Haiti is in turmoil.  That unhappy land has descended into chaos, and thousands are fleeing the country.  Many seek refuge in the United States, putting more pressure on our already broken immigration system.

Haiti has a sad and turbulent history.  Under French rule, it was the most profitable of all European colonies in the New World.  Its huge sugar and coffee plantations produced great wealth for their European owners and for the French nation.  Fully 40% of French foreign trade revolved around Haiti.  Thousands of slaves were continuously imported from Africa and toiled under brutal conditions.  There were twice as many black slaves in Haiti than in all English colonies in the future United States, and they outnumbered Haitian whites more than twenty-five to one.  There was also a sizeable number of free black Haitians as well os free and enslaved persons of mixed race.

Inspired by the egalitarian ideals of the French Revolution, a slave revolt erupted in 1791.  The French republican government soon abolished slavery altogether, but fighting in Haiti continued between plantation owners and their former slaves.  The conflict was bitter, and terrible atrocities were committed by both sides. In 1802 Napoleon sent a sizeable army to Haiti in an attempt to restore order and reestablish French suzerainty over the colony.  French troops suffered severely from yellow fever, and they also encountered effective guerilla tactics along with occasional pitched battles against overwhelming odds.  Finally, in December 1803, the last French troops were withdrawn, and Haiti achieved its independence.

Jean Jacques Dessalines, a former slave, proclaimed himself Emperor on January 1, 1804. 

Most whites had already fled Haiti. Some of those remaining in Haiti had supported the revolution. Nevertheless, with few exceptions, Dessalines ordered that all remaining whites be killed. Over the first four months of 1804, five to six thousand white men, women, and children, along with many light skinned persons of mixed race, were executed.

Dessalines proved to be a cruel and despotic ruler, and in 1806 he was assassinated.

Since that time Haiti has suffered a succession of often incompetent leaders, and many of them proved to be dictators only interested in power and self-enrichment.  Coups and assassinations were not uncommon, and the country remained mired in poverty.  Foreign intervention was sometimews necessary to keep the country from collapsing into complete chaos.  For example, American marines occupied the Haitian capital in 1915, and the Haitian government was controlled by the United States until marines were withdrawn in 1934.    

Adding to Haiti’s problems were natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes, most notably a  7.0 earthquake in 2010.

Now it appears the Haiti is falling apart once again.  The government has fled the capital, and armed mobs roam the streets.  The general population is terrorized.

What can we do to alleviate the situation?  Our cities are already experiencing an influx of criminals from other countries because of open borders. Why should we exacerbate our problems by encouraging an mass immigration of unvetted Haitians?

In my opinion, we should work with other nations and create an international force to restore order in Haiti. France should be a prime contributor. Once that is done, the international organization could team with Haitian leaders to establish an effective and stable government. It will probably take years to achieve that goal. In the meantime, Haitians should be encouraged to stay and rebuild their country rather than flee to another land.