美国国家公共电台 NPR--Haiti's long and complicated history with international intervention

Haiti's long and complicated history with international intervention¹

Transcript²

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to historian Robert Fatton about ill-fated interventions³ in Haiti, which is now embroiled⁴ in a crisis that has the country on the brink⁵ of collapse⁶.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Haiti is in crisis. Gangs have overtaken supply lines for food, water and fuel. The U.N. says 4.7 million people, nearly half the population, now face acute hunger. And the Haitian government is calling for international military help. But Haiti has a long and complicated history with international intervention, which stretches back to the country's founding in 1804. I talked with Robert Fatton about this. He's a Haitian American professor of politics at the University of Virginia.

ROBERT FATTON: It's very clear that the last intervention - that's the one in the '90s and the one at the beginning of the century - did not resolve the problems that Haiti is confronting and was confronting. The one in 1994 was actually welcomed by most Haitians because it was the restoration of President Aristide, who at that time was extremely popular. But afterwards, when the U.N. intervened to replace the American troops, that was a much more complicated affair. In the first instance, it had to deal with gangs at the time, and that minister (ph) intervene in the slums of Port-au-Prince. And that intervention was rather violent. But in the process, a lot of people who were not necessarily involved with the gangs suffered the consequences. But what really prompted even more recriminations was the cholera⁷ epidemic⁸. Initially⁹, the U.N. rejected the idea that it brought it to Haiti, and finally, it had to recognize that. And some 12,000 people have died as a result of that. There were commitments in terms of reparation, if you wish, to be given to Haiti, and those were never really materialized. And we have again now a surge in the cholera epidemic. So the results have been very meager¹⁰.

MARTIN: What's the origin of the gangs in Haiti?

FATTON: The dominant¹¹ person in the gangs is a fellow by the name of Cherizier, who's also known as Barbecue. And Barbecue used to be a member of the police, and he eventually created this gang. There's a federation¹² of gangs. Now, there are private sectors¹³ who are also involved in the gangs because they want to make sure that they have access to gas and other gangs don't prevent them from getting the gas. There are also gangs that are supported by the political class. The problem is that the gangs now have become a power unto themselves. And as a result of that, the situation in Haiti is really a catastrophe¹⁴ situation.

MARTIN: Is this a fight for absolute power, or is it just a struggle to get resources?

FATTON: It's very much all of that. The tendency in Haiti is that politics is a zero-sum game. People who don't have access to wealth, it's like a business. You get elected, you want to stay in office and you want to accumulate illicit¹⁵ resources. The problem is precisely¹⁶ that, that the pie is very small, as it were, and people want a piece of it. So politics is a venue¹⁷ to get that piece. And it's the same thing for the gangs. The very presence of Cherizier, who's a former police officer, as the leader of the gang is a symptom of the real poor record of foreign intervention in Haiti.

MARTIN: I mean, today, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, but it wasn't always thus. It was once one of the fastest growing economies in the Americas. It was a major Caribbean vacation destination. There used to be a Club Med resort there, which shocked me.

FATTON: Yes. Well, one should not either think that those were great days. There was some economic growth in the '40s and in the '50s. And then Duvalier came, and the economy collapsed¹⁸. Now, Jean-Claude Duvalier came to power after the death of his father in 1971, and there was kind of a technocratic¹⁹ project. Haiti would become supposedly the Taiwan of the Caribbean. So there was some economic growth. The disparities were enormous, and there was still significant corruption²⁰. And one of the problems with the economy, at least this is the way I see it, is that the programs that were imposed by the World Bank and the IMF have not worked. They've created a very dependent economy.

MARTIN: Do you go back often?

FATTON: I haven't been back since 2019 because of COVID. Now, I must confess that I come from the Haitian elite²¹. So the problems of the Haitian elites²² are very different from the problems of the vast majority of Haitians. You have a chasm²³ in terms of living standards, in terms of economic viability²⁴, as it were. So we are talking about different worlds.

MARTIN: Yeah. It's hard to find the words to ask this question, but in light of everything that you've told us, how do you imagine a more stable Haiti? Do you imagine it?

FATTON: Well, I'm personally quite pessimistic. Maybe the fear of an utter catastrophe might prompt some sort of national compromise whereby the different political parties, civil society, can finally arrive at a Haitian solution to Haitian problems. So there is an element of hope. But if you look at the realities of the country, it's a very grim picture. The economy is falling apart. Inflation is at about 35%. The local currency has lost essentially²⁵ its value. You have the insecurity. You have a government that is completely legitimate²⁶ (ph) in the eyes of Haitians. There's been protest after protest in the streets of Gonaives and in the larger cities in Haiti. And yet the Ariel Henry government is still in power because it is receiving foreign support.

MARTIN: Robert Fatton is a Haitian American professor of politics at the University of Virginia. Thank you so much for talking with us.

FATTON: Thank you very much.

1 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

4 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

8 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

9 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

10 meager   

adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的

参考例句：

• He could not support his family on his meager salary.他靠微薄的工资无法养家。
• The two men and the woman grouped about the fire and began their meager meal.两个男人同一个女人围着火，开始吃起少得可怜的午饭。

11 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

12 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

13 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

15 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

16 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

17 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

18 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

19 technocratic   

adj.由技术专家官员组成的；受技术官僚影响的

参考例句：

• But there is method in Europe's technocratic madness, the official went on. 但欧洲的专家政治论者的愤怒是有原因的，这个位官员接着说道。 来自互联网
• Mr Juppé was floored in part by his contemptuous, technocratic attitude towards union leaders. 朱佩对工会领导蛮横与不屑，是导致他一败涂地的部分原因。 来自互联网

20 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

21 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

22 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

23 chasm   

n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突

参考例句：

• There's a chasm between rich and poor in that society.那社会中存在着贫富差距。
• A huge chasm gaped before them.他们面前有个巨大的裂痕。

24 viability   

n.存活(能力)

参考例句：

• What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么？
• Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说，科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。

25 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

26 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。