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The United States' short and long-term humanitarian responses to the earthquake in Haiti must take into account Haitian history, a group of professors said Thursday at a panel, "Perspectives on Haiti: An Interdisciplinary Discussion of the Haitian Revolution."
The panelists included Chantalle Verna, professor of history and international relations at Florida International University, Neil Roberts, professor of Africana Studies and political science at Williams College, and Keith Walker, professor of French and Italian at Dartmouth.
Understanding the factors that caused Haiti's existing infrastructure problems would help international responders to better frame their attitudes as they approach the current recovery crisis, Verna said.
When considering its response, the United States should "see the ways in which there are recurring themes from that longer [Haitian] history, and the ways in which we can pay attention to those common themes, and take caution to avoid difficulties that have transpired in the past on what has been often times a very unequal playing field [between countries]," Verna said.
Haitian autonomy must be preserved in dialogue among Haitian and international officials, Verna said.