An Open Letter to David Brooks on Haiti

Dear Mr. Brooks,

In your January 15, 2010 opinion piece in The New York Times, “The Underlying Tragedy,” you present what you seem to believe is a bold assessment of the situation in Haiti and what you certainly know is a provocative recommendation for Haiti’s future. You also offer some advice to President Obama. In order to successfully keep his promise to the people of Haiti that they “will not be forsaken” nor “forgotten” the President, you say, has to “acknowledge a few difficult truths.” What follows, however, is so shockingly ignorant of Haitian history and culture and so saturated with the language and ideology of cultural imperialism that no valuable “truths” remain. Please allow us, therefore, to present you with some more accurate truths.  

First, Haiti is not a clear-cut case of the failure of international aid to achieve poverty reduction. For almost its entire existence Haiti has been shouldered with a load of immense international debt. The Haitian people had the audacity to break their chains and declare independence in 1804 but were later forced by France to re-purchase their freedom for 150 million Francs, a burden that the country has had to carry throughout the twentieth century.

What’s more, the “aid” Haiti has received from its powerful neighbor to the North has never been the sort that would help the country reduce poverty or achieve meaningful development. In the early-twentieth century the principle “aid” Haiti received from the United States came in the form of a brutal military occupation that lasted from 1915 to 1934. After “Papa Doc” Duvalier ascended to power “aid” meant assistance to a ruthless (but conveniently anti-communist) dictator. The U.S. gave Duvalier $40.4 million in his first four years in power, briefly suspended military and economic assistance to the dictator in 1963, but resumed shortly thereafter, restoring full military and economic aid to Duvalier by 1969. In the early 1970s and 1980s when “Baby Doc” Duvalier was at the helm, the “aid” the United States and other international agencies contributed failed to reduce poverty but did enrich foreign investors in the newly constructed assembly industry. Economic policies that the U.S. forced upon Haiti decimated its agriculture for the benefit of American farming while driving Haiti’s peasants into Port-au-Prince and other cities where they found few jobs and scarce housing. Four years after Baby Doc’s departure the Haitian people decided to help themselves by democratically electing a new leader, but the United States aided Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s domestic opponents in the coup of 1991 and did so again in 2004. It is no wonder then that that such “aid” from the United States has failed to lift Haiti out of poverty.  

Equally unconvincing is your argument about “progress-resistant cultural influences,” which brings us to important truth number two: Haitian culture is not “progress-resistant” as anyone familiar with the examples you yourself provide can attest to. If Vodou or “the voodoo religion” as you put it, “spreads the message that life is capricious and planning futile,” how do the majority of Haitians manage to survive on scant resources and less than two dollars-a-day? How do so many Haitians manage to travel abroad, find and maintain difficult jobs, and send money back home if not through careful planning and a fierce defense of precious life? How do the nationwide customers of Fonkoze, the Haitian banking operation that teaches literacy and business practices to curbside marketers to whom it makes small loans, achieve such strong records of loan repayment? In fact, it might be Haitian culture itself (and even Vodou) which allows Haitians to persist. After all, the Vodou spirit Ogou (St. Jacques) is honored as a clever planner and master of skills. So was the champion of Haiti’s war of independence, general Toussaint L’Ouverture, a onetime slave who entered history as a military and diplomatic genius.

The third important truth we have to offer (and we hope President Obama is listening as well) is the opposite of your call for “intrusive paternalism” as the solution to Haiti’s woes: Haiti does not need nor does it want the paternalism of the United States. Haiti is literally dying of cultural imperialism.

Whenever America’s leaders and pundits speak of subordinate peoples, the ideology of imperialism shines through. As it does in your words, Mr. Brooks, so it has done for far too many earlier Americans. President William McKinley, for example, facing the difficult question of how he was to govern the newly-conquered Filipinos worried that

left “to themselves they are unfit for self-government-and they would soon have anarchy and misrule . . . [So] there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them, and by God's grace do the very best we could by them.”

Closer to home, those who worried about an earlier form of “progress-resistant cultural influences” decided it was better to remove the children of Native American families than to let them absorb the backwardness of their pagan and uncivilized parents and community. A common refrain by these “reformers” was “kill the Indian, save the man.” And now, Mr. Brooks, you propose to save the Haitians from themselves by replacing Haitian cultural values and institutions with “middle-class assumptions, an achievement ethos and tough, measurable demands.” Imperialism, whether economic or military, is the primary reason for the conditions that so worsened the impact of the earthquake on January 12. Haitians need less imperialism, not more.

During the Vietnam War an American officer famously stated that “it became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it.” Today Haiti is virtually destroyed. The earthquake having done the hard part, Mr. Brooks, you think “intrusive paternalism” will save it. Lacking a foundational understanding of Haitian history and culture, and bearing the familiar colors of American imperialism you and your ilk will do vastly more harm than good.  

Tom F. Driver

Paul Tillich Professor Emeritus of Theology and Culture

Union Theological Seminary

Carl Lindskoog

Doctoral Candidate, Dept. of History

The Graduate Center, City Univ. of New York

In solidarity (affiliation for identification only):

1.    Jeff Abbott, Seattle, WA

2.    Amy Ace Lance, Woodbury, MN

3.    Nadine Adrien, Student, Azusa Community Church, Simmons College, Harvard Univ.

4.    Margaret Alt, Buffalo, NY

5.    Wayne Alt, Buffalo, NY, Latin American Solidarity Comm., Western New York Peace Center

6.    Melissa Anderson, Hillsboro, OR

7.    Guy S. Antoine, Web Director, Windows on Haiti

8.    Karen Ashmore, Executive Director, Lambi Fund of Haiti

9.    Ramona Atanacio, Attorney, San Francisco, CA

10. Renee Barron, Student, Roseville, MN

11. Phil Ballman, Co-President, Mondo Mundo Agency

12. Sarah Barnes

13. Leslie Bauman, Law Student, Northeastern Univ. School of Law

14. Nancy Bennett, Librarian, Santa Fe, NM

15. Matthew Blaisdell, Student, Pace Law School Center for Environmental Legal Studies

16. Ben Blevins, Highland Support Project, Richmond, VA

17. Brennan Bollman, Medical Student, Harvard Medical School; U Notre Dame Haiti Program

18. Blase Bonpane, Ph.D., Director Office of the America

19. Blaine Bookey, Staff Attorney, Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti

20. James Bowdren, Restaurant Manager/Student, Drexel Univ.

21. Eloise Brière, Professor, The Univ. of Albany – SUNY

22. Jean-Francois Briere, Professor of French Studies; Chair, Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures; University at Albany/SUNY

23. Nadene Brunk, Midwives for Haiti, Richmond, VA

24. Laura Carlsen, Director, CIP Americas Program, Mexico City Hannah Carr, Student

25. Peg Case, Director, TRAC - Disaster Recovery-LA
26. Manolia Charlotin, Co-Founder, Haiti 2015; Operations, Neighbors For Neighbors
27. Morgan Chessia, Medical Student, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
28. Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor (retired), Massachusetts Institute of Technology
29. Kay Coll, Director, Sisters of St. Joseph ESL
30. Brian Concannon, Director, Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
31. Kate Concannon Pimentel
32. Linda Condon, Law Student, Winchester, CT
33. Wit Davis, Student, Tufts Univ. School of Medicine
34. Colin Dayan, Professor, Vanderbilt Univ.
35. Deborah Dimmett
36. Alison Dingley, Episcopal Priest, Klamath Falls, OR
37. Adriana Dingman, Dept. of Anthropology, UT Austin
38. Robert Dorsch, Retiree, Sanbornton, NH
39. Joan W. Drake, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
40. Connie Drapeau Kennedy, Photographer & Librarian, The Welcome Gallery
41. Myles Duffy, Brooklyn, NY
42. Jack Dunn, Activist, Omaha, NE
43. Troy Elder, Assistant Clinical Professor, Florida International Univ., School of Law
44. Joe Emersberger, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
45. Anthony Fenton, Pitt Meadows, BC, Researcher/Journalist, WebofDemocracy.org
46. Leslie Fleming, Professor of Anthropology, Merritt College
47. Simeon Floyd, PhD Student, UT Austin
48. Mary B. Fort, Executive Administrator, Joseph, OR
49. James Fortune
50. Dana Frank, Professor of History, UC Santa Cruz
51. Elisabeth Frost, MD, Radiologist, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
52. Allison Garren, JD/MPH Student      , Northeastern Univ. School of Law, Tufts Univ. School of Medicine
53. Steven Goldberg, Attorney, National Lawyers Guild
54. Jennifer Gordon, Rehabilitation Therapist, Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, UCSF
55. Silvia Gosnell, JD, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Instructor, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge Hospital
56. Jimmy Granthier, Student, Brooklyn, NY
57. Phalan Granthier, Venture capitalist
58. Mike Gullion, Student/Activist, Boston, MA
59. Fritz Gutwein, Co-Director, The Quixote Center
60. Nadezhda Habinek, Attorney, Los Angeles, CA
61. Steven Hall, Graduate Student, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, UC Berkeley
62. Marika Handakas, Psy.D., M.Div. Union Theological Seminary; Faculty, Department of Psychology, Bloomsburg Univ.
63. Akili Jamal Haynes, MIT, New England Conservatory, Boston Conservatory
64. Art Heitzer, Attorney and Chair, National Lawyers Guild's Cuba Subcommittee
65. Peter Henry, Teacher, South Lake High School, Seattle, WA
66. Francis Herrmann, S.J., Associate Professor of Law, Boston College Law School
67. Robert Hirsch, Attorney, Berkeley, CA
68. Peter Hudson, Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt Univ.
69. Todd Jailer, Peoples Health Movement, Berkeley, CA
70. Ollie Jefferson, Attorney at Law, Arlington, Texas
71. Celeste Johansson, Attorney, San Leandro, CA
72. Ema Kabrovas
73. Kaitlin Kalna Darwal, Attorney, Washington, DC
74. Kristin Kaul, Organizer, Sustainable Michigan
75. Stephen Vincent Kobasa, New Haven, CT
76. Deborah Kopacz
77. Joel R. Kupferman, Attorney, National Lawyers Guild
78. Teddy Ky-Nam Miller, Attorney, National Community Reinvestment Coalition
79. Peter Lackowski, Burlington, VT
80. Johanna Lake, Former Employee, Partners in Health
81. Tom Lance, Woodbury, MN
82. Rachel Lang, Student, New York Univ.
83. Marilyn Langlois, Mayor's Aide, City of Richmond, CA
84. Erin Le
85. Christine Lee, JD/Reporter, Westwood One/Boston
86. Curtis Lehmkuhl, Photojournalist, Chicago, IL
87. Jordan Levy, MA Student in Anthropology, Univ. of Western Ontario
88. Susan Liebold, Chief Operating Officer, SAE & Associates
89. Sarah Loper Sengupta, Psychotherapist    
90. Tom Luce, Advocate for Human Rights, Berkeley, CA
91. Julie Marti
92. Egla Martinez, Carleton University, Canada
93. David Mason, Attorney, DLA Piper LLP (US)
94. Cherina Mastrantones, Arts Educator, New York, NY
95. Tom May, Professor, Clemson Univ.
96. Bridget          Melien, Coordinator, Mountains of Hope for Haiti
97. Sarah Mi Ra Dougherty, JD/MPH Candidate, Northeastern Univ. School of Law, Tufts Univ. School of Medicine
98. Tom Miller, General Counsel, Global Exchange
99. Robyn Mizelle, Utsunomiya, Japan
100. Mojustice, Thomas Merton Center for Peace & Justice, Pittsburgh, PA
101. Jennifer Moore, Professor of Law, University of New Mexico School of Law
102. Karen Musalo, Clinical Professor, UC Hastings College of the Law
103. Liane Nelson, Clinical Psychologist
104. Linnea Nelson, Student, New York Univ. School of Law
105. Phil Nerestan, Concerned Citizen
106. Ken Neubeck, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Univ. of Connecticut
107. Annette Newman, JD/MBA, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
108. Lili Nguyen, JD, LLM, San Francisco, CA
109. Ivan Olsen, Artist, Activist, SF Bay Area
110. Veerle Opgenhaffen, Senior Program Director, Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, NYU
111. Ted Oswald, Law Student, Drexel Univ. Earle Mack School of Law
112. Zoe Overbeck, Student, UC Hastings College of the Law
113. Emilie Parry, Sustainable Development/DRR/Humanitarian Response Consultant
114. Purvi Patel, Graduate 2010, JD/MPH, Chicago, IL
115. Elisabeth Pellegrin, Attorney, San Francisco, CA
116. D'Ann Penner, Scholar in Residence, Tulane Univ.
117. John Perry, Leicester-Masaya Link Group
118. Meg Petersen, Professor of English
119. Hervay Petion
120. Paul Philippe Anglade
121. Nicole Phillips, Attorney, Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld, Alameda, CA
122. Catherine Podojil, Writer
123. Anandi Premlall, Project Manager, New York, NY
124. Vivian Quiles, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico      
125. Catherine Quistgard, Retired Paralegal, San Francisco, CA
126. Joan F. Rae
127. Laura Raymond, Education & Outreach, Center for Constitutional Rights
128. Nancy Reimer, Attorney     
129. Augustine Rho, Jackson Heights, NY
130. Michael Ricciardelli, Legal Media Officer, Seton Hall Univ. School of Law
131. Neil Rivas, Photographer, Los Angeles, CA
132. Linda Robinson, Retired Librarian, Senegal
133. Ivette Romero-Cesareo, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY
134. Margaret Rosenthal, Kindergarten worker
135. Kathleen Ruff, Founder, RightOnCanada
136. Grahame Russell, Co-director, Rights Action
137. Cinthya Saavedra, Assistant Professor, USU, Logan
138. Margaret Satterthwaite, Associate Professor, NYU School of Law
139. Camilla Schneider, Retired Educator, MITF, San Francisco, CA
140. Keith Schneider, Stone Sculptor
141. Jennifer Schongalla, Teacher, Sant Bani School
142. Todd Schongalla, Teacher, Sant Bani School
143. Mark Schuller, Assistant Professor, African American Studies and Anthropology, Dept. of Social Sciences, York College, City Univ. of New York
144. Susan Severin, Health Educator, Task Force on the Americas
145. Okhee Shim, Attorney, National Lawyers Guild
146. Judy Somberg, Attorney, National Lawyers Guild
147. Maria Elizabeth         Soriano DPA, Director, XU Governance and Leadership Institute, Philippines
148. Gerhard Spari, Vienna, Austria
149. Mahalia Stines, New York, NY
150. Talia Stoessel, Law Student, Northeastern Univ., School of Law
151. Caitlin Szymanski, Activist, Berkeley, CA
152. Ben Terrall, Freelance Writer, San Francisco, CA
153. Ariel Test, Staff Attorney, Orleans Public Defenders Office
154. Bridget Thayer Melien
155. Bret Thiele
156. Adrainne Thomas, Teacher, Hawaii Dept. of Education
157. Kerline Tofuri, Program Director, Jou Nouvo
158. Cynthia Tschampl, PhD Student, Brandeis Univ.
159. Anamaria Turlea
160. Karen Ulmer Dorsch, Teacher, Sant Bani School
161. Gina Ulysse, Professor, Wesleyan Univ.
162. Akinyele Umoja
163. Anne Victory, RN
164. David Watson, La Guardia Community College
165. Marlys Weber, Retired        
166. Forrest Wells, Student, The University of Oregon Clark Honors College
167. Melissa Wender, Boston, MA
168. Stephen Wensman, Planner 
169. Charlotte Wiener
170. Lois Wilcken, Executive Director, La Troupe Makandal
171. Martha Willi, MD, Physician, Haiti Mission Connection, Inc
172. Elliot Williams, Madison, WI, Employee Dane County
173. George Williamson, Baptist Peace Fellowship
174. Joe Wilson, President, Qwaves Productions, Former Program Officer for Human Rights, Public Welfare Foundation
175. Jackson Wong, Student, Univ. of Oregon
176. Jennifer R. Wyatt, Attorney, Office of Jennifer Wyatt
177. Jackie Zahn, Department of History, UT Austin
178. Charles Zrike, Teacher, Boston, MA