"The locomotive of Haitian politics is not the ballot but the coup." Dr. Heinl in Written in Blood.

The quote from above is from the book that many of you have heard me mention--it's a mammoth of a whale that gives an extensive lesson on Haitian history. In my last post concerning the Undermining of Haiti, I discussed very briefly about the outside but direct influence the United Sates has had over Haiti. In upcoming articles, I intend to delve deeper into the issue. However, this opening quote makes an important point, in that in all of Haiti's history, violence (or at the least, revolution) has been behind every new change in leadership.

Haiti's constitution has arranged for the country's presidents to serve one term of 4 years before giving up their seat in an election. Never has this happened in her 200 year history! The typical process is something like this: President A is ousted by President B in a coup, where President A narrowly escapes death by running to foreign legation and/or exile in another country. President B then eventually takes control of the country (by military force), unconstitutionally naming himself "President for Life". Eventually, President B is overthrown in the same manner which he rose to power. Occasionally, a president is assasinated. Once or twice he serves his constitutional term and is forced or pressured to step down peacefully. Never has a peaceful exchange of leadership occured by election.

Why is this you ask? The reasons are too numerous to count. A popular one among Christian circles is that the Haitians made a deal with the devil in order to win their freedom from the French. Some sympathizers make note of the military influence. Early on, Haiti's army was powerful and corrupt. Over time, especially with the U.S. becoming more involved early last century, it weakened. At times, it has even been disbanded, which led to an easy coup led by rebels who had no fear of facing a Haitian military. So Haiti's internal military influence has either been too powerful and corrupt, or nonexistant so that it couldn't even defend its own government.

A third influence that covers a multitude of reasons is outside influence. Kidder writes in Mountains Beyond Mountains, "Haiti, a catastrophe covered with the fingerprints of the Western powers, most of all those of France and the United States." As I listed above, Haiti has certainly suffered from problems that point back to themselves. So much so that they'll never begin to recover until she has taken responsibility for her actions. However, ever since the little island's discovery by Christopher Columbus, Haiti has been subject to external abuse and neglect.

Looking at the opening quote again, while the coups mentioned certainly were internally driven, some have been set up and funded by other countries. That said, where does the average Joe start in looking for hope? Within the country there appears to be no stability, and from outside there are power-hungry politicians and leaders trying to contsruct their own little government.

So where does one begin? It's not a question easily answered.