U.S. Occupation Of Haiti In 1915-1934 Revisited

Since World War I, U.S. troops have spent much of their time occupying Haiti. As Under The Eagle: U.S. Intervention in Central America and the Caribbean by Jenny Pearce recalled in 1982:

"Haiti had assumed considerable strataegic importance to the United States after the building of the Panama Canal...Increasing French and German involvement in the country convinced the United States of the need to take direct action to defend its interests."

The same book also noted that the U.S. troops who occupied Haiti in July 1915 to establish martial law "were mostly from the Deep South," "exacerbated racial and social divisions between the blacks and mulattos on the island," "reinforced the rigid social structure" and "when they finally withdrew in 1934 their only contribution to the country was a few roads and sewers and a pro-United States local militia..."

According to The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934 by Hans Schmidt, "those who did not come to terms with the Americans were subjected to...decimation by marine patrols." Although only 16 U.S. soldiers lost their lives during the first five years of the U.S. military's first occupation of Haiti, over 2,250 Haitians were killed by U.S. troops during this same period.

After Charlemagne Peralte organized a provisional government in the norhtern part of Haiti, for example, 1,861 of his supporters were killed in 1919 and "Charlemagne...was eventually killed by two marines, disguised as blacks who sneaked into his camp at night and shot him," according to The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934. The same book also noted that "in an attempt to demoralize the guerrillas, the marines disseminated photographs of Charlemagne's body, but made the mistake of propping him up so that he looked like Christ on the cross" and "the photograph became a continuing source of inspiration to Haitian nationalists." The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934 also revealed that "following the arrival of the white women, Americans instituted Jim Crow racial segregation in Haiti" and "Haitians also resented the fact that Americans took over the most expensive houses and neighborhoods for themselves."

In October 1929, however, "students at the Service Technique's central agricultural college at Damien walked out in a body protesting a reduction in scholarships for field work," "students in the medical college and law college followed in a sympathy strike" and "the strike quickly spread throughout the nation" into a Dec. 4, 1929 general strike, according to The United States Occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934. Two days later, U.S. troops shot into a demonstration of 1,500 peasants in Cayes and 24 more Haitians were killed, but "the 1929 strike and riots" had "made the occupation untenable," according to the same book, and FDR finally pulled the U.S. troops out of Haiti in 1934.

(Downtown 10/26/94)

U.S. Imperialist Role In Haiti In 1970s

In 1982, Under the Eagle: U.S. Intervention in Central America And The Caribbean by Jenny Pearce described some of the historical effects of U.S. manipulation of Haitian domestsic politics during the 1970s:

"Papa Doc [Duvalier] had come to power in 1957 with the help of the American-trained army...Between 1971 and 1976 Haiti received over $4 million in military arms and training. A new elite corps, the Leopards, were created at Washington's instigation...The Leopards were trained and equipped by former marines, employed by a Miami-based front company, Aerotrade.

"This attempt to reassert United States military influences in this country was followed by renewed economic penetration. The United States controls four out of Haiti's five main exports: sugar, bauxite, sisal and light manufacturers...Between 1970 and 1976 American companies installed 230 new industrial plants in the country attracted by the exceptionally cheap labor. By 1978 United States investment in Haiti was...three times what it was in 1975...At least 70 percent of the population is unemployed..."

And as late as Oct. 3, 1994, the CIA's station chief in Haiti, John Kambourian, apparently met secretly with right-wing FRAPH para-military leader Emannuel Constant to discuss Haiti's political situation at that time, according to the October 31, 1994 issue of The Nation.

(Downtown 11/9/94)

U.S. State Department's Historic Goal in Haiti

Since World War II, the U.S. State Department has apparently been very interested in making sure that Haiti's constitution benefits U.S. special business interests more than the people of Haiti. In a confidential Aug. 18, 1946 message to the U.S. Secretary of State, for example, then-U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Orme Wilson wrote the following:

"I have the honor to report that President Dumarsais Estine requested me to call upon him this evening at the National Palace...

"This discussion furnished me an opportunity to tell the President that while the United States Government was inspired to the kindliest sentiments towards Haiti and desire to relieve the economic status of the peasant...I felt that it could not view with satisfaction such attempts as are apparently being made by means of the proposed new constitution too destroy or injure American business interests legally established in the country. I referred in particular to Article 6, which would appear to occasion severe injury to American capital invested in agricultural enterprises...I pointed out...I felt a distinct anxiety, since Article 6 definitely limits the land holdings of foreigners and that, in the case of one company, the Haitian-American Sugar Company, this would appear to occasion immense damage, since the latter's real property amounted to about 9,000 acres..."

(Downtown 11/23/94)

Sec. of State Clinton's Mevs Family Haiti Connection Historically

As the Wall Street Journal (9/16/94) noted in 1994, the Mevs clan is "one of the most powerful of Haiti's business families" and "since 1992, lawyers at the...law firm of Williams & Connolly have been lobbying the U.S. government on Haiti issues on behalf of the Mevses, who just in 1993 paid the firm $145,281 for its efforts." It also revealed that "the Mevses' chief Washington contact, Gregory Craig, is a law-school classmate of [former] President Clinton and a former senior aide to [now-deceased] Sen. Edward Kennedy," "the Mevses have cultivated contacts in Congress as well as in the State Department and the National Security Council," and in 1993 "held a dinner for about 100 people..."

In Haiti, the Mevs family owns "shoe and soap factories" and controls "most of Haiti's sugar imports," "are worth between $15 million and $50 million," owns much of Downtown Port-au-Prince and may have "profited from their cozy ties to the Duvaliers," according to the Wall Street Journal.

Secretary of State Clinton's husband was recently working with the Mevs family in Haiti,prior to the tragic earthquake disaster, to set up some kind of business deal/economic development project which was going to be partially financed with some of billionaire speculator George Soros's surplus capital.

Black Jobless Rate Jumps To 16.2 Percent Under Obama

The official “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for all African-American workers—youth, male and female--jumped from 15.6 to 16.2 percent between November and December 2009 under the Democratic Obama Regime; while the unemployment rate for African-American female workers over 20 years-of-age jumped from 11.7 to 13.1 percent between November and December 2009, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The official “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for African-American male workers over 20 years-of-age also increased from 16.1 to 16.7 percent between November and December 2009; while the “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for African-American youth between 16 and 19 years of age was still 48.4 percent in December 2009.

The number of African-American workers with jobs also dropped by 146,000 between November and December 2009, according to “seasonally adjusted” figures. In addition, the number of African-American workers in the U.S. labor force decreased by 60,000 between November and December 2009.

The official “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Hispanic or Latino male workers over 20 years of age also jumped from 11.6 to 12.8 percent between November and December 2009. For all Hispanic or Latino workers over 16 years of age (which takes into account the 35.5 percent “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for Latino youth), the official “not seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate increased to 12.9 percent in December 2009.

The number of Hispanic or Latino workers with jobs also dropped by 206,000 between November and December 2009, according to “not seasonally adjusted” figures. In addition, the number of Hispanic or Latino workers in the U.S. labor force decreased by 141,000 between November and December 2009.

For white male workers in the United States over 20 years of age, the official “not seasonally adjusted” jobless rate increased from 9 to 9.6 percent between November and December 2009, while the “not seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for white female workers over 20 years of age decreased from 6.9 to 6.8 percent between November and December 2009. But the “seasonally adjusted” jobless rate for white youth between 16 and 19 years of age increased from 23 to 23.6 percent between November and December 2009.

The number of white workers with jobs in the United States also dropped by 330,000 between November and December 2009, according to “seasonally adjusted” figures.

The “not seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Asian-American workers increased from 7.3 to 8.4 percent between November and December 2009, while the official “seasonally adjusted” national jobless rate for all U.S. workers was still 10 percent in December 2009.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ January 8, 2009 press release:

“Nonfarm payroll employment edged down...in December…Employment fell in construction, manufacturing and wholesale trade…,

“In December, both the number of unemployed persons, at 15.3 million, and the unemployment rate, at 10.0 percent, were unchanged...

“Among the unemployed, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) continued to trend up, reaching 6.1 million. In December, 4 in 10 unemployed workers were jobless for 27 weeks or longer…

“The civilian labor force participation rate fell to 64.6 percent in December…

“The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was…9.2 million… These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

“About 2.5 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force in December…These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey…

“Among the marginally attached, there were 929,000 discouraged workers in December…Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them…

“Construction employment declined by 53,000 in December…

“In December, employment in manufacturing decreased by 27,000…

“Wholesale trade employment declined by 18,000 in December, with the majority of the decline occurring among durable goods wholesalers…General merchandise stores lost 15,000 jobs…”