From Jesuits to NGOs: Rethinking Humanitarian Aid in Haiti as

An Alternative View of HaitiToday’s perceptions of Haiti are mainly informed by images of

the indigent poor whom are subject to an endless cycle of natural disasters and political instability.1 Haiti’s tumultuous beginning as the first Latin American nation born out of resistance to European oppression is often forgotten. Consequently, the motivations of a burgeoning French imperialist regime during the 17th and 18th centuries escape critical analysis, as do Canada’s wishes to engage in the large-scale pacification project of today.

Pacifying Saint-Domingue thenDuring the height of the French slave trade, Jesuits played a

crucial role in the pacification of a large slave labour force. They used fear and strict religious observance. In 1685, The Black Code of Louis XIV served as the reference to police slaves in the islands of French America. Article II read: “All slaves that shall be in our islands shall be baptized and instructed in the Roman, Catholic and Apostolic faith.”4 Religion and, therefore, Jesuit work was directly woven into the essence of the rules of the islands.

The Catholic theology of obedience, good works and conversion met the material and social needs of the imperial authority, which included the large-scale cultivation and trade of sugar.5 Jesuits could transmit and enforce these rule in the name of salvation.

Canadian soldier surveys a scene of aid distribution in Leogane, Haiti (2010). Source: CTV.ca News Staff, “PM, Obama to work together on long-term help for Haiti,” CTV News, January 22, 2010, http://www.ctvnews.ca/pm-obama-to-work-together-on-long-term-help-for-haiti-1.476644 (accessed March 16, 2014).

Modern-day Haiti (pink). Source: Haiti and the Atlantic World, http://haitidoi.com/2013/10/09/the-samana-affair-2/.

Labour-intensive sugar production in Haiti. Source: Brown University, “History of Haiti: 1492-1805,” http://library.brown.edu/haitihistory/1sr.html.

Le Code Noir. Source: Assemblée Nationale, Les Departures d’outre-mer: Abolition de l’esclavage, http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/histoire/outre-mer/abolition.asp.

Pacifying Haiti nowSince the end of the Cold War, humanitarian organizations

became focused on human rights standards. At the same time they have been increasingly absorbed into the state’s purview by accepting funds from Western donors.6 In the case of Haiti, Foreign Affairs and Trade Development Canada (DFATD) is in direct partnership with Oxfam-Quebec, World Vision, and Save the Children (among many other NGOs) for the ongoing relief effort.7

In order for NGOs to receive funding from the Canadian government, they must complete an application form. Question 4 on “Institutional Requirements” reads: “Does your organization have measures in place to address the requirements of Canada’s anti-terror legislation?”8 – the Black Code of the twenty first century. NGOs are effectively utilized to propagate Canada’s (amorphous) anti-terror values and initiatives, those that, in concert with a “responsibility to protect,” provide the pretext for traversing roughshod over sovereignty and justifying political interference abroad.

Canada seeks to establish a Caribbean foothold in concert with like-minded western powers in the interests of security and capital. Their reasons are many, and genuine humanitarian concern is seldom atop the priority list. For example, one of Canada’s claims to interfering in Haitian governance lies in its classifying Haiti as a failed state lacking major interdiction capacities in the flourishing drug trade.9 The list of security ‘challenges’ is extensive and often ambiguous. Ultimately, trade liberalization and political dominance over an exploited and strategically disoriented Haitian people represents Canada’s imperialist ambition. Humanitarian workers, like the early Jesuits, are vital in pacifying shocked and confused populations through good works and ‘development’ under the hegemonic grip of strong states.

Left: Satirical depiction of the corporatization of Canadian aid in Haiti. Source: Amina Batyreva, “The corporatization of Canada’s foreign aid,” The McGill Daily, February 6, 2012, http://www.mcgilldaily.com/2012/02/the-corporatization-of-canadas-foreign-aid/ (accessed March 16, 2014).Right: “No to Foreign Interference in Haiti! Get Canada Out of Haiti!” TML Daily, May 19, 2009, http://www.cpcml.ca/Tmld2009/D39099.htm#Top (accessed March 16, 2014).

Notes1.Logan, Rayford W. “The U.S. ‘Colonial Experiment’ in Haiti.” Royal Institute of International Affairs 17 (October 1961): 435-6.

2. Neocleous, Mark. “‘A Brighter and Nicer New Life:’ Security as Pacification.” Social and Legal Studies 20, no. 2 (June 2011): 198.

3. Ibid., 200.

4. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution. “The Code Noir (The Black Code).” chnm.gmu.edu http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/335/.

5. Peabody, Sue. “‘A Dangerous Zeal’: Catholic Missions to Slaves in the French Antilles, 1635-1800.” French Historical Studies 25, no. 1 (2002): 59.

6. Whittall, Jonathon. “Humanitarian Early Warning Systems: myth and reality.” Third World Quarterly 23, no. 3 (2010): 1237-46.

7. Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada. “Canada’s Humanitarian Partners in Haiti.” DFATD http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/acdi-cida/ACDI-CIDA.nsf/eng/FRA-127114023-MKA.

8. Foreign Affairs and Trade Development Canada. “International Humanitarian Assistance: Funding Application Guidelines for Non-Governmental Organizations.” DFATD http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/INET/IMAGES.NSF/vLUImages/Funds/$file/funding-application-guidelines-for-non-governmental-organizations-eng.pdf.

9. Randall, Stephen J. “Canada’s National Security Challenges in the Caribbean and Latin America.” Canadian International Council. http://www.opencanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/CIC-SD-12-Randall.pdf.

What is Pacification?At its core, pacification requires the destruction and

reconstruction of a political order. It involves the suppression of any opposition to such reconstruction by force, discipline and regulation.2 The first military acts of pacification were observed in Spanish Captain Bernardo de Vargas Muchacha’s warfare manual Malicia Indiana. He emphasized not only the destruction of indigenous peoples, but also the “gathering of information about the population, the teaching of trades, education, welfare provision, ideological indoctrination, and, most importantly, the construction of a market.”3