Haiti: Out of the Ruins

Force of Nature
Haitians have forged history with a capital H. Slaves rose up to vanquish one of Europe's mightiest empires. Earthquakes reveal the power within the earth itself — but the spirit of the Haitian people is also a force of nature. Virtually all the symbols of political power in a country synonymous with corruption have been erased. A statue honoring Fabre Geffard, a Haitian leader in the mid–19th century, stands amid a downtown in ruins. According to the inscription on the statue, he was the "restorer of the republic."

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