Word: haitians
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...concept of government service does not exist in Haiti, nor has it ever been a part of Haitian history. Since the early 19th century--when Henri Christophe, the country's first black ruler, drove 20,000 slaves to their deaths in the construction of his massive fortress, the Citadel, high in the mountains over Cap Haitien--the government has existed for its own benefit. It simply does not do things for the people. It does not build highways or schools or hospitals; it does not try to improve agricultural methods or encourage industry; it does not give care...
...Prince since 1963 and rarely appears in public--and his government. It is the world of upper classes and the few members of the intellectual and commercial elite who have not fled the country, the world of Graham Greene and his comedians. But the vast majority of the Haitian people live in the other world, the world of the countryside, whose relations with the central government are rare...
There are those who would say the life of a Haitian peasant in the countryside has little value, that a life of poverty is cheap, that the natives put on a colorful show in the nightclub, but that with no shoes and no automobiles they cannot grasp the touchstones of happiness...
...surprising, and confusing, to many Americans that despite their poverty, backwardness, and illiteracy, and despite, political terrorism, repression, and censorship, the life of the Haitian peasantry has a richness...
Passion and primitivism are also part of the Haitian people's strength. In a Haitian church on Sunday morning, they make no pretense of wealth or sophistication. They don't suffer mal du siecle, they aren't neurotic, introspective, or brooding. They come to church to share the little they have...