My liberal friends? I don't receive comments. I would like to pro or con; however not kibitzes.;)
Sam
----- Original Message -----
From: Ralph Hovermale
To: 'Sam Kegley'
Sent: Monday, February 15, 2010 6:52 PM
Subject: RE: A Small Reminder of History of Haiti
www.skegley.blogspot.com
Subject: A Small Reminder of History of Haiti
Here is Dan’s response to my recent note about Haiti! For your information from an eye-witness on current happenings.
Regards,
Ralph
To: Ralph Hovermale
Subject: Re: A Small Reminder of History of Haiti
Very biased "History", more fiction that fact. The French were eliminated from the island because they were as brutal as they could be. The French ending slavery would have been a joke to these people. There lives would have changed very little. Mulattoes not aligned with the french were not harmed. Actually, Mulattoes were the first leaders of the new nation, not negroes. The US occupations of Haiti were for political reasons, not for the "nation building" claimed. The 1915 invasion (WWI) was to stop the Germans from building a coaling station for their naval fleet, not for humanitarian reasons. The roads and infastructure that was built was not for the benefit of the local inhabitants, but for the use of the Marines. The U.S. left in 1934, not at the request of the Haitian government, they left because there was no longer a reason to be there and U.S. was in the middle of the Great Depression. In 1973, the US came back at the request of Jean-Claude Duvalier (Baby Doc) to exploit cheap labor for the tourist industry and manufacturing (baseballs, etc.). Also, it allowed Baby Doc to line his pockets with all the tax dollars he could collect from these industries. This continued until Baby Doc was overthrown in 1986. In 1991 Jean Bertrand Aristide was elected president. He was deposed later that same year in a military coup after it became know that Aristide was plotting to disband the Army. Clinton sent Colin Powell and 25,000 Marines down in 1994 to re-instate Aristide as president at the urging of the U.S. black caucus. Clinton did this for political reasons to displace memories for his failure in Somalia and to have a military victory on his record for re-election time that was rapidly approaching. The most recent invasion was when I was in 2004 and I, as you know, was smack dab in the middle. Bush sent US Marines to remove Aristide as president. It is widely believed that Bush thought Aristide was WAY too friendly with Castro and Chavez and a potential future liability. Bush used the political unrest as an excuse to "rescue" Aristide and replace him with a government hand picked by U.S. politicians.
Every time the U.S. has been involved in Haiti in the past has been for politically motivated reasons, not humanitarian concerns. The U.S. does not leave a country because they are asked. Lets be real, the U.S. leaves when there is no longer a political or financial reason for them to be there. So much for the short "history" of U.S. involvement in Haiti. Ha!
Dan
"If God is your co-pilot, you need to switch seats."
Daniel T. Hovermale
Helicopter Pilot
Helicopter Minit-Men
--- On Sun, 2/14/10, Ralph Hovermale
From: Ralph Hovermale
Subject: A Small Reminder of History of Haiti
To: "Ralph Hovermale"
Date: Sunday, February 14, 2010, 8:10 AM
I’ve received this from several sources. Pardon if it is a repeat for you.
Dan, you’ve lived there recently, do you agree?
Regards,
Dad
Here is a comment from Robin Thomas’ post.
(Sounds a lot like New Orleans to me.
Found this online at wiki:
"Political insecurity and the failure of Haiti's governments to invest in developing the country's natural and human resources has contributed significantly to the country's current state of underdevelopment. U.S. efforts to strengthen democracy and help build the foundation for economic growth aim to rectify this condition. The U.S. has been Haiti's largest donor since 1973. Between FY 1995 and FY 2003, the U.S. contributed more than $850 million in assistance to Haiti. Since 2004, the U.S. has provided over $600 million for improving governance, security, the rule of law, economic recovery, and critical human needs. The President's budget request for FY 2007 was $198 million. U.S. Government funds have been used to support programs that have addressed a variety of problems. Additional information on U.S. assistance to Haiti can be found at http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rls/fs/2006/77358.htm."
If they gave this much money to local communities in the states maybe we could keep some American jobs here in America.)
A small reminder of history.
In the 1700’s what is now Haiti was called the “Jewel of the Caribbean,” and supplied about 40% of the world’s sugar.
In 1791 the government of France passed legislation to phase out slavery in its Caribbean colonies and grant the former Negro slaves citizenship. Rather than becoming citizens, Haiti’s Negro population mass murdered all whites and Mulattoes who could not flee the Island in time. In 1804 only full blooded Negros remained and Haiti became the first Negro ruled nation.
The Haitian revolution dominated America’s debate over slavery. While both the north and the south agreed that slavery should be ended, southerners and a large percentage of northerners universally opposed having a large population of freed slaves living in their midst.. The Haitian “Revolution” was fresh in every one’s mind.
Flash forward to 1915. The “Jewel of the Caribbean” is now a desolate cesspool, that is exporting almost no sugar. The United States decides to “take up the white man’s burden” and send the US Marine Corps to rebuild Haiti’s infrastructure and feed it’s starving population. The United States gave huge amounts of money to Haiti and over-saw the building of 1,000 miles of road, telephone lines, modernized its port, and helped Haiti to start exporting sugar once again. The US also put an end to the thousands of bandits along Haiti’s border with the Dominican Republic. The US left in 1934 at the request of the then stabilized and very ungrateful Haitian government.
Haiti immediately sank straight back into total desolation strife. In 1973 the United State once again began playing a huge role in Haiti, giving the Island huge sums of money in handouts each year. In 1994 the Clinton administration once again sent the US military to Haiti to rebuild the Island’s infrastructure. In 1995 the Peace Corps went to Haiti in large numbers to train the Haitians in job skills. The US government spent almost one Billion providing food and job training to the Haitians between 95 and 99.
So when Obama says that Haiti has our “full, unwavering, support,” they have already had our full support since 1915..
I wonder how long it’ll be before we’re asked to leave again?
"Life is tough....it's really tough when you're stupid!" -- John Wayne
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