Haiti: The theft of cannons from the Citadel Henry, between silence and impunity

Rats eat sugarcane, innocent lizards die [1]

By Olsen JEAN-JULIEN*

Submitted to AlterPresse on July 3, 2024

Summary

1.Introduction
2. The Citadel Henry and the tradition of interpretation of the Haitian Revolution.
3. Criticism of attempts to revise this tradition of interpretation
4. The theft of cannons from the Citadel Henry between silence and impunity
5. On the need to implement the Convention against illicit trafficking in cultural property and the recommendations of Interpol

1.Introduction

In 1978, the Tropicana Orchestra of Haiti released a beautiful album called “Doux Tropic”. It is a reference to the sweetness of life in a tropical country. On this album, we can listen to a series of extremely successful musical compositions such as Adrienne, Anita and Erzulie. [2] The musicians of Tropicana have never stopped singing about love. Their songs bear witness that throughout the ages ” The man and the woman desperately sought love ». [3]

But in the midst of love, passion and tropical sweetness, the musicians of Tropicana have not stopped trying to understand the surrounding social reality. It is all the richness, complexity and contradictions of social life that parade in the songs. Thus, on the album, they offer us the following text in the song ” Wretched wretch ».

When people are unhappy you have no respect
Everything that is wrong with you is similar
Even if you try, they will not appreciate you
May never evolve.

When you see a homeless child on the street doing vagrancy
Everyone says he’s young, he doesn’t know what he’s doing.
When it’s the unfortunate child on the street who will devastate him
You hear that delinquents are a danger to the “future”.

You are working somewhere, there is a robbery
Because you are unfortunate since it is you who is suspected
When they accuse you, take the water that can wash you
Rats eat sugarcane, innocent lizards die.

When people are disinherited they are not respected.
They are associated with everything that is bad.
Despite their efforts, they are not appreciated
This is a way to prevent their evolution.

When a child from a wealthy family becomes a street delinquent
Everyone says he is young and not aware of his actions.
When it is a disadvantaged child who is having fun on the public highway,
There are cries of delinquency and danger for the “future”.

You work somewhere, there is a theft.
Because you are poor, everyone suspects you
So you are accused and your reputation is tarnished forever.
Rats steal sugar cane, innocent anoles die.

Two societal flaws are depicted in this 1978 song. On the one hand, discourses are invented to conceal certain delinquent behaviors and, on the other, based on prejudices, innocent people are accused in order to ensure the impunity of the real culprits. The process of silence and impunity, described in this song, often result in injustices. Innocent anoles with fragile bodies must pay for the crimes of guilty rats.

More skillful than the dance of the trese riban (braid ribbons) in Haiti, silencing is a subtle phenomenon that resembles a braided rope with multiple strands and many layers, some of which hide others. [4] The practice of silencing includes a set of actions aimed at altering the meaning of certain individuals, facts and events in the collective memory by manipulating their presence in the process of producing the historical narrative. [5] Silence affects, to varying degrees, all interpretation. The rope of silence in Haiti has intellectual braids linked to the history of the interpretation of the Haitian revolution and delinquent braids linked to the impunity enjoyed by certain groups. In this article, I propose to explore some of them.

The following year, on March 29, 1979, the National Heritage Preservation Institute (ISPAN) was created. It was also the beginning of the most important project carried out for the conservation of historic buildings and archaeological sites associated with the Haitian Revolution. Under the direction of architect Albert Mangones, a group of young Haitian architects, engineers, historians and artists assumed the responsibility of making the Citadel Henry watertight. Thus, after ten years of work, they protected the monument from the most serious factor of deterioration and destruction that threatened it.

On June 3, 2024, the ISPAN General Management informed the general public of the disappearance of two culverins (small caliber transportable cannons) at the Citadelle Henry. The ISPAN note follows the report received, dated June 1, 2024, from the Northern Regional Directorate of the institution. ISPAN indicates that in order to elucidate the case, punish the culprits, and recover the cannons as quickly as possible, an investigation is underway and public action is being taken against the perpetrators of the crime.

The hearing of ISPAN employees responsible for security at the Citadel led to the arrest of ten people. In a second note published on the matter on June 11, 2024, the General Directorate of ISPAN hopes that all light will be shed on this matter so that those who are innocent can be reunited with their respective families. Some of these humble employees have worked for more than forty years in the service of the protection of the Citadel. They are the only people arrested in the investigation so far.

However, from Labadie to Milot, from Cap-Haïtien to Dondon, from Port-au-Prince to Miami, rumors abound concerning this unspeakable theft. In this article, I refer to the song by Tropicana in order to warn society to avoid innocent people being punished while the guilty continue to live it up in the tropics. It is hoped that a serious investigation will identify the various culprits.

Far from encroaching on the ongoing judicial investigation, this article instead explores the place of the Citadelle Henry in the tradition of interpretation of the Haitian Revolution. It offers a critique of attempts to revise this tradition by showing the harmful aspects of silence and impunity as causes of the destruction of cultural heritage in Haiti. Finally, it indicates possible solutions, in the face of the theft of cannons, through the implementation of the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Cultural Property. This convention was ratified by Haiti in 2010.

2. The Citadel Henry and the tradition of interpretation of the Haitian Revolution

The Citadelle Henry is a privileged witness to the history of the Haitian Revolution. It allows us to understand the connection between the daily struggles of slaves, the maroonage in the mountains and the system envisaged by the Haitian generals for the defense of the revolution.

The ordinance signed by Jean Jacques Dessalines on April 9, 1804 is considered the administrative decision that led to the construction of the Citadel. Thomas Madiou mentioned this ordinance, which mainly deals with the taxation of agricultural operations and the confiscation of property from owners “who were with the French” at the time of the war. The confiscated property is used to organize the indigenous armies. The sixth of the seven articles of this ordinance indicates one of the uses of these resources in the deployment of military strategy. It reads as follows:

The divisional generals commanding the departments will order the brigadier generals to erect fortifications on the summit of the highest mountains in the interior, and the brigadier generals will, from time to time, make reports on the progress of their work. [6]

By implementing this order, Henri Christophe, commander-in-chief of the Department of the North, launched the project to build a citadel on the peak of Bonnet à l’Évêque on the site of the former Laferrière colonial residence. In 1814, ten years after this order, the project to build the citadel was already well advanced under the direction of Henri Christophe. Baron de Vastey, Christophe’s private secretary, presented this achievement as part of the fight against the colonial system. In his book dedicated to King Christophe, entitled The colonial system revealedBaron de Vastey argues that the Citadel was to accompany an armed people who had reconquered their rights denied by colonial slavery. The Citadel Henry thus had the mission of ensuring the defense of the ideals of liberty and independence under the leadership of Henri Christophe, crowned King of Haiti in 1811 under the name of Henry I. With this text, Baron de Vastey introduces a rich tradition of interpretation of the Haitian revolution. He combined a recognition of the legacy of the African insurrection against slavery, a cult of heroes and a discourse on the role of sites and monuments in the revolutionary process.

Son of the mountain, inhabitant of the forests, cherish your weapons, these precious keys preserving your rights, never abandon them, transmit them to your children with the love of liberty and independence, and the hatred of tyrants as the most beautiful heritage that you can bequeath to them. [7]

Is it not the genius of this great man, who has raised these monuments for the glory of the Nation and who attracts the admiration of foreigners to you? Is it not he, who raised this famous citadel on the peak of Ferrières, unique in the New World, by the immensity of its works, and which has no equal in the old, by its unassailable site? These benefits, these monuments are the proofs of his tender solicitude, to make you happy, that of your families and your children, they ensure the defense of your freedom and your independence, against the attacks of those who would dare to attempt it! Is it not this hero, who, disdaining the roads of the vulgar, has imprinted on the Haitian nation this noble character and these generous feelings, which distinguish the free man, which gives him this energy and which will always be the dread and terror of tyrants? Is it not he who, during twenty-five years of fighting, hardship and work, carried the axe, with the Haitian heroes, on the ancient tree of prejudice and slavery? [8]

This tradition of interpreting the revolution, introduced by Baron de Vastey, is a great cultural tradition Haitian in the Gadamerian sense of the term. According to Hans Georg Gadamer, a cultural tradition constitutes a legacy of forms and techniques of domination, ideals of freedom, and goals for how to organize the world around us. Gadamer wrote that experiences of domination and unfreedom lead us to develop our political ideas and our capacity to transform the world. They also allow us to interpret the world by creating an appropriate language to describe it. [9] And in doing all this, we discover our own nature. I would add that this tradition of interpretation also constitutes an expression of the will to power of the Haitians who lived through the revolutionary period. In wanting to transmit to their children the love of freedom and independence, they proposed new forms of historical consciousness that go beyond the resentment stemming from slavery. [10]

With more than 150 years of hindsight since Baron de Vastey was assassinated in 1820, historian Jean Fouchard published an excellent study in 1972 on the marooning of slaves and its links with the revolutionary war. He left us with interpretations and questions that are very useful for understanding the defense system put in place in 1804. Fouchard established a list of the main leaders of the marooning from Padre Jean in 1679 to Boukman in 1791 in order to better describe this link. Here is his reasoning.

How many times in the history of maroonage have we not observed these attempts which had as their objective the general massacre of whites, collective poisonings and the sacking of homes? … From the first rebellion of Bahoruco until the general uprising of the slaves, we have seen parading, torch in hand, the maroons of freedom and their bold and courageous leaders. [11] …There is a certainty linked to historical truth and the most precise and most evident proof of the permanent link between maroonage and the long struggle of the slave to break his chains. [12]

To better understand the functions of the Citadel, ISPAN technicians took up this interpretation of the connection between maroonage in the mountains and the struggle for general freedom. They used this connection to describe the defense strategy put in place after the triumph of the revolution in 1804.

The struggle for independence had proven to Haitian generals, including Henri Christophe, that coastal fortifications did not provide sufficient protection against an invading army, and that the mountains had formed a virtually impregnable natural line of defense since the time of the maroons. Of this new resistance strategy embodied by “battery forts”, built in less than 20 years, the Citadel is one of the most prestigious elements. All the fortifications of the Haitian defensive system are ordered coherently, responding to each other through a series of relays. We are in the presence of a system based on the reciprocal support of places, linked together, but each endowed with autonomy. [13]

In 2009, Patrick Delatour and Henry Robert Jolibois took up this interpretation of the link between the maroonage organized by the slaves and the defense strategy put in place by the leaders of the revolution. They attribute the initiative of this link to the military genius of Toussaint Louverture.

On April 9, 1804, three months after the proclamation of the Independence of the Republic of Haiti, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, then Governor General, ordered that fortifications be “built on the summits of the highest mountains.” This order would be followed to the letter. Throughout the territory, existing fortifications would be readapted to the defense needs of the brand new free nation. In the mountains, thanks to a sophisticated and secret knowledge of geography favorable to national defense, many forts would be created. This knowledge, the fruit of the collective intelligence of the maroons, benefited from the contribution of the genius of Toussaint Louverture. [14]

From Baron de Vastey in 1814 to Patrick Delatour and Henry Robert Jolibois in 2009, there is an astonishing continuity in the tradition of interpreting the Haitian revolution based on the study of historical sites and buildings. According to this tradition of interpretation, the fortifications are the fruit of the collective intelligence of the maroons, in arms, articulated with the strategic thinking of the revolutionary generals.

But from 1820, the year of Henri Christophe’s death, there was a process of revision of this interpretation within the framework of a silencing of history. A new form of silencing began after the assassination of some of Christophe’s close and faithful advisors. Baron de Vastey was assassinated, as were the princes who were to ensure the succession or defend the kingdom. The African officers and soldiers of the revolution, such as Jean Baptiste Sans Souci, whom Christophe had assassinated, were also not available to defend the kingdom. Mapou fell, goats eat leaves like oil ” says the Haitian proverb.

On October 26, 1820, Jean Pierre Boyer, the President of the southern region who succeeded Alexandre Pétion in 1818, gathered an army of 16,000 men and entered the Cape in support of the people who were favorable to him. The city immediately changed its name from Cap Henry to Cap-Haïtien. ». [15] Boyer held a ceremony to announce that all regions of the country were now united under the leadership of his government. In his proclamation, he decreed oblivion.

Haitians, the past is forgotten. I solemnly declare it; open your hearts to trust; hasten to compete with the government to consolidate the independence of the country. [16]

From then on, the Citadelle Henry had become the Citadelle Laferrière, as an attempt to forget or silence Christophe in the Haitian collective memory. In this devious form of forgetting, the Boyer regime attempted to dispossess Haitian social actors, from the beginning of the 19th century, of their power to tell their own stories. [17]

President Louis Borno restored the name of Christophe to the Citadel by a decree issued on October 10, 1929. Borno’s decree considers that the Citadel constitutes a brilliant work of Christophe which ” represents with impressive grandeur the idea of ​​defending the autonomous Fatherland “. The first article of the decree reads as follows: ” The Citadelle Laferrière will now be called the Citadelle Christophe.» [18] With this decision, President Borno tried to correct the act of silence of Jean Pierre Boyer. [19]

From 1990 to 2009, the Citadelle Henry welcomed hundreds of thousands of Haitian and foreign visitors. The 1996 Tourism Master Plan and the 2006 UNESCO report mention many projects and initiatives of the Haitian government. [20] The event Caribbean in creationcarried out at the Citadel in 2007, demonstrated that its tourist, artistic and cultural potential represents a major asset for Haiti on the regional and world scene. [21] In 2009, the Citadel was in the news with the filming of the movie “Moloch Tropical” by Haitian director Raoul Peck and the international symposium on the management of historic National Parks with the participation of ICOMOS and UNESCO. These pieces of information indicate multiple possible vocations for the 10,000 square meters of the site besides the museum function. [22] They also attest that the Citadel was not abandoned during this period.

Over the last fifteen years, two works by the company “Moun Studio”, headed by the architect Daniel Élie, seem to reconnect with this process of revision. The first is a brochure entitled ” Henry Citadel — Artillery Museum » presented as a catalog and dated 2013. The brochure is a production made on behalf of the Institute for the Preservation of National Heritage (ISPAN) and the Haitian National Pantheon Museum (MUPANAH). [23] The second is the documentary film “ Citadel-Museum » published in 2015 by Moun Studio with the support of ISPAN and MUPANAH.

Following the theft of the two cannons from the citadel in 2024, these two works were rebroadcast on social media. Daniel Élie returned to the charge through an interview with journalist Jacqueline Charles, from Miami Herald. He opined on the links between the interpretation of history, impunity and the living conditions of the person to whom the historical story is dedicated. Here is a translation of what the journalist reports.

« “The teaching of history has deteriorated a lot in Haiti,” said Elie. People don’t believe in history. We always talk about 1804, the first black republic, the battle of Vertières; how we defeated Napoleon’s army? When we tell this story, alongside the fact that the person can’t go to school, can’t eat, there is a certain confusion with the reality that they live…. It is difficult for a teacher to tell this story with a population that lives in extreme poverty and whose only hope is to leave the country.. [24]

In these remarks on the Haitian revolution reported by Jacqueline Charles, there are many silences. Daniel Élie did not mention the maroonage, the slave insurrection, the proclamation of general liberty, the abolition of slavery. He did not recall the freedom of worship under Dessalines, the attempts at agrarian reform, the establishment of the lakous of voodoo or the reconstruction efforts of Henri Christophe and Pétion. It is understandable that the omission of these elements removes all interest from the story of the Haitian revolution. The resulting revision is inevitably confusing and insipid for the population.

In this article, I wish to focus on the documentary film which seems to me to participate in the same process of revision, but through a work of research-creation.

3. Criticism of attempts to revise this tradition of interpretation: The case of documentary film Citadel-Museum

With data collected during ten years of inventory work and the work of making the Citadel Henry watertight, ISPAN published a report in 1992 which dedicated the museum vocation of said fortification in these terms. Citadel-Museum, such is now the vocation of this building, more than ever a symbol of a dearly acquired freedom. » [25]

On May 5, 2015, the agency People Studio launched the documentary film on his Twitter account: Citadel Museum ». [26] In the technical sheet published in June 2015, the architects Daniel Élie and Philippe Chatelain who produced this film provide the following information:

The documentary film is a communication tool aimed at informing and educating the widest possible audience on the importance of the Citadelle Henry and the fortified site of Ramiers for Haitian, regional and global culture. aims to disclose relevant information on the history of these historic monuments, as well as the aesthetic, technical and symbolic riches associated with them. Of significant p community outreach, this film aims to reinforce the idea of ​​universal heritage of these historical monuments and to highlight the need for their preservation for their transmission to future generations. [27]

Documentaries are no longer seen as passive experiences intended solely for learning or informal entertainment. They are increasingly seen as part of a broader effort to spark debate, shape opinion, inform public policy, and build activist networks. [28] In this new context, the directors of this research-creation work have attempted to modify the tradition of interpreting the monuments of the Haitian revolution. To do this, the documentary film uses a powerful audiovisual medium by aligning itself with a traditional approach of trivializing the said revolution.

 
Context and significance of documentary film production

When it was released in 2015, the documentary film was presented in the press as a challenge taken up by an ingenious gesture of creation in Haiti. It uses a multiplicity of audiovisual means to offer an interpretation of the revolution based on one of the monuments resulting from the revolutionary process. According to journalist Claude Bernard Serant, ” Architects and curators of historic monuments Daniel Élie and Philippe Châtelain took up this challenge with the means at hand. They used photographs of paintings, watercolors, period engravings, very significant images and snapshots showing the fortress from several angles to illustrate the subject. The voice-overs of Emmelie Prophète and Esméralda Milcé give rhythm and life to this succession of still images that take the viewer on a journey through time. » [29] This variety of visual expressions reflects the quality of the documentary research and the artistic sensitivity of the directors.

The documentary film offers varied tours with drone videos and analyses of the diversity of architectural and iconographic elements that make up the Citadel complex and the Ramiers site. It shows a good mastery of Freeman Tilden’s principles of interpretation. It provokes interest, challenges the public, places the monument in a more global framework, skillfully handles the art of interpretation by combining scientific, historical and architectural information. Finally, it reveals a concept of interpretation that goes beyond simple information. [30]

It is a work of interpretation of history carried out by professionals who participated directly in the restoration of the monuments of the Haitian Revolution. From 1990 to the present day, this generation of professionals has strived to communicate to society their experiences, their passions and their convictions in relation to the preservation of Haitian built heritage.

Produced by two monument architects, the documentary comes from the rich tradition of interpreting and showcasing the built heritage of the Haitian Revolution. The final product of the documentary film Citadel-Museum However, it has many gaps and serious weaknesses. Among the gaps, we can mention the non-use of three-dimensional modeling and animation in the visual analysis to facilitate the understanding of the site. The relationships between the architectural masses of the Citadel, the reconstruction of the construction process and the projected trajectory for the cannonballs are crucial information missing from the analysis. Another important visual gap is the absence of references to the rich representations of the citadel in the Haitian imagination through painting and sculpture.

The analysis of the final product of the documentary film shows that the discourse attempted to deviate from the tradition of interpretation by aligning itself with another traditional approach of trivializing the said revolution. This is one of the most serious weaknesses of the documentary film. Furthermore, I will emphasize that the documentary film lacks empathy for the heroes of the Revolution and ignores the tradition of interpreting the Haitian revolution from popular political culture. This third component of the tradition of interpreting the Haitian revolution from below was developed by Jean Price Mars in his 1929 work, Thus spoke the Uncle. [31]

The main question of the film and the directors’ answer

This is the question that the film attempts to answer in 22 minutes and 12 seconds. How did cutting-edge 13th-century heavy artillery firearms end up more than 7,000 kilometers from their place of manufacture in a mountaintop fortress? [32]

Starting from this question, the film summarizes more than a century of events before leading to the construction of the Citadel Henry. It flies over the history of the colony from the signing of the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, where Spain conceded the territory of the colony of Saint-Domingue to France, to Haitian independence in 1804. The following description proposed by the authors on the YouTube channel of Moun Studio takes up the main elements of the discourse on the citadel.

The Citadelle Henry is a military structure built in the early 19th century in Milot, Haiti in the Nord department, by Henry Christophe. It is the largest fortress in the Caribbean: at an altitude of 900 meters, it is located 15 km south of Cap-Haïtien, within the National Historical Park – Citadelle, Sans Souci, Ramiers – classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982.

The fortress was built after independence in 1804 to defend the northern part of the island of Haiti against a possible return of the French. 20,000 people participated in the construction work which lasted fourteen years. The fortress was partly destroyed by an earthquake in 1842. Reconstruction work, carried out in particular by the Institute for the Preservation of National Heritage (ISPAN) made it possible to save elements of this extraordinary fortification. [33]

Towards the end of the film, the directors give a fairly clear answer to the initial question by proposing a certain interpretation of the facts. In this answer, they first paint Henry Christophe as a megalomaniac with a passion for construction.

A nationalist and ambitious visionary, a military leader who was often carried away, impulsive and megalomaniac, Henry the First was all of these things, but also an exceptional organizer. Passionate about construction, he built several palaces, the most sumptuous of which is that of Sans Souci in Milot on the foothills of the Bonnet à l’Évêque, at the foot of its Citadel. [34]

In the report published in 1990, Albert Mangonès, Giselle Hyvert, and Eddy Lubin, leaders and executives of ISPAN, portrayed Henry Christophe differently. They present us with a military leader trying to live up to the aspirations of a nation mobilized to defend its revolution. According to these authors, the Citadel articulates a complex discourse through which a strategist who masters the art of war communicates with his people by keeping them mobilized after the uncertain triumph of the revolution.

Surprising spoils of such diverse wars and disparate legacies from the successive defeats of the colonial powers on the territory of Haiti, these artillery pieces gathered by Christophe in the enclosure of the Citadel stubbornly kept silent in the heavy silence of their mineral mass a long discourse on the vicissitudes of three centuries of the history of Haiti, entangled with that of the merciless confrontations of the irreconcilable covetousness of the great European powers, in need of conquests.

It is this unprecedented discourse that emerges today from the pages of this beautiful book, which also designates with certainty the Citadel as a key element of a whole set of fortified positions, lookouts, forts and redoubts spread out along mountain ridges punctuating routes conducive to a possible war of attrition in the gears of which foreign forces, coming from the sea, would have been forced to engage deep inside a hostile territory, cut by gorges and ravines controlled by the troops of a mobilized nation.

A key piece of a grand strategy that the twists and turns of history have transformed for us into a high place of memory for the people and a sanctuary of meditation, where from now on the daughters and sons of the land of Haiti come to meditate, in search of a destiny of ever new freedoms to conquer. [35]

But contrary to this interpretation, to answer the main question, the documentary film takes refuge in an anachronism by maintaining that the megalomaniac Henry Christophe wanted to create a “monument-museum”.

Almost all of the artillery transported and installed at the Citadelle Henry and the forts of Ramiers was taken from the expeditionary army led by Leclerc in 1802, then stored and carefully staged using the possible return of the French as a pretext.

Going beyond the instructions of Dessalines’ ordinance, he erected a monument essentially to restore to its feet a people that slavery had reduced to the state of beasts of burden.

From a prodigious fortress, Henry Christophe made a monument-museum. A setting where weapons taken from the enemy are arranged and displayed with great aesthetic concern. He bequeathed a heritage to the Haitian people.

He understood that pride could not be summed up in words, and that great symbols were needed. With the Citadelle Henry, Christophe wanted and succeeded in elevating the Haitian soul by erecting a monument that reassures while warding off time. [36]

For the directors, who parody the play The Tragedy of King Christophe by the Martinican poet and playwright Aimé Césaire, it is the monument that brought the people to their feet. [37] They thus trivialize the importance of the anteriority of the maroonage, of the slave insurrection, and of the proclamation of the triumph of the revolution, to the construction of the fortifications.

In the documentary, there are two mentions of the insurrection, but nothing is said about its organization. Eloquent silences litter the documentary film. There is no mention of marronage and its organization, the place of rituals and the independence utopias that have existed in the colony since the 1750s during the insurrection led by François Mackandal.

These silences indicate that the documentary film does not take into account the importance of the tradition of interpreting the Haitian revolution from popular political culture and its relationship to the adequate understanding of historical edifices. This tradition of interpretation has nevertheless crossed the entire intellectual history of the Haitian revolution from Baron de Vastey in 1814 to Henry Robert Jolibois in 2009.

Moreover, the process of liberation from slavery in Saint-Domingue is not considered a revolution by the authors of the documentary film. At no time was this concept used to name the facts. For the filmmakers, the slave rebellion is the result of echoes of the French Revolution.

Colonists frustrated by the restrictions of exclusivity, free people of color flouted by discriminatory regulations and 500,000 slaves kept in a state of brutal and abject servitude precipitate the course of history. At the end of the 18th century, the colony of Saint-Domingue is on the verge of explosion.

In August 1789, the French revolutionaries proclaimed “men are born and remain free and equal in rights”. The echoes of this revolution galvanized the slaves who entered into rebellion. On the night of August 21 to 22, 1791, several sugar plantation workshops on the rich northern plain gave the signal for a general insurrection, more than a thousand settlers were slaughtered, 160 sugar mills and 1,200 coffee plantations were set on fire. The damage is estimated at around 6 million pounds. [38]

One of the consequences of the lack of mastery or silencing of the tradition of interpretation of the Haitian revolution in documentary film is the replacement of utopia by megalomania as an interpretive strategy. This is the greatest weakness of narration, Michel Rolph Trouillot would say. With the mobilization of inadequate conceptual categories, the elements of the narrative of the Haitian Revolution are modified at the time of their narration in order to make sense to a predominantly Western audience. [39]

Megalomania is a mental syndrome characterized by the excessive desire for power or glory. It is a delusional confusion in which the subject’s desires for grandeur replace reality. People suffering from megalomania privilege their thinking to such an extent that they abandon shared reality and try to dominate others. [40] With the description ” often hot-tempered, impulsive and megalomaniac military leader “, the documentary film follows a long tradition of trivializing Christophe’s efforts to consolidate the revolution. The classic strategy is to isolate Christophe from the population and to exaggerate the repressive terror of his regime. This type of discourse was already very popular under the reigns of Pétion and Boyer who preferred to pay an excessive ransom for the recognition of independence instead of consolidating the strategy of defending the territory. These excerpts from Edmond Bonnet’s book represent an excellent witness to this discourse.

The king repressed the superstitions of Africa by terror and pursued the Voodoo sect and their horrible practices to the limit… Without worrying about the number of those who succumbed to the punishment, Christophe had his prisoners build gigantic constructions, which later no one could believe had been made by force of arms. He created a worker man by giving him a model and tools. It was necessary, under penalty of death, to become by instinct either a carpenter, or a cabinetmaker, or a gunsmith. [41]

But as the texts of Albert Mangonès, Patrick Delatour and Henri Robert Jolibois prove, other explanations are possible. Theorists of modern architecture argue that the architectural forms of public monuments have functions similar to large exhibitions. They represent places where the crowd, itself become a spectacle, finds spatial and visual means of self-education from the point of view of the forces in power. [42] I might add that this utopia of architectural space as a self-regulating device has a long history.

Already in 1819, John Ruskin wrote that architecture is among other things a lamp of memory. For him, architecture should be considered with the greatest attention, because if we can live without it, and worship without it, but we cannot remember without it. He adds that no ornament should be affixed to great public buildings without an intellectual intention. [43]

These principles of planning are implicitly at work in religious temples, urban public squares, market places and modern department stores. However, they do not justify the anachronistic confusion of the monument-museum that Christophe supposedly built between 1804 and 1820 in order to make the people stand up. The Haitian people in the making had already been standing up since the insurrection of 1791.

The history and anthropology of revolutions indicate that the utopia of creating a new world, a new time and new social subjects is inherent in revolutionary processes. [44] The traditions of interpretation of the Haitian revolution that seek to describe the humanity of the new social subjects that emerged in this revolution still resist detractors. These traditions indicate that one is not necessarily a megalomaniac for having wanted to try to build a new world, on the ruins of colonialism, if one’s action is part of a collective strategic approach for a better humanity.

Finally, I must emphasize that my criticisms of the documentary film are not aimed at the people of Daniel Élie and Philippe Chatelain, whose professional qualities I respect. They are not an expression of any resentment toward them or other professionals in the field. Furthermore, they do not suggest and do not authorize anyone to suggest that these professionals had any involvement in the disappearance of the cannons at the citadel.

These documentary film reviews Citadel-Museum aim to show the extent of the phenomenon of silencing the history of the Haitian revolution. Even professionals experienced in the conservation of architectural and urban heritage associated with this revolution are not spared by this phenomenon. As I mentioned in the introduction, the rope of silencing has intellectual braids linked to the history of the interpretation of the Haitian revolution. The analysis of the documentary film explored the problematic nature of these intellectual braids.

But silence also has delinquent braids linked to the impunity enjoyed by certain groups. We will explore some of these delinquent braids in the context of the theft of the cannons at the Citadel Henry.

4. The theft of cannons from the Citadel Henry between silence and impunity

In 1819, in his essay on the causes of the revolution and civil wars in Haiti, Baron de Vastey lamented the absence of a general history written by a Haitian. native of the country ” He noted that the historical texts on Haiti written by Europeans consisted only of ” very flawed story fragments ” tainted by prejudice and bias. Furthermore, he emphasizes that history is reconstructed from ” manufactured materials ” by the Europeans. The result of all this, according to Vastey, is that the adversaries of the Haitian people shroud the historical truth in the darkness of lies in order to prevent its political use. He summarized his observation of the process of silencing thus: ” The events and facts have been strangely distorted; the truth exposed in a false light; the balance has always tipped everything on one side and nothing on the other. ». [45]

Michel Rolph Trouillot indicated in 1992 that silences can enter the process of historical production at four crucial moments. The moment of the creation of facts gives rise to artifacts that constitute the sources of the historical narrative. The moment of the assembly of facts and artifacts contributes to the creation of archives. The moment of the recovery of facts consists of using artifacts in the development of narratives. Finally, the moment of retrospective meaning allows the creation of history in the last instance. [46]

We can use both approaches to understand the possible consequences of the theft of the cannons from the Citadel for the interpretation of the Haitian Revolution. According to the inventory published in 1992, there were at least 163 artillery pieces at the Citadel, 127 cast iron and 36 bronze (124 cannons, 9 howitzers, 27 mortars, 2 perriers and 1 pierrier). [47] The first consequence of the theft of the cannons is the mutilation of the discourse on the Haitian Revolution carried by the presence of this historic building, because each element of the artillery collection allows us to tell part of the story.

Following Michel-Rolph Trouillot’s thinking, we can say that these artifacts transformed events of the Haitian revolution into historical facts. They gave rise to inventories and archives where the facts are collected, themed and treated as documents. The presences and absences of these artifacts in the interpretation of the revolution are neither neutral nor natural. They are creations or even social constructions. As such, they are not mere presences and absences, but mentions or silences of various types and degrees. ” By silence, Trouillot suggests an active and transitive process. One can silence, reduce to silence, or “silence” a fact or an individual as a silencer silences a weapon. [48]

The second consequence is the increase in the possibility of creating alternative narratives “shrouded in the darkness of lies” to represent the facts. The imagination of the creators of false narratives is limited only by our ability to refute them from artifacts that constitute the sources of the historical narrative. The absence of canons only frees the field for far-fetched interpretations.

It is known that cannonballs have already disappeared from the Citadel Henry. [49] Have any suspects, accomplices or sponsors of these cannonball thefts been apprehended? What do we know about these trafficking networks?

The low-level employees of ISPAN, some of whom have worked for over 40 years at the Citadel, cannot be targeted as the only ones responsible for the thefts. Thefts of cultural property often involve networks of connoisseurs. However, it is up to the justice system to shed light on this theft, to seek out the real intellectual authors, the sponsors, the accomplices and the profiteers, whoever they may be. Those guilty of their acts must be punished and the innocent must be freed. The objective is to find these two culverins and put them back in their place at the Citadel.

The illicit trade in cultural property is a well-oiled machine with complex cogs, explains Interpol. [50] Are the real culprits still roaming the streets while innocent people languish in prison? Are we witnessing, as the Tropicana song says, rats eating sugar cane with impunity while innocent anoles are executed for the crime?Are rats eating sugarcane while lizards are dying innocently?) How can we systematically address these issues in order to find sustainable solutions beyond good intentions?

In my opinion, the solution lies in the application of the law. Article 215 of the Constitution states that ” The archaeological, historical, cultural and folkloric riches of the country, as well as the architectural riches, witness to the grandeur of our past, are part of the Pa National Trimoine. Consequently, the monuments, the ruins, the sites of the great feats of arms of our ancestors, the renowned centers of our African beliefs and all the vestiges of the past are placed under the protection of the State. »

In fact, in the spirit of the law of July 26, 1927 on the private and public domain of the State and that of April 23, 1940 on monuments and sites, the new version of the Haitian Penal Code published on June 24, 2020 provides for penalties against the theft of cultural property.

Art. 491.- Theft is punishable by imprisonment of five (5) years to ten (10) years and a fine of 150,000 gourdes to 250,000 gourdes when it concerns:
1. A movable object classified or registered in application of the provisions relating to national heritage, in particular historic monuments, or a private archive document classified in application of the same provisions;
2. An archaeological discovery made during excavations or by chance;
A cultural property which falls within the public movable domain or which is exhibited, preserved or deposited, even temporarily, either in a museum, a library, a media library or an archive service, or in a place dependent on a public body, a private person assuming a mission of general interest, or in a building dedicated to worship. [51]

But the country is going through dark times with the deterioration of security conditions due to impunity and the Citadelle, Sans Souci and Ramiers National Historical Park is not immune to this scourge. In 2023, a group of experts from the United Nations Security Council gathered evidence showing that several members of the economic and political elites threaten the peace, security and stability of the country. They divert public resources and resort to gangs and violence to achieve their political and economic goals while undermining the rule of law and institutions in order to preserve their impunity. [52]

The beginning of the solution to the problem of the theft of cannons from the citadel requires a minimum restoration of the rule of law in the face of the absolute reign of impunity. In this sense, ISPAN’s proposal to urgently create a national unit specialized in the fight against attacks on cultural heritage and the trafficking of cultural property is fundamental. As Interpol points out, without this, the institutions responsible for the internal management of the park will not have adequate means to protect these cultural assets. [53] Thieves’ networks can also infiltrate them.

5. On the need to implement the UNESCO Convention against illicit trafficking in cultural property and the recommendations of Interpol

When I arrived in September 2008 at the Ministry of Culture and Communication, as Minister, UNESCO had just finalized three conventions on the protection of cultural heritage over the previous decade. The convention on the protection of underwater cultural heritage was finalized in 2001, the convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage in 2003 and the one on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions in 2005. With the support of the UNESCO office in Haiti, the national commission for cooperation with UNESCO, the government obtained the ratification of these conventions in less than fourteen months.

But we also took the opportunity to introduce into the package a fourth and important UNESCO convention. This is the convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property. This normative instrument was finalized on November 14, 1970, but Haiti had never ratified it.

In 2009, many parliamentarians from the 48th legislature (2006-2010) drew my attention to the weaknesses of heritage protection in their constituencies. They hoped to see the beginning of a systematic fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property before the end of their term. I reassured them that the ratification of the convention was an important step in this direction. Large groups of parliamentarians strongly supported the ratification process. The Haitian State ratified this convention on February 7, 2010.

With this convention, which becomes a component of Haitian legislation in reference to Article 276-2 of the Constitution of March 29, 1987, the Haitian State has recognized that the illicit trafficking of cultural property constitutes one of the main causes of the impoverishment of the country’s cultural heritage. In addition, it has been understood that international collaboration constitutes one of the most effective means of protecting cultural property against the many dangers that arise from this illicit trafficking. The proliferation of fakes, the devaluation of Haitian art and the financing of various criminal networks represent some of these dangers.

But, before international cooperation, the Haitian State has committed to combating these practices by the means at its disposal from within, using national criminal legislation, intelligence structures and public security forces. As we immediately understood, the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property represents a cross-cutting project. It requires collaboration between conservation institutions, police structures and those dealing with trafficking of goods in ports, airports, customs and borders.

With the 2010 earthquake, the country’s descent into organized banditry and the shameless plundering of public resources, very few elements of the convention were implemented from 2010 to 2024. Without being able to draw up an exhaustive list of what has been achieved in Haiti, it can however be mentioned that the Haitian branch of the Council of Museums (ICOM-Haiti) had produced a red list of cultural property in danger. In addition, the UNESCO Office in Haiti had organized a workshop on the trafficking of cultural goods, particularly for customs officers.

Today, with the theft of the cannons from the Citadel, it becomes even more urgent to implement the provisions of this convention. Two urgent actions are recommended in this regard. First, a specialized police unit dedicated exclusively to the protection of cultural heritage is needed. This unit would be tasked with investigating cases of trafficking in cultural property and supporting justice in order to curb the impunity of offenders of all kinds. Second, a national database containing information on the country’s inalienable works and connected to INTERPOL’s database on stolen works of art is needed.

Beyond the implementation of the convention, the creation of a unit specialized in the fight against attacks on cultural heritage and the trafficking of cultural property would be an act of national sovereignty. With these measures, it would be a question of protecting the artifacts that allow us to interpret the rich historical heritage of the Haitian revolution and to affirm the cultural identity of our people. It is among other things this capacity to tell our own story that will allow us to ensure the survival of our country in an often indifferent or hostile world. Without this protection, it will be much more difficult for future generations to admire these artifacts and draw inspiration from them for our regeneration.

Impunity and the silencing of history are two links in the chain of destruction of cultural heritage in Haiti. We have no right to remain indifferent to these scourges!

………………..

Photo: The tubes that recently disappeared from the Citadelle Henry are referred to as “perriers” / Daniel Elie

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Notes