“Every night, our kids say their prayers to the sound of gunfire in the background—”
—Mitch Albom, Haitian orphanage director
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believes that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.—
James 2:17-26
The House of Grace Ministries congregation prayed for peace for the island nation of Haitian Sunday, but I’m not among those who believe prayer will stop the killing. I believe God allows mankind to ‘do as they do.’
He/She does not intervene in the affairs of man and womenkind. Historical evidence proves me correct.
As such, we, somebody—Superman, Wonder Woman Marvel Girl, or the Union of African Nations—should intervene in what has become history’s most dangerous and fragmented nation.
What is occurring in Haiti is beyond tragedy. Total chaos reigns; dozens of citizens are murdered on its streets every day. No one is safe. And the police and military are ineffective.
Gangs–some young thugs not old enough to vote–have taken over the government, and the capitol city of Port au Prince.
It’s like some bizarre reality show. People are being killed for the thrill of it. It’s like the ‘Purge’ movies, but in Blackface.
The collateral damage is reaching the thousands, which explains why hundreds have sought sanctuary in America in recent years. Subtract from that number the dozens who died on rafts en route. Their bodies line the ocean floor, marrying with the million ‘disposed’ of during the Middle Passages. A large percentage of their ancestors were initially earmarked for Haiti and other Caribbean islands to fill slave quotas. Those who survived were used to enrich French and Spanish colonists.
I would suggest the U.S. intervene—beyond rhetoric and political speeches—partly because Haitians would not be facing the chaos had this intervened on several occasions to advance democracy.
A quick history (make that ‘His-story’) lesson:
Haiti was among the first countries earmarked for exploitation, and the introduction of African slavery in that country dates back to 1492.
The tiny island was initially called ‘Ayiti’ by the Arawak people, who were essentially replaced (because they all almost died out due to disease, courtesy of Christopher Columbus and his fellow pedophiles) with African slaves who needed to pick cotton and plant sugar.
By 1700, one-third of the inhabitants were slaves of the Spanish Empire (which introduced slavery to America) and later the French.
The French occupation was disrupted when one of its ‘colored’ generals, Toussaint L’ouverture, led a revolt in 1791,
At this point, the United States could have changed the destiny of the island. L’ouverture asked American President Thomas Jefferson for assistance in overthrowing the French.
Fearful that American involvement might spark a similar revolution among American slaves, Jefferson refused.
At stake was not just the freedom, but the democratic future of Haiti.
To add insult to injury, America sent troops to occupy Haiti in 1915. It didn’t shame itself into leaving until it put in motion a corrupt government led by the infamous Pappa Doc—Francois Duvalier.
Pappa Doc destroyed all semblance of democracy. When he died, his son, ‘Baby Doc,’ succeeded him. Baby Doc was forced to flee amid a coup in 1987.
Haiti never recovered.
The current chaos has left the nation in scrambles. Gangs have stormed the capitol, attacking officials and finally forcing its current head, Ariel Henry, to resign last week. The country is now in the hands of thugs and urban terrorists. And no one, from infants to seniors, is safe.
Extreme poverty, government corruption, and social chaos have bred violence and upheaval.
Someone must come to the rescue. At least one African country, Kenya, has pledged to intervene, although what that means is up for interpretation.
What isn’t debatable is America’s complicity and its failure to provide aid and military (versus guns) to set things right.
If one-tenth of the money spent in Ukraine or Israel were sent to the war-torn and impoverished nation, things could be set anew.
But this is a Black country. It is the first Black Western nation to gain independence from colonialists. It is a model of what could have been, what it should have been, turned corrupt.
One report from a third-world media source described a Haitian American senior who asked if God had abandoned Haiti.
I assume she posed a rhetorical question. If not, I would lament ‘no,’ He/She has not abandoned her country. But prayer by itself will not stop the gunshots the children in the orphanage hear every day. If I had my way, I’d send a detachment of Black U.S. military to reestablish sanity.
Or maybe the Nation of Islam’s ‘Fruit of Islam.’
This is a Black problem, where people of African descent should be at the vanguard of reform.
And those nations—Spain, France, and the U.S—which contributed to this insanity, should fund the operation and pray the seeds of this Haitian ‘revolution’ don’t spread to our shores.
Hotep.