Hope in ruins: Haiti's flag day 2026

 ​In 1804, Haiti became the first independent Black nation on the planet and the second independent nation in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti became the first country in the Americas to officially abolish slavery and the only country in history founded as a result of a slave revolt.

​The Birth of the Flag

​The Haitian flag was adopted in May 1803, in Arcahaie, a city north of Port-au-Prince. The Haitians took away the white part of the French flag and left the blue and red together. The blue represented Black Africans and the red the mulattos. The flag was sewn by Catherine Flon.

​A Momentous Triumph and Its Toll

​The Haitians succeeded where the famed historical Spartacus failed. It was a momentous achievement—momentous because the racist ideology at the time was that Blacks were inferior to whites. This false ideology is something many people still cling to today, ignoring the fact that no human being is inferior to another. One may be born into inferior circumstances and opportunities, but human beings are equal in nature, and for one to ignore this reality is to delude oneself into peril.

​So, the French colonizers and slave masters had deluded themselves into a grave peril. They thought they had these Black slaves under control until rebellion broke out and spread. One can only imagine the horror of the slave masters as the rebellion spread and they became the object of terror. The slave masters were suffering the consequences of their own brutal actions, for the Bible teaches, "We reap what we sow."

​Sow brutality, and we will reap brutality. The slave masters abused and brutally treated the slaves, and the slaves unleashed great violence against their oppressors. Haiti fought against the French armies under the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, one of history's famous figures, and defeated his armies. While Napoleon's armies were conquering European nations—powerful nations—they were defeated by a group of slaves who desired freedom at all costs.

​The French soldiers were fighting to bring back oppression, fighting to preserve material wealth, but the slaves fought for liberty, and their drive and will to succeed proved stronger than the slave masters. At the Battle of Vertières, in the north of Haiti, the French suffered their final defeat and surrendered, then withdrew. Slaves had achieved the impossible: they had freed themselves from the shackles of oppression. In the ruins of slavery, a glimmer of hope had arisen and turned into a flame that led to a nation of free people.

​A History of Injustices and Obstacles

​Haiti has since faced many obstacles and injustices. Haiti's revolutionary leader and first Emperor, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, was assassinated in 1806, two years after independence. The nation was soon divided into two rival kingdoms, one in the north and the other in the south.

​After a few decades, the French returned demanding payments for "lost properties." That payment crippled the Haitian economy. Many nations, such as the United States, refused to trade with Haiti, fearing that slaves in their own countries might gain inspiration. Numerous coups and instability followed. The US invaded and occupied Haiti from 1915 to 1934. Ruthless dictatorship, revolutions, gang violence, and economic mismanagement have broken the country, and many have lost hope.

​The Ruling Philosophy of Revolt

​But one of the main problems of Haiti seems to me to be in its very inception. Usually, the cause of our success or misfortunes in life is founded in our ruling philosophy. The mindset of the slaves was that no one but ourselves should rule over us; we have no masters but ourselves. While such a mindset can inspire one to revolt, it makes governing impossible.

​Consequently, the people of Haiti became wary of any leaders who attempted to establish order. Many of the leaders adopted the tendencies of the slave masters, ruling the people as if they were slaves. Oppression and tyranny became rampant in Haitian society. From family life to national governance, tyranny ran rampant. And as we know, we reap what we sow; this tyranny leads to constant revolt, which has now led to a state of lawlessness.

​The Need for National Re-Education

​So, what hope is there for Haiti in 2026? The people must look deep within as to the cause of the issue. All human issues are spiritual at their roots, and Haiti's issue is no different. The issue at the roots of Haiti's struggle is the spirit of rebellion. Therefore, there must be a re-education at the individual and family level, all the way to the national level. The people must understand that in order for anything to succeed, there must be law, order, and submission. I may not agree with certain things, but there should be nonviolent ways to go about it.

​This transformation begins in the home. From the parents raising their children, they must recognize how they treat the child is making a huge impact on the future of the community and the nation. The parents must stop treating their children as if they were slaves—yelling and being impatient with them, and using all manner of objects to beat them, which are the ways the slave masters treated their slaves—but treat them with kindness and firmness.

​Furthermore, burning someone with tires for stealing something to eat or stealing whatever is abhorrent, and one can easily see this as a leftover from the brutality of slavery. Lynching someone for accidents and other unintentional actions are crimes that stain a nation and reveal a lack of respect for human dignity. These are evils that need to be addressed and left where they belong: in the grave of the defeated slave masters.

​We must come to value the worth of human life. Every person must be respected; even those who commit crimes must be treated with dignity, and a due process must be established that delivers true justice, not mob justice. Scriptural repentance is relevant here. In the Bible, we see many times where it speaks about nations oppressing the poor, the orphan, the widow, and the less fortunate, and the resulting consequences that come as a result.

​Confronting Internal Injustices and Bureaucracy

​Haiti must address its own internal injustices if it seeks to rise out of the mire of despair. There should not be one justice for the poor and another for the rich. Along with this, the rampant corruption of government officials needs to be addressed. People have to pay huge sums of money just to get their products from a port. If one doesn't have contacts, making a national document such as a passport can be a severe ordeal, having to pay multiple people. Can such a nation thrive?

​This corruption empties the state of its coffers. If you are doing a business, don't just focus on making as much money as possible, basically extorting your customers. All these things play a part in the moral degradation of the nation. For the nation to turn the page, a turn from these evils is necessary. A nation cannot hope for a brighter future as it degrades its own citizenry. Repentance is acknowledging where you are wrong and turning from it to do what is right.

​The slaves rebelled because of the injustice of the slave masters; why continue down the same path of the slave masters? The slaves believed in the slogan of liberty, equality, and fraternity; why rob the least of the people of it?

​A re-education must be done. The rulers must understand the people are not their slaves and that if they want true prosperity, they must seek the welfare of the people they rule over, instead of stealing money and stashing it into foreign banks in case there is a rebellion. There would be no rebellion if the people were being taken care of and if proper investment was made in the country. If you want to live in peace in a neighborhood, make sure you treat those around you with love and respect.

​Overcoming the Scorched-Earth Mindset

​The people need to also change their mindsets concerning destruction. The spirit of scorched destruction originated in the rebellion against the French slave masters. The slaves burned down their properties in order to rob them of resources and defeat them militarily, but such destruction against your own properties is detrimental to the development of a society. One can protest without being destructive. The people need to be taught proper ways of expressing themselves without resorting to violence.

​The scorched-earth policy during protests makes it difficult for people to invest in the nation, as they are always fearing their hard work may go to waste. As such, the misery is compounded; what was built is destroyed, and the fear of building new things takes over.

​In unity there is strength. The slaves were able to achieve a historic success because they were united for a common goal, and if Haiti wants to be freed from the slavery of economic, security, and political despair, unity must be cherished. The slave masters had instilled a spirit of distrust amongst the Black slaves, and that spirit still persists. For Haiti to rise from the ashes of despair, that spirit of disunity must be overcome. Learn to work with each other; learn to build with each other. Trust is the foundation of any strong movement.

​Trauma, Leadership, and National Healing

​The leaders must seek to establish trust with the people. A people traumatized by harsh masters and political leaders will find it difficult to trust. A person traumatized by harsh masters can become a harsh master himself, and so the spirit of the slave masters continues to manifest itself in successive Haitian generations. The Haitian people have been severely traumatized and have never experienced the healing process. National healing is needed.

​While national healing is a massive work, it is easier to be done at the local level. Haitians need to encourage trust, doing things together and promoting each other. One can do things alone, but great things usually require a team effort. Giving money to a person traumatized by years of abuse will not solve much; they will only use it to further the coping mechanisms of addictions. Billions have been poured into Haiti, but the money disappears into the corrupt hands of paranoid politicians.

​Spiritual, mental, and emotional problems cannot be solved by simply pouring money; the deep-rooted issues must first be addressed. The roots of Haiti's problem are from French oppression, no doubt, but successive generations play a big role in its remaining since the core issues were never addressed. Now is the time to make a change if Haitian society wants to experience a better future.

​The Ultimate Path to Renewal

​The greatest thing that needs to be done in order for Haiti to rise again is to submit to the Lord. This requires a national repentance and the preaching of the true gospel—the gospel of humility and submission. A people that sees leadership as oppression will never peacefully submit to anyone unless we learn to submit to God. Once a person submits to God and accepts that He is the One who rules over all things, that person will then learn to submit to leadership and cooperate with them. God will then work on behalf of such people.

​Is there any hope for Haiti in 2026? There is always hope in God, no matter how dark a situation may look. But a re-education process is needed; a renewing of the mind is of utmost importance. Beginning at the individual level to the national level, we must address all the corrupt thinking that had its roots in slavery and develop proper thinking based on truth, justice, and righteousness—thinking based on the Word of God.

​In the construction of the flag, the white part which symbolized the French slave master was removed, and yet, some 200 years later, the work of the slave masters still remains through its destructive power of oppression and the promotion of division. The Haitian people need to put the flag together again. We must unite the poor with the rich, the country folks with the urban dwellers, and the educated with the uneducated, creating a true union that transcends all slave-system inherited divisions.

​The Haitian slogan is l'union fait la force; then let there be unity with God and with each other. This is the only way the spark of hope can become another glorious revolution. This will be a revolution against the spirit of rebellion, destruction, social and economic injustices, the spirit of favoritism, and the respect for the rich. It will be a glorious revolution that seeks to live out the ideal the founding fathers were aiming for: a free nation of free people, living in harmony with one another and prospering.