Haitians Believe 'Hidden Forces' Stymie Rebuilding -- and They're Right
Posted:02/13/10
Many Haitians believe unseen forces demand a sacrifice of life force in return for riches.
That Vodou belief equips them to understand Haiti's situation far better than their putative rescuers, who operate within a myth that doesn't match Haiti's reality nearly as well, writes Elizabeth McAlister, associate professor of religion at Wesleyan University.
McAlister, like many others, believes that people create the beliefs they follow and engage with cosmic forces following rules they have also created.
"Many disenfranchised Haitians I have interviewed about religion see secret deals with demons, magical pacts in the invisible world, and other immoral relationships as the cause of prosperity for some and the impoverishment of others," she says in a post on The Immanent Frame. "For local, informally educated actors, explanations for social change may lie in the unseen world of predatory spiritual transactions. Hungry and 'hot' spirits can demand payment of life force in exchange for wealth. Some evangelicals go so far as to posit an originary pact with demons at a meeting of revolutionary slaves at Bois Caïman. Some Vodouists theologize Lucifer as the ruler of this world, a place left unattended by God in heaven."
These ideas aren't far from the truth of Haiti's history. Hidden deals with the "hungry and 'hot' spirits" of foreign and Haitian officials have stolen the life force from Haiti. The list of outrages is long, from CIA interference during the Aristide period to international rice deals that impoverished Haitian farmers to Columbian cocaine traffickers' operations.
McAlister writes that rebuilding pacts must be visible, "public, official, legal, and traceable."
"Power has long operated in the hidden world of predatory, behind-the-scenes deals between competing factions. Strategies for rebuilding must avoid a kind of mythmaking that acts as if foreign and Haitian governments have been above-board and other groups have been legitimate, open, and fair."
She is not alone in her analysis.
Paul Farmer, an American physician and founder of Partners in Health, told the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations last month, "We need a reconstruction fund that is large, managed transparently, creates jobs for Haitians, and grows the Haitian economy." Aid groups persistently fail to focus on those priorities, he said.
In light of that, international donors must be held to their pledges and the money collected must be disbursed in a timely way. "Massive public works are necessary to reforest Haiti, protect watersheds, and improve agricultural yield," he said.
"Any group looking to do this work must share the goals of the Haitian people: social and economic rights, reflected, for example, in job creation, local business development, watershed protection (and alternatives to charcoal for cooking), access to quality health care, and gender equity. Considering all these goals together orients our strategic choices. For example, cash transfers to women, who hold the purse strings in Haiti and are arbiters of household spending, will have significant impact."
Haitians on the street understand what's needed very well. McAlister notes that one woman told a newspaper reporter: "They only give the aid money to the same big families, over and over. So I ask, what is the point? They have given money to these families to help Haiti for 50 years, and look at Haiti. I say the Americans need to make up a new list."
Follow PoliticsDaily On Facebook and Twitter,
and download the new Politics Daily toolbar!
