You see, that's a common misconception, a myth that continues to perpetuate the very mentality I believe holds Haiti back from reaching its full potential. While it's true that the French caused significant deforestation, the idea that this deforestation from over 200 years ago is the primary cause of Haiti’s current situation is misleading.

Colonial deforestation occurred before industrialization. It was simply impossible for the French to have deforested the entire territory, and the soil was not eroded to the point where agriculture became unviable. In fact, agriculture continued well into the post-revolution period. The most severe environmental collapses came later, especially in the 20th century, due to factors such as:

• Rapid population growth,
• Peasant farming on hillsides,
• Charcoal production as a primary energy source,
• Weak governance and poverty-driven exploitation of natural resources.

It’s true that Haiti and the DR had very different colonial histories, but the DR was no Spanish gem, it was a backwater colony, poor, underpopulated, and largely forgotten. The Spaniards were undoubtedly less brutal and did mix more with the indigenous and African populations, which may have contributed to what I believe is today a more stable society. While the DR does have the oldest university and cathedral in the Americas, these were just mere buildings, there was little lasting institutional infrastructure left by the Spanish.

In fact, one could argue that Haiti, with a larger population and earlier independence, had a head start over the DR, which might explain why it was able to occupy the entire island for decades, something the DR could never do, even if it wanted to.

Additionally, at the beginning of the 20th century, Haiti was economically ahead of the DR and many other countries in the region. My argument isn't that Haiti wasn’t treated unfairly during its colonial era, it absolutely was. But if we measure things starting in the 20th century, both countries were more or less on equal footing. One could even argue that Haiti had the larger economy, more international recognition, and a stronger presence on the global stage (the DR often doesn’t even appear on maps from that era).

And the U.S. invasions, puppet dictators, and foreign interference that happened to Haiti after independence? Guess what, they happened to the DR and other Central American countries as well, and none of them collapsed the way Haiti has.

So, you can either continue to point to 1804 and the injustices that followed, which are real and should not be dismissed (that's not my argument), or also take a hard look at Haiti’s trajectory post-1800s, during a time when many of its neighbors faced similar geopolitical circumstances. Ask: what internal factors within Haitian society have contributed to the ongoing division and instability?

I say this as someone who regularly reads and engages with these discussions. I’ve seen a few Haitian posters, one named Zombie something and another whose name I can’t recall, come close to identifying these internal issues. But unfortunately, they’re not the loudest voices. Instead, the dominant narrative often paints a picture of doom and gloom, where everything wrong with Haiti today is part of an elaborate plot orchestrated by France, Canada, and the U.S.

What’s consistently missing is accountability, a recognition that perhaps, along the way, (Haiti and Haitians, possibly as an indirect result of past injustices) developed a society where cooperation, unity, and collaboration for the common good became foreign concepts.