Home » Haiti - Pat Robertson's Comment Regarding Haiti's Earthquake

Pat Robertson is indeed a very cold and heartless man. He should be ashamed to claim himself an American Christian! His cold statement about Haiti only proves that he is simply a muttonhead. I have been going over my history book to see exactly when Haiti made a pact with the devil; I cannot seem to find it. I even asked my grand-mother, she was not able to find it in her intact 86-year old memory. In order to understand the Haitian people, one must also understand our history. In my opinion Pat Robertson should have stayed quiet and not provide his opinion about the country.

People are suffering; they are dying every day from lack of food, medications and water. They cannot feed their children, the last thing Haiti needs is the opinion of those with no data to back it up. The Haitians have had one series of bad luck after another when it comes to natural disasters. There are two things that Haiti is famous for, it is bad greedy spineless politicians and natural disasters.

Haitians have been suffering for years in search of a good leader; they have yet to get lucky. Then comes January 12, 2010, what I call the end of the country! And Pat Robertson had to open his mouth! His idea that Haiti was dedicated to satan prior to its independence is a very serious and profound statement with potentially grave consequences for my people in terms of how we are perceived by others or how the whole nation is understood outside its borders. The tragedy of our age is that repeated lies are often mistaken for truth, especially when repeated long enough by people like Pat Robertson and those who follow him.

Haiti How did we get here!!

The island of Hispaniola is the second largest island in the Caribbean, at 29,273 sq miles, (75,843 sq km). Haiti occupies about 1/3 of the island, while the Dominican Republic controls the balance of land. Christopher Columbus claimed Hispaniola in 1492, declaring it (Isla Espanola,) "the most beautiful island in the world." It later became the major launching base for the Spanish conquest of the Caribbean, as well as the American mainland. Subsequently, disease and slavery were introduced by the Spanish conquistadors, and the indigenous Arawak peoples were destroyed.

In the 17th Century, with the Spanish in control, the French established a colony on the island. The Spanish later ceded the western third of Hispaniola in 1697, which in 1804 became known as Haiti. The remainder of the island, then known as Santo Domingo, declared its independence in 1821, however, it was immediately occupied by Haiti. It finally gained total independence in 1844, and became the Dominican Republic. Haiti gained its independence from the French in January 01, 1804. The Haitian Revolution is regarded as a defining moment in the history of Africans in the new world.

Although an independent government was created in Haiti, its society continued to be deeply affected by the patterns established under French colonial rule. The French established a system of minority rule over the illiterate poor by using violence and threats. The racial prejudice created by colonialism and slavery outlived them both. The post-rebellion racial elite (referred to as mulattoes) were descended from both Africans and white planters. Some had received an education, served in the French military, and even acquired land and wealth. Lighter complected than most Haitians, who were descendants only of enslaved Africans, the mulattoes dominated politics and economics.

On 1 January 1804, Dessalines, the new leader under the dictatorial 1801 constitution, declared Haiti a free republic. Haiti was the first independent nation in Latin America, the first post-colonial independent black-led nation in the world, and the only nation whose independence was gained as part of a successful slave rebellion. The country was crippled by years of war, its agriculture devastated, its formal commerce nonexistent, and the people uneducated and mostly unskilled.

Haiti agreed to make reparations to French slaveholders in 1825 in the amount of 150 million francs, reduced in 1838 to 60 million francs, in exchange for French recognition of its independence and to achieve freedom from French aggression. This indemnity bankrupted the Haitian treasury and mortgaged Haiti's future to the French banks providing the funds for the large first installment, permanently affecting Haiti's ability to be prosperous.

The end of the Haitian Revolution in 1804 marked the end of colonialism in Haiti, but the social conflict cultivated under slavery continued to affect the population. The revolution left in power an "affranchi lite" as well as the formidable Haitian army. France continued the slavery system in Martinique and Guadeloupe. Great Britain was able to abolish its slave trade in 1807 and in 1833 abolished slavery completely in the British West Indies. France formally recognized Haiti as an independent nation in 1834, as did the United States in 1862. First black country to in the western hemisphere to gain its independence, still it's the poorest one.

Roman Catholicism is the official religion of Haiti, at least that's what I knew it to be when I lived there and last time I visited. Perhaps, Pat Robertson changed the religion in the last 4 months. About 95% of the population is known to be Christian, and the most professed denomination by far is Roman Catholicism. Similar to the rest of Latin America, Haiti was colonized by Roman Catholic European powers. Following in this legacy, Catholicism is enshrined in the Haitian constitution as the official state religion, and between 80 and 85% of Haitians are Catholics. Pope John Paul II visited Haiti in 1983. In a speech in the capital of Port-au-Prince, he criticized the government of Jean-Claude Duvalier; it is believed that the impact of this speech on the Catholic bureaucracy in Haiti contributed to Duvalier's removal in 1986.

According to the Catholic Church in Haiti, the ten dioceses of the two ecclesiastical provinces of Haiti count up to 251 parishes and about 1500 Christian rural communities. The local clergy has 400 diocesan priests and 300 seminarians. There are also 1300 religious missionary priests belonging to more than 70 religious order and fraternities. Vocations to the priesthood are plentiful.

In speaking with many people who are aware of Hait's past, Robertson's idiotic remark was proven to be wrong and without merit. To Pat Robertson - Please be quiet and ask the God that you believe in for forgiveness.