Ja: No wasted tears for Aristide

This bicentenary year of the great Haitian revolution is rapidly being overshadowed by the political situation of former president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. That is a pity. We are losing an opportunity to reflect on the greatest revolution in the history of the world. Don't weep for the fortunes of Mr Aristide. Weep instead for the disaster and malicious neglect of Haiti.

Regardless of the merit of his constitutional position, Aristide falls into the familiar category of yet another Haitian head of state whose limited abilities and personal qualities seriously eroded the general welfare of the majority of the Haitian people. It is a serious mistake to think that a democratic election (however defined) results in democratic politics. Haiti under Aristide illustrated that. The present emphasis on Aristide overshadows the monumental debt that the western world owes to Haiti.
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Haiti failed neither as a sovereign state nor as a cohesive culture. It failed in other respects. It failed largely because of man's inhumanity to man and the malevolent force of international hypocrisy. But in a commemorative year we emphasise not Haiti's failures, but its magnificent successes.

For that we ought to weep a little for that small, brave, bold, innovative state that successfully defied an unjust, cruel and unkind world. For that reason, we ought to look beyond Aristide to the tragic misfortunes of Haiti and weep. For small countries and small societies in a globalising world, the lessons and experiences of Haiti are all too familiar.

Read the rest. Interesting essay.