Haiti A Hidden History | Teen Ink

Haiti A Hidden History

March 2, 2010
By SilverDancer2991 SILVER, Seattle, Washington
SilverDancer2991 SILVER, Seattle, Washington
8 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Burn me once shame on you, burn me twice shame on me, burn me thrice, I&#039;m a f***ing idiot&quot;<br /> &quot;Beneath the skin man is all the same, and I for one would be willing to skin every man to prove it&quot;


Everyone is probably wondering why it is that Haiti was hit so hard by the earthquake when Chili was hit by a larger earthquake and received less damage. Well, what we were told about that was only half the truth. They told us that it was poverty and Papa Doc's fault. But no one mentioned the United States part in all of this.
In my history class we were told to find the hidden history of Haiti. I defineatly found it. In 1915 the U.S Marines invaded Haiti because the workers were rebelling. They didn't want their sugar and coffee farms to stop being worked. The newspapers and news channels don't say anything about that, now do they?
Now when they talk about Papa Doc having been the cause of Haiti's debt they are partially correct. What they fail to mention however, is that the U.S had an agreement with Papa Doc. They were giving in a lot of money to control Haiti. Even when they knew that the Haitian people were being mistreated they didn't do anything. The reason they didn't do anything was they had made a deal with Papa Doc that he wouldn't give his allegiance to Cuba.
It really bothers me that we aren't being given this information. It's vital for everybody to know what they are a part of. Many people are misguided into thinking that the United States is the best. But in reality... The U.S is a huge bully that hides things. It's like the abusive husband who give sweets to those he likes, but mercilessly beats those he doesn't like. I'm not saying that I hate the U.S... I just think that they are very controlling.
Haiti may be the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, but it's culture is rich and it's people are strong. They were the first ones to abolish slavery. Not England like the encyclopedia says. Haiti's slaves were free 3 years before England was free. And Haiti freed their slaves for actual freedom, unlike England. England only freed their slaves because they weren't making as much money as they wanted. It's the same situation with the U.S. The history that we aren't told... The one that makes the U.S out to be the heroes. Lincoln in credited with freeing the slaves, but he only freed the slaves in the southern states during the Civil war so they could fight for the North. Those states loyal to Lincoln go to keep their slaves. If was after the Civil war that he was forced to free all the slaves. Thats kinda reversed from what we are taught in school.
We aren't given the truth all the time. We are fed things that make us feel loyal to the U.S. And we don't question that. I believe we should start using that freedom of speech thing they gave us. It's not fair that Haiti's history is hidden by the U.S's pride and lies. It's time to step up for whats right and help show the world the truth. The real history of Haiti and the U.S.


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