Over the past few decades, Haiti has been victim to a variety of horrific historical events: slavery, subjection to American occupation—and its cruelties—as well as the harsh rule of previous Haitian President, Jean-Claude Duvalier to name only a few. Due to the nature of Duvalier’s Presidency, several articles were published questioning Haiti’s sovereignty by various authors residing in Latin-America such as Edwidge Danticat and David Kroeker-Maus. In one particular article entitled, Should Haiti Relinquish its Sovereignty, Professor Richard Albert poses the idea that following the aftermath of the brutal dictatorship of the Duvaliers (as well as several following disasters), Haiti should give up its independence and once again
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Naturally, the statement much like his argument, is lacking. Albert argues that between history and politics, Haiti seems incapable of flourishing as an independent state and thus should re-establish itself as a subservient state, primarily to Canada. However, he fails to discuss the nightmare in which Haiti had suffered through before gaining independence. He mentions, “History has proven that the political class has neither incentive nor interest to put the country first.” Yet he neglects any evidence to support this claim. Rather, he introduces the Haitian Constitution, and how he believes that Haiti should demand a new one to establish peace and prosperity. While this is a logical idea, he immediately disregards his original idea and altogether states that Haiti should, “…renounce the power of self-governance…” and essentially become grant Canada its independence for potentially fifty years . This is an altogether terrible idea. Though mentioned at the beginning of the paper, Albert neglects to provide any previous information regarding the last time Haiti was a subservient state, longing for independence, subject to variety of …show more content…
In his article, One Hundred Years of the American Occupation in Haiti, David Kroeker-Maus discusses the worst civilian slaughter in Haitian history—the Cayes Massacre. This attack took place on December 6th 1929, when American marines opened fire on a group of unarmed protestors, resulting in the death of at least a dozen people . Kroeker-Maus states that unfavorable attention was brought to the situation through international news sources, as well as, “…provoked protests within the US against the Occupation of Haiti.” Furthermore, while Richard Albert presents the idea of Canada helping Haiti regain its stability, Kroeker-Maus states that the original goal of the occupation was to—similarly—bring stability to Haiti, which overall failed and resulted in the rise of brutal dictator Francois ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier . Duvalier was able to win the title of ‘President for Life’, through the support of the United States due to his anti-communism ideals . His rule over Haiti from 1957-1971, was one full of tragedy, and overall horror. According to a few sources, he formed his own militia later named ‘Tontons Macoutes’ (a nickname received from a mythical Haitian boogeyman who would stuff sleeping children into a sack), who would eventually be responsible for the murder of thousands of Haitians who opposed Duvalier’s principles . Furthermore, only a few years into
Naturally, the statement much like his argument, is lacking. Albert argues that between history and politics, Haiti seems incapable of flourishing as an independent state and thus should re-establish itself as a subservient state, primarily to Canada. However, he fails to discuss the nightmare in which Haiti had suffered through before gaining independence. He mentions, “History has proven that the political class has neither incentive nor interest to put the country first.” Yet he neglects any evidence to support this claim. Rather, he introduces the Haitian Constitution, and how he believes that Haiti should demand a new one to establish peace and prosperity. While this is a logical idea, he immediately disregards his original idea and altogether states that Haiti should, “…renounce the power of self-governance…” and essentially become grant Canada its independence for potentially fifty years . This is an altogether terrible idea. Though mentioned at the beginning of the paper, Albert neglects to provide any previous information regarding the last time Haiti was a subservient state, longing for independence, subject to variety of …show more content…
In his article, One Hundred Years of the American Occupation in Haiti, David Kroeker-Maus discusses the worst civilian slaughter in Haitian history—the Cayes Massacre. This attack took place on December 6th 1929, when American marines opened fire on a group of unarmed protestors, resulting in the death of at least a dozen people . Kroeker-Maus states that unfavorable attention was brought to the situation through international news sources, as well as, “…provoked protests within the US against the Occupation of Haiti.” Furthermore, while Richard Albert presents the idea of Canada helping Haiti regain its stability, Kroeker-Maus states that the original goal of the occupation was to—similarly—bring stability to Haiti, which overall failed and resulted in the rise of brutal dictator Francois ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier . Duvalier was able to win the title of ‘President for Life’, through the support of the United States due to his anti-communism ideals . His rule over Haiti from 1957-1971, was one full of tragedy, and overall horror. According to a few sources, he formed his own militia later named ‘Tontons Macoutes’ (a nickname received from a mythical Haitian boogeyman who would stuff sleeping children into a sack), who would eventually be responsible for the murder of thousands of Haitians who opposed Duvalier’s principles . Furthermore, only a few years into