by B. R. GOWANI
through sheer savagery the US stole the land of the Natives
through inhumane superiority the US lorded over blacks
through racist supremacy the US treated slaves as worst than animals
Haiti’s black slaves revolted against French colonialists between 1791-1804
Toussaint L’Ouverture, the leader of the revolt, was deceitfully captured
he died in French prison a “slow death from cold and misery”
his last words, Haitian schoolchildren to this day know by heart, were:
“In overthrowing me, you have cut down in Saint-Domingue only the tree of liberty. It will spring up again by the roots for they are numerous and deep.”
Noam Chomsky, “The first free nation of free men,” Africa Speaks.
Haiti became the first country to be established by slaves
the racist slavehoding US refused to recognize Haiti’s independence
the US did business with Haiti which was, of course, favorable to the US
the white colonists are very cunning — no body can beat their cleverness
instead of paying reparations, French demanded “indemnity”
i.e., “the tax on its freedom,” in the words of Professor Marlene Daut
then the US, another white colonialist in the region, stretched its muscle
in 1920, Franklin Delano Roosevelt boasted, though rightly:
“You know, [as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (1913-1920)] I have had something to do with the running of a couple of little republics. The facts are that I wrote Haiti’s constitution myself, and, if I do say it, I think it a pretty good constitution.”
Hal Draper, “The making of a war monger,” Sptember 1938, in Marxists.
(FDR was the 32nd US president from 1933 till his death in 1945)
from 1915 to 1934, the US occupied Haiti; 15,000 haitians got killed
in 1914, the US transferred $500,000 from Haitian National Bank to US
latter on, the US exerted its power over Haitian governments indirectly
from 1950s to 1980s, the US backed brutal “Papa Doc” & “Baby Doc”
the US intervened directly when the leader was not obedient
in 2004, president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was kidnapped by the US marines
he was sent to the Central African Republic by George W. Bush regime
before that in 1991, the CIA had removed Aristide — Bill Clinton ruled then
Haitian people’s outcry forced Clinton to reinstall Aristide
in 2011, Hillary Clinton imposed Michel Martelly on Haiti’s people
US secretary of state Hillary forced then-President René Préval to resign
Préval was threatened: his refusal will result in loss of international aid
singer turned politician, Martelly was one more corrupt leader
a New York based Haitian reporter Manolia Charlotin on Hillary Clinton
“What does that mean as to her approach to foreign policy? To have a secretary of state visit a country, to make a stop, and as a result of that meeting, you have an illegal selection of leaders? How does that decision promote the American views of democracy?”
Haiti is a very poor country mired in natural disaster and corruption
not to forget the constant US meddling for economic and hegemonic goals
desperate and miserable 15,000 or so Haitian refugees end up at the border
6,000 of them have been sent back to Haiti — others will be too
even though they are the victims of United States policies
they don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to pay smugglers like others
(the amount people are paying since last two years is around $75,000)
the US border patrol on horses used horse-reins to stop Haitian refugees
the scenes reminds one of Southern slaveholders whipping their slaves
centuries passes by but it seems nothing has changed in US mentality
many congresspersons from the US House of Representatives protested
US Congressperson Rashida Tlaib rightly noted in a tweet:
“This is so sick and @CBP will continue to commit human rights abuses if we don’t stop it now.
Cracking a fucking whip on Haitians fleeing hardship shows you that this system simply can’t be reformed.
@OversightDems + @HouseJudiciary should hold hearings immediately + act.
another Congressperson Ilhan Omar tweeted:
“These are human rights abuses, plain and simple. Cruel, inhumane, and a violation of domestic and international law. This needs a course correction and the issuance of a clear directive on how to humanely process asylums seekers at our border.”
Congressperson Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet read:
“It doesn’t matter if a Democrat or Republican is President, our immigration system is designed for cruelty towards and dehumanization of immigrants.
Immigration should not be a crime, and its criminalization is a relatively recent invention. This is a stain on our country.”
Congressperson Ayanna Pressley urged Biden government
“We have a moral obligation to lead with compassion. That means immediately halting the cruel and callous deportations of our Haitian neighbors and leveraging every resource available to support those fleeing the humanitarian crisis on the island.”
questions will be raised, superficial tears will be shed
“this is not who we are,” this is not what America is about”
but this is what exactly who we are; this is what America is about
one of my cousins used to say:
“there are 3 types of bastards: bastards, great bastards, genetic bastards”
sometime he would change the word “bastard” to “motherfucker”
cruelty, speriority, supremacy and so many ills are in United States’ DNA
nothing has changed, nothing is changing, nothing will change
Biden is blind, Kamala is cruel — they’re equally torturous like Trump
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com