Haiti, Haitian Times, Inglês

PORT-AU-PRINCE — It was around this time in April 1825 that a squadron of French battleships arrived off the coast of Haiti, demanding payment for “losses” suffered during the Haitian Revolution, or else. To avoid an invasion, Haiti agreed to pay the indemnity of 90 million Francs and to borrow from French banks to make installment payments. 

Now, as the 200th year of the debt dawns, a movement is growing for France to pay Haiti back $115 billion. Members of a working group that came up with the figure say the new estimate takes into account losses Haiti has suffered for forcing Haiti to take what historians have proven was a usurious, debilitating deal that set Haiti up for failure over generations. Repaying this indemnity, known as the “independence debt” or “ransom,” can put Haiti on a concrete path toward justice and sustainable development.

“The available data clearly shows that the indemnities imposed on Haiti have had a profound and lasting impact on its development,” Dr. Judite Blanc, a member of Haiti’s National Committee for Reparations and Restitution, said. 

The committee is a formal voice pushing for restitution and taking some action alongside calls by prominent personalities seeking the same goal. They believe that while monetary restitution is not the only solution to Haiti’s challenges, it could be a decisive step toward the country’s reconstruction. 

“The main issue is Haiti’s development. This is the only money we hope to get to enable the country’s autonomous reconstruction,” said Fritz Deshommes, head of the National Committee for Reparations and Restitution and Haiti’s representative on the CARICOM Reparations Commission.

“We need a clear development plan and full transparency in spending,” he said.

Government committee takes steps toward restitution 

Originally formed as a working group of academics at the State University of Haiti (UEH) in May 2024, the National Committee for Reparations and Restitution gained its elevated status after a July 2024 CARICOM meeting. In October 2024, the committee met to formally discuss seeking funds from France.

Among the committee’s 15 recommendations proposed are for the Haitian government to:

• Declare 2025 as the “Year of French Restitution to Haiti.”
• Send a formal diplomatic note to the French government demanding restitution of the “independence ransom,” including interest and damages.
• Revise and centralize historical archives, in collaboration with the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH), to refine calculations of the amount to be restituted.
• Reform education curricula to highlight national history, including the role of the enslaved, women and the masses in the Haitian Revolution.
• Organize workshops with writers, artists, historians and textbook publishers to integrate themes of slavery, resistance and collective memory.

Suite à ma rencontre avec le Recteur Fritz Deshommes, au sujet de la création d’un Groupe de travail à l’#UEH sur les réparations et les restitutions liées à l’esclavage et l’indépendance d’Haïti, nous avons porté le dossier à la 47e réunion ordinaire de la Conférence des Chefs… pic.twitter.com/3Jp2QPRA83

— Dominique Dupuy (@DominiqueAyiti) July 30, 2024

Deshommes said the committee submitted both the “Year of Restitution” decree and the formal request for France to return the funds to Haiti’s government, the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT). The government has not followed up on either submission Deshommes said. 

It is unclear whether Leslie Voltaire, a CPT member, delivered the restitution request to France when he met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris in January. Voltaire later told French media that the two did not discuss financial reparations, but that Macron promised to release a formal statement by April 17 to mark 200 years since his country imposed the debt.

On April 17, the French President acknowledged that the last King of France imposed a heavy financial indemnity on the Haitian people, the payment of which spanned decades. However, without using the terms debt or ransom, and without mentioning any possibility of restitution, France announced the creation of a joint Franco-Haitian commission to examine the countries’ shared history and shed light on all its dimensions.

French authorities say the goal is to explore ways to better teach this history in both nations, strengthen educational and cultural ties, and build a renewed relationship based on mutual respect and solidarity.

“Today, on this bicentennial, we must, here as elsewhere, face this history with lucidity, courage, and truth,” said Macron. “Haiti was born of a revolution true to the spirit of 1789, which boldly upheld the universal principles of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.”

Deshommes said he cannot confirm whether the CPT submitted the restitution letter to the French authorities. He acknowledged that the fight for restitution will be long.

“The fight for restitution will be long, but we remain very confident because we are not short of arguments,” Deshommes said. He said future efforts may target the U.S., Germany and other countries that took advantage of Haiti. 

Prominent voices show rising awareness 

Meanwhile, numerous public figures have spoken out in recent years as general awareness about the indemnity rises outside of Haiti and academic circles. Some of the public awareness may be tied to “Ransom,” a 2022 New York Times special report about the indemnity.

In recent years, it is not uncommon to see X postings and TikTok videos referencing the debt in a variety of forums. Offline, the topic appears more frequently in books and conversations, with ‘Pay Haiti Back’ featured on merchandise promoting Haitian pride and empowerment.

Naomi Osaka is among the most prominent voices to amplify the issue. On March 17, in response to a comment one French politician made about the United States returning the Statue of Liberty, she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, ‘Since we’re trying to repossess things, can Haiti get their money back?’

The following week, social media posts showed French-Haitian singer Joe Guillaume, also known as “Joé Dwèt File,” taking part in a march calling for restitution on March 22.

On April 13, academics and social justice advocates held a symposium at New York University where participants called for international recognition of this injustice and demanded reparations. 

Making the case for reparations 

When France first imposed the debt in 1825, the amount was 150 million gold francs. The regular payments Haiti made drained Haiti’s economy for over a century. In 2003, then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide valued the amount due back at $21.7 billion and demanded repayment. France rejected the request and offered more cooperation instead.

The latest calculation stands at $115 billion from France alone, Deshommes said, and does not even factor in the trade preferences granted to France. He adds that 17 to 20 billion dollars should be added to the debt to account for lost revenue from trade preferences granted.

Péguy Noël, a history professor, explains that it was not a debt but rather a “ransom,” since Haiti had borrowed nothing. 

He describes the burden as “crippling” for the country, noting that it deepened social inequalities, fostered a political culture dependent on foreign alliances over national priorities, and reoriented Haiti’s economy almost entirely around debt repayment..  

“The ransom imposed by France in 1825 was a counter-revolution that slowed Haiti’s development,” Noël says. “Even education was neglected in the 19th century due to intentional underinvestment, part of a broader effort to keep Haiti underdeveloped and impoverished.”

Blanc’s research links the historical wounds, collective trauma, and their manifestations in the collective thought and behavior of Haitians. Based on her findings, Blanc asserts that a $30 billion repayment could transform Haiti’s public healthcare system. 

“With a $30 billion restitution, Haiti could see life expectancy rise by 10-12 years, with infant and maternal mortality reduced by over 60%,” Blanc states in a preprint article she is developing through her studies at the University of Miami. 

“Expanded mental health services could lower suicide rates to 4-5 per 100,000, while food insecurity could decrease by 20-25%, and homicide rates and violence against women could drop by 40-50% through targeted social welfare programs.”