During the 1960s US agricultural imports began to undermine the traditional agricultural economy of Haiti… Jean-Claude ‘Baby Doc’ Duvalier took over in 1971. In 1972 he was exposed for selling Haitian blood to private American hospitals for $3 a litre. In 1978 the indigenous Haitian pig was diagnosed as having the African Swine Fever and, under pressure from the US government, was almost entirely eradicated and replaced by an American pig that cost almost as much to feed as a Haitian human.
Last night, in a brilliant presentation at London’s Cabinet Gallery, SA pal John Cussans outlined Haiti’s troubled history, from the arrival of Columbus in 1492 and the decimation, within a decade, of the indigenous Taino people, to the catastrophic earthquake late last year.
Today the UN will be laying the foundations for Haiti’s future, with reconstruction plans that are already proving controversial. Critics state that the measures being discussed will do little to help the beleaguered nation achieve the economic and cultural independence that it needs and deserves.
Over at his blog Zombie Diaspora, Cussans writes about Haiti’s past, its potential futures and the ongoing work begun with the Ghetto Biennale, which took place just a couple of weeks before the quake struck.
One small victory would be the widespread return of Haiti’s indigenous Creole pig which, as well as being a vital part of the food chain and ecosystem, plays a key role in Haitian voodoo and the folklore of its revolt against the French. The pig’s reintroduction would be a fantastic symbol of Haiti’s renewed cultural and economic independence.
More over at Zombie Diaspora.