Top 88 Haiti Quotes

As far as we are concerned, we are ready to leave today, tomorrow, at any time, to join the people of Haiti, to share in their suffering, help rebuild the country, moving from misery to poverty with dignity.

When I left Haiti, I was eight. I went to the Congo where my father was working. The only images that I had were the images of Tarzan. That’s what I thought Africa was. Of course, the first day I arrived there, I thought I would see a lot of savages dancing on the tarmac.

Everything in Haiti right now is a priority.

Paul Farmer has helped to build amazing health care system in one of the poorest areas of Haiti. He founded Partners in Health, which serves the destitute and the sick in many parts of the world from Haiti to Boston and from Russia to Peru.

The people of Haiti have always called me Papa Doc. I was first their doctor. Now I am also their president for life.

I can’t think of a better model for Haiti rebuilding than Rwanda.

The biggest public health challenge is rebuilding health systems. In other words, if you look at cholera or maternal mortality or tuberculosis in Haiti, they’re major problems in Haiti, but the biggest problem is rebuilding systems.

Haiti itself was also photographed, some of the streets, some of the mountains, rivers, streams, etc. were photographed before talking with me about how I felt about Haiti. Then the camera went to our voodoo temple and saw a serious ceremony, a real ceremony.

As we all know, many people remain buried under tons of rubble and debris, waiting to be rescued. When we think of their suffering, we feel deeply and profoundly that we should be there, in Haiti, with them, trying our best to prevent death.

The power of Haitian heritage and the strength of the Haitian people is tremendous. And Haiti holds a unique and rich role in the history of African Americans.

The first time Haiti had free and fair democratic elections was 1990, when I was elected.

International aid as a means of development is a major failure, and not just in Haiti.

No nation helps more people around the globe. Our deep generosity is given so freely that it is simply expected, by others and by ourselves. From Ethiopia to Haiti to Japan where there is tragedy, famine or disaster, we lead the way with private and public help.

In February 2004, the two traditional torturers of Haiti – France and the United States – combined to back a military coup and send President Aristide off to Africa. The U.S. denies him permission to return to the entire region.

Well, it wasn’t a holiday, but I had expected to do some sightseeing when I went to Haiti to film a series called ‘True Horror’ for Discovery. Before I arrived, our film crew were kidnapped and held at knifepoint.

The people in the United States are some of the most generous people in the world. We saw it in Haiti. We saw it with Katrina. When devastation strikes, American people want to step up.

I never planned on doing a book about Paul Farmer or his organization. I met him in Haiti when I was on a magazine assignment. It’s almost like his story sort of fell in my lap.

If any country was a mine-shaft canary for the reintroduction of cholera, it was Haiti – and we knew it. And in retrospect, more should have been done to prepare for cholera… which can spread like wildfire in Haiti… This was a big rebuke to all of us working in public health and health care in Haiti.

Sometimes people who want to understand Haiti from a political perspective may be missing part of the picture. They also need to look at Haiti from a psychological perspective.

The diiference is that in the private sector you work for yourself, and as Prime Minister I work for every single Haitian – inside Haiti and outside – and for all those who love Haiti as well.

We must consider bringing forward legislation that will facilitate the creation and implementation of businesses in Haiti. Overall, we must better position the country to compete for new market opportunities.

Even in Haiti, I saw John Wayne movies. American cinema has always been the dominant cinema throughout the world, and people tend to forget that. People aren’t just seeing these films in California or Florida. They’re seeing them in Haiti, in Congo, in France, in Italy and in Asia. That is the power of Hollywood.

Haiti looks like a bomb hit it.

In 1994, when I went back to Haiti from exile, we established a Commission for Truth and Justice and Reconciliation. I passed the documents to the next government, and I never heard about it again.

An earthquake strikes Haiti, and care packages from America are among the first to arrive – and not far behind are former Presidents Clinton and Bush.

Defenders of Wilson are correct to beg for context when considering his legacy. But it is they who ignore the context: the role Wilson played in using war, including Haiti’s racist counterinsurgency, to nationalize white supremacy, militarism, and Christian evangelism.

One can’t do anything alone in Haiti. Sharing and cooperation are so deeply woven into the culture that sometimes it’s hard to have a separate thought.

I am fully aware of my responsibility to ensure conditions are establish to guarantee security, stability and long-term development in Haiti.

With no education, you have neocolonialism instead of colonialism, like you’ve got in Africa now and like you’ve got in Haiti. So what we’re talking about is there has to be an educational program. That’s very important.

The art of coalition command – whether it is here in Afghanistan, whether it was in Iraq or in Bosnia or in Haiti – is to take the resources you are provided with, understand what the strengths and weaknesses are and to employ them to the best overall effect.

I never considered myself as somebody in exile because, different to my father who, yes, was in exile because he left Haiti as an adult, for me it was just to be somewhere else. I carried Haiti with me everywhere, but I also carried, you know, my youth in a public school in Brooklyn. It’s part of who I am as well.

I wanted to contribute my time, myself, my knowledge, my love, because Haiti is my everything.

I first went to Haiti in 1979. I’ve gone back every few years since.

Without question, conditions in the Haiti are worse since Aristide’s removal, and continue to deteriorate.

Haiti is back on the path to democracy.

There was a brief moment, after Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, when even Bill Clinton recognized what had been done to Haiti in the name of ‘free trade’: the destruction of local markets and rice production.

Unfortunately, Haiti does not have many safe environments for children to play and express themselves.

My son graduated high school and went to Haiti to work for his dad’s organization and then extended his stay. It’s incredible what he’s doing.

As Minister of Foreign Affairs. I will work on deepening Haiti’s links with its traditional partners from the North and the South, while exploring all the opportunities for economic, cultural, scientific and technological cooperation that may benefit my country.

We can change Haiti if we work together.

You know, we do not want the militarization of Haiti. We do not see a Haitian as a protectorate where it relinquishes its own sovereignty.

There has not been one day since I left that I have not thought about Haiti.

But I think it’s very key that there’s a plan for Haiti. And we have to begin to – as progressives and people who are concerned about Haiti and have been concerned about Haiti, we have to begin to build some sort of consensus, a movement around the Haiti that the Haitians envision.

For the better part of two centuries, outsiders have been offering explanations that range from racist to learned-sounding – the supposed inferiority of blacks, the heritage of slavery, overpopulation – for why Haiti remains the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

I have been curious about Haiti for many years. The history of the country is as fascinating as it is turbulent.

When the Haiti earthquake happened, I registered with UNICEF to set up an account, and posted to Twitter for people to donate to it. In a matter of a couple of hours, $30,000 had been donated. That, to me, was eye-opening.

I had always loved Haitian art, but I stumbled onto Haiti quite by accident. I went there on vacation after finishing a movie called ‘The Delta Factor,’ and I met lot of painters and fell in love with their folk art.

When the earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, I was on vacation in the Cayman Islands.

My wife Julie and I are driven to make positive and enduring change in our beloved city of Philadelphia, in California, in Haiti, and around the world.

Canadians have been very generous toward Haiti after the earthquake and, thanks to you, our most vulnerable people have received food, drinkable water, shelter, medical care and education. For that, we are extremely grateful.

The idea that because you’re born in Haiti you could die having a child. The idea that because you’re born in you know Malawi your children may go to bed hungry. We want to take some of the chance out of that.