History

History is a funny thing.
Today we spent a lot of time and thought learning about and reflecting on Haiti's history. We were privileged to spend a morning with Nixon Bumba, an incredible story teller and historian. Below are some of the insights and complexities we dove into today. (Side note: Bumba recently wrote a really great article in the Washington Post about the impact of aid and "development" since the earthquake.) 

History starts with what you know.
In US and North American history, our history books and classes start in detail with the infamous 1492. While some mention of the numerous tribes and communities of native peoples may be mentioned- it is often only as a supporting actor or reference in a plot line led by Europeans. When thinking about the decades, centuries and generations of leaders, culture, migration, and stories of Native Americans or Ayiti's Taino peoples, so little is told. Instead we start our history with 1492, not the "discovery" but the invasion of the Americas and the year that would begin the world's greatest genocide.

History is written by the winner.
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I would say history is as well. The dominant narrative that forms classrooms, books, even national holidays is often the one who has the access to teach, to write, and to make decisions. Stories of wars and occupation are told from the perspective of those with with the force to instigate them not those left in the rubble. The history of Ayiti in most schools today is the French one, not the Kreyol one of the masse.

History is not about intentions but about power and force.
With a winner's narrative, it is easy to believe that history characterized by dominance and exploitation was warranted, justified or even needed. It is even easier to perpetuate the conception that the winner, the holder of power, is actually superior. Whether intentions are pure or not, the methods of power and force are reality. Ayiti was paradise to the colonizers who first landed here, with some of the world's greatest resources. They turned it in to a hell, diminishing the Taino population and kidnapping Africans to utilize as machines in torturous labor. On the backs of slaves, France was enriched and 75% of the world's sugar was produced.

History often repeats itself.
In a lot of ways, the history of Ayiti is not its own. It is one plagued by foreign interjections and influenced by a string of international puppets. In the 1800s, it was the 150 million Franc debt imposed on the first free Black nation in the world to gain independence. The debt, charged to Ayiti in order to repay France for "lost property" (aka themselves as slaves), would debilitate the young country's ability to develop internal infrastructure for a hundred years. In 1915, enters a U.S. military occupation introducing industrial and economic oppression. In the late 1900s and early 2000s, international parties place Haitian leaders in and out of political office to serve their interests. Now so many sectors of the country- social services, government, agriculture, rebuilding after the earthquake- all seem to be shadows of foreign entities. This cycle, never allowing Ayiti to just 'be', was very frustrating for our team to realize.

The best way to understand how to move forward is to know history's effect on the present.
Haiti can't be understood without first taking a look into history. Within the country are 2 languages, 2 worlds, 2 cultures, 2 religions that date back to French colonization. From the Code Noir to the Code Rural, the life of the masses (characterized by Kreyol, Voudou, and agriculture for sustenance) has been repressed and hidden by the life of the elite (French, Catholicism, and production for export). (e.g. Only a couple of decades ago, the constitution was written in Kreyol and government documents and processes began to be completed in Kreyol.) The history of Ayiti gives us a much better narrative for the single story so often perpetuated by today's media. The current situation in Ayiti are not the result of a people who are unable to develop- it is the crux of country who has never truly been set free by the rest of the world.

-Courtney