This January marks the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution and the 215th anniversary of the Haitian Revolution and I for one am joining in the revelry. Cuba and Haiti, far from being the basket case and the dictatorship that they are portrayed to be in international media and by many a politician are in fact the heartbeat and the in the vanguard of every third world revolutionary and romantic and it is for good reason. For while it may be true that Haiti has and continues to experience extreme poverty and rampant corruption and that Cuba does not enjoy the plethora of amenities that we ‘free world’ enjoy it is also equally true if not truer that were it not for these nations, we in the third world would have nought.
That last statement may sound extreme, but I assure you it is far from hyperbolic, to go one step further I would say that we in the third world have an unpayable debt to those two nations. Why do I say that?
Well, have a look at Haiti and its impact on the world. This is a nation which not only saw its slave population launch the only successful rebellion, but they also went on to cripple both the Spanish, British and French imperial armies thus making life easier for would be plotters in their realms. After winning independence, Haiti then embarked upon liberating the entire island of Hispaniola (and freeing the slaves in the Dominican Republic) and on a campaign of sponsoring slave rebellions and anti-imperial revolutions throughout the Americas, from the US all the way to the Bolivarian republics (hence Colombia, Venezuela etc having the red and blue in their flags). It is no overstatement or oversimplification to say that the Haitian revolution was the weight on the scale which ensured that slavery, in this side of the world at least was coming to a fast end just as it is no overstatement to say that Haiti played a principal role in the dismantling of the Spanish American empire.
The Cuban revolution also has had a profound impact on the world and the third world in particular. It is often forgotten or downplayed just how in the grip of the US Latin America was pre-1959, how the US literally viewed these nations as plantations and areas of extraction. It is also often forgotten that almost every politician or group who even tried to liberalise society (make it 70% American rather than 100%) met a rather grim end at the hands of US sponsored thugs or the US Marines. January 1, 1959, marked the first time that the US had lost in this side of the world, in its backyard if you will. But more than that, the Cuban revolution showed that a nation in this side of the world could chart its own independent course and survive if not thrive (as the Cubans have done in the areas of engineering and medicine). As if leading by example weren’t enough, the Cubans followed their Haitian revolutionaries of lore and sponsored revolutionary movements the world over while also offering education and medicine to their third world brethren.
Again, it is hyperbolic or an exaggeration to say that all land reforms in Latin America, education reforms and economic reforms are a direct result of the Cuban Revolution. All of these came post-59 as the US was rightly scared that their repressive local representatives (see the local presidents and upper classes) would fall as the populations of those countries saw the miracle of social prosperity which Cuba was seeing.
But these nations are much more than simply political touchstones, they are also hubs of cultural innovation. Actual independence allows one to think freely and as such create new things, it should, therefore, be of little wonder or surprise that these nations and their people have always been on the cutting edge of art and music and remain cultural meccas in spite of the decades (and in Haiti’s case centuries) of caricaturing and demonising.
Let us join with these nations and people as they celebrate and let us all reflect upon the sacrifices they made and the collective debt we owe to them. Let us defend them from the attacks and sniping from those who would wish to see us return to a variation of bondage of some sort and let us rally around them to ensure that their revolutions remain intact. Let us also take the time during the celebrations to reflect upon the fact that liberation is possible, and it can be achieved even if it seems improbable for their revolutions remain incomplete so long as we remain within the empire. Provide constructive criticism when necessary but also remember that they must chart their own independent course.
Long live the Haitian and Cuban revolutions, that should always be the mantra of those who say they love freedom and liberty. If ever you find yourself amongst a person who dares speak ill of them, you know they are not your friend and a person of low moral standing. For no one with any morals or any decency could bring themselves to sully those who have given so much and received nothing in return. May the blockade end and may Haiti be left free form foreign machinations so that the children of their revolutions can continue to move it forward and that we the benefactors and students may further learn how to truly win emancipation and independence even if the kitchen sink is thrown at you.
jamaicachange 