THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVINGSTURBRIDGETIMES

THE

MAGAZINE

MARCH 2012

It would be one of the greatest acts of moral van-dalism in history. A man who had defeated the An-cien Regime in the service of the French Republicand held a territory in its name would die of betrayalby the new regime in a mountain fortress. In realterms he had betrayed the state, as he was governingin the interests of the people. Rare as that is in astatesman.I saw the picture of that man in a resplendent uni-

Hardform with coal black face on a library bookshelfas a boy. It was the cover art that fascinated me andled me to the reading of Toussaint Louverture’s bi-ography. The book was part of a series meant foryoung students. It was the compelling story of a slavewho started a nation. That nation’s history has al-ways been as compelling. Some would call it tragic oreven comic, but there have been instances of triumphand glory.Laurent Dubois has retold the story in his book,

Haiti The Aftershocks of History. There are more ro-mantic books on Haiti. The Serpent and the Rain-bow comes to mind with its alternative pharmacology

and rural societal persistence. Kenneth Roberts’novel, Lydia Bailey, has an account of the battleof Crête-à-Pierrot that is as inspiring as his de-

Ascholar’stakeonHaiti’spainfulhistoryDukeprofessortacklesthesubjectskillfully,gracefully

BOOK REVIEW

HAITI: THE AFTERSHOCKSOF HISTORYBy Laurent DuboisMetropolitan Books; Henry Holt Co.Hardcover 370 pagesList Price $32.00Amazon $18.88e-Reader $9.10ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-9335-3

THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINETHE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING 11

By RICHARD MURPHY

scription of General Dessalines is menacing. EvenBlack Bagdad, by the occupying Marine officer, JohnH. Craige, is a romance of sorts. Of course, a bookwith the title, Best Nightmare on Earth can only beabout a place of chaos and fun.Yet such books are each only a small part of the

story. All too many of my fellow citizens only know ofHaiti as the place where the earthquake took place.One would suspect that fewer than one in a thousandrealize that the country is our oldest sister republic inthe new world. The great value in Mr. Dubois’ bookis that all the players and actions are there in one vol-ume. The book is not written in a sensationalist style.In listening to his interviews on radio, I thought itwould be. Even so, it goes along smoothly, not that hedoes not show his sympathies. Obviously, he feelsHaiti has been done hard by. Any observer wouldfind it difficult to avoid that conclusion.Laurent Dubois is not new to the subject. A pre-

vious book, Avengers of the New World is a history ofthe Haitian Revolution. He has written other books

Continues on page 19

Author Laurent Dubois is a professor at Duke University©2012 Sturbridge Times photos by Stephanie Richards

19THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE

Book Review |HaitiContinued from page 11

Continued on page 26

about the country. His official posi-tions include Marcelo Lotti Professorin Romance Studies and History andDirector of the Center for Frenchand Francophone Studies at DukeUniversity. He occasionally dabblesin other subjects. Well, more thandabbles.Villains abound. First up are the

French. On the island of Saint-Domingue, the Gauls set up the mostprofitable plantation system in theWestern Hemisphere, if not theworld. They ran it on the backs ofAfricans, worked so that more had tobe constantly imported. Cost controlwas such that the slaves not only hadto toil in the fields for the planter,they had to grow their own food aswell.When the French Revolution

broke out, the slaves took the oppor-tunity to end their bondage in al-liance with the Republicans. WhenNapoleon took power he tried to re-institute slavery. After a valiant re-sistance, the Haitians merely waiteduntil Napoleon’s army was debili-tated and gave it a push and securedtheir nation.France was not done. Having lost

the war, they demanded an indem-

nity. Talk about bad taste. Whateverhappened to vae victis? Hungry forrecognition, Haiti gave in.Other European powers leaned on

Haiti. Germany was stalwart in ap-plying force to get her way. It appearsour sister republic could not counton appealing for enforcement of theMonroe Doctrine.Uncle Sam’s hands are not clean.

Recognition was refused until theCivil War. We were slow to the game,but played hardball when we got upto bat. In 1914, a warship sent a de-tachment ashore to seize gold fromthe Haitian National Bank. Ameri-

style. flair. charm.and oh so yummy.

THE SHOPS AT STURBRIDGE MARKETPLACE HAVE IT ALL.

“TheHaitian peasantheld onto the landwonfrom the Frenchwithtenacity unrivalled inhistory. The countryfolks on theirsmallholdings fed

themselves and exportedcoffee. Even the vastlypowerfulU.S. left aftertheHaitians tired of us.”

THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING26

can bankers who had made bad loanshad the US Government enforce theircontracts in the grand tradition of pri-vatizing profits and socializing losses.Then, Marines would occupy thecountry. We left eventually, achievinglittle as we usually do in our occupa-tions.After Duvalier fils’ exile and some

sub par elections, we came back tomake Haiti a better place in 1994,again. We brought some other dogooder nations with us. With all thehelp the US and the internationalcommunity had provided, the lastthing the country needed was anearthquake.Haitian governments could meet

the definition of a failed state, whatwith almost a constitution du jourwith each new chief executive. Thatdoes not mean a failed nation. TheHaitian peasant held onto the land

won from the French with tenacity un-rivalled in history. The country folks ontheir smallholdings fed themselves andexported coffee. Even the vastly power-ful United States left after the Haitianstired of us earlier in the 20th century.Mr. Dubois is a fine writer. After-

shocks was difficult to put down. Hisbook is a history and not a polemic.Still, it is hard for a reader to avoid aconclusion. Intervention well meaningor exploitive is colonialism. The worldshould leave Haiti to its own devices.They may not build a tourism indus-

try, but why would they want to be ourplayground? Les Haïtiens may not splitthe atom any time soon, but neither willthe hotshots at the Kennedy School ofGovernment. The message to bankersshould be, take your chances and don’texpect a bailout. Maybe we should havesaid that to Morgan and Goldman in2008.Let Haiti be Haiti.

BOOK REVIEW & COMMENTARY

Let Haiti be HaitiContinued from page 19

GREENLIVING

You've probably been hearing the talk offederal light bulb regulations for years, butin January 2012, the talk will become reality,and these regulations will begin to take ef-fect. While California residents began thetransition in January 2011, the federallymandated phase-out of less efficient incan-descent light bulbs begins with the 100-wattlight bulb on Jan. 1, 2012, so now is the timefor the rest of the country to make theswitch to more efficient bulbs.Before you begin considering your op-

tions, here's a quick review of how the newregulations will work:• As of January, new incandescent, or

traditional, 100-watt light bulbs for generalpurpose, household shape lamps are nolonger available. Retailers aree able to sell-through any existing inventory, but the tra-ditional 100-watt incandescent bulbs willnot be replaced on the shelf.

• Incandescent 75-watt light bulbs will beunavailable in 2013.• Incandescent 40-watt and 60-watt light

bulbs will be phased out in 2014.As these rules phase in gradually, it's a great

time to educate yourself on the different typesof energy-efficient light bulbs available.What are Lumens?As we transition away from incandescent

bulbs, the lingo used to describe the bright-ness of the light bulbs is changing. We've be-come accustomed to identifying thebrightness of a light bulb by the amount ofpower - watts - that it uses. However, more ef-ficient light bulbs emit the same amount oflight - measured in lumens - while using lesselectricity.For example, the following light bulbs all

produce roughly the same amount of light(450 lumens): 40-watt incandescent, 29-watthalogen, 11-watt compact fluorescent (CFL)

and 9-watt LED. It's still important to pay at-tention to wattage to make sure you don't ex-ceed the recommended level for your lamp,but it's increasingly unlikely that you'll exceedthat level as you purchase more efficientbulbs.Types of bulbs availableAs youmove on from incandescent bulbs,

you'll want to familiarize yourself with the dif-ferent types of more energy-efficient bulbsavailable. These bulbs will consume less en-ergy and last longer, saving you money onmonthly utility bills.COMPACT FLUORESCENT: CFL

bulbs are more expensive than incandescentbulbs, but use up to 75 percent less energyand last up to 10 times as long, making it easyfor you to quickly recoup the money youspend on them. You can save up to $70 peryear by placing CFLs in your five most com-monly used lamps, according to the Envi-

ronmental Protection Agency. You've likelyseen them in spiral or tube-like shapes, butCFLs also come in the A-line form commonin most incandescent bulbs.HALOGEN: These bulbs use the same

technology as incandescent bulbs but last upto three times longer and are about 50 per-cent more efficient. Halogens are known forproducing the highest quality light but aren'tas efficient as CFLs. When changing halo-gens, you'll want to make sure you use a ragbecause oil from your skin can reduce thebulb's longevity.LED: The Lowe's stores began offering

the industry's first Energy Star-qualifiedLED bulb this year - theGE Energy Smart 9-watt LED light bulb. LED bulbs take the ef-ficiency and durability of CFLs even further,as this bulb is rated to last more than 22years and uses slightly less energy than aCFL bulb that also produces 450 lumens.

Lumens, CFLs and LEDs: A light bulb guide