Haiti is celebrating its bicentennial anniversary of independence with political strife. After President Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled the country on Feb. 29, Haitian independence flew out the door.

According to Assistant Professor Angel Parham of the sociology department and Charles Renee´, both of whom were presenters at Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and Amnesty International’s “Haiti: Current Actions and Current Actors” on Tuesday night, Haitian independence was lost long before Aristide’s flight in February.

Renee´, founder of several Haitian organizations in New Orleans, says that the Haitian masses have been subjected to civil struggles since Haiti secured independence from France in 1804.

“It’s two oligarchies – the light-skinned elite and the dark-skinned generals – that both want the power,” Renee´ said. “It’s unnecessary though. Light-skinned or dark-skinned – we are all black.”

According to Parham, the recent struggles of Haiti can be traced back most directly to the May 2000 legislative elections, when a controversy erupted over ten Senate seats.

Although Aristide was not president at the time, the 10 seats were all for men of his own party – the Lavalas Family.

“Some people wanted a run-off and some people opposed it. As a result, oppositional parties boycotted the November 2000 elections,” Parham said.

In 2001 unknown parties attacked the National Palace. The Lavalas Family party, however, pointed the finger at the newly formed Democratic Convergence, composed of the oppositional parties from the boycotted the year before. In retaliation, Aristide supporters launched a series of attacks against the Democratic Convergence.

The Organization of American States investigated the National Palace attack in 2002, eventually declaring the Democratic Convergence innocent of the attack and awarding members reparations for the subsequent attacks.

The Haitian masses suffered from more problems in 2003. First, the terms of parliament expired. This meant that Aristide was now running the country only by decree. Also, in December, a student demonstration was halted violently.

The Cannibal Army and the disbanded Haitian Army banded together in 2004 and began to systematically take control of northern Haitian cities. Aristide fled when it became clear to him that international help was not forthcoming.

Beside its political problems, Haiti also suffers economically.

Haiti has a rural, peasant society, with only 37 percent of the population concentrated in the urban areas. Over 65 percent of the population works in agriculture. The American equivalent to the average Haitian’s GDP per capita is $1,400 per year.

“Imagine trying to live in the United States on $1,400 a year,” Parham said. “It’s impossible.”

Haiti has a negative image, which Renee´ blames on the media.

“Be prepared for propaganda when you see FOX, CNN, or AP,” Renee´ said. “Only with Rueters, Pacific Radio or BBC will you get the truth.”

Parham agreed with Renee´’s assessment of media portrayal of Haiti.

“It really does have a beautiful countryside, but you don’t see that,” she said. “That’s why I went to Haiti in January – to arrange for a Study Abroad Program for Loyola Students. Of course, we’ll have to wait for the current situation to die down.”

Sarah Castagnetta can be reached at [email protected]