is now too small to support the needs of a family and the pressure to cultivate every inch of the land, as well as the need for cooking fuel, has led to the nearly complete deforestation of the countryside.
The late Jacques Cousteau reportedly described Haiti as the county of the future, because the beleaguered nation already faces the sorts of overwhelming environmental problems that other parts of the world may see in the future. Unable to survive in one of the most densely populated agricultural societies in the world, thousands of Haitians flood into Port au Prince every year in search of a livelihood. More often than not, their efforts are futile.
Despite the incredible difficulty of life in Haiti, even before the earthquake, most Americans who spend time in Haiti are surprised by the good humor and resilience of the Haitian people. Haitians have always had to face their daily existence under conditions that are hard for us to imagine. They now must confront a future in which their capital and largest city has been destroyed. In a nation that had few resources even before this tragedy, the Haitian people will struggle for a long time to even clear the damage from the streets, let alone begin to rebuild.
It is certainly true that these are difficult times for many people here in Colorado. Some of us will begrudge the money the United States has pledged for emergency aid to Haiti. Mr. Robertson’s attempt to blame the people of Haiti for this disaster may even make it easier for some people to turn away from the Haitians in their hour of most desperate need. But it may be worthwhile to remember that none of us gets to choose our history, the color of our skin, or where we happen to be born.
Doug Jeavons is an economist and a managing director of BBC Research & Consulting in Denver. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Haiti in 1987-1988. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
