NEW YORK — In a special report on Haiti published days after Haitian Flag Day, The New York Times looked at the long history of payments Haiti made to France to secure its hard-won independence and how “the ransom” crippled the First Black Republic. The impact of the initial debt, refusal by other nations to acknowledge Haiti as a sovereign country, subsequent punitive international financial deals – including one involving United States-based Citibank, and Haitian rulers’ corruption – all had a hand in creating the under-developed country Haiti is today.
“For generations, the descendants of enslaved people paid the descendants of their former slave masters, with money that could have been used to build schools, roads, clinics or a vibrant economy,” said a recap of the five stories.
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