The Uses of Haiti

by Paul Farmer, Jonathan Kozol (Foreword), Noam Chomsky (Introduction)

The Uses of Haiti tells the truth about uncomfortable matters—uncomfortable, that is, for the structures of power and the doctrinal framework that protects them from scrutiny. It tells the truth about what has been happening in Haiti, and the US role in its bitter fate .—Noam Chomsky, from the introduction In this third edition of the classic The Uses of Haiti , Paul Farmer looks at what has happened to the health of the poor in Haiti since the coup. Winner of a McArthur Genius Award, Paul Farmer is a physician and anthropologist who has worked for 25 years in Haiti, where he serves as medical director of a hospital serving the rural poor. He is the subject of the Tracy Kidder biography, Mountains Beyond Mountains .

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Anthropology, Politics, Economics, Social Justice, International

475 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

Paul Farmer was an American medical anthropologist and physician. He was Professor of Medical Anthropology at Harvard Medical School and Founding Director of Partners In Health. Among his books are Infections and Inequalities: The Modern Plagues (1999), The Uses of Haiti (1994), and AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame (1992). Farmer was the recipient of numerous awards, including a MacArthur Foundation "genius" award and the Margaret Mead Award for his contributions to public anthropology.

Farmer was born in the U.S.A. in 1959. He married Didi Bertrand Farmer in 1996 and they had three children. He died in Rwanda in 2022, at the age of 62.

Reviews

[Madeleine · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 of how radical (read: awesome) Farmer's politics are. At least, I did. From Mountains Beyond Mountains I got a clear sense of Farmer the Doctor, Farmer the humanitarian, Farmer the founder of Partners in Health. From Farmer's own writing, I understand that he is effective in and dedicated to the work he does because he sees Haiti's history for what it is--a history of a people who've struggled against slavery, racism, and neo/Colonialism for hundreds of years while resisting injustice from the US every step of the way. He is extremely critical of past and present US involvement in Haiti. This is the kind of book I dream about writing someday--smart, impassioned, angry, unafraid. A demonstration that writing can be a powerful act of solidarity.

I should have known, really. After the earthquake in Haiti, I kept getting emails from PiH about solidarity with Haiti. "Apolitical" do-gooder charities don't generally talk about "solidarity."

[Spicy T AKA Mr. Tea · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 and control over the country. I felt like I knew something about Haiti, but not enough. I didn't know the history of struggle in Haiti and I didn't know about the decades upon decades of exploitation, torture, expropriation, murder, rape, and other atrocities usually if not fully fueled by our tax dollars and supported by our government--if not directly induced by our government.

The Uses of Haiti is a powerful book--it tells the history of Haiti from the point of view of those without power, those without access, those most marginalized and exploited. It describes atrocity after atrocity beginning with the first attempts to colonize the country by European conquerers all the way to the ousting of the elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. What's really sick is that this book highlights the names and acts of some of the most brutal atrocities that happened in Haiti and then today you see those same names as the governing body of that country. That's scary and one reason those people are in power is because US business interests need a stable Haitian economy in order to make money off the people and the environment. Fucked up.

I remember riding home on the bus in Boston and reading this book and just weeping because it was so moving and gut-wrenching at the same time. I also remember feeling like this was exactly what I needed to better understand what was happening there as well as understand how history repeats itself. I highly recommend this book. It's quick, accessible, engrossing, and deeply disturbing. A must.

[Tatiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 read so far, it's a very unsentimental account, rendering the plain facts to us in a simple and straightforward manner.

Father Aristide strikes me as a person very much in the mold of Gandhi or MLK, one whose absolute courage and determination in the face of injustice is beyond human, is divine in nature. The thugs and bullies, they can kill, maim, torture, but they can't change the immutable truth. Father Aristide is one of those who simply, quietly, keeps pointing out the injustice, keeps calling for things to be made right, in the face of death, over and over, with godlike calm, with the implacability of the universe going about its age old multibillion year business.

Does it make it easier or harder to help once we learn our representatives, supporting our interests, have been complicit in exacerbating the problems we want to alleviate? Does it make it fraught with dangers, of doing more harm than good, of continuing to perpetrate the same injustice in the name of its opposite? Or is it even more compelling, the need for us to repudiate the past and make up for wrongs done?

All I know is that the truth matters, reality matters, and information is ever more accessible in the modern technological world, so that the powerful can no longer play the game of stalling, manipulating, blustering, obfuscating while they transfer ever more wealth from poor to rich. The truth will out.

[Sam Whitehill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Farmer was well positioned to write about Haiti. As a doctor among the rural poor, he saw first hand the tragic effects of extreme poverty and violence. He pushes back against American made myths about Haiti as an isolated, superstitious, disease spreading, incompetent backwater. He shows that an unwavering century long US hostility to Haitian freedom and democracy plays the determining role in Haitian hardships to this day. To paraphrase Cesaire, the brutality attributed to Haitian culture is in actuality the brutality of imperial domination.

[Matthew Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Uses of Haiti is Farmer at his best. Farmer challenges you to wrestle with the reality of absolute poverty and look directly at the forces that cause what can only be described as hell on earth. It is rare to find an American author boldly challenging the status quo and demonstrating with mountains of evidence the horrors of imperialism, greed, and racism that shape the material conditions of those living in Haiti. From murdering civilians in broad daylight to literally stealing blood from Haitians, there is truly no form of exploitation that Haiti has not faced. I was quite pleased to find that rather than choosing sides in this piece, Farmer tells the ugly truth, particularly as it relates to politics in the US. He uproots all of the lies, propaganda, and misinformation showered across the US throughout a 100+ year history of involvement with Haiti. This is an essential work of historical nonfiction that clearly demonstrates the abuse of Haiti by foreign powers and continues to parallel political and economic turmoil to this day. The only drawback to this book is that more people haven't read it.

[Sebastian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally got a copy of this recently, and I'm very happy I did. Writing in 1993, a time (like now) of great political uncertainty in Haiti and attacks on Haitian refugees in the United States, Farmer is direct, clear, and always centering the words and experiences of Haitians. I'd recommend this book to just about anybody, as it's very accessible and a good entry point for beginning to understand Haiti. RIP Paul Farmer

[Neddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.37

Impassioned without being ranty

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 policy has worked in many other poor countries in the region. Even more interesting, the book’s picture of Haiti unintentionally provides a living, recent parallel of so many of the characters, forces, and issues of first-century Palestine. Reading Farmer on Haiti brings up clear echoes of Richard Horsley on NT political context. So much of the NT is written to a political world we can’t fathom, but books revealing the dynamics of rich and poor help make it clearer. Just like the first century, Haiti’s history involves a crushing empire, traitorous elites, radical reformers, a compromised church, paganism, and many simple and trampled Christians.

Bit from Farmer: “Many American resist the idea that U.S. administrations have hastened the decline of this beleaguered little nation. This resistance is due to many factors, not the least of which is the discomfort born of facing ugly realities about the role of our government in the Third World. It is far more comforting to attribute the ongoing violence in Haiti (or Guatemala or El Salvador) to factors native to that setting.”

This book is a crucial and well-written intro to the basics of Haitian history, with easily verifiable sources. He steers away from conspiracy theories and just goes with the established. At first I thought Noam Chomsky’s introduction alone would be worth it, but the rest of the book even superseded that.

Since the recent earthquake, the price for the latest edition of this book has skyrocketed above $100 used. I found this 1994 version in a local university library. Apparently, the latest edition updates the U.S.-backed coup against Aristide.

Never have Psalms 37 and 94 made so much sense --

“How long will the wicked triumph?
They utter speech, and speak insolent things;
All the workers of iniquity boast in themselves.
They break in pieces Your people, O LORD,
And afflict Your heritage.
They slay the widow and the stranger,
And murder the fatherless” (Ps. 94:3-6)

[BurgendyA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr.Paul Farmer writes with a so much passion and precision of the deleterious effects of American policy on the lives of ordinary Haitians. The Uses of Haiti was the first book of Dr. Paul Farmer that I read and he definitely knows how to engage his readers with
insights, some of Haiti's history and works regarding its heavy plight.

I admit that this book had sad effects of poverty, lack of resources & injustice of Haiti. This non-fiction is truly an exceptional book. And I am glad that I've read it. I give it two thumbs up.

[Kyrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of the book is very appropriate. Haiti has had many uses: racist agendas to excuse gunboat diplomacy, trade embargos and non-recognition of its sovereign rights since independence in 1804, demonstration on how to pillage an economy, keeping people illiterate to serve as pawns in a bloody political game of the elite, maintaining consistent media propaganda during the cold war to paint an idyllic island during the dictatorship period and then as a hell hole after a popular democratic election victory by Aristide in 1990, legal caveats: Haitian refugees being branded economic rather than political asylum seekers, biased and brutal treatment of Haitian refugees in Guatanamo Bay in the 90s (nothing has changed there even today!), misrepresentation (mostly blatant lies) of Haitians as violent in nature and unable to self-govern.....Haiti has become synonimous with failure, poorest of the poor, voodoo (even though most of the other Caribbean islands & even southern United States practice it) craze...without any hope or future. Read the book and you will never see the "free" media that we adore in the same light. You will see that most Haitians are actually just ordinary people trying to mind their business.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading The Uses of Haiti made my blood boil almost at every point. The unrelenting mistreatment of Haiti since their independence and before really boils down to racism and greed. The United States' use of Haiti is really one of the most shameful things we've ever done (not to say it has ended...). I wish these facts were more well-known, that the world would finally treat Haiti respectfully, allow them to pursue independent democratic self-rule and allow them to heal in the way they need.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book. While the 'uses'analysis is still relevant, much of the events of this book happened ~20 years ago and only covers part of the Aristide story. Also, Farmer seems to revisit the same anecdotes in Pathologies of Power.

[Tony Desantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The next time someone talks about what a horrible place Haiti is, direct them to this book. The USA has lots of blood on her hands, but it it especially true about Haiti.

[Jordan Munro · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much to say about this book I don't know where to begin or how to capture it all in a short review. This book is probably not what most people would call a page-turner, although there are sections that will capture your attention completely. The Uses of Haiti falls somewhere in the midst of journalism, activism, auto-biography, and academia.

The book is more or less damning historical review of how foreign powers -- especially the US Government and the CIA -- have continually and repeatedly taken horrific and monstrous actions again and again to ensure that Haiti remains a turbulent and failed state under puppet dictatorships.

I would recommend that people who read this book also read Mountains Beyond Mountains, an autobiography by Paul Farmer.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent documentation of Haiti's history and the both overt and covert involvement of the West in particular the US. Though written about Haiti it is a good read for anyone interested in the US involvement in Haiti and throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.

[Purple Iris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really don't think the 2 zillion afterwords were necessary. Especially since they were not as well researched and compelling as the bulk of the book. What to make of the massive anti-Aristide demonstrations in late 2003, early 2004 for example? But the overall argument is sound and compelling.

[Derek Kreider · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting more background history, but I thought the more recent history was great. He provides many examples and stories to elucidate his point. The media propaganda is particularly uncovered here.

[Nathan Marquard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely essential profile of an often-overlooked Latin American state. My readings and classes largely left Haiti overlooked, but it is the purest example of on-going American neo-colonialism.

[Joe Molfetto · Rating 5 out of 5]

fuck howard french

[Sean Denizen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unfortunately, even more relevant now than in 1994.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 DRC, and how a country as tiny as Belgium could rule a land mass in interior Africa that is almost twice the size of Alaska.
This is worth reading, especially if you don't mind going through some of the repetition involved in reading a lot of Farmer's works. I have an image of Aristide as a corrupt dictator who was overthrown in part by the U.S. government (I was also 12 when it happened); Farmer argues vociferously that "the little priest" was in fact Haiti's best hope, the victim of a smear campaign involving a rumor that he was seeing a psychiatrist for mental problems (later proven untrue but nonetheless the rumor endured).

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 Mountains for a great biography of a truly remarkable man, Paul Farmer, the author of this and other enlightening books about the third world.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 has been continuously frustrated from the outside in its attempts to strike a path of independent development.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an in-depth analysis of the importance of structure, the arbitrariness on which its founded, and the lasting consequences of this. The introduction seemed a bit dramatic and conspiratorial to someone who was, as of yet, unfamiliar with the third world realities. The book was clear, easy to read, and interesting, for the actual content being intensely depressing.

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're going to read one book about Haiti, I would either read this book or "Goodbye Fred Voodoo". This book explains the US's role in the destruction of Haiti and how we keep invading and interfering with its development.

[Shaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's overwhelming to read instances of so many abuses inflicted upon your country, knowing that this is simply part of a much larger history that, gathering its strength, continues to bleed into the present.

[Medhane Olushola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Explores Haitian history and the impact of various governments and foreign policy on the island. Good introductory text, slight bias at times but informative for those who may not know much about Haiti post 1804.
3.5-4 stars

[Heather]

I have heard that this book is a must read.