Determination to bring about a new beginning
In Their Bicentennial Year Haitians are focused on improvements to infrastructure, health, and education and on realizing the benefits of entry into the caribbean economic community through the creation of a dynamic market

The island was declared a semi-autonomous U.S. commonwealth territory in 1952.

Haiti was the first black nation to shake off the chains of colonial rule. But as Haitians celebrate 200 years of independence from France on January 1, 2004 they are aware of the challenges facing them. Their country’s economy is in need of major investment and development, and is heavily dependent on imported goods. Yet there is a determination to ensure that 2004 will bring about a new beginning.

Haiti’s President Jean-Bertrand Aristide believes that in time his country will overcome its difficulties, “and shine as it is, a peaceful nation without inequalities.”

President J.B. Aristide recently published a book entitled “Shalom 2004”, in which he describes his vision for Haiti. “The book reflects the will that drives me,” President J.B. Aristide explains. “One of fostering peace, and of moving in the direction of equity and economic equilibrium, despite the difficulties or outbreaks of violence. In spite of the poor conditions in which some of my compatriots live, Haiti is a good place to live in and we are characterized by gentleness.”

The country’s eight million people live in a territory slightly smaller than Maryland, on the western end of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Most of them still rely on subsistence agriculture or the informal sector to survive. Small wonder therefore that the government’s top priority, as set out in another recent book, “Investing in Human Resources”, is helping people to help themselves through better education, health, and infrastructure.

JEAN-BERTRAND ARISTIDE President of Haiti

The approach is community-based. “Haiti is made up of 565 local communities, all of which need to benefit from educational, health, and micro-credit facilities,” President J.B. Aristide says. “In its publications, the World Bank argues that both educational and economic development should happen at the community level. That is our vision.”

International financial institutions — as well as aid donors – do not always get such an endorsement from the Aristide government. Some bilateral and multilateral aid funds have been withheld in recent years, because of concerns about perceived political irregularities. Moreover, Haitians believe they have suffered in the past as a result of the international economic system and foreign misunderstanding.

Yet President J.B. Aristide stresses that his country’s external relations are improving. “Dignity is our strength, and we won’t go down on our knees,” he declares. “We are advancing calmly, peacefully, and reasonably in maintaining and developing good relations with the United States and other member states of the Organization of American States, as well as with the European Union.”

A milestone was reached recently with Haiti’s admission into full membership of CARICOM, the Caribbean economic community, which is otherwise predominantly made up of former British colonies.
“We live in a globalized world, in which no nation can survive through self-reliance,” President J.B. Aristide says. “Haiti is an important market for CARICOM, as it represents over half of CARICOM’s total population. Our mission is to make that market dynamic.”

That can only be done in partnership with the country’s business community, some of whose members have tended to be on the opposite side of Haiti’s political divide. Nonetheless, the government is committed to enhancing conditions in which free enterprise can function—including encouraging the numerous Haitian expatriates in the United States and elsewhere to invest in their homeland’s future.

Jean-Bertrand Aristide found himself in exile in the United States in the early 1990s, following a coup d’état that brought an end to his first brief period in office. So he got to know the diaspora well. He believes Haitians abroad can do a lot to improve what is often a negative image. “That would be the best way to celebrate our bicentennial, and to attract people to Haiti,” he says.

Once best known to many Americans as the place where their baseballs were made, Haiti did nonetheless have a nascent tourist industry that suffered badly in the turmoil that followed the Duvalier dictatorship. President J.B. Aristide is eager to redevelop the tourism sector, noting the success enjoyed by the Dominican Republic next door.

“Haiti boasts about 600 miles of coastline, which represents an enormous potential,” he says. “Each year, two million tourists go to Cuba. They only need to make a little detour to the Republic of Haiti for us to have more tourists!”

For U.S. citizens—still technically barred from visiting Cuba — Haiti moreover offers a far more vibrant and culturally rich experience than that available in most other parts of the region. The welcome mat is also out for investors who want to be part of Haiti’s renaissance.