Nobody is Free Until Haiti is Free: Liberation, Reparations and Justice for Haiti

Aug 1

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As we gather in joy and resistance during this second UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, from EqualHealth’s Campaign Against Racism, we want to particularly hold space for Haiti.

Haiti is a country where the land and its people have been experiencing punishment after punishment since its independence from France in 1804. It is the case in point of anti-Blackness, colonialism, and imperialism and how these systems are currently operating globally. Nearly 1 in 3 forcibly-displaced persons are from majority-Black countries, a share that is projected to continue increasing over time. Yet, the right to migrate, particularly as it pertains to people of African descent, is consistently under attack. The anti-Black policies that migrants of African descent face throughout the world have resulted in a universal experience of militarized borders, exclusion, violation of human rights and international law, targeted hyper-surveillance, criminalization, brute force, and death. Specifically in the United States, the disparate treatment faced by Black migrants in the civil immigration system is amplified by the anti-Blackness of the criminal punishment system that over-criminalizes all Black people in the U.S.

The white supremacist reaction to Haiti leading the most successful slave rebellion in the western hemisphere has driven the struggle against immense violence and legacies deeply embedded in this reaction. And we want to collectively tell the truth. We want to ask each of you to continue to tell the truth about what is happening in and to Haiti. We ask today that in every space that exists for liberation, justice and reparations for Black communities, we remember the words of Fanny Lou: Nobody is free until everybody is free. For us: Nobody is free until Haiti is free.

We need to tell the truth about Haiti. The truth about how:

Haiti was made to pay France a massive and violent debt in exchange for recognizing its sovereignty and avoiding the threat of reinvasion, in the sum of $20 billion in today’s money.

Haiti was not recognized as a free state by the U.S. until 1862, since slavery was still legal in America, and as such was effectively isolated from global trade and economic security. Haiti was occupied and extorted by the U.S. from 1915 to 1934.

In recent years, the Bush administration overthrew Haiti’s elected government of 2004, and the Clinton and Obama administrations expanded neoliberalism through their backing of governments not democratically elected. This was directly related to their willingness to drive forward the expansion of their neoliberal agenda.

In 2015, NPR and ProPublica went in search of nearly $500 million donated to the American Red Cross and found a string of poorly managed projects, questionable spending, and dubious claims of success.

Even as Haiti’s debt was canceled, new reconstruction funds were being offered in the form of loans from the IMF rather than grants, maintaining the racial capitalism extraction of Haiti.

Just a few months ago, more than 100,000 people were deported to Haiti from the U.S. and Dominican Republic.

We owe Haiti. We cannot forget what Haiti has given to us Black people globally, allowing us to exist in the world in a way that wouldn't be possible without Haiti’s courage from 1791 to 1804. So we do not have the right to turn our backs now.

Nobody is free until Haiti is free.

CAR’s Demands:

Mutual aid for our Haitian comrades and their survival: bit.ly/MAC-GF
Reparations for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) communities are long overdue. We must establish a global fund to concretely address the material and socioeconomic conditions tied to enduring legacies of colonialism and imperialism, as well as the direct harm and the generational trauma experienced.
Reparations for those who have been deported is critical. This includes support in accessing resources for reintegration, as well as psychosocial support in Haiti and in other contexts affected by mass deportations. Worldwide, there are accounts of Black migrants facing deportation after experiencing extreme suffering, deprivation of basic necessities, medical neglect, physical violence, xenophobic attacks, verbal threats, acts of racial intimidation, violations of due process, and separation from their family members.
Hold governments accountable to international human rights standards. Governments must be held responsible for upholding international human rights standards related to gender, race, and migration. The protection of these rights is essential in promoting equality and justice and it cannot be done in isolation. Accountability of governments is necessary to ensure that individuals are not denied their rights due to their race or migration status.

To sign this statement and list of demands, click here.

Additional Reading:

A decade after U.N.-linked cholera outbreak, Haitians demand justice | Reuters
Debt Justice for Haiti: Statistics and Case Study | Debt Justice
In Search Of The Red Cross' $500 Million In Haiti Relief | NPR