This post, from my series of posts on the history of Haiti, taken from Dr. Paul Farmer’s book Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor gives excerpts of the history of Haiti, especially surrounding the massacre that took place in Raboteau. On April 22, 1994, during the 1991-1994 de facto military dictatorship that came to power following the 1991 Haitian coup d’état against Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a group of Aristide supporters were beaten and killed by civilian and para-military forces. (A side-note here is that the city of Philadelphia dumped a barge of toxic waste on Haiti, which ended up sitting at the port not far from the slum of Raboteau.)

Also check out this documentary Pote Mak Sonje (Whoever Bears the Scar Remembers): The Raboteau Trial for more information. More info also at this site: Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti.