The Uses of Haiti tells the truth about uncomfortable matters—uncomfortable, that is, for the structures of power and the doctrinal framework...
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Feb 15, 2008
Spicy T AKA Mr. Tea
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I remember reading about the kidnapping of democratically elected President of Haiti Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004 and feeling immense shame and anger at the US Government. I was angry and feeling shame at the government because they not only allowed this to take place--when at the time they were singing about bringing freedom and democracy to Iraq--but also for being directly responsible in his overthrow via kidnapping the president from his country in order to allow former war criminals power
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Mar 09, 2010
"Terrence"
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The U.S. bombing of Haitian civilians during our twenty-year military occupation of that country is only a sliver of the big story. And it’s not just ancient U.S. history; the undermining continued even through the 1990s and 2000s.
The best books end up revealing much more than their stated subject matter. Paul Farmer’s The Uses of Haiti at first appears to be just a powerful intro to two hundred years of how empires have devastated Haiti, but it also turns out to be a model of how U.S. foreign p More...
The best books end up revealing much more than their stated subject matter. Paul Farmer’s The Uses of Haiti at first appears to be just a powerful intro to two hundred years of how empires have devastated Haiti, but it also turns out to be a model of how U.S. foreign p More...
Nov 11, 2011
Tatiana
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Dr. Farmer here documents how the interests of the rich and powerful, including the U.S. Government, have maneuvered to keep Haiti's people weak and destitute throughout the history of the small nation. It's very difficult to read these things. I feel inside me this vast upwelling of rage at the injustice. Dr. Paul, to his credit, simply reports the situation, tells the tale, without any overt anger or outrage, just as an anthropologist reports his or her findings. Like all his books I've re
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Jun 11, 2009
Elaine
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What made this book amazing to me was learning the truth of how the US, France and England have interfered in the control of Haiti since 1850. How we have kept the poor subjugated and even more poor. "I feel sorry for our country if God is truly just." - Thomas Jefferson.
After reading this book, I felt angry and frustrated, but have since found an outlet for help for Haiti, even though it encompases only a small area.
I suggest reading Mountains Beyond Mounta More...
After reading this book, I felt angry and frustrated, but have since found an outlet for help for Haiti, even though it encompases only a small area.
I suggest reading Mountains Beyond Mounta More...
Aug 14, 2010
Madeleine
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I read Mountains Beyond Mountains (which is a biography of Paul Farmer), and thought that Paul Farmer is to Haiti as Greg Mortenson is to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Wow, wrong. Not to dis Mortenson--he does great humanitarian work, and he seems to do it in a way that's respectful of the local communities he works with (this is rare, IMHO). But Farmer is something else entirely.
The thing with Mountains Beyond Mountains is that you can get through the whole book without getting a sense More...
The thing with Mountains Beyond Mountains is that you can get through the whole book without getting a sense More...
Dec 05, 2008
Lindsey
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I read the last page of Farmer's "Infections and Inequalities", and immediately picked this one up. Farmer sets out to describe Haitian history and to answer the questions of why a country that's so fertile and is a republic almost as old as the United States can nonetheless be the poorest in the western hemisphere. His descriptions remind me a lot of Adam Hothchild's "King Leopold's Ghost", which does a thorough job of explaining how such a thing could also happen to the D
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May 03, 2011
Jesse
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Paul Farmer gives a very detailed history of Haiti from a political and a health standpoint. He really touches the history of this country and his writing style is easy to grasp. His section on Jean Bertrand Aristide was phenomenal and opened up my eyes to some of the atrocities that foreign governments and wealthy Haitians did to oust him. JBA is still the rightful president of this country. This is a great read for someone looking to complement Mountains Beyond Mountains
Mar 23, 2009
Heather
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It took me a while to get through this one, mostly because I wanted to retain every bit of information (an impossible task, given Haiti's insane political history). Not exactly uplifting, but important and well-written. I would certainly recommend to anyone looking to familiarize themselves with Haitian history and U.S./Haitian relations, two inextricable subjects.
Feb 09, 2011
Rachel
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Absolutely fascinating. Especially because I really never learned anything about Haiti, it's history, or the history of US-Haiti relations, at any point in school.
Sep 08, 2009
Jeffcolli
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A fascinating perspective on U.S. foreign policy relations towards Haiti, told by a physician that has spend years working as a physician there.
Jul 20, 2010
Christopher
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great background on how Haiti got to where she is today, decimated by an earthquake and already disappearing from the headlines
Apr 16, 2009
Frannie
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Excellent prep for my trip to Haiti in Feb. *#@*ing brutal history that every citizen of the US should know.
May 21, 2007
Kevin
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Starting from the colonial period - an era from which world powers have never truly allowed Haiti to escape - Farmer draws upon his first-hand experiences well in putting together a compelling narrative of historic and contemporary "uses" of Haiti. Little has indeed changed since the U.S. refused to recognize Haiti's independence for the better part of a century, fearful of the "threat of a bad example" - a self-governing nation of peoples of African descent, and one that ha
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Oct 11, 2010
This is a book every American should read. At those who aren't afraid to think critical.
Apr 08, 2010
Justin
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An incredible look into the history of international meddling in Haiti. This is a harrowing tale that left me questioning everything I thought I knew about Haiti.
May 07, 2009
Mary
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didn't like this one nearly as much as Mountains Beyond Mountains - I was disappointed; I thought I would.
Mar 31, 2008
Sokari
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Farmer challenges the deception and destruction by the West (the US and France in particular) of 200 years of independent Haiti.
Jul 06, 2009
JaDell
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Good history and analysis of the US involvement in Haiti since Haitian independence.
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