The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I read carefully the words of Prime Minister Philip "Brave" Davis at the 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Africa regarding the well-documented plight of Haiti. From a practical standpoint, it makes good sense for The Bahamas to become proactive in finding a solution to Haiti. However, the reality on the ground is that The Bahamas and CARICOM both lack the financial and human resources to make any meaningful headway in addressing the myriad of issues impacting the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Seeing that he has an international platform, Davis should use his clout to lobby the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union to persuade France to take the lead in fixing Haiti.

Haiti was once a French colony. After gaining its independence in 1804 after a bloody war with France, Haiti was coerced by threat of war by French King Charles X in 1825 to pay for its freedom. The amount King Charles X demanded was 150 million francs. This would amount to approximately $28 billion in US dollars today. Between 1825 and 1947, Haiti paid its debt to France in what one academic described as the greatest heist in human history. In fact, it has been observed by an NPR article that the sum King Charles X demanded was ten times the amount the United States paid France in the Louisiana Purchase.

Compounding matters for France was US President Thomas Jefferson putting in place policies to isolate the first independent Black nation in the Western Hemisphere. The irony of Jefferson's involvement in frustrating Haiti's economic and social development is that he was the main author of the 1776 Declaration of Independence. Haiti was viewed as a threat to the industrialised world that trafficked in human slavery. Jefferson was wary of a slave uprising in the plantations of North America. For what it's worth, France has a moral obligation to reimburse Haiti.

This is a matter CARICOM and Davis must harp on. Also worth noting is that France, since the ending of World War II, is considered a superpower. France is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO); the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Bahamian financial services sector, since the second Free National Movement administration of former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, has been virtually gutted out by the FATF and the OECD -- obviously with France being complicit. Additionally, France is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and is a G8 country with a GDP in 2021 that was nearly $2.10 trillion. The Bahamas, by way of comparison, had a GDP of $11.21 billion.

Each member state of CARICOM can legitimately be labeled a developing country. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that CARICOM has severe limitations in fixing Haiti. In my opinion, the coercion of $28 billion from Haiti by the French is a huge reason why we have this lingering mess in the Caribbean. It is high time that CARICOM channel its energy in fighting climate change towards getting France to reimburse its impoverished ally. Until Haiti is fixed, The Bahamas will continue to suffer the consequences of France's blackmail of the Haitian people.

KEVIN EVANS

Freeport, Grand Bahama

January 23, 2024.