The History Of Haiti And U.S. Intervention

By Meghna Chakrabarti
Jan 31, 2012, 3:40 PM
4 Comments

In this photo taken on Jan. 17, Soraya, 5, right, and her sister Leila Laurentus, 6, center, play with a friend in Calebasse, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The sisters were among 33 children who U.S. missionaries tried to take out of Haiti after the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake and were reunited with their parents in March 2010. (AP)

One day after Gov. Deval Patrick declared Jan. 12-Feb. 12 Haiti Earthquake Remembrance Month, we talk with the author of “Haiti: The Aftershocks of History,” a new book about the history of Haiti, and about the sometimes negative effects of U.S. intervention there.

Guests:

Laurent Dubois, author of “Haiti: The Aftershocks of History”

Barbara

I respect Professor Dubois’ scholarship as a historian of Haiti but am wondering if he has skipped the second half of the twentieth century in his book. Of course this is the history of the Duvalier regime which most of us know about, and it casts a deep shadow on the development of Haiti both in the area of economics and human rights. This is not to deny that the earlier periods of darkness in Haiti were caused by European greed and cruelty, but he should have mentioned the years from 1957 to 1986. Maybe there wasn’t time to include this period in the radio piece, but nonetheless. . .

Meghna Chakrabarti

Barbara,

Professor Dubois’s book does indeed examine the bulk of the 20th century, through the Duvalier reign. I’m afraid I couldn’t get to that in the radio interview.

Barbara

Dear Ms. Chakrabarti,

Thank you for answering my question. One should not post without going to the source. In this case I should have read read Dr. Dubois’ book. Too bad though that the interview couldn’t have been longer. We got a skewed viewpoint.

I always enjoy your interviews. And you do read the necessary material beforehand.

Barbara

Meghna Chakrabarti

Barbara,

Many thanks for your kind comment. I, too, was worried about the skewed viewpoint. That’s why in the limited time we had left, I took a caller on the air who asked about the missing millions in foreign aid that went to Haiti in the 80s and beyond. Prof. Dubois was able to respond to that, at least. Still, I wish just about every interview could be longer as well.

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The History Of Haiti And U.S. Intervention