Haiti-Haitii - Philosophical Reflections for Mental Decolonization (Paperback)

"In Haiti Haitii?" Jean-Bertrand Aristide combines the artistry of Swahili with the poetic incisiveness of his native Kreyol to produce an eloquent, resounding negation to colonialism and slavery, as well as an emphatic affirmation of freedom, liberty, equality, and fraternity. Aristide writes in poetry, prose, proverbs, and aphorisms to tell the epic story of the life and freedom affirming spirit of Haiti, the world s first independent Black republic. He chronicles slavery through a recitation of the brutality of the colonisers and the often mundane and trivial ways in which they attempted to dehumanize Haitians, positioning the reader in the place of the human beings who were at the receiving end of such inhumanity. Aristide eloquently illustrates how Haitians 300-year journey to freedom was illuminated by the African philosophy of Ubuntu, a world view that embodies human solidarity, respect, dignity, justice, liberty, and love. In this philosophy, Africans found an unmatched strength to resist slavery. Today, he writes, it is this same philosophy that can empower a new generation of Africans worldwide to resist neo-colonialism. "