Assembly of Caribbean People demands reparations for Haiti

DEMANDING reparations from the French government to Haiti, the Assembly of Caribbean People accompanied by trade unions and other organisations delivered a letter to the French Embassy on April 17.

As the letter was handed over to a representative of the French ambassador, David Abdulah, who is a member of the assembly’s regional executive committee, indicated that the letter was in French so the ambassador would have no excuse for not understanding the importance of its contents.

The delivery was done on the 200-year anniversary of France demanding a 150 million gold francs debt in exchange for Haiti's independence.

On that same day the letter was delivered, French President Emmanuel Macron said that historic injustice was imposed on Haiti when it was forced to pay the colossal indemnity to France 200 years ago.

The Associated Press (AP) reported that Macron said in a statement that France “subjected the people of Haiti to a heavy financial indemnity...This decision placed a price on the freedom of a young nation, which was thus confronted with the unjust force of history from its very inception."

The AP report said Macron also announced the creation of a joint French-Haitian historical commission to “examine our shared past" and assess relations, but did not directly address long-standing Haitian demands for reparations.

Carol Noel, director of the Network of NGOs of Trinidad and Tobago for the Advancement of Women, said at the embassy, “Normally on anniversaries we are happy, we are joyful and we look back on all of our achievements. But the people of Haiti cannot rejoice, they are in anguish, they are in pain, they are denied certain privileges, and what is theirs has been denied to them.

"They are suffering, not only because of natural disasters, but because of what man has done to them and we need to lend our voice to that situation...They have no shelter and they have a whole nation that owes them money. A debt has to be paid, you incur a debt, it has to be paid."

She encouraged all citizens of TT and the wider Caribbean to stand in solidarity with Haiti in demanding justice.

Representing the Emancipation Support Committee and the Caribbean Freedom Project, activist Shabaka Kambon quoted Guyanese poet Martin Carter as he spoke in front of the embassy.

“One of his poems is called Looking at Your Hands and in that poem he starts by saying, ‘No I will not still my voice, I have too much to claim.’

“That line really speaks to what we are here for this morning. We are here this morning because we have too much to claim on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Haiti. This morning we stand in solidarity with all those who would hear this call and are in front of embassies and consulates doing the same things that we are this morning.

Kambon noted that despite its vibrant culture and rich history, Haiti still remains one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere with its citizens living in some of the most dire situations in the world.

“The rich nations of the world have their fingerprints all over this situation in Haiti and France is chief among them.

“This issue of the debt that France owes to Haiti has been discussed ad nauseam by the leading legal luminaries of the world. And there is a consensus that if this was really brought to trial in the way that it should, France would have to pay Haiti.”

He said despite the lack of attention paid to the issue by some regional leaders, civil society and the people of the region continue to remember the sacrifices that were made by Haitian revolutionaries.

Kambon also told Newsday a story about his visit to Haiti just after the earthquake in 2010.

“The Presidential Palace had semi-collapsed, thousands of people were living in tent cities all around the Negre Marron (Black Maroon) monument and the only place it had running water for a long period was right behind the Presidential Palace and so everyone from those tent cities was going there to shower."

He said during his mission he was allowed to go to the area to shower but was told by the guide to leave the doors of his vehicle, which contained his laptop, suitcase and other belongings, open.

“So I thought, boy, if this was Frederick Street all that stuff gone. So I start to calculate my losses one time. We joined the line and it took us about 40 minutes to get to the shower and when we came back, not a thing was touched in our car."

He said that was the first time he got a sense that there was something special and different about Haiti and its people.