Not just ex-slave societies, but people everywhere, owe a debt of gratitude to Haiti for its example of resistance to brutal oppression leading to the overthrow, defeat, and eviction of European enslavers at the turn of the 19th century.

Recurring misery and devastation dating back more than 200 years will never dim the glory of the Haitian Revolution
— the first and only slave uprising to result in an independent State ruled by former slaves.

That revolution became an inspiration for all enslaved people, including in Jamaica, where the Sam Sharpe-led, freedom-seeking insurrection of the early 1830s served as the final nail, convincing colonial oppressors that slavery was no longer tenable.

How cruelly ironic, then, that Haitians — descendants of those iconic warriors of more than 200 years ago — have suffered more than any other among ex-slave societies in the western hemisphere.

Much of today’s suffering in Haiti is historically linked to the vengeful spite of former oppressors
— not least France, which two decades after its eviction used military might to threaten and compel the fledgling northern Caribbean nation to pay for having won its independence.

Historians differ as to the extent of that externally imposed debt paid over generations, extending deep into the 20th century. Those payments were facilitated by loans said to have been provided by French banks.

The composite effect has been described as a double debt, which effectively robbed the Haitian people of a path to development.

Economists using various models estimate that, in today’s money, that ‘ransom’ paid to France
— as other great powers stood by and cynically watched
— amounts to many billions of US dollars. Some say it exceeds US$100 billion.

Crude exploitation of Haiti by the US in the first few decades of the 20th century, including a lengthy military occupation at one stage, worsened Haiti’s impoverishment.

That’s to the extent where it has been routinely described as the western hemisphere’s poorest nation.

Mismanagement, corruption, and poverty are bedfellows. And the sad truth is that Haitian leaders down the years have been guilty of lining their pockets, apparently without much thought for country and people.

Natural disasters such as the catastrophic earthquake of 2010 have only made the situation much, much worse.

The 2021 assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise and the current turmoil with armed groups rendering anarchy come against the chaotically tragic backdrop outlined above, and more.

We need not be rocket scientists to recognise that fear of a flood of refugees from Haiti will be much on the minds of Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders as they meet here today to consider the crisis.

Yet, self interest must not be foremost for regional leaders as they consider the mind-boggling challenges facing Haiti.

Arrival at what has been described as Haitian-led and Haitian-owned solutions must be anchored in a commitment by Guyana’s president and Caricom Chairman Dr Irfaan Ali. That is for “a clear message of unity between Caricom and the international community as we work together to provide the critical support to the Haitian people at this time of crisis for them”.

No matter what else happens, perhaps for the first time, the interests of Haitians must come first for all its neighbours.