Why do I say we turned our backs on Haiti? Because we did.  We were not alone in this, and the pages of history illuminate many of the answers to questions often raised about "why is Haiti so poor?"

The Guardian had an incisive piece written around the time of the overthrow of Aristide:

From the outset Haiti inherited the wrath of the colonial powers, which knew what a disastrous example a Haitian success story would be. In the words of Napoleon Bonaparte: "The freedom of the negroes, if recognized in St Domingue [as Haiti was then known] and legalized by France, would at all times be a rallying point for freedom-seekers of the New World." He sent 22,000 soldiers to recapture the "Pearl of the Antilles". 
France, backed by the US, later ordered Haiti to pay 150.000.000.00 francs in gold as reparations to compensate former plantation and slave owners as well as for the costs of the war in return for international recognition. At today's prices that would amount to $18bn. By the end of the 19th century, 80% of Haiti's national budget was going to pay off the loan and its interest, and the country was locked into the role of a debtor nation - where it remains today.

Any prospect of planting a stable political culture foundered on the barren soil of economic impoverishment, military siege and international isolation (for the first 58 years the US refused even to recognize Haiti's existence). In 1915, fearing that internal strife would compromise its interests, the US invaded, and remained until 1934. If those who now preach compromise had practiced those values in the past, Haiti might have nurtured the kind of political traditions that could withstand its divisions today. Haiti is a reminder of how Western democracies have willfully amassed their wealth on the backs of impoverished dictatorships.

They go on to detail not only the depredations of rule under the brutal Duvalier's, father and son, but the role of the global arbiters in determining Haiti's fate:

Any prospect of planting a stable political culture foundered on the barren soil of economic impoverishment, military siege and international isolation (for the first 58 years the US refused even to recognize Haiti's existence). In 1915, fearing that internal strife would compromise its interests, the US invaded, and remained until 1934. If those who now preach compromise had practiced those values in the past, Haiti might have nurtured the kind of political traditions that could withstand its divisions today. Haiti is a reminder of how Western democracies have willfully amassed their wealth on the backs of impoverished dictatorships.

So Haiti lurched from coup to coup, most notably under the dictatorship of "Papa Doc" Duvalier and then his son, "Baby Doc", supported by the US and France. In 1990 Aristide appeared as the best hope to break the cycle. With an overwhelming democratic mandate, the liberation theologian was swept to power, as Haitians brushed the floor ahead of him with palm leaves. Deposed in a coup, he returned in 1994 with US military assistance. But, in return for political freedom, Aristide was compelled to accept economic enslavement at the hands of the IMF and the World Bank. Post-colonial military aggression gave way to brutal globalization. Before Aristide had even considered fixing the elections, the West had already rigged the markets. Take rice. Forced by the agreement to lower its import tariffs, Haiti found itself flooded with subsidized rice from the US, which drove Haitian rice growers out of business and forced the country to import a product that it once produced. When the country fined US rice merchants $1,400.000.00 for allegedly evading customs duties, the US responded by withholding $30,000.000.00 in aid.

Dr. Eric Pierre, from the Ontario Historical Society wrote this eloquent piece, on bicentenary of the independence of Haiti, in 2004. He spoke first of the history of enslavement and resistance.

The most significant and coordinated assault on slavery and the colonial system started in 1791, two years after the French revolution. The French Revolution did create a historical context favorable to the events that culminated with the final victory of 1804. But it did not inspire the thirst for freedom nor did it create the determination, courage, strategic discipline and military intelligence of the African masses. The spirit of rebellion revealed itself in the uprisings taking place on the slave boats during the trips from Africa to the Americas and the Caribbean. It manifested itself very early with such brave acts as escapes, poisonings, fires, suicides, and infanticides.

Women preferred to undergo abortions or even kill their own children instead of bringing them into a world of humiliation and infamy. It is important to underscore the significant contribution of women in these early stages. We should also recognize the injustice dealt to them by history for failing to pay homage to the specific identity of those female freedom fighters who were imprisoned, hanged and tortured. They will remain illustrious anonymous forever. The rebellion evolved into more organized expressions such as "baronage" and unsuccessful uprisings such as the one led by Mackandal.

He then spoke of the betrayals, even from those like Simon Bolivar, who was given Haitian assistance to launch revolutions in Latin America:

The colonial powers quickly realized the significance of our independence. They viewed it as a dangerous precedent and vowed to keep the liberation disease from spreading. They quarantined the new nation. Cardinal Talleyrand called Haiti a "haven of barbarian piracy" until France granted conditional recognition to the independence in 1825 upon payment of the first installment of an indemnity of 100 million francs. It took the United States approximately 60 years to recognize Haiti's independence when in December 1861 President Lincoln said that he "failed to discern.. any good reason not to recognize" the independence of Haiti. The Vatican did not have any diplomatic relations with the new nation until 1860. In the meantime the Catholic religious guidance of Haitians was left to a combination of real priests, excommunicated priests or impostors. No foreign heads of state set foot on Haitian territory for any extended visit before President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934, at the end of the American occupation.

Haiti was indeed a leading force in the struggle for freedom in the Americas. The Venezuelan revolutionaries Francisco Miranda and Simon Bolivar were given the necessary assistance: food, weapons, and Haitian soldiers in their struggle for independence. The same Simon Bolivar did not invite Haiti to the Congress of Panama. His representatives were given specific instructions: "The government regards with repugnance the idea of treating Haiti with the same etiquette generally maintained between civilized nations". The tragedy of Haiti is a history of isolation, ostracism, and interventions. It is also a history of betrayal by an unscrupulous ruling class more interested in conspicuous consumption and personal wealth than nation building. At the same time, it is a history of demands for freedom, human rights, and human dignity, not only for Haitians, but also for all citizens of African descent. For that matter, it includes any social class, nation, or ethnic group whose rights are being trampled upon.

One other note before I close. Back in January, Kossak, Ken Avidor wrote this diary: 

Will $500,000 Earmark for Controversial Ministry be used to Fight Voodoo and Satan in Haiti? Which may give some background to the racist evangelical propaganda currently being spewed by Pat Robertson, and refuted so beautifully by Ojibwa in yesterday's diary on the rec list

Avidor's diary highlights funding for am Adoration Church Project in Haiti which promotes this warped view of Haiti's struggle for freedom:

While the revolution against slavery was commendable, the manner in which it was achieved was deplorable. On August 14, 1791, a group of houngans (voodoo priests), led by a former slave houngan named Boukman, made a pact with the Devil at a place called Bois-Caiman. The founding fathers and others present vowed to exterminate all of the white Frenchmen on the island. They sacrificed a black pig in a voodoo ritual with hundreds of slaves drinking the sacrificial pig's blood. In this ritual, Boukman asked Satan for his help in liberating Haiti from the French. In exchange, the voodoo priests offered to give the country to Satan for 200 years and swore to serve him. On January 1, 1804, the nation of Haiti was born and thus began a new demonic tyranny.

The demonization of Haiti, and Haitians continues.  As a community we must recognize that the Haitian people will need our help in years ahead to rectify the past, and to forge a new future.  Haitians have always had the audacity to hope, the courage to struggle, and the strength to survive, no matter what.

I am proud today that this community at Daily Kos is extending love, support and assistance to our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

With incredible charity, Toussaint decided to care for the widow of the master who had been kind to him.  He quickly became the most sought after hairdresser in New York, earning enough to buy his sister’s freedom and to pay the expenses of the household.  He did not buy his own freedom for fear that Marie would not then allow him to support her.  In 1807 on her death, Marie Berard freed Toussaint.

By this time Toussaint was not only a hairdresser to the rich but also a counselor to many of the rich, who referred to him, no doubt to his distress, as “our Saint Pierre”.  He was noted for his extreme charity, giving away most of his earnings to the poor of the city.  Each morning he would also attend the early mass at Saint Peter’s on Barclay Street.

After he obtained his freedom, Toussaint married in 1811 Juliette Noel, a Haitian woman he had known for years.  They purchased a large house, and took in many black orphans, educating them and teaching them trades.  They purchased the freedom of dozens of slaves.  They also aided French refugees, often doing so secretly so as not to hurt the pride of the recipients of their bounty.    They  cared for the sick, especially in the periodic yellow fever epidemics, often nursing the sick in their home.  As Toussaint aged he was often urged by his friends to retire and enjoy life.  His response:  “I have enough for myself, but if I stop working I have not enough for others.”

Toussaint and Juliette shared the type of love and respect that all married couples desire. They had no children of their own, but adopted Toussaint’s niece Euphemia after his sister Rosalie died.  It was the great tragedy of their life when their beloved daughter died of tuberculosis at 14.

Toussaint and his wife filled their lives with charity and good works until her death in 1851. Toussaint died in 1853.  Saint Peter’s was jammed with rich and poor for his funeral.  One of his friends, Philip Schuyler, summed up the esteem in which Toussaint was held, “I have known Christians who were not gentlemen, and gentlemen who were not Christians, but one man I know who was both – and that man was black”.  Another admirer called Toussaint “God’s reflection in ebony.”

On December 18, 1996 Toussaint was proclaimed Venerable by Pope John Paul II.  One day, and perhaps soon as these things go, the former slave and hairdresser will be proclaimed a Saint by the Church.  Toussaint’s life was a miracle of charity and kindness.  Born a slave, he did not allow that fact to prevent him from helping his fellow man, whatever their race.  He overcame every adversity in his life through his complete embrace of the commandment of Christ, “Love one another”.