In one sense, though, Haiti never fully achieved independence, for France demanded that Haiti pay 500 million gold Francs as compensation for the loss of the colony. Haiti had been France’s most lucrative colony; and roughly a fifth of France’s economy depended upon trade with Haiti. Haiti had to comply with France’s demand if it wanted access to trade beyond its borders. It took Haiti a century to pay this debt off.

Judging by a more just measure, it was France that owed Haiti for centuries of stolen labor and brutal repression.

Today, Haiti again finds itself deeply in debt, like nearly all the poorest (and most exploited) countries in the world. Haiti’s debt of $1.2 billion (a third of Haiti’s GDP) is owed to the World Bank, the IMF, and other international lenders; but much of this debt is hardly more just than the debt France had imposed. Nearly half of today’s debt was built up by the Duvalier dictatorship. Far from helping Haiti, the money lent by these institutions helped a murderous dictator keep his grip on power. Much of the money was siphoned off by Jean-Claude Duvalier who made off with as much as $900 million when he was finally forced into exile by a popular uprising.

This debt continues to be a crushing burden. Today, Haiti is forced to pay more just on interest payments than it can afford to spend on either basic education or health care for the population. In a country where the government can only afford to provide public education to a sixth of school-aged children and life expectancy is only 54 years, this debt literally robs people of their lives and children of an education.

The Jubilee movement has been working for the cancellation of Third World debt. It has had some success, but for most Third World countries, including Haiti, the debt has neither been canceled nor reduced. To learn more about Haiti’s debt and what you can do to push for Jubilee for Haiti, visit www.BeyondBorders.net.