Notes From the Last Testament: The Struggle for Haiti

by Michael Deibert, Raoul Peck (Introduction)

Notes from the Last Testament, by veteran reporter Michael Deibert, is a riveting narrative account of the events leading up to and including the overthrow of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. A fearless correspondent and a meticulous researcher, Deibert traces the rupturing of the social-democratic coalition that originally brought Aristide to power and that had been the fruit of years of opposition to the dictatorships and military juntas. From chaotic scenes of frenzied mayhem on the streets of the bidonvilles of Port-au-Prince with their armed gangs and burning intersections to heated debates in the halls of power, these dramatic events throw into stark relief the obstacles facing the world's nascent democracies, the trend of first world military intervention in third world affairs, and the dual legacies of slavery and colonialism.
In a remarkable and deeply humane synthesis of on-the-ground perspectives and exhaustive research, Deibert sets vivid personal testimonies alongside an analysis of the country's rich history that reaches back to Haiti's first days as a colony, to the time of the rebellion led by the former slave Toussaint Louverture, and extends to the present, ultimately exploring how Aristide, once a beacon of populism and democratic aspirations, came to embody brutality and misrule in the tradition of his predecessors. Along the way, Deibert introduces us to the real heroes of the Hatian people's struggle for a just and independent society free from violence and corruption.

482 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2005

About the author

Michael Deibert first visited Haiti in 1997 and serves as the Reuters correspondent in Port-au-Prince from 2001 until 2003. His writing on Latin America and the Caribbean has appeared in Newsday, the Miami Herald, The Village Voice, The Economist Intelligence Unit, Salon, and The Guardian, among other publications.

Reviews

[Pete Dematteo · Rating 3 out of 5]

since i've been to haiti and live and breathe haiti, this book was an eye-opener. i commend mr. deibert for exposing former president aristide for what he has allegedly become, a powerful, militaristic, drug dealing thug, along with the vast majority of politicians in haiti. unlike the fictional book MADAME DREAD, Deibert does not live in denial of what the real situation is politically and isn't afraid to expose it in the slightest. he exposes the situation not like some generic knee-jerk leftist journalist or intellectual. nor does he sound like some windbag diplomat at the United Nations. he digs and exposes himself to untold amounts of not only vast discomfort along the way, but life-threatening menace, as well.
the problem i have with this book is its utter obsession with politics. it also reads like a college text book, appealing to some pipe-smoking intellectual. now matter where we are, politicians are known for promising but not delivering, which is unfortunately stating the obvious, which he does in the most complicated motifs grammatically possible. such betrayal is magnified to its utmost extreme in haiti, but i would have liked it if Mr. Deibert could have personalized his text a bit more, and say, given us a needed break to a larger extent, and discussed the leafy Pacot area where he rented an apartment or gone into voudou, the Roman Catholic Church, or the fundamentalist Christian groups a bit more, or even the beaches, since he definately has the talent to do so.
Conclusively, the book was intellectually stimulating and left me feeling as if i was downing strong cups of haitian coffee as I was doing so. it got me through the month of february, 2015, in new jersey!