History

Adoption from Haiti continues to rise as new dossiers are now being accepted. This change came about in January of 2011. Haiti is regaining their footing after the devastating earthquake a year prior. By fully re-opening their program, they have made it possible for many children who were orphaned in the catastrophe to find families. This is a difficult process because the children must be legally free for adoption. With all of the chaos and confusion it is hard to distinguish between the children who have family and those who do not. Yet, Haiti has undertaken this important task in order to ensure the care of its orphans. The costs to adopt from this country are on par with normal international adoption programs… [more]

Haiti has long been known  for being the poorest country in the western hemisphere. The country itself has offered a tropic island vacation get away for the wealthy and middle class for years. Though it does struggle financially, the artist trade and lush island life offer an appeal for the tourists from abroad. It is not unheard of on the streets of Port-au-Prince (capital city), to see children begging. Most of these children are street children. They are the truest indicator of the needs this country faces... Vivid in my mind, when I think of Haiti, are the shocking pictures of the aftermath of the large earthquake that rocked this country almost a year ago. Sheer devastation at its worst. Yet, good things have sprung up from the devastation of… [more]

Continued from Part One... Few monuments help illustrate those connections, though a Miami society is looking to change that. The Haitian American Historical Society is planning a monument in Savannah, Ga., to honor the Haitians who fought alongside colonial soldiers in the siege of Savannah during the American Revolution. At least 500 free black men from the French colony that became Haiti volunteered with American colonists and French soldiers in October 1779 in an unsuccessful attempt to drive the British from the coastal Georgia city. Their little-known contribution to America's struggle for independence is a point of national pride in Haiti. After returning home, Haitian veterans of the Revolutionary War led their own rebellion and won Haiti's independence from France in 1804. "That kind of symbol is not only going to be… [more]

Here is a fascinating article linking Haiti with Black History Month: Published Wednesday, February 14, 2007 Haitians celebrate cultural legacy during Black History Month By JENNIFER KAY Associated Press Writer MIAMI Abolitionist Frederick Douglass and writers Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston are among the heroes celebrated every February during Black History Month. Shadowed in history, however, are their ties to Haiti, the first free black republic. That relationship is being examined this year by the founders of Black History Month. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History designated this year's theme as "From Slavery to Freedom: Africans in the Americas," encouraging people to explore the emancipation of slaves and their struggles for equality in the 19th century in Jamaica, Brazil, Haiti and the United States. It's about time, say Haitian-Americans who want the… [more]

"Misery won't touch you gentle. It always leaves its thumbprints on you; sometimes it leaves them for others to see, sometimes for nobody but you to know of." (From The Farming of Bones) A couple of months ago, I read the book The Farming of Bones, by Edwidge Danticat. The Farming of Bones takes place on the island of Hispaniola in the 1930s. It begins in a fictional village in the Dominican Republic; at the same time Dictator Rafael Trujillo began his policy on Haitian genocide. We follow Amabelle Desir on her journey from being the servant in a Dominican household to her passage back to her native Haiti. From Publishers Weekly: The almost dreamlike pace of… [more]

Brief History of Haiti continued from Part Two... Democracy continued to falter in Haiti for the next two decades until 1957, when Doctor François “Papa Doc” Duvalier was elected president. In 1964, Duvalier consolidated power, naming himself President-for-Life. Using his notorious enforcement squad, the Tonton Macoutes, thousands were imprisoned, exiled, and murdered. Before his death, Papa Doc named his son Jean-Claude as his successor. When he assumed the presidency, Jean-Claude was only nineteen years of age, earning the nickname “Baby Doc”. In 1972, one year after Baby Doc came to power, the first refugees fleeing Haiti began to arrive in the United States. Baby Doc’s period in office was marked by widespread corruption. While the country was promoted as a vast market of… [more]

A Brief History of Haiti continued from Part One... A short time after they gained independence, the people of Haiti were thrown into a fierce civil war; dividing the country for almost 20 years. Dessalines was assassinated, and an illiterate ex-slave named Henri Christophe took his place. King Christophe ruled the North, and Alexandre Petion, a mulatto, ruled the South. In 1818, Alexandre Pétion died and Jean-Pierre Boyer, the former secretary of Pétion, was appointed President for Life. After the suicide of King Christophe, President Boyer joined the country together. Boyer later led Haitian troops into Santo Domingo, the former Spanish colony and claimed victory, unifying the island. However, President Boyer condemned Haiti to generations of debt that strangled the… [more]

Recently I have been reading about the history of Haiti, and thought I would share a little with you all. (I will share links to the informative websites at the end.) Haiti shares the western half of the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Haiti is the world’s first Black republic, and it is the only nation to be born of a successful slave rebellion. In December of 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on Hispaniola in and claimed it for the Spanish crown. He called it, “La Isla Espanola,” which was later shortened to Hispaniola. The island was inhabited by local Arawak Indians, who called their land, “Ayti,” meaning mountainous land. European colonizers forced the native people to… [more]