"Les Enfants Perdus de Ayiti? Not!"

Chris Brady

There was a big difference between Aristide’s political behavior before
he was deposed versus after he was reinstalled by US troops. He was
more of a populist before. His movement lost a lot of steam during his
imposed hiatus.

Aristide’s opposition may have been pushed back by US armed force, but
after the Lavalas tidal wave had swept across Haiti, it had actually
anchored itself securely in coves of privilege across the country.
Furthermore, Aristide was a chastened man when he returned, like a child
who required the intervention of a Big Daddy, while the bullies smirked
on the sidelines. All the other kids in the playground knew the score:
he wouldn’t be there without Big Daddy. In front of everyone, Big Daddy
sternly told him not to antagonize the bullies, and to behave himself.
He was allowed to serve out his term, but forbidden to add on the years
he lost. He was effectively penalized for losing. The bullies puffed
their chests, and went inside for a bit, locking the gates of their
mansions.I lived in Brooklyn when the Haitian revolt first erupted against Papa
Doc’s son Meat Head. Duvalier fled to France -- where he was welcomed, and
ushered, with his trophy wife, retinue, and treasure, into a secure
mansion. Large numbers of Haitians live in New York. Some celebrated
the revolt. Others were furious at Meat Head’s escape. Then came the
overthrow of their new leader. I joined their mad march through the
streets to Manhattan. I was swept along for a few blocks, then stood
and watched from the sidewalk of Flatbush Avenue as Black people darker
than most African-Americans swelled past, anxious and angry, waving
clenched fists and signs, waving red and blue flags, shouting in Kreole
and heavily accented English. It was an awesome sight, a glimpse of its
manifestation in their homeland.

Aristide was a focal point, a leader from the masses, and a nightmare
for the elites everywhere -- just as the Haitian Revolution in 1803
horrified and terrorized the Slavocracy of the Atlantic. As in every
revolution, there was a Thermidorian Reaction. In Haiti, the more
“moderate” elements of the revolt recoiled in horror from the upsurge of
the unwashed multitudes. Perforce, they linked up with the revanchist
elites yearning for their former power and status.

Aristide scrambled to do what he could, whatever was left of his
full-blown impulse to give the country to the poor. Despite the
meagerness of his moves, the rightwing in the USA, as is their wont,
refused to distinguish the difference between populism and socialism -- or
if some did, they recognized that both took away the stuff of the elites
and gave it to the poor. This is just wrong in their eyes. Plus
Aristide was reinstalled by the will of Bill -- and the right would do
anything to smear Clinton, including tarring everything he touched.

In Haiti, the right shared the prejudices of their American brothers.
Aristide should have purged his country of reactionary forces like the
Revolution did in Cuba. But he let them live -- and prosper -- like a good
Christian. That must have been one of the conditions of his sponsored
return: do not become Robespierre.

The people were desperately poor, kept in superstitious servitude for
generations by greedy elites, mournfully uneducated, and understandably
volatile. Necklacings of the former regime’s enforcers did take place.
Righteous right-wingers in the USA heckled and scolded against the
excesses of the masses -- criticism never heard against the murderous
"White Guard" assassins and terrorists of the ancien regime. Aristide
could not rebuke the avengers without condemning his supporters.
After all, they were only returning favors, evil, wicked gifts of
decades, a debt that could never be fully repaid.

Nevertheless, the anti-Aristide opposition was more seriously burnt by
the concessions that Aristide gave to the people. They were slight.
There was no socialism. Aristide tried to provide as much and as many
give-aways as an impoverished state could manage while still remaining
in the orbit of a capitalist economy controlled by the Goliath to the
north. And against increasing opposition.

It is still too much for the elites. Thanks to the USA, their
expropriation is no longer an issue. It is off the table, out of sight,
beyond consideration, not even remembered. For them, the robbery of a
dime is as much a crime.

Aristide was caught between a rock and a hard place. Reinforced by the
return of the enforcers of the previous regime, and energized by
transfusions from abroad, the elites coalesced into a forceful
opposition. They had a “responsible” section which articulated their
demands and made a show of civil dissent. And they built up an army.

Many of the poor chafed under the impotence of a leader who was still
restrained by the collar of capitalism. Their poverty had not been
substantially alleviated. They felt betrayed. Disenchanted, some
failed to rush to Aristide’s defense. Others, heedless and alienated,
succumbed to the opportunities dangled by the rich and went over to get
what they could in exchange for a switch in allegiances. Many remained
loyal to Aristide, well aware that his opponents really offered nothing
better for the masses in Haiti.

At this point, Aristide and his faithful followers are cornered. They
are called to submit again to the dictates of the superior civilization
epitomized by the White, North Atlantic heirs to the Triangular Trade.
But I submit to you, that if they do, it will be a tactical retreat.
The struggle will continue.

There can be no compromises in a just system based on the fair and
equitable sharing of the world for all. Compromise introduces
contradiction. Capitalism must be eliminated entirely. Mais entends:
it is not the individual humans of the bourgeoisie but the bourgeois
order that must be destroyed. Then we will all be liberated, and the
world will be saved. Yes, Haiti is an example. Do not let it be in
vain.