22 April 1971: Papa Doc Dies ...

[Marilyn*]

Below is the print news coverage of BBC back on April 22, 1971, the day Papa Doc died.

But, first, you've got to see this black & white video, circa 1960s! See the hustle-and-bustle of the streets of Port-au-Prince and the kinds of cars driven back then! Hear Papa Doc tell how he won his election fairly!

Marilyn

*****

BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/date ... 525501.stm

On This Day: April 22nd

1971: Haitian dictator dies

Haiti's ruler, Francois 'Papa Doc' Duvalier, has die
d after 14 years in power.


President Duvalier, who declared himself 'president for life' in 1964, died at the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince.

He is believed to have been seriously ill for some time - his ailments included prostate cancer, heart trouble and diabetes.

During his time as Haiti's absolute ruler Mr Duvalier, 64, survived at least six assassination attempts.

A doctor by profession, Francois Duvalier was lawfully elected as president in 1956.

He then set about consolidating his power by means of force and playing on the superstitious nature of many Haitians.

He destroyed the power of the Roman Catholic Church by expelling its archbishop in 1969 and encouraging the pagan cult of voodoo.

His safety was ensured by his personal militia, the feared Tontons Macoutes - Haitian slang for "bogeymen".

President Duvalier made sure the Tontons Macoutes vastly outnumbered the Haitian army, reducing the
chance of a successful coup.


Lucky 22nd

He was as superstitious as many of those he ruled and, in later years, would only venture outside the presidential palace on the 22nd of each month.

He believed that on the 22nd he was guarded by his voodoo spirits and organised many significant events of his life for that date.

He was delighted when US President John F Kennedy, on whom he had placed a curse, was assassinated on 22 November 1963 - a fact which enhanced the reputation of his alleged voodoo powers.

President Duvalier is believed to have left orders for his death to be announced on the 22nd although it is thought he may have died several days ago.

He is expected to be succeeded by his son Jean-Claude, known as "Baby Doc".

The 20-year-old student was publicly declared his father's heir last year.

[Leonel Jean-Baptiste*]

Marilyn, this is the first time that I saw him alive.

Interesting man Indeed. The irony is we have so many of them(Duvalier-likes) in Haiti. So similar in their ways and love to Power...

The list is too long. Tonton Makout, ChimE, Rat pa Kaka, Zenglendo, FRaph, all of them were used to hold on to POWER...

Haiti, what a destiny!

L'union fait la Force
leonel

[Marilyn*]

Yesterday being the "official" anniversary of Papa Doc's death in 1971, was certainly momentous in Haiti.

Whether a coincidence or not, yesterday, all the "powers that be" went through the motions of bringing Prime Minister Neptune up to St-Marc to be charged for murder, but the judge assigned to his case did not show up. Why? Because the case had been scheduled for the 18th, not the 22nd!

Like, didn't the "powers that be" know that?


Anyway, over recent days while editing:

A Reporter At Large - Beyond the Mountains Part II - The New Yorker, December 4, 1989: http://hometown.aol.com/CreoleCH/Danner ... tns_II.pdf

[all 3 of the Danner articles, as taken from Mark's Site, were full of optical character recognition "read errors"; so, methodically, over the past week or so, I've been correcting them],

my mind has been on the Papa Doc
Era because pages 18-49 of Part II of Danner's series gives an overview of the life, events, and impact upon Haiti of The Old Man With Glasses.

It is a chilling and informative review of that portion of Haiti's history, a history which has so indelibly left its marks on the people and places so much a part of events taking place right now in Haiti.

Over and over again, as the history unfolded, I found myself saying to myself: Wow! Now I get it! Now I understand the "why" and "how" behind the "this" or "that".


Every bone in my body is screeching out to me at this moment that the next weeks and months in Haiti's life are going to be monumental. And that many lives hang in the balance.

From the bottom of my heart, I ask each of you to take the time to read pages 18-49 of this article because in many ways history could very well be repeating itself before our very eyes.

Many of today's Actors on the Haitian Stage
either grew up or were professionally trained within the Duvalier System.

When folks run out of ideas, they usually end up resorting to old "tried and true" patterns, behaviors and tactics.

May we not descend even deeper back into the Era of "The Comedians".


And, by the way, do take a look at that old black & white video I referred to in an earlier post within this thread. It pictures some of the very events you will be reading about in Danner's article.

It's one thing to read about someone. It's quite another to actually see someone move, someone speak. It's chilling because he comes across as so benign and kindly.


Marilyn