World News @lemmy.ml zephyreks @lemmy.ml 2 mo. ago

France urged to repay billions of dollars to Haiti for independence ‘ransom’

www.theguardian.com France urged to repay billions of dollars to Haiti for independence ‘ransom’

Coalition of civil society groups says Paris should return harsh reparations imposed on Caribbean state two hundred years ago

5 comments

I recall France does this all over Africa. I knew a guy from Africa telling me how France basically operates in Africa like the CIA in South America. Using legionares to terrorize govt into paying. I also think I recall a French president saying that Africa money is propping up France and without it they would crumble.
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Just think about what happened to the last guy who tried that.
This is the best summary I could come up with:

France should repay billions of dollars to Haiti to cover a debt formerly enslaved people were forced to pay in return for recognising the island’s independence, according to a coalition of civil society groups that is launching a new push for reparations.

But in a move that many Haitians blame for two centuries of turmoil, France later imposed harsh reparations for lost income and that debt was only fully repaid in 1947.

The group of about 20 non-governmental organisations currently in Geneva for a UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD) are seeking a new independent commission to oversee the restitution of the debt, which they refer to as a ransom.

They say the money should go to public works in Haiti where a transition council was installed this month in an effort to restore security after a period of devastating violence by armed groups.

“What’s important is that it’s time that France recognises this and we move forward,” Monique Clesca, a Haitian civil society activist who is coordinating the efforts, told Reuters.

“It’s $21bn plus 200 years of interest that France has enjoyed, so we’re talking more like $150bn, $200bn or more,” said Jemima Pierre, professor of global race at the University of British Columbia.

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