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Washington Post: “Is It Time For France To Pay Its Real Debt to Haiti?”

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French President Francois Hollande (left) and Haitian President Michel Martelly in Port-au-Prince. Courtesy of http://ichef.bbci.co.uk

On Sunday, President Francois Hollande announced during the official unveiling of the Memorial ACTe in Point-A-Pitre, Guadeloupe, that he will evoked France’s “debt” towards Haiti. On Tuesday he became the first president of France to make a formal state visit to Haiti, and while many Haitians are excited about his visit, some people see Hollande’s presence is a reminder of the debilitating costs of the successful slave revolt that made Haiti the world’s first black republic in 1804.

According to The Washington Post

In 1791, the slaves of France’s most profitable Caribbean colony, Saint Domingue, revolted. The uprising was kindled by the appalling exploitation and abuse of the colony’s enslaved African population, and stoked by the same Enlightenment values championed by white anti-monarchic revolutionaries in the United States and France itself.

But the independent republic of Haiti that eventually emerged in 1804 was never an equal among the brotherhood of Western nations. To the north, the United States, a nation of slaveowners, regarded Haiti, a nation of free blacks, with unvarnished horror and boycotted its merchants.

Meanwhile, France, the spurned former colonial ruler, fumed at its losses. In 1825, with a French flotilla threatening invasion, Haiti was compelled to pay a king’s ransom of 150 million gold francs — estimated to be ten times the country’s annual revenues — in indemnities to compensate French settlers and slaveowners for their lost plantations. The sum would be later reduced to 90 million gold francs, but that was little consolation: Haiti, in effect, was forced to pay reparations for its freedom.

This history is not as distant as it may seem. It set the stage for many decades of Haitian economic misery and underdevelopment to come—the country, one of the poorest nations in the Western hemisphere, did not finish repaying its 19th century debts to France and the U.S. until the middle of the 20th century.

And the legacy of the past was very much alive this week, as French President Francois Hollande landed on Tuesday on a historic visit to Haiti.

On Sunday, Hollande had made remarks in the Caribbean island of the Guadeloupe that he would “settle the debt that [the French] have” with Haiti—a declaration that was rapidly back-tracked by aides, who insisted Hollande was referring to a “moral” debt, not an actual financial one.

In Haiti, Hollande promised large-scale French assistance, including a plan to help modernize the country’s education system. He acknowledged that a “moral debt exists,” but skirted whether the wrongs of the 19th century would be more directly addressed through reparations.

“You’re not asking for aid, you want development,” Hollande said, addressing an audience of Haitian dignitaries in Port-au-Prince. “You’re not asking for welfare, you want investment.”

But many in Haiti want more than that, including a group of protesters who greeted Hollande’s arrival with placards and chants. France’s hollowing out of the fledgling nation’s coffers is seen by some as the original disaster, one that underlies the myriad Haitian dysfunctions and tragedies that followed. – Continue Reading Here

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Protesters in Port-au-Prince unveiled a banner that read: “Hollande: Money Yes, Morals No” – Picture Courtesy of http://www.bbc.com
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Ray Banlye Broward (BCR) Disid Evalyasyon Anviwònman an Nimewo ID Pwojè Finansye Konte Broward ak Konte Miami-Dade, Florid: 452240-1

Ray Banlye Broward (BCR) Disid
Evalyasyon Anviwònman an Nimewo ID Pwojè Finansye Konte Broward ak Konte Miami-Dade, FLORID: 452240-1

Evalyasyon Anviwònman Revizyon

Konte Broward ak Depatman Transpò Laflorid (FDOT) te devlope yon Evalyasyon Anviwònman (EA) jan Administrasyon Federal Transpò (FTA) mande pou sèvis tren banlye nan Konte Broward pou asire konfòmite ak Lwa sou Règleman
Nasyonal pou Anviwònman (NEPA). Evalyasyon Anviwonman pote sou miz an plas sèvis tren banlye sou koridò ferovyè (Kot Lès Florid) depi nan estasyon pasaje yo nan vil Aventura ale nan direksyon nò rive nan jiska vil Fort Lauderdale, yon distans 18.5 kilomèt. Nouvo estasyon pasaje yo pwopoze nan Vil Hollywood, nan Ayewopò Entènasyonal Fort Lauderdale- Hollywood, ak nan Sid Fort Lauderdale.

Objektif Evalyasyon Anviwonman a se analize efè aplikasyon pwojè a sou anviwònman fizik, imen ak natirèl. Sa a se yon avi ki anonse ke yon peryòd konsiltasyon piblik 30 jou ap kòmanse 19 jiyè 2024 epi fini 18 out 2024 pou yo ka rekiyi kòmantè sou Evalyasyon Anviwonman an. Tout kòmantè ou resevwa pandan peryòd kòmantè sa a, ak repons a kòmantè sa yo, pral enkòpore nan dokiman final desizyon NEPA a. Kòmantè yo ka soumèt nenpòt lè pandan peryòd kòmantè a nan youn nan
de fason:

 Pa imèl: BCRSouth@broward.org
 Pa lapòs US: Broward County Transit, Capital Planning and Project Development Attn: Broward Commuter Rail South, 1 North University Drive, Suite 3100A, Plantation, Florida 33324

Tout kòmantè ekri yo dwe resevwa anvan 4:30 P.M. dimanch 18 out 2024. Tout moun ki enterese envite pou fè kòmantè yo.

Tanpri note ke enfòmasyon pèsonèl moun ki soumèt kòmantè yo, si yo bay yo, yo ka pibliye nan dokiman anviwònman yo ki sikile piblikman. Yon manm piblik la ka chwazi eskli enfòmasyon pèsonèl yo nan kòmantè yo.

Yon kopi elektwonik Evalyasyon Anviwonman a disponib jiska 18 out 2024 sou sit entènèt pwojè a
(www.browardcommuterrailstudy.com) an tèks klè ak fòma pdf, ak nan fòma papye nan Syèj Sosyal Broward County Transit (1 North University Drive, Suite 3100A, Plantation, Florida 33324) pandan lè travay nòmal yo. Kopi papye yo disponib tou nan biwo FTA Rejyon 4 ki nan 230 Peachtree Street, NW. Suite 1400, Atlanta, GA 30303, United States.

Kopi enprime Pwojè Evalyasyon Anviwonman a ap disponib tou pou revize pandan lè ouvrab regilye yo nan lokal bibliyotèk piblik Konte Broward sa yo:

-100 S Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
-1 Park Avenue East, Dania Beach, FL 33004
-2600 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, FL 33020
-300 S Federal Highway, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009

Enfòmasyon pou Kontakte:
Phil Schwab, P.E., FDOT Responsab
Pwojè Depatman Transpò Florid
3400 West Commercial Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309
Telefòn: (954) 777-4524
Nimewo gratis nan (866) 336-8435, ekst. 4524 Imèl: BCRSouth@broward.org
Depatman Transpò Florid
3400 West Commercial Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309
Telefòn: (954) 777-4524
Nimewo gratis nan (866) 336-8435, ekst. 4524 Imèl: BCRSouth@broward.org

Jie Bian, BCT Responsab Pwojè
Broward County Transit
1 North University Drive
Suite 3100A Plantation, Florida 33324
Telefòn: (954) 357-8532
Imèl: BCRSouth@broward.org

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