From Dictatorship to Desperation: Haiti's Struggle Through Decades of Turmoil 🇭🇹💔

Deep Dive with Maisie 💬

In this article Maisie discusses the post conflict region of Haiti. She is a student journalist with us on a placement organised by the Oxford University Career Services.

🎧 listen to Maisie’s backstory here - she discusses her motivation & research as well.

Two centuries on from the foundation of the first Black Republic, Haiti continues to face violence, instability and extreme poverty

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Over 200 years after Haiti's revolution, the nation is on the brink of collapse due to its history of political and social upheaval. Let us explore the critical developments and issues over the last 70 years that have driven the country to this point. Central to our discussion are the fundamental human rights violations, economic instability, cultural shifts, and countless social crises. This article considered how these elements have intertwined to shape Haiti's current plight and the desperate struggle of its people for a better future.

From 1957 to 1971, Haiti endured the ruthless dictatorship of François Duvalier, known as "Papa Doc." The American-trained doctor who returned to his native Haiti in 1945, quickly rose to power by combining his medical skills with the influence of Haitian Vodou—a creole religion that emerged during the country's Colonial occupation which blends West African traditions and Roman Catholicism. Vodou, deeply embedded in Haitian culture, was a powerful tool for Duvalier, who exploited the belief that political power was linked to a pact with the Devil. His interest in Vodou began as a country doctor, where he realised how his image as a mystical healer could control the people. This manipulation helped him exercise control through fear and religion.

Duvalier's nickname, "Papa Doc," reflected his initial image as a healer of the sick and paternal figure, but his regime was marked by gross human rights abuses. Public executions and hangings were commonplace, with bodies left in the streets as a grim reminders of the consequences of resistance. The Tonton Macoute, his personal militia, enforced his rule with unparalleled brutality, murdering up to 50,000 Haitians. This group was feared more than the National Army and instrumental in quashing opposition. It was perhaps also the start of Haiti’s devastating descent into gang warfare. 

In 1963, an attempted kidnapping of Duvalier's children led to a violent response. Duvalier's militia killed former army officer François Benoit's family. In a BBC Sounds podcast, Benoit recounts how the President "delivered massacre." This incident exemplified the violation of the right to life, liberty, and personal security. Duvalier's reign was characterised by such atrocities, perpetuating a climate of terror to suppress dissent. The pervasive 

violence violated numerous human rights, including freedom from persecution and personal security.

Haiti's history of colonisation and American occupation influenced Duvalier's hatred for the US, despite his strategic manipulation of Cold War tensions to secure US financial support for his personal gain. Positioning himself as a bulwark against communism, especially after Fidel Castro's 1959 rise to power in Cuba, Duvalier received significant US aid. However, he misused the funding to arm the Tonton Macoute, worsening the suffering of ordinary Haitians. By 1971, Haiti faced severe deprivation, with rampant illiteracy, disease, and malnutrition. The right to decent living conditions and healthcare were grossly neglected under Duvalier's rule.

Duvalier's fascination with Vodou led to him adopting the persona of Baron Samedi, a Haitian Vodou spirit, similar to the grim reaper, to reinforce his image as a powerful leader. This manipulation of cultural symbols, combined with strategic brutality, ensured his control over Haiti. Despite international condemnation and severe human rights abuses, Duvalier's regime persisted until his death in 1971, instilling a legacy of violence, fear, and suffering.

The lack of education in Haiti made it easier for Duvalier to manipulate and brainwash the population. Literacy and numeracy rates were very low, and higher education was inaccessible. Duvalier maintained power by keeping the populace uneducated and reliant on superstitions.

Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier,Duvalierd the presidency-for-life from his father, François "Papa Doc '' Duvalier, who had ruled Haiti since 1957. In 1971, with Papa Doc's health failing, Baby Doc was declared as the new president-for-life. Despite attempts to modernise and reform the Haitian state, Baby Doc's rule was as authoritarian and cruel as his father's, leading to constant popular unrest due to extreme poverty, lack of investment, and employment opportunities. The Duvaliers amassed hundreds of millions in US donations, none of which benefited the Haitian people. During Baby Doc’s regime, the average daily income was less than 50p, 80% of college graduates fled the country, infant mortality was at 12.5%, and life expectancy was just 53 years.

Among those who left was artist Edouard Duval-Carrié, born in 1954, who used his art to critique Haitian politics. His 1979 painting, "J.C. Duvalier en Folle de Marié," (J.C. Duvalier as a mad bride) was a daring satirical reference to Baby Doc’s character, illustrating how metaphors in art became tools for political commentary in a repressive environment. Baby Doc’s hands-off approach to governance saw the US Agency for International Development seize 30% of all farmland, transforming it into export-focused plantations that impoverished tens of thousands of farmers. He collaborated with US companies to eliminate trade tariffs, keep wages low, and ban labour unions, ensuring tax-free profits for the US while Haitians remained desperately poor.

Despite being seen as less harsh than his father, Baby Doc never apologised for the atrocities committed during his rule, including brutal crackdowns by the feared Tonton Macoutes militia, which left thousands dead, disappeared, or illegally detained. When asked in a 2013 hearing about deaths and executions under his government, Baby Doc evasively responded, "Deaths exist in all countries," claiming he did not intervene in police activities.

In February 1986, a non-violent coup, supported by the majority of Haitians, toppled Baby Doc's authority . He fled to France, leaving behind political repression and a worsening economy that sparked violent unrest in Haiti, the hemisphere’s poorest country.

Human rights groups, both within Haiti and internationally, pressed for Baby Doc to stand trial for widespread human rights abuses during his rule. The US not only funded the corrupt Haitian government, as they had done initially under François Duvalier, however, they exploited the country in the name of Capitalism, exacerbating the desperate conditions for many Haitians.

After a brief period of unrest following the end of Baby Doc's power , Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president in the nation's first free and peaceful elections in 1990. However, in 1991, Aristide was ousted in a coup led by Brigadier-General Raoul Cedras, prompting sanctions from the US and the Organisation of American States. By 1994, facing an imminent US invasion, the military regime relinquished power, leading to Aristide's return under US oversight. The following year, UN peacekeepers replaced US troops, and Aristide supporters secured parliamentary victories, with René Préval from Aristide's Lavalas party becoming president in December.

Préval's presidency was marked by tensions, and in 1999, he declared parliament's term expired and began ruling by decree. Aristide returned to power in 2000 amid allegations of electoral irregularities. His second term was fraught with violence and coup attempts, including an attack on the National Palace in 2001. Despite these challenges, Haiti made important strides by joining the Caribbean Community (Caricom) trade bloc in 2002 and by having Haitian Vodou as a religion in 2003.

In 2004, Aristide was forced into exile amid violent uprisings. An interim government took over, and severe floods later that year killed thousands. UN peacekeepers arrived to help stabilise the nation, but gang violence escalated, particularly in the capital, with many killings attributed to armed gangs loyal to Aristide. In 2006, René Préval was re-elected in the first elections since Aristide's overthrow, and a new government under Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis took office.

Natural disasters compounded Haiti's struggles. In 2008, food riots led to the dismissal of Prime Minister Jacques-Édouard Alexis, and hurricanes killed hundreds and worsened a cholera epidemic. The 2010 earthquake was an utterly catastrophic blow, killing up to 300,000 people and sparking slow reconstruction efforts that led to widespread anger. 

One international effort made following the destruction of murals at Cathedral of Holy Trinity, Port-au-Prince due to the earthquake includes the plans for restoration on a post-earthquake art/architecture conservation project with Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.

However, by July 2010,  Popular anger grew over the slow pace of reconstruction six months after quake.Cholera outbreaks and political instability persisted, with Michel Martelly winning the presidency in 2011.

Martelly's tenure saw ongoing violence, with cholera deaths rising and protests against government corruption. In 2016, Hurricane Matthew devastated Haiti, and political crises continued with Jovenel Moïse declared president in 2017 amid fraud allegations. By 2021, gang violence escalated dramatically following President Moïse's assassination, plunging Haiti into near-total anarchy.

Father Victor Auguste, a Salesian missionary in Haiti, described the dire situation in 2024: rampant gang violence, widespread displacement, and extreme insecurity. Despite the risks, missionaries and aid workers remain to support the Haitian people, who face violations of their rights to life, liberty, personal security, freedom from persecution, access to education, healthcare, and decent living conditions. More than half a million people have been displaced, with children particularly affected by the violence and instability.

According to many, the international community's response to the crises in Haiti has been inadequate, with a desperate need for more robust and coordinated support. However, Al-Jazeera reports of how Kenyan police arrived in June 2024 to assist in combating the gangs controlling Port-au-Prince, in the hopes of putting a stop to the bloodshed. The Haitian people continue to endure extreme poverty, political corruption, and exploitation, desperately seeking change and stability in a nation plagued by decades of hardship and human rights violations.

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